Sunday Spins: Slipknot, 'All Hope Is Gone'

Slipknot hit pay dirt when they released All Hope Is Gone in August of 2008. The album was huge for the band and really put them on another level, at least commercially. The album debuted in the top spot on Billboard, which is (still) not common for metal acts. The album spawned a big tour and I saw them perform at Rock on the Range in 2009 as part of that run.

All Hope Is Gone is the last Slipknot album with what I consider to be the band's best lineup, featuring both drummer Joey Jordison and bassist Paul Gray. Gray and Jordison have since departed this earth. 

For the tenth anniversary of the album, Slipknot re-released the album with live tracks. In August 2022, Roadrunner Records released a limited edition, double-orange vinyl of All Hope Is Gone. The vinyl is a gatefold with printed sheets and great photography. This is the version I have. There are copies of the 10th anniversary reissue out there as a silver marbled edition but those fetch a crackers amount of cash.

I have a white Fluance turntable and let me tell you that the orange vinyl looks incredibly sexy as it spins. This is a great sounding press and worth the money - I think I paid around $30 on sale.

All Hope Is Gone is one of my most favorite metal albums. I still use many of the tracks as part of my running playlist. It doesn't get much better than "Psychosocial" for pushing up hills (ok, or a treadmill incline). The title track is also a banger for aggressive workouts, plus the lyrics spit the truth about the world these days. When I spin the vinyl, Roosevelt the Cat will come in and sit by the turntable and push his ears back and just listen. I'm making that cat Metal, after all! Also, I think he likes Corey Taylor's voice.

I cannot recommend this orange re-issue enough. It's a fun addition for any Slipknot fan who also loves collecting records.

Comments

[Him]

I am going to focus on the positive here: FLUANCE!!!

I own their sound-base, their turntable, and a modified five-speaker package (I bought their second-tier package with two uprights, a center, and two surround speakers, but upgraded the center and bought two bipolar surrounds).

They are made fun of on some of those 'serious' audiophile sites. Then again, most of those sites are cloyingly niche. When you are talking about a set of two speakers that runs close to 10K, you aren't talking to me! And when you bad-mouth speakers because, well, they aren't 10K, you are kinda' a bell-end! I also did a bit of research and found that some of the known brands have become increasingly badge-bandits (selling on past results after being bought and sold and bought by lots of corporations).

Yes, they are made in China (but designed in Canada). But they are an exceptional value that comes well-packaged and offers great sound (esp. if you are upgrading from some basic level sound system). Paired with even a mid-level Denon receiver, the speakers and turntable sound amazing. And the sound-base is, perhaps, the best idea that never caught on . . , and likely never will, given that many bigger TVs will no longer fit on top of it.

So, yes, to Fluance. Check them out.

[Mike]

I will also focus on the positive here… got to see Slipknot on this tour, it was an amazing show. Have seen them since with the replacement rhythm section and while their shows have gotten “bigger and better”, the vibe and intensity has not been the same. Joey was definitely the “Tommy Lee” of their generation, nobody could touch his drumming and his drum stunts.

Speaking of dearly departed rhythm sections, Deftones opened the Slipknot show, it was their second ever show with Sergio playing bass (they had done a warm up club show the night before); playing songs from the killer “Diamond Eyes” album for the first time.

[Him]

Mike, seems as if your positive is couched in nostalgia, no less a touch of melancholy! No problems though. We all experience positive in different ways.

Heck, I positively miss my dead kitten Mittens. You do you, Mike!

[Mike]

Cheers brother ;)

[bkallday]

Slipknot is pretty hated in the metal community these days but I like their music. Great band live too, even though their best work is probably well in their past.