.5: The Gray Chapter

.5: The Gray Chapter
Studio album by Slipknot
Released October 17, 2014
Recorded March 1 – July 28, 2014 at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California
Genre Heavy metal[1]
Length 63:51
Label Roadrunner
Producer Greg Fidelman
Slipknot chronology

Antennas to Hell
(2012)		 .5: The Gray Chapter
(2014)
Singles from .5: The Gray Chapter
  1. "The Negative One"
    Released: August 1, 2014
  2. "The Devil in I"
    Released: August 24, 2014
  3. "Custer"
    Released: January 30, 2015

.5: The Gray Chapter is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot.[2] It was released in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands on October 17, 2014, the UK on October 20, 2014 and in North America on October 21, 2014.[3] It is the first studio album by the band in six years and the first not to 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 departure of Jordison in late 2013.[2] The album includes eight singles and has received commercial and critical acclaim. Most critics praised the return of their older sound from Slipknot and Iowa, while maintaining the melodies the band explored on Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). A standard and deluxe edition of the album was released. Beneath the depicted skeleton and to the right, Gray's self-titled-era "Pig Mask" is visible.

Background

The writing process of the record began in late 2013. Wanting to dedicate more time to the album, guitarist Jim Root decided not to tour with Stone Sour in January 2014.[4] According to frontman Corey Taylor, the sound of the album is somewhat of a cross between 2001's Iowa and 2004's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses).[5] Taylor stated that the material contains "gorgeous melodies" and the artistic direction as Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) but yet retains some of its "brutality" from the Iowa era.[6]

A new bassist and drummer were added to the lineup during the recording process. Taylor told Loudwire that two similar masks were created for their appearances in music videos and stage performances as they felt it was disrespectful to have them sporting unique masks.[7] Both members were briefly shown in the music video for "The Devil In I", but their identities have not been announced by Slipknot amidst speculation.[8][9] Root revealed in an interview that founding guitarist and former touring bassist Donnie Steele was involved in some of the studio sessions for the album, but that ultimately Steele declined to rejoin the band in favor of starting a family with his wife. Bassist Alessandro Venturella of Krokodil was identified by the unique tattoos on his hands, performing in the video for "The Devil in I".[10] The album was produced by Greg Fidelman and mixed by Joe Barresi. Fidelman is known for his work with Metallica, System of a Down, Audioslave and more, as well as mixing Slipknot's third album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), in 2004.[11]

Promotion

On July 15, the band began releasing short teasers for the new album for over a two-week period that turned out to be clips from the official video along with samples from a song entitled "The Negative One".[12][13] The song was released on August 1, 2014 and an accompanying video was released on August 5, 2014. It was directed by Shawn Crahan; however, it did not feature any of the band members.[14] On August 13, 2014 the band revealed the cover art for their official radio single entitled "The Devil in I",[15] and the single premiered on August 24, 2014.[16] The official video for the single was unveiled on September 12 featuring the members with new variations of their masks with the exception of Taylor who debuted a new mask and the new bassist and drummer's masks which were very similar.[9] Slipknot began their world tour at the second iteration of Knotfest as headliners on October 25 and the 26 with Anthrax, Five Finger Death Punch, Otep and Black Label Society among others in California.[17] A co-headline North American tour with Korn dubbed the Prepare for Hell tour will commence afterwards with King 810 in support.[18][19] Slipknot and Korn are embarking on the British leg of the Prepare For Hell tour in January 2015.[20] In addition to the standard edition, a deluxe edition featuring two listed and three unlisted bonus tracks, and a special edition featuring a T-shirt of the album cover have also been released.[21]

Reception

The album's single, "The Negative One", was nominated for the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 57th Grammy Awards.[22]

Commercial performance

.5: The Gray Chapter landed in the No. 1 spot in Australia on the ARIA Albums Chart with 14,188 first week sales.[23][24] It was Slipknot's second album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart by selling 132,000 copies in its first week.[25] The album also debuted at No. 1 in Japan, Canada, Russia and Switzerland. It had Top 5 debuts in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Austria, New Zealand, Mexico, Denmark and Finland. By April 2015, .5: The Gray Chapter had sold 310,000 copies.

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 77/100[26]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [27]
AntiHero Magazine [28]
Blabbermouth.net [29]
Exclaim! (7/10)[30]
The Guardian [31]
Kerrang!
Metal Hammer [32]
Revolver [33]
Rolling Stone [34]

.5: The Gray Chapter received critical acclaim as most critics praised the return of their older sound from Slipknot and Iowa, while maintaining the melodies the band explored on Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Florino characterized it as "the most abrasive work since their self-titled debut,"[35] The Guardian's Dom Lawson as "every bit as warped and explosive as previous records"[36] Blabbermouth.net' Ray Van Horn as "a return to their punishing roots" and that "AOV zips into some of the thrashiest tones Slipknot's yet delivered."[37] Zorgdrager pointed out that Slipknot "wastes no time kicking it back to 2001's Iowa" while Metal Hammer's critic Dom Lawson noted that "there’s plenty of [...] brutal, turbocharged Slipknot [...] here,"[38] while Rock Revolt mentioned that "the album borrows elements from previous work "while pushing the creative boundaries of past albums into new territory."[39]

