.5: The Gray Chapter is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It was released in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands on October 17th, 2014, the UK on October 20th, 2014 and in North America on October 21th, 2014. It is the first studio album by the band in six years and the first to not feature founding bassist Paul Gray and long time drummer Joey Jordison due to the death of Gray in 2010 (the title of the album being a reference to his name), and the firing of Jordison in late 2013. A standard and deluxe edition of the album was released. The deluxe edition features two bonus tracks, with both releases of the album featuring three hidden tracks. It is the first studio to feature their current drummer Jay Weinberg and bassist Alessandro Venturella and the final studio album to feature percussionist Chris Fehn before his firing in March 18, 2019.
Background
Six years after the release of All Hope is Gone, Slipknot had plans to make another album. Since former bassist #2's passing in 2010, each of the band members handled it differently. In mid-to-late 2013, there were talks about writing a new album. In December 2013, drummer Joey Jordison, was very unexpectedly ousted from the group. It was revealed in 2016 that he had developed transverse myelitis, which immobilized his legs and damaged his central nervous system. Jim Root, was similarly fired from Stone Sour following his unsettlement and frustrations with the band.
Slipknot announced in March that they were going to begin recording for the new album, unnamed at the time and referred to as simply as "Vol. 5". Over time, hype was built as the band's main pages were blacked out. The band then announced in May that there would be another Knotfest. The first announcement was for a November Knotfest in Japan. Later, another Knotfest indicated an October festival in California, United States. Meanwhile, Slipknot's main page directory added "/negative", and over the following weeks, snippets and teasers for a new music video were released.
These snippets came together in a full music video for Slipknot's first full song since 2008, "The Negative One". Reception was wildly positive and fans were largely excited. However, the music video, notably, did not show any of the band members. No details of the identities of the replacement drummer and bassist were given. At the end of the video, a new "S" logo was shown. It should be noted that the tribal "S" was designed by Joey Jordison, which is likely the reason for the new logo. A new nonogram was also shown. Instead of three superimposed triangles, the new circle is a nine-pointed star.
The band then revealed a number of tours. Soon enough, a new song, "The Devil In I", was released with its own music video. In the video, the band, with new costumes and new masks, were shown with "Human Maggots", and also featured their old masks in personae. In October, the audio for the song "Custer" was also released. Reception was nearly unanimously positive. Since the release of "The Devil In I", the band has announced a number of tours, the first being the "Prepare for Hell" tour with Korn and King 810. After this tour, the band travelled to Japan for the Knotfest there.
Track Listing
All tracks are written by Corey Taylor & Jim Root, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "XIX" | Taylor • Root • Shawn Crahan | 3:10 |
| 2. | "Sarcastrophe" | 5:06 | |
| 3. | "AOV" | 5:32 | |
| 4. | "The Devil In I" | 5:42 | |
| 5. | "Killpop" | 3:45 | |
| 6. | "Skeptic" | 4:46 | |
| 7. | "Lech" | Taylor | 4:50 |
| 8. | "Goodbye" | Taylor | 4:35 |
| 9. | "Nomadic" | Taylor | 4:18 |
| 10. | "The One That Kills the Least" | 4:11 | |
| 11. | "Custer" | 4:14 | |
| 12. | "Be Prepared for Hell" | Taylor • Root • Crahan | 1:57 |
| 13. | "The Negative One" | 5:25 | |
| 14. | "If Rain Is What You Want" | Taylor • Root • Craig Jones | 6:20 |
| 15. | "-Silent-" (Physical Hidden Track) | 2:00 | |
| 16. | "Huffys Between Dumpsters" (Physical Hidden Track) | Crahan • Root | 6:20 |
| 17. | "Flea Circus" (Physical Hidden Track) | Crahan • Root | 1:29 |
| Total length: | 1:13:28 | ||
| .5: The Gray Chapter — Special Edition[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 15. | "Override" | 5:37 | |
| 16. | "The Burden" | 5:23 | |
