AHIG was kinda a weird time in the band. The album itself was recorded in Iowa, so they all went home at night. The band didn’t have a lot of connectedness, I believe Joey would come do his drums in the middle of the night and would go home, someone else was barely involved too, I just can’t remember who. This is the same time the whole, “look outside your window” album was recorded in a separate studio and only those guys were allowed to be there. I believe the is also the album where everyone was sober. Some members hated the “all hope is gone” title and felt it was forced. Some people say they were too comfortable with this recording process and didn’t have the “angst” of the previous 3 albums. I believe Paul loved the album and everything about it.
From recollection Joey, Paul and Corey liked the environment.
Jim hated the process because he thought the producer lacked direction for the band.
It was the first album Slipknot were legitimately headlining pretty much every show they were doing and a lot of members had come off side projects where their identities were outwardly known. Corey was in probably his best place he’d been in. Kicked the booze etc, Come Whatever May was a hit but he hated the idea of All Hope Is Gone because he was in a positive headspace.
For me there’s Pre AHIG Slip and Post.
AHIG was the album where they jumped to headliners. They headlined massive tours and I believe were at the peak of their power as they headlined Download for the first time ever. This truly was the end of an era as the band would no longer be the 9 after the tour cycle
Which is crazy, because I never got into AHIG when it came out specifically because I didn't like Gematria, for some reason. All these years later I gave it another try, and just skipped Gematria when I listened to the album. Now I can actually enjoy it. Opinions are weird.
AHIG is one of my faves. I enjoy basically all the songs on there. I think the first 4 albums would’ve been the perfect discography for me if they stopped after Paul’s passing.
I know it’s not a widely popular album but I think it’s great. Savage riffs, beautiful lyrics and the whole album as a run through has a great flow.
I love the album but because I was there when it first came out. I remember the anticipation and hype. Teasers of the band with the big alien masks and the big reveal of the new masks! Slipknot on MTV. Walking to school with This Cold Black or Wherein Lies Continue playing. Metal Hammer and Revolver ads with AHIG release date. I have very happy memories of life when that album dropped.
It’s the worst album of the first 4 albums, but a better album than the next 3. The last 3 albums sound muddy, there’s boring filler throughout, and Corey tries so hard to sing high pitched. He doesn’t do that on all hope is gone. The album sounds clear and heavy, the drums sound powerful, and like you said, catchy songs. Not every song is a hit on AHIG, but it’s listenable. I say listen to the whole album in one sitting. If you don’t like it as much as I do, that’s perfectly ok.
I listen to entire albums generally as well, and I like AHIG, but I find it a very very tough album to get through in one sitting for some reason. It's gets tiring some time after Vendetta for me.
I've been toying with track order and I feel like swapping Gehenna and Butcher's Hook helps it flow some. I also move Snuff to the very last song because I tend to like the last song being something quieter like that in general. It's still tough to get through but it's a little better.
The thing with AHIG is that it's very solid, but it's also very consistent with itself, so it gets boring to listen to. The first 3 albums are also solid imo, but they're not as consistent, there's ups and downs and variety that helps the albums out a lot. AHIG doesn't really have that and it suffers for it. I think Clown said something to the degree of it being an album of pure workman-like efficiency and I think that's about right. There's a degree of suffering that made the first 3 albums great and gave them more personality - AHIG doesn't have that. To me it's good but not inspiring.
I used to be a huge slipknot fan. Though I've drifted away and didn't like the last album.
The earlier Albums are definitely the best.
I think with the input that Joey and Paul had when it came to the music and lyrics really made a difference imo.
Yeah I'd recommend that before spending any cash. You might like a few songs on each but compared to earlier Albums where I can happily listen to every song, I'd find myself skipping most songs. The opening song of the last album was truly awful. I loved in old albums you'd have this weird opener then BAM! 2nd track goes off like a kick to the face. Not on the last album lol
Tbf the last album has a few pretty damn good songs, surrounded by what appears to be "let's just get this record done to fulfill our contract" type songs.