That despite the pressure the band had "to shoulder to even get the album out,"[40] several critics pointed praised the way the album acknowledged Gray’s memory.[33][41] Rock Revolt noted plenty of "lyrical content that can easily be assumed as references to the late Paul Gray."[39] while Revolver magazine critic Dan Epstein and Gregory Heaney from AllMusic concluded that "they don’t try to sugarcoat their loss, anger or grief anywhere on the album," and that “from that deep well of pain, another great Slipknot record has emerged,”[33] and that "they're able to channel their grief into a productive album, allowing them to continue moving forward [...] with one of the strongest albums of their career," respectively.[41] Exclaim! critic Bradley Zorgdrager saw it as "it's a considerable accomplishment and a lovely eulogy to their fallen comrade."[40]

Several critics appreciated the composition of the album, with Van Horn characterizing it as "a largely dark, often moving listening experience."[37] Loudwire critic Chad Childers wrote noted the "mix of all the different sounds" creating "a musical journey" and pointed that while the album "rocks and pummels you in all the right places like you would hope, it also shows a depth in emotion and some heavily personal moments on a much grander scale,”[42] while Artistdirect critic Rick Florino gave the album a perfect rating concluding that "by the time this journey ends, it feels as if Slipknot have come full circle."[35]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Slipknot[43][44]. 

No. Title Length
1. "XIX"   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"   4:50
8. "Goodbye"   4:35
9. "Nomadic"   4:18
10. "The One That Kills the Least"   4:11
11. "Custer"   4:14
12. "Be Prepared for Hell"   1:57
13. "The Negative One"   5:25
14. "If Rain Is What You Want"   6:20
Total length:
 63:51

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[45] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[46] 2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[47] 12
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[48] 13
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[49] 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[50] 5
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[51] 13
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[52] 4
French Albums (SNEP)[53] 8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[54] 2
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[55] 1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[56] 3
Irish Albums (IRMA)[57] 4
Italian Albums (FIMI)[58] 6
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[59] 2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[60] 4
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[61] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[62] 3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[63] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[64] 2
US Billboard 200[65] 1
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[66] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[67] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
Australian Albums Chart[68] 55
US Billboard 200[69] 96
US Billboard Hard Rock Albums[70] 4
US Billboard Rock Albums[71] 19

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released
Title Year Peak chart positions
US US
Main. Rock
[72]		 AUS
[73]		 UK
[74]
"The Negative One" 2014 — 33 76 71
"The Devil In I" 2014 123[A] 2 88 135[75]
"Custer" 2015 — 29 — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes

  • A ^ "The Devil In I" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 23 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

Other charting songs

Year Title Chart peaks Album
Rock Digital Songs[76]
2015 "XIX" 36 .5: The Gray Chapter
"Killpop" 45
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[77] Gold 35,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Personnel

