New Slipknot Album: 10 Things The Band Need To Get Right

2. Lose The Gang Vocals

Psychosocial was great though, right? Well, in a word, no. It wasn't. Sure, it was catchy, it was heavy and it even had some very interesting lyrical work, but then in come the gang vocals, and i'm instantly reminded of the thuggish, grunting nu-metal acts that died out many years ago. The band have used gang vocals before, especially live, but they've never been as brash and idiotic as they were throughout All Hope Is Gone. Psychosocial was one thing, but it got worse with the track Vendetta, which saw three grown men growling "are you ready for the time of your life?" before delivering the boy-band inspired war chant of "hey!" over and over again in the background. This was undoubtedly Slipknot's worst moment, worse than that godforsaken power ballad that had us all wondering if the nine were simply fucking with us this whole time. It was uninspired, boring and utterly senseless, it reeked of a band that could well be on its last legs, and if it returns in the same mind-numbing form then they might just keel over and die right there in the recording studio.