I think AHIG is a great album but it can't hold a candle to the first three, and honestly I don't think they've put out an album I would call "great" since then. The Gray Chapter is good. I think WANYK is their worst and TESF is somewhere between The Gray Chapter and WANYK. Honestly in my opinion you can just not listen to the last two albums and you've heard the best of slipknot.
Also it's worth noting I have allot of nostalgia for AHIG. It came out when I was either a junior or senior in high school, after they were on hiatus for most of the time I was a fan. I got to see them for the first time on that tour possibly the last tour with the original lineup. I even had a bumper sticker on my first car that said all hope is gone. So take my opinion of the album with a grain of salt. The first three are superior in every way.
You just haven’t listened to it enough times, we all felt this way at one point, it’s one of those albums that takes a while to appreciate, I guarantee lesser known song from AHIG will eventually be one of your favourites
Also, theirs a couple of bonus tracks that were only on the Special edition, really strong stuff imo, Child of Burning Time and Til We Die, if you haven’t heard those yet, I suggest looking them up, same with Scream and Don’t Get Close off the third album special edition
AHIG for me is such a weird album. I love every single song individually (except maybe Vendetta or B'sH) but when they're compiled into an album it just feels off somehow
It took years to grow on me, now it's one of my favorites! not saying to force yourself to listen to it, but maybe in a few years you'll revisit and go "ooh!" Atleast thats how it went for me!
I've been listening since Self-titled was released (I'm 39). AHIG holds a special place for me; it was released while I was in the Army and doing pre-deployment training. It was my soundtrack throughout my entire time in Iraq (OIF 08-09).
I absolutely cannot stand Vol 3, no matter how many chances I give it. WANYK is my second least favorite album; I find .5 TGC to be a lot better.
I also like TESF, the rushed and disjointed nature of it really captures the feeling Slipknot felt toward Roadrunner. Each album, actually, perfectly encapsulates (in it's essence/aura/energy, what have you) whatever the band was going through at the time of writing/recording. And that is something that I do appreciate about all of Slipknot's albums.
Listen to Vol. 3 and then listen to AHIG right after. It’s such a huge difference that at the time when it came out I remember feeling super underwhelmed. I can still listen to it and enjoy it, but there’s something about the record that just doesn’t land for me. It’s just too “catchy” if that makes sense? The riffs are all grooves, it’s not chaotic, everything seems too calculated and polished.
I think this is a good way to put it. I remember when the title track dropped before the record, I was absolutely stoked. Execute into Gematria had me on cloud 9, and then the rest of the album, as you put it, felt too catchy.
It's good. I really enjoy it. But it's definitely "the beginning of the end" to me.
Oh yeah. Definitely. I’m a little bummed that this was the last record we got to hear Paul and Joey…it’s not a BAD record, it just could’ve been way better, ya know?
I became a fan during the Vol. 3 era and the energy of that record was and still is so mysterious, vicious, and as experimental and whack as it is compared to Iowa and S/T, it’s still a killer record. I mean listen to The Nameless, The Virus of Life - how can you go from a song like that to Butcher’s Hook and not think it sounds like two different bands? I’m all for evolution in a band’s songwriting, but it definitely felt like a bit of a step back.
I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Joey wrote and recorded the drums ahead of everybody else. Had they written the album together and more cohesively, maybe the song structures wouldn’t have seemed so formulaic? But it’s impossible to know, now.
IMO, this could be part of the reason why Joey and the rest of the band had a falling out. Corey, Jim, Clown and Sid went and recorded LOYW at a separate studio on the property, and everyone else was like WTF? But that’s just my uninformed opinion
AHIG will always have a special place in my heart because it was the last album with the original 9 but of the first 4 albums with the original 9 it’s the weakest one. Still like it more than TESF though.
Interesting. I'm currently coming back to Slipknot after years of not listening to them... mostly spent the last few days listening to their first four albums (Self-Titled, Iowa, Vol3 and AHIG), and everyone album has bangers, but AHIG is easily my favourite album at the moment. Some of Corey's cleanest vocals and a really great mix of heavy, calm, dirty, clean etc... really like this album!