Slipknot

Technical and production

References

  1. ↑ Neila Owen (October 23, 2014). "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter". Allmusic. Retrieved October 30, 2014. Combining the punishing, pummeling metal of the band's early work with the more melodic focus of their later years, The Gray Chapter shows off just how unexpectedly wide the band's range is, going from a plaintive, atmospheric ballad like album-opener "XIX" to a thrash-inspired pummeling like "Sarcastrophe" without missing a beat.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Slipknot To Release '.5: The Gray Chapter' In October". Blabbermouth.net. August 25, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ ".5: The Gray Chapter: This item will be released on October 20". Amazon UK. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  4. ↑ Pasbani, Robert (2013-12-04). "SLIPKNOT So Serious About Writing New Music That Guitarist Jim Root Is Sitting Out The Next STONE SOUR Tour". MetalInjection. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  5. ↑ Kennelty, Greg (2013-10-21). "SLIPKNOT Frontman Says New Material Is "Really Dark," Will Be A Mix of Iowa & Vol. 3". MetalInjection . Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  6. ↑ Hartmann, Graham (2014-05-23). "Corey Taylor on New Slipknot Album: ‘People Are Gonna Lose Their Minds When They Hear It’". Loudwire. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  7. ↑ Full Metal Jackie, Full Metal Jackie (2014-09-10). "Slipknot’s Corey Taylor Talks ‘.5: The Gray Chapter,’ 2014 Knotfest + Moving Forward". Loudwire. Retrieved 2014-09-10.
  8. ↑ "New Slipknot Bassist's Identity Revealed? - Blabbermouth.net". Blabbermouth. 2014-09-12. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Kreps, Daniel (2014-09-12). "Slipknot Host Asylum Rave in Terrifying 'The Devil In I' Video". RollingStone. Retrieved 2014-09-19.
  10. ↑ Hartmann, Graham (2014-10-08). "Slipknot’s Corey Taylor on New Bassist’s Identity Leak: ‘I Was So Upset’". Loudwire. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
  11. ↑ "Greg Fidelman Revealed as New Slipknot Producer". Ultimate Guitar Archive. 2014-10-08.
  12. ↑ Pasbani, Robert (2014-07-23). "Another Day, Another SLIPKNOT Teaser". MetalInjection. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  13. ↑ Hartmann, Graham (2014-07-31). "Slipknot Continue to Tease New Album With Cryptic Written Message". Loudwire. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  14. ↑ Daisy Wyatt (2014-03-19). "Slipknot unveil first new song in six years 'The Negative One' - News - Music". The Independent. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  15. ↑ "Slipknot unveil the devil in i artwork". Kerrang!. 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  16. ↑ Grow, Kory (2014-08-25). "Hear Slipknot's Pummeling 'The Devil in I' From '.5: The Gray Chapter'". RollingStone. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  17. ↑ Pasbani, Robert (2014-08-11). "KNOTFEST Announce New Bands & Another Stage Added". MetalInjection. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  18. ↑ "Slipknot unveil details of fifth studio album". The Guardian. 2014-08-25. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  19. ↑ "Slipknot's Prepare For Hell Tour with Korn and KING 810". Roadrunner Records. 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  20. ↑ "Watch Korn and Slipknot Cover Beastie Boys' 'Sabotage' - Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  21. ↑ ".5: The Gray Chapter (Cd + T-Shirt - Xlarge) by Slipknot: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  22. ↑ "SLIPKNOT, ANTHRAX, MASTODON, MOTÖRHEAD Among GRAMMY AWARDS Nominees". MTV. 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  23. ↑ New Slipknot album .5 The Gray Chapter beats Karise Eden’s Things I’ve Done to number one on ARIA chart. News.com.au. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Slipknot Land No 1 Album On ARIA Chart". Roadrunner Records. 2014-10-25. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  25. ↑ "Slipknot Scores Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
  26. ↑ ".5: The Gray Chapter - Slipknot". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  27. ↑ Neila Owen (October 23, 2014). "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter". AllMusic. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  28. ↑ Thomas Woroniak. "Review: Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter - AntiHero Magazine™". AntiHero Magazine™. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  29. ↑ Van Horn Jr., Ray (October 30, 2014). "Slipknot - ".5: The Gray Chapter"". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  30. ↑ Zorgdrager, Bradley (October 17, 2014). "Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  31. ↑ Lawson, Dom (October 16, 2014). "Slipknot: .5: The Gray Chapter review – Iowan rockers’ suitably unhinged return". The Guardian. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  32. ↑ Lawson, Dom (October 15, 2014). "Review: Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter". Metal Hammer. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Epstein, Dan (October 1, 2014). "Review: Slipknot — .5: The Gray Chapter". Revolver. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  34. ↑ Dolan, Jon (October 21, 2014). ".5: The Gray Chapter". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "Album Review: Slipknot ".5: The Gray Chapter" – 5 out of 5 stars". ARTISTdirect. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  36. ↑ "Slipknot: .5: The Gray Chapter review – Iowan rockers’ suitably unhinged return". the Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 "CD Reviews - .5: The Gray Chapter Slipknot - Blabbermouth.net". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  38. ↑ "REVIEW: Slipknot – .5 The Gray Chapter". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 "ALBUM REVIEW: SLIPKNOT - .5: THE GRAY CHAPTER - RockRevolt Magazine". RockRevolt Magazine. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "Slipknot". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Gregory Heaney. ".5: The Gray Chapter - Slipknot - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  42. ↑ Chad Childers (October 21, 2014). "Slipknot, ‘.5: The Gray Chapter’ – Album Review". Loudwire. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  43. ↑ .5: The Gray Chapter (booklet). Slipknot. Roadrunner. 2014.
  44. ↑ ".5: The Gray Chapter". Amazon. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
  45. ↑ "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  46. ↑ "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  47. ↑ "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  48. ↑ "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Slipknot Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Slipknot. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  50. ↑ "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter". Danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  51. ↑ "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
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  60. ↑ "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
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  62. ↑ "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  63. ↑ "Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  64. ↑ "Slipknot | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  65. ↑ "Slipknot Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for Slipknot. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  66. ↑ "Slipknot Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums for Slipknot. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  67. ↑ "Slipknot Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Slipknot. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  68. ↑ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  69. ↑ "2014 Year End Charts - Top Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  70. ↑ "2014 Year End Charts - Hard Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  71. ↑ "2014 Year End Charts - Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  72. ↑ "Slipknot – Chart History: Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  73. ↑ Peak chart positions for singles in Australia:
  74. ↑ Peak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom:
  75. ↑ "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update : Chart Date 06.09.2014" (TXT). Zobbel.de. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  76. ↑ "Slipknot". billboard.com. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
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