Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind: Every Song Ranked From Worst To Best
4. Birth Of The Cruel
From the anthemic to the disgusting, We Are Not Your Kind's third single takes the listener down a completely different path from "Unsainted."
"Birth of the Cruel" is pure filth. This is a writhing, crawling, repulsive beast of a track reminiscent of Slipknot's self-titled record, albeit with beefier production. It's the kind of Slipknot track that makes you want to take a shower immediately after listening, just to cleanse you of its foulness.
It's also the first song to highlight how well-utilised every single band member is on this album. Percussionists Shawn Crahan and, ahem, Tortilla Man are all over "Birth of the Cruel," beating their steel barrels like they own them money, and Sid Wilson kills it on the turntables. This song has layers. It's far fuller as a result, though it's hardly the only example of this on WANYK.
The album's third track also features its heftiest bridge, as Slipknot summon Down's Bury me in Smoke with an earth-shaking stomp designed to cave your skull in. Bask in its destructive glory.