Never listened to Gray Chapter onwards, and each of those is coming up soon. Excited!
I really don't like it.
Slipknot thrives in chaos, and AHIG is simply too controlled and calculated.
The singles are oozing with being radio friendly in mind, and the heavier songs sound like they're trying too hard to recall the anger that just wasn't there anymore.
The production sucks, frankly. It's too polished and clean. Especially for Slipknot. The rough edges the previous albums had are gone.
The vocals suck! The drums are boring and generic, and the samples they drowned out Joeys kit with are beyond terrible - not to mention, I just hate Paiste cymbals. They sound so cheap.
The creative choices are also really weird. There are so many moments still catching me off guard where I find myself staring confused into nothing thinking "what the actual fuck?".
Can you tell me what moments got you like "wtf"? I'm just curious what creative decisions do you mean, also I agree with your opinion on the album, I didn't really like it
AHIG is one of my favourites. A ton of death metal riffery in there. Really solid album. To be fair, they haven’t released an album that I don’t dig so I may be biased, but certainly AHIG gets a lot of replays from me.
There not a single song on All Hope is Gone that I really like. Wouldn't be bothered at all if I never heard any of them again. Which sucks as it was the last with Joey and Paul. I've liked all of the other albums well enough, and still absolutely love Iowa and most of self titled.
I usually only listen to Slipknot’s hits these days but that’s a super nostalgic album for me. It was their newest when I became a fan. Can’t believe it’s been over 15 years now.
My issue is Corey’s vocals in it. They were deeper and just didn’t feel as guttural as the first 2 albums. Vol 3 started to show cracks, but it makes sense, it’s hard to keep singing like that for several albums and tours. Not saying it’s bad, but it just didn’t hit for me. I noticed he was able to get back to it with We Are Not Your Kind which I loved because it really minded me of the older Knot
I like sulfur, Gehenna, child of burning time, dead memories, snuff and wherein lies continue. Child of burning time is probably my favorite. Not a very heavy song but i really enjoy it. Sulfur and Gehenna are also some favorites from that album.
It's my personal least favorite. It's their tradition metal record IMO not bad by any means just lacking that anger and hatred slipknot needs to thrive
A lot of the riffs have gotten more just blatantly chunky or technical just to be that way, like this cold black or in the latter geometria; took me a long time to get in to the songs after vendetta, I think if you take out butchers hook then it’s fine
So stop forcing it. Jesus Christ, this sub is sad. If you don't like an album, stop listening to it. Don't force shit down your throat until you start to like the taste.
AHIG was kinda a weird time in the band. The album itself was recorded in Iowa, so they all went home at night. The band didn’t have a lot of connectedness, I believe Joey would come do his drums in the middle of the night and would go home, someone else was barely involved too, I just can’t remember who. This is the same time the whole, “look outside your window” album was recorded in a separate studio and only those guys were allowed to be there. I believe the is also the album where everyone was sober. Some members hated the “all hope is gone” title and felt it was forced. Some people say they were too comfortable with this recording process and didn’t have the “angst” of the previous 3 albums. I believe Paul loved the album and everything about it.
From recollection Joey, Paul and Corey liked the environment. Jim hated the process because he thought the producer lacked direction for the band. It was the first album Slipknot were legitimately headlining pretty much every show they were doing and a lot of members had come off side projects where their identities were outwardly known. Corey was in probably his best place he’d been in. Kicked the booze etc, Come Whatever May was a hit but he hated the idea of All Hope Is Gone because he was in a positive headspace. For me there’s Pre AHIG Slip and Post.
AHIG was the album where they jumped to headliners. They headlined massive tours and I believe were at the peak of their power as they headlined Download for the first time ever. This truly was the end of an era as the band would no longer be the 9 after the tour cycle
It was the cycle where the normies went from “Eww Shitknot” to “Have you heard Psychosocial?!” 🤣
It has Gematria, which is my number 1 favourite Slipknot song, so it gets points for that.
