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All Hope Is Gone is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released on August 20th, 2008 by Roadrunner Records, the album was published in two versions: the standard album in a jewel compact disc case and a special edition packaged in a six-fold digipak containing three bonus tracks, a 40 page booklet, and a bonus DVD with a documentary of the album's recording.
Background
Preparation for the album began in 2007, while recording started in February 2008 in the band's home state of Iowa. All Hope Is Gone is Slipknot's first studio album since 2004's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Before the album's launch, Slipknot released a series of promotional images and audio samples from the album through various websites. All Hope Is Gone is considered the band's most eclectic-sounding album, incorporating elements from their previous three. All Hope Is Gone includes their "brutal" edge, reminiscent of songs such as "(Sic)" from their debut self-titled album, slow burning, "trippy" elements such as that of "Skin Ticket" from their second album Iowa, and acoustics and guitar solos, which were first introduced on Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Lyrically, All Hope Is Gone centers on themes such as anger, disaffection, obsession, and the music industry. The album also features a more prominent focus on politics than their previous albums. Slipknot promoted All Hope Is Gone on a world tour and at the Mayhem Festival. Generally well received by critics, the album reached the top position on nine record charts worldwide, including the Billboard 200—the first Slipknot album to do so.
Recording
Preparation for All Hope Is Gone began in 2007. Drummer Joey Jordison explained, "I've told them to demo whatever they can so we've got as much material to choose from as possible." In February 2008, Slipknot entered the Sound Farm Studio in Jamaica, Iowa with producer Dave Fortman. All Hope Is Gone is the band's first album written and recorded in their home state of Iowa. Bassist Paul Gray explained that the band decided to record in Iowa because there were too many distractions in Los Angeles, where production of their previous albums had taken place. The band also stated that being close to home was good for their mindset; vocalist Corey Taylor drove home every night to see his son. Unlike Slipknot's previous releases, the album's writing process involved all nine band members, who wrote over 30 songs. Jordison commented, "I have to say that the band is at its peak; everyone—I mean everyone—is now completely involved in the writing process, and it's a beautiful thing." Taylor felt the writing process had some problems, but also noted that the creation of every Slipknot album has had conflict and that the band has come to embrace it after realizing that the conflict helps to bring out their creativity. Taylor and guitarist Jim Root paired up with Sid Wilson, performing on keyboards, and percussionist Shawn Crahan to work on "oblique, arty pieces". Taylor also experimented with tracking in an old well, stating, "There was this natural reverb to it that was just intense." According to Crahan none of the experimental tracks made it onto the album. However, one of them, "Til We Die", appears as a bonus track on the album's special edition. The track "Sulfur" was the first combined effort of Jordison and Root, who wrote the song in one evening.
Feeling discontent over the record's production process, Root said, "it felt a little bit rushed. And it felt like we were trying to do things just to appease a schedule, which I didn't really like." Root was particularly disappointed with the record's producer, Dave Fortman, and said, "Dave Fortman really helped me appreciate Rick Rubin as a producer. [Fortman] wasn't able to get nine people together on the same page and, to me, that's the most important thing in making a Slipknot record." Conversely, Jordison said, "It's finally the record that I've wanted Slipknot to sound like." He went on to compliment Fortman's ear for tone, and considered All Hope Is Gone to be the band's best album. All Hope Is Gone was mixed by Colin Richardson in the United Kingdom.
Promotion
Rumors that Slipknot would be recording and touring All Hope Is Gone without their trademark masks circulated after band members appeared unmasked during performances with various side-projects. However, Shawn Crahan dismissed these rumors in an interview on The Sauce. Bassist Paul Gray elaborated that the band would return with a new overall image, "It'll still be Slipknot," he stated, "but we're gonna upgrade, step things up a little." Beginning April 1st, 2008, Slipknot's website displayed ten teasers to promote All Hope Is Gone. The first nine displayed the band in their purgatory masks, however, the final teaser featured a darkened photograph of the band with their new masks. Slipknot premiered their new masks on July 1st, 2008 on Spinner.com; eight million people visited the website to view the masks on the first day.
Jim Root performing at the Mayhem Festival as part of the All Hope Is Gone World Tour On June 15th, 2008, a 30-second sample and cover art from the album's title track, "All Hope Is Gone", were made available on Amazon.com. The song began airplay the same day and on June 20th, 2008, Roadrunner Records offered the track as a free download on their website. "All Hope Is Gone" was later released as a digital single. The second single from the album, "Psychosocial", began airplay on June 26th, 2008 and was released as a digital single on July 7th, 2008. Following the album's launch, "Dead Memories" was released as a digital single on December 1st, 2008, along with an accompanying music video. The music video for "Sulfur", the album's fourth single, premiered on April 18th, 2009 and "Sulfur", the fifth single was released on June 15th, 2009. From August 17th through 19th, 2008, Kerrang! magazine held six listening events across the United Kingdom which included a preview of the documentary supplied with the album's special edition, and free merchandise. On April 17th, 2009, Roadrunner Records announced that the album would be released on vinyl on April 19th, 2009, coinciding with Record Store Day.
The album's cover art and track listing were released on July 8th, 2008. Slipknot began its All Hope Is Gone World Tour the following day—the tour was their first since 2005. The band initially toured with the Mayhem Festival across the United States, through August 16th, 2008. Afterward, Slipknot was scheduled to appear at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in England, the Two Days a Week Festival in Austria, and the Area4 Festival in Germany. However, the European tour dates were canceled due to Jordison breaking his ankle. Slipknot is scheduled to perform at the Rock on the Range Festival on May 16th and 17th, 2009.
