SLIPKNOT – ANTENNAS TO HELL (Deluxe Edition)

SLIPKNOT – ANTENNAS TO HELL (Deluxe Edition)                                                            RATING: 5/5

Carl Ewen

It is only appropriate that the first words that hit you while listening to Slipknot’s recently released retrospective are “Here comes the pain” from the song (SIC). It has been over 13 years since the Iowa natives released their self-titled debut album, and they changed the face of metal for the better.

The latest release from the nine piece masked behemoth that is Slipknot, is a greatest hits album, but is not your usual greatest hits. The 19 tracks on this CD were carefully selected by the band themselves, and was pieced together purely for their millions of fans worldwide, affectionately referred to as Maggots.

The selection of songs on Antennas to Hell, start right back from 1999’s Slipknot, through to IOWA (2001), Volume 3: The Subliminal Verses (2004) and closing up with cuts from All Hope Is Gone (2008).

While Slipknot have not released any new material since 2008, during this time they have risen to the highest of the highs, by cementing themselves as one of the top selling metal outfits in the world, headlining numerous festivals and selling out numerous stadiums and arenas the world over. But, during this time they have also hit the lowest points possible, with the tragic loss of Bassist and founding member Paul Gray.

Gray was discovered dead in a hotel room in Iowa on May 24^th 2010, after an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl. The loss of Gray, hit the band in a huge way. But after several months of the scepticism as to whether Slipknot would return, they began touring again in 2011, stating that “Paul would want them to continue” – Corey Taylor.

Following a series of tours, including Soundwave Festival, Australia in February 2012, Slipknot announced the release of their retrospective of tracks for the fans, accompanied (in the deluxe edition of the album) by a live audio CD of their now legendary Download Festival performance from 2009, and a DVD featuring 20 music videos and 10 new short films created by the bands custom percussionist, Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan.

Slipknot are an unstoppable force. They have always done things their way, and do not follow any trends or fashions laid out before them. Many people say they have ‘sold out’, when in reality, the only thing they have sold out, are stadiums and festivals around the globe.

The ‘Greatest Hits’ CD of Antennas to Hell, is a perfect representation of the evolution of this band. From their early Nu-Metal beginnings with fan favourites, (SIC), Surfacing and break through track Wait and Bleed, continuing through to their heaviest album IOWA, with choice cuts like People = Shit and The Heretic Album.

Their third album, Volume 3: The Subliminal Verses is well represented with Duality, Pulse of the Maggots (a track written in gratitude of their very loyal fans) and the Grammy Award winning Before I Forget (Best Metal Performance, 2006). Rounded out with tracks from the last ‘Knot record All Hope Is Gone; Psychosocial, Sulfur and Slipknot’s genuine attempt at a power ballad Snuff.

All of the tracks that a die-hard Slipknot fan would expect are included on this best of, with only a few tracks that still could have been included. Combined in the deluxe version of this release, is a audio CD of their Download 2009 headlining performance, previously made available as a concert DVD, released in memory of their fallen brother Paul.

The intensity of a live Slipknot show are captured as well as they possibly can on this recording. Slipknot are a truly intense live experience, so to have it captured so well on a piece of plastic is astounding. The live cuts, are basically a live version of the greatest hits package, with only but a few tracks difference, but provide the listener with a completely different experience.

Rounding out this spectacular package is a DVD complete with 20 different music and live videos, plus 10 specially directed broadcasts focussing on the 9 individuals that make up the band, directed by Clown.

I am a Maggot, and damn proud of the fact. I can still vividly remember the first time I heard Slipknot, and how my live was forever changed for the better. This nine headed beast has forever changed the face of music and has helped to keep heavy metal alive in the 13 years they have been in existence. Slipknot are forever, no one can stop them, “You cannot kill what you did not create”.

SERJ TANKIAN - HARAKIRI

SERJ TANKIAN – HARAKIRI

By Carl Ewen

Serj Tankian is not one to keep his opinions to himself, and does not hold back when it comes to voicing those opinions. On his latest solo album, there is no change.

Filled with political angst, Harakiri (the Japanese word for ritualistic suicide) is a political and social statement right from the outset, with lyrics such as “Freedom is raped by war, like whore”  from the first single Figure It Out you know that Serj is not messing around.

Throughout the System of a Down frontman’s third solo LP he tackles a wide range of issues facing the world we live in: war, materialism, environmental disasters, corrupt CEOs, and repeatedly refers to animal suicide. He even manages a well-placed swipe at the issue of reality TV, and specifically at Jersey Shore ‘star’ Snookie with the lyric, "I abhor the whore who calls herself reality TV".

Serj Tankian is much more than just a musician. He is an artist. He has an unusual grasp and love for language, and with Harakiri he is able paint pictures in your mind when you are listening to the album.

Serj is very specific about the message of the album, and each song has a very specific mean. On his website he wrote the following statement, telling a story with the song titles from the record:

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 "The Cornucopia of love/hate affairs with Gaia have made us scream "Fuck! Let'sFigure It Out! CEOs are the disease." Where abusive capitalism's only fate is human/environmental devastation.

The Ching Chime, diminutive drama of a gangsta Butterfly revealed that humanity's tears actually outweigh yearly rainfall on the planet. We have witnessed Harakiri on a grand scale tearing out the Occupied Tears of victims preyed on by victims turned aggressors creating a Deafening Silence through which we hear a voice plead, "Forget Me Knot, my child." 

Reality TV has become the searing indictment of a society best described as the Uneducated Democracy. The daughters of the evolution Weave On with blood dripping down their guilty hands onto the flag as the word republic is replaced by empire."

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Serj has an uncanny ability to make you feel when you hear his music. While the album, in parts, rivals the heaviness of System of a Down’s 2001 release Toxicity, it also has it’s quiet almost peaceful moments, but these moments hold just as much depth and meaning as the rest of the album.  

This is an album that seems on the surface to have some very heavy subject matter but Serj Tankian has such a powerful voice, changing between soulful crooning, fast paced rapping and barking, so that album never gets boring. Even weaving in a variety of musical influences ranging from Armenian grooves and Middle Eastern chants especially in one of the stand out tracks Ching Chime.

He is an artist who beliefs he can make a difference to the world and makes you believe that he can. He is an activist who passionate believes in making a change in the world. I’m not the type of person that generally buys into this, so for me to start thinking differently, it says a lot.

Harakiri is easily Tankian’s best solo album, and one of his best pieces of work since SOAD’s self-titled debut, and according to the man himself it is only one of four albums set to be released in 2012.

Serj is a true asset to the musical community, and as he holds residency in New Zealand, this Piha relative is also a true asset to New Zealand.

RATING: 5/5