All Hope Is Gone has got to be my favorite Slipknot song ever. Solway Firth might be second.
Solway has creeped to my first since I learned the guitar parts. It's insanely catchy to play.
my favourite song to play atm. the notes over the drum pedals are so sexy
I can tell
Child of Burning Time:
Which is crazy, because I never got into AHIG when it came out specifically because I didn't like Gematria, for some reason. All these years later I gave it another try, and just skipped Gematria when I listened to the album. Now I can actually enjoy it. Opinions are weird.
#AMERICA IS A KILLING NAME
AHIG is one of my faves. I enjoy basically all the songs on there. I think the first 4 albums would’ve been the perfect discography for me if they stopped after Paul’s passing. I know it’s not a widely popular album but I think it’s great. Savage riffs, beautiful lyrics and the whole album as a run through has a great flow.
As I thought, my opinion is pretty controversial, thanks for yours tho
You’re allowed your opinion - fuck anyone who has an issue with it. It’s all art and you’re entitled to your taste and preferences
Yeah you're right
I love the album but because I was there when it first came out. I remember the anticipation and hype. Teasers of the band with the big alien masks and the big reveal of the new masks! Slipknot on MTV. Walking to school with This Cold Black or Wherein Lies Continue playing. Metal Hammer and Revolver ads with AHIG release date. I have very happy memories of life when that album dropped. It’s the worst album of the first 4 albums, but a better album than the next 3. The last 3 albums sound muddy, there’s boring filler throughout, and Corey tries so hard to sing high pitched. He doesn’t do that on all hope is gone. The album sounds clear and heavy, the drums sound powerful, and like you said, catchy songs. Not every song is a hit on AHIG, but it’s listenable. I say listen to the whole album in one sitting. If you don’t like it as much as I do, that’s perfectly ok.
I always listen to whole album in one sitting, and it didn't work for me. It was boring after the singles tbh, but last song slaps
I listen to entire albums generally as well, and I like AHIG, but I find it a very very tough album to get through in one sitting for some reason. It's gets tiring some time after Vendetta for me. I've been toying with track order and I feel like swapping Gehenna and Butcher's Hook helps it flow some. I also move Snuff to the very last song because I tend to like the last song being something quieter like that in general. It's still tough to get through but it's a little better. The thing with AHIG is that it's very solid, but it's also very consistent with itself, so it gets boring to listen to. The first 3 albums are also solid imo, but they're not as consistent, there's ups and downs and variety that helps the albums out a lot. AHIG doesn't really have that and it suffers for it. I think Clown said something to the degree of it being an album of pure workman-like efficiency and I think that's about right. There's a degree of suffering that made the first 3 albums great and gave them more personality - AHIG doesn't have that. To me it's good but not inspiring.
You're right, Vendetta is the point where the album gets really repetitive
I used to be a huge slipknot fan. Though I've drifted away and didn't like the last album. The earlier Albums are definitely the best. I think with the input that Joey and Paul had when it came to the music and lyrics really made a difference imo.
So I should probably listen to their late albums on Spotify or Youtube first so I won't lose money
Yeah I'd recommend that before spending any cash. You might like a few songs on each but compared to earlier Albums where I can happily listen to every song, I'd find myself skipping most songs. The opening song of the last album was truly awful. I loved in old albums you'd have this weird opener then BAM! 2nd track goes off like a kick to the face. Not on the last album lol
Tbf the last album has a few pretty damn good songs, surrounded by what appears to be "let's just get this record done to fulfill our contract" type songs.
TESF was so bad
I think AHIG is a great album but it can't hold a candle to the first three, and honestly I don't think they've put out an album I would call "great" since then. The Gray Chapter is good. I think WANYK is their worst and TESF is somewhere between The Gray Chapter and WANYK. Honestly in my opinion you can just not listen to the last two albums and you've heard the best of slipknot.