| 17. | "-Silent-" (Physical Hidden Track) | 2:00 | |
| 18. | "Huffys Between Dumpsters" (Physical Hidden Track) | Crahan • Root | 6:20 |
| 19. | "Flea Circus" (Physical Hidden Track) | Crahan • Root | 1:29 |
| Total length: | 1:24:40 | ||
Album Lengths
| Edition | Length |
|---|---|
| Standard Edition (Physical) — (Tracks 1-17) | 73:28 |
| Standard Edition (Digital) — (Tracks 1-14) | 63:51 |
| Special Edition (Physical) Disc 1 — (Tracks 1-14) Disc 2 — (Tracks 15-19) |
84:40 63:51 20:49 |
| Special Edition (Digital) — (Tracks 1-16) | 74:51 |
Personnel
Slipknot
- (#8) Corey Taylor – lead vocals, bass on "Goodbye", tuba on "Flea Circus"
- (#7) Mick Thomson – guitars, bass
- (#6) Shawn Crahan – percussion, backing vocals, additional drums on "Goodbye" and "If Rain Is What You Want", lead vocals on "Be Prepared For Hell"
- (#5) Craig Jones – sampling, keyboards
- (#4) Jim Root – guitars, bass
- (#3) Chris Fehn – percussion, backing vocals
- (#0) Sid Wilson – turntables
- Alex Venturella – bass
- Jay Weinberg – drums
Additional Personnel
- Donnie Steele – bass on "XIX"[3]
- Greg Fidelman – production
- Joe Barresi – mixing
- Vlado Meller – mastering
Gallery
Mock-Ups:
.png "Gray Chapter Black Vinyl (Mock-Up).png (525 KB)")
.jpg "Gray Chapter Gray Marble Vinyl (Mock-Up).jpg (101 KB)")
.jpg "Gray Chapter Yellow Vinyl (Mock-Up).jpg (57 KB)")
.jpg "Gray Chapter Red Vinyl (Mock-Up).jpg (100 KB)")
.jpg "Gray Chapter Green Vinyl (Mock-Up).jpg (35 KB)")
.png "Gray Chapter Pink Vinyl (Mock-Up).png (668 KB)")
.png "Gray Chapter Baby Pink Vinyl (Mock-Up).png (660 KB)")
Tour
Trivia
- Jay Weinberg and Alessandro Venturella were both given the chance to design their own masks for The Gray Chapter, but according to Corey, the concepts were too "cartoony" for Slipknot, which is why they ended up with the ones they got.
- The cover shows a (unknown) nude model with skeleton body paint, and a skull mask. The photo was taken by Shawn Crahan, during a art photoshoot he did a few years before the band recorded The Gray Chapter.
- .5: The Gray Chapter is the first explicit studio album to receive an official clean edit.
- The physical edition of the clean edit doesn't feature the three hidden tracks.[4]
- Both "The Negative One" and "Custer" were written in about two hours.[5]
Release History
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Edition | Label(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | October 15th, 2014 | CD | Standard | Roadrunner |
| Deluxe | ||||
| EU | October 16th, 2014 | Vinyl | Limited | |
| Various | October 17th, 2014 | CD | Standard | |
| Deluxe | ||||
| EU | Vinyl | Limited | ||
| October 20th, 2014 | ||||
| US | October 21st, 2014 | |||
| Various | CD • digital download • streaming | Standard | ||
| Russia | CD | Roadrunner • Warner Music Russia | ||
| Various | CD • digital download • streaming | Deluxe | Roadrunner | |
| Argentina | 2022 | Vinyl | Limited | Roadrunner • Plaza Independencia Música |
| US • EU | July 22nd, 2022 | Roadrunner | ||
| March 17th, 2023 |
| Slipknot Releases | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | Slipknot • Iowa • Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) • All Hope Is Gone • .5: The Gray Chapter • We Are Not Your Kind • The End, So Far |
| EPs | Adderall EP |
| Live albums | 9.0: Live • Day of the Gusano: Live In Mexico • Live at MSG |
| Compilation albums | Antennas to Hell |
| Video albums | Welcome to Our Neighborhood • Disasterpieces • Voliminal: Inside the Nine • {Sic}nesses • Day of the Gusano: Live In Mexico |
| Demos | 1995 Demo • Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. • Producer/Engineer Demo • Excerpts From Current Project • 1997 Demo • Battle of the Bands Demo • SlipKnot • 4-Track Demo • Annymous Live Show • 1998 Demo |
References
- ↑
.5: The Gray Chapter (Special Edition) by Slipknot. Apple Music. Retrieved April 13th, 2022.
- ↑ Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter (2014, CD). Discogs. Retrieved April 13th, 2022.
- ↑ Donnie Steele on IMDB. IMDB. Retrieved March 12th, 2024
- ↑ Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter (2014, Clean Edit, CD). Discogs. Retrieved April 13th, 2022.
- ↑ @Willy Radio (August 20th, 2022). WILLY // Cedric interviewt Jay Weinberg van Slipknot. YouTube. Retrieved August 20th, 2022.
