Slipknot
.5: The Gray Chapter
MP3 | CD | Vinyl
Roadrunner Records
Release Date: October 21, 2014

These past six years have been a rocky ride for both Slipknot and their fans. When the band released their last record, All Hope Is Gone, in 2008, it was met with mixed reactions. Many of the band’s long-time fans felt the album ventured a bit too far into Stone Sour territory — That’s the other band that singer Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root were in: a band that specializes in more lighter, radio-friendly, hard rock fare. Many of the tracks from All Hope Is Gone would not sound out of place on a Stone Sour record. On the other hand, the album was a huge success and garnered Slipknot hordes of new fans and saw them continuing to be a massive concert draw throughout the album’s tour cycle.

So, apparently when Slipknot released the song “The Negative One” (and video) from their upcoming and as yet untitled fifth album last month, it was just as a gift to the fans. That song is an album track that was not intended as the “official” first single. Today, the band released the audio for what is actually being billed as the first single.

Listen to the audio here below.

The song is called “The Devil In I” and is much more melodic and radio oriented, whereas “The Negative One” sounded like it would have been at home on the band’s extremely heavy second album, Iowa, the new song is more reminiscent of their more recent mainstream sounding output such as their last album, All Hope Is Gone. At any rate, it’s a pretty great tune and indicates that maybe the new album is multi-dimensional, offering a bit of something for everyone.

As part of our continuing coverage leading up to the impending and, as yet untitled, Slipknot record, we are following the band’s teaser clips that they have been releasing for brief periods on their website. The clips disappear after about a day and they have been forcing YouTube to remove unauthorized user uploads, so the first three are already difficult to find.

Today the band released the creepiest clip yet. Fortunately there are still user uploaded versions of it, so check it out below while you still can. NSFW warning.

Updating our story from a few days ago: Slipknot released a third album teaser clip via their website earlier today.

Watch all three released clips here below.

The band also announced the new clip via their Twitter account. The tweet was captioned “The Prescient/The Nascent/The Quotient,” leaving us to wonder “What does it mean?” a la double rainbow guy. Whenever we’re able to decipher it, you’ll be the first to know.

Earlier this week, Slipknot singer Corey Taylor told Loudwire Nights With Full Metal Jackie that the new Slipknot album was “98% done.” Now, the band has released two bizarre 16-second video teasers for the as yet untitled recording through their official website.

Check out the two teaser videos here below.