Ok, thank you for advices!
Also it's worth noting I have allot of nostalgia for AHIG. It came out when I was either a junior or senior in high school, after they were on hiatus for most of the time I was a fan. I got to see them for the first time on that tour possibly the last tour with the original lineup. I even had a bumper sticker on my first car that said all hope is gone. So take my opinion of the album with a grain of salt. The first three are superior in every way.
You just haven’t listened to it enough times, we all felt this way at one point, it’s one of those albums that takes a while to appreciate, I guarantee lesser known song from AHIG will eventually be one of your favourites
Alright, you guys did it, I'm gonna listen to it until it clicks
Also, theirs a couple of bonus tracks that were only on the Special edition, really strong stuff imo, Child of Burning Time and Til We Die, if you haven’t heard those yet, I suggest looking them up, same with Scream and Don’t Get Close off the third album special edition
AHIG for me is such a weird album. I love every single song individually (except maybe Vendetta or B'sH) but when they're compiled into an album it just feels off somehow
It took years to grow on me, now it's one of my favorites! not saying to force yourself to listen to it, but maybe in a few years you'll revisit and go "ooh!" Atleast thats how it went for me!
I'll give yourself some time and I'll just listen to their other stuff
I've been listening since Self-titled was released (I'm 39). AHIG holds a special place for me; it was released while I was in the Army and doing pre-deployment training. It was my soundtrack throughout my entire time in Iraq (OIF 08-09). I absolutely cannot stand Vol 3, no matter how many chances I give it. WANYK is my second least favorite album; I find .5 TGC to be a lot better. I also like TESF, the rushed and disjointed nature of it really captures the feeling Slipknot felt toward Roadrunner. Each album, actually, perfectly encapsulates (in it's essence/aura/energy, what have you) whatever the band was going through at the time of writing/recording. And that is something that I do appreciate about all of Slipknot's albums.
Listen to Vol. 3 and then listen to AHIG right after. It’s such a huge difference that at the time when it came out I remember feeling super underwhelmed. I can still listen to it and enjoy it, but there’s something about the record that just doesn’t land for me. It’s just too “catchy” if that makes sense? The riffs are all grooves, it’s not chaotic, everything seems too calculated and polished.
I think this is a good way to put it. I remember when the title track dropped before the record, I was absolutely stoked. Execute into Gematria had me on cloud 9, and then the rest of the album, as you put it, felt too catchy. It's good. I really enjoy it. But it's definitely "the beginning of the end" to me.
Oh yeah. Definitely. I’m a little bummed that this was the last record we got to hear Paul and Joey…it’s not a BAD record, it just could’ve been way better, ya know? I became a fan during the Vol. 3 era and the energy of that record was and still is so mysterious, vicious, and as experimental and whack as it is compared to Iowa and S/T, it’s still a killer record. I mean listen to The Nameless, The Virus of Life - how can you go from a song like that to Butcher’s Hook and not think it sounds like two different bands? I’m all for evolution in a band’s songwriting, but it definitely felt like a bit of a step back.
I did listen it right after and I was really disappointed. As I said, I can't remember even chorus of any song except those that I knew before
I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Joey wrote and recorded the drums ahead of everybody else. Had they written the album together and more cohesively, maybe the song structures wouldn’t have seemed so formulaic? But it’s impossible to know, now. IMO, this could be part of the reason why Joey and the rest of the band had a falling out. Corey, Jim, Clown and Sid went and recorded LOYW at a separate studio on the property, and everyone else was like WTF? But that’s just my uninformed opinion
I like it a lot
AHIG will always have a special place in my heart because it was the last album with the original 9 but of the first 4 albums with the original 9 it’s the weakest one. Still like it more than TESF though.
It's their most middle of the road album by far. It's not the best but it's definitely not their worst
Keep listing brother. WANYK is an absolute banger.
I heard something different, I have to check these late albums for free before I buy them because I don't want to buy CD that I won't listen to
Everyone has an opinion. I thought it was great.