Style and Themes
Prior to the album's release, Slipknot's members displayed interest in making All Hope Is Gone their heaviest album, which Joey Jordison affirmed saying, "It's going to be heavier than Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), but just as weird and as experimental." Corey Taylor reiterated this, describing All Hope Is Gone as a "very dark" combination of the band's two previous studio albums, Iowa and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). In All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot expands on their use of traditional song structures, acoustics, and solos that they introduced on their previous album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). The track "Snuff" is led by acoustic guitars and has been dubbed as Slipknot's attempt at a "power ballad", though it remains "dark and ominous". In an interview with Artistdirect, Shawn Crahan stated, "Everyone can feel the pain that's in there. It's not forced upon you. You have it in there innately." Slipknot also retained a metal edge reminiscent of their earlier work. Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic wrote "Gematria (The Killing Name)" goes from "a cluster of cacophony" to "an onslaught of densely dark intricate riffs". Crahan compared it to the song "(Sic)" from their debut album, explaining, "The technique and the style are very reminiscent of the old, brutal shit that we've done." Jim Kaz of IGN stated that the "swaggering, cock-rock groove and an anthemic chorus" of "Psychosocial" gives Slipknot the potential to reach out to new fans "without sacrificing a lick of intensity". Crahan stated he "loves" his parts of "Psychosocial", in which the band incorporates snare drums, reminiscent of "Before I Forget". He also cited "This Cold Black" as one of his favorite songs, saying that it has a "driving tempo and a lot of attitude". The track "Gehenna" incorporates elements of Slipknot's slower, more cerebral edge reminiscent of "Prosthetics" and "Purity" from their debut album, and "Skin Ticket" from Iowa. Crahan called it a "trippy song", explaining, "It's just somewhere we go."
Track Listing
All tracks are written by Corey Taylor, Mick Thomson, Shawn Crahan, Craig Jones, Jim Root, Chris Fehn, Paul Gray, Joey Jordison & Sid Wilson except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ".Execute." | Taylor • Crahan | 1:48 |
| 2. | "Gematria (The Killing Name)" | 6:01 | |
| 3. | "Sulfur" | Jordison • Root | 4:37 |
| 4. | "Psychosocial" | Jordison • Gray • Taylor | 4:43 |
| 5. | "Dead Memories" | Taylor | 4:28 |
| 6. | "Vendetta" | 5:15 | |
| 7. | "Butcher's Hook" | 4:14 | |
| 8. | "Gehenna" | 6:53 | |
| 9. | "This Cold Black" | 4:40 | |
| 10. | "Wherein Lies Continue" | 5:36 | |
| 11. | "Snuff" | Taylor | 4:36 |
| 12. | "All Hope Is Gone" | Taylor • Thomson • Root • Gray • Jordison | 4:44 |
| Total length: | 57:35 | ||
| All Hope Is Gone — iTunes Pre-Order Bonus Track | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 13. | "Psychosocial" (Live) | 4:30 |
| Total length: | 1:02:05 | |
| All Hope Is Gone — Special Edition[1] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 13. | "Child of Burning Time" | 5:09 |
| 14. | "Vermilion Pt. 2" (Bloodstone Mix) | 3:39 |
| 15. | "'Til We Die" | 5:45 |
| Total length: | 1:12:08 | |
| All Hope Is Gone — 10th Anniversary Edition[2] (Disc 2: Live at Madison Square Garden, February 5th, 2009) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "(Sic)" | Crahan • Gray • Jordison • Taylor | 3:55 |
| 2. | "Eyeless" | Crahan • Gray • Jordison • Taylor | 4:15 |
| 3. | "Wait and Bleed" | Jordison • Taylor | 2:44 |
| 4. | "Get This" | Crahan • Gray • Jordison • Taylor | 4:28 |
| 5. | "Before I Forget" | Taylor • Thomson • Crahan • Jones • Root • Fehn • Gray • Jordison • Wilson | 4:22 |
| 6. | "The Blister Exists" | Taylor • Thomson • Crahan • Jones • Root • Fehn • Gray • Jordison • Wilson | 6:37 |
| 7. | "Dead Memories" | 4:03 | |
| 8. | "Left Behind" | Taylor | 3:27 |
| 9. | "Disasterpiece" | Taylor | 5:09 |
| 10. | "Purity" | Crahan • Gray • Jordison • Taylor | 6:25 |
| 11. | "Everything Ends" | Taylor | 4:21 |
| 12. | "Psychosocial" | 5:41 | |
| 13. | "Duality" | Taylor • Thomson • Crahan • Jones • Root • Fehn • Gray • Jordison • Wilson | 5:25 |
| 14. | "People = Shit" | Taylor | 4:09 |
| 15. | "Surfacing" | Gray • Jordison • Taylor | 4:48 |
| 16. | "Spit It Out" | Gray • Jordison • Crahan | 7:34 |
| Total length: | 1:17:23 | ||
Personnel
Slipknot
|
Production
|
Gallery
.jpg "AHIG Orange Vinyl (US).jpg (105 KB)")
.jpg "AHIG Orange Vinyl (EU).jpg (75 KB)")
Mock-Ups:
.jpg "AHIG Black Vinyl (Mock-Up).jpg (70 KB)")
.png "AHIG 10th Black Vinyl (Mock-Up).png (388 KB)")
.png "AHIG Orange Vinyl (Mock-Up).png (848 KB)")
.png "AHIG Yellow Vinyl (Mock-Up).png (742 KB)")
Tours
Release History
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Edition | Label(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- ↑
All Hope Is Gone (Deluxe Edition) by Slipknot. Apple Music. Retrieved April 13th, 2022.
- ↑ All Hope Is Gone (10th Anniversary) by Slipknot. Apple Music. Retrieved April 13th, 2022.
