Musicians, with the notable exception of Kanye West, are usually their own harshest critics. It’s for this reason that their personal assessment of what constitutes their best work can probably be considered the closest thing to definitive fact that we’re ever going to get. And with that in mind, here’s Corey Taylor‘s opinion on Slipknot‘s entire discography.
The maggot ringleader has just ranked 20 years worth of mayhem, aka the Knot’s five studio albums, from worst to best in a new interview with Noisey. Any bets on his least-loved record?
“I have to say my least favourite is All Hope is Gone“, Taylor told the site. “Which is strange, because when it was finally done I loved a lot of the music that was on there. It had a lot of strong songs, but now six, seven years later, I listen to it and that’s kind of all it sounds like. It just feels like a collection of songs, and not an album, which is something we’ve strived to do over our career.”
Check out Corey Taylor’s full list of Slipknot albums, ranked from worst to best, in the gallery below. Check out the full interview at Noisey.
Gallery: Corey Taylor Ranks Slipknot’s Entire Discography
Slipknot Albums As Ranked By Corey Taylor
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Slipknot All Hope is Gone
5. All Hope Is Gone (2008) - "It just feels like a collection of songs, and not an album" -
Slipknot Vol 3
4. Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses (2004) - "My problems with that album are my vocal performance, a lot of it. Because I was trying something different with my voice, and later I came to my senses and I was like, “Man I really don’t like what I’m doing with that,” as far as the heavy side goes. I was trying a different scream and it just didn’t work." -
Slipknot Iowa
3. Iowa (2001) - "We recorded a lot of the album fucked up. But there’s something about the album that’s so visceral, and so dark, just insanely dark. You listen to that album and it doesn’t sound like anything else. The production is so thick, so in your face, and the aggression is so unchecked and fucking out there. You can see where we were trying to step out of where we had come from, and where we were going... We listened to it, and I was blown away by how heavy it was. Like holy shit. And honestly, I think that album would’ve had more impact if it wasn’t for 9/11, which a lot of people forget happened a week after Iowa came out. -
Slipknot The Gray Chapter
2. .5: The Gray Chapter (2014) - "Even though the expectations were so high with our fans, the negative expectations were almost bigger from the people who’d been waiting for fucking years for us to fall on our face. So to come back, and not only to give them a one-two punch but also give those fuckers a kick right in the gooch, that was fucking beautiful, man. To come back out and be, ‘We’re going to be in your fucking face until the day we die, so go fuck yourselves’, that was a beautiful moment.” -
Slipknot Self Titled
1. Slipknot (1999) - "It all started from the first album and all the crazy shit. Living off 20 bucks a week, having to hide your ramen because your asshole bandmates were trying to steal it... It was so insane, but it was so awesome because we were in it. All the talk, dreaming was over. It was time to do the work. And we did, the rest is fucking history man."