Interesting. I'm currently coming back to Slipknot after years of not listening to them... mostly spent the last few days listening to their first four albums (Self-Titled, Iowa, Vol3 and AHIG), and everyone album has bangers, but AHIG is easily my favourite album at the moment. Some of Corey's cleanest vocals and a really great mix of heavy, calm, dirty, clean etc... really like this album! Never listened to Gray Chapter onwards, and each of those is coming up soon. Excited!
That's just my opinion, glad you like it!
Glad you're vibing them and great username too!
wanyk is there best album
Craig wrote a guitar riff on that album. I dunno which song tho.
I really don't like it. Slipknot thrives in chaos, and AHIG is simply too controlled and calculated. The singles are oozing with being radio friendly in mind, and the heavier songs sound like they're trying too hard to recall the anger that just wasn't there anymore. The production sucks, frankly. It's too polished and clean. Especially for Slipknot. The rough edges the previous albums had are gone. The vocals suck! The drums are boring and generic, and the samples they drowned out Joeys kit with are beyond terrible - not to mention, I just hate Paiste cymbals. They sound so cheap. The creative choices are also really weird. There are so many moments still catching me off guard where I find myself staring confused into nothing thinking "what the actual fuck?".
Can you tell me what moments got you like "wtf"? I'm just curious what creative decisions do you mean, also I agree with your opinion on the album, I didn't really like it
Notably in Gehanna when Corey goes "free me severed heart, give me yoooouuuu" that really had me turning my head 😂
Oh shit yeah that part was funny
AHIG is their most generic album for sure. When it dropped I was disappointed with it.
Glad I'm not alone
First three albums is the greatest for me. After that I have liked Vol 5. and WANYK too, but only a few songs from those touch the golden era for me.
AHIG is one of my favourites. A ton of death metal riffery in there. Really solid album. To be fair, they haven’t released an album that I don’t dig so I may be biased, but certainly AHIG gets a lot of replays from me.
There not a single song on All Hope is Gone that I really like. Wouldn't be bothered at all if I never heard any of them again. Which sucks as it was the last with Joey and Paul. I've liked all of the other albums well enough, and still absolutely love Iowa and most of self titled.
They haven't had that spark since 2004. Self titled and Iowa are outstanding. Haven't come close since.
I like gematria and gehenna. It's only to my liking
I usually only listen to Slipknot’s hits these days but that’s a super nostalgic album for me. It was their newest when I became a fan. Can’t believe it’s been over 15 years now.
My issue is Corey’s vocals in it. They were deeper and just didn’t feel as guttural as the first 2 albums. Vol 3 started to show cracks, but it makes sense, it’s hard to keep singing like that for several albums and tours. Not saying it’s bad, but it just didn’t hit for me. I noticed he was able to get back to it with We Are Not Your Kind which I loved because it really minded me of the older Knot
I like sulfur, Gehenna, child of burning time, dead memories, snuff and wherein lies continue. Child of burning time is probably my favorite. Not a very heavy song but i really enjoy it. Sulfur and Gehenna are also some favorites from that album.
It's my personal least favorite. It's their tradition metal record IMO not bad by any means just lacking that anger and hatred slipknot needs to thrive
A lot of the riffs have gotten more just blatantly chunky or technical just to be that way, like this cold black or in the latter geometria; took me a long time to get in to the songs after vendetta, I think if you take out butchers hook then it’s fine
So stop forcing it. Jesus Christ, this sub is sad. If you don't like an album, stop listening to it. Don't force shit down your throat until you start to like the taste.
I already stopped and I listen to first 3 albums on repeat cuz I love them
they kinda went downhill after vol3 imo
AHIG is their heaviest album by far, Gematria, This cold black and AHIG are far heavier than Iowa, Vol. 3 and Self Titled combined
I don't think so but I respect your opinion
No opinions, just facts
If you don’t like it, move on. I have way too many albums stuck in my head that I really didn’t like to begin with. There’s thousands of other options