[note: i posted this small article on the "metalunderground's best albums of the year" page, but i figured i'd also add it to a slipknot article so you guys can have a chance to read it.]

For those of you who love to trash on slipknot for the sole reason that they wear masks:

you have no idea what talent is. why don't you go ahead and ask a real musician (since it's painfully obvious none of you are) what they think of slipknot. certainly people have their preferences to music, each of us have our own specific taste and if you simply don't appreciate what slipknot sounds like that's fine, nobody is forcing you to listen to them. however for you to assert that the members of slipknot are not fine musicians who know how to construct music well solely based upon the superficial fact that they wear masks and jumpsuits, that's just ignorant as hell. big deal, they wear masks for shock value. they are not the first who have nor are they the last who will. it's part of the act and has absolutely NOTHING to do with the music itself.

i'm not a musician, i'm merely a fan. but i have many, many friends who are extremely talented musicians (even if i don't personally like the music some of them play) - and most of them who have listened to slipknot have told me, whether they like the music or not, that they are an incredibly talented band MUSICALLY, meaning the way in which their music is structured. sure, it's not as complex as, let's say, classical, jazz, or blues (three styles which are known to be perhaps the most ingenius of all, again regardless of what you may think of them - i don't personally listen to any of those but i am fully aware that they are considered the most geniune kinds of music there is) but in their own right most of the members of slipknot are great musicians. mind you, sid (the dj), the keyboardist, and the two "extra" drummers are merely nice add-ons to the music, while their talent isn't necessarily exhibited as much as the other members. but the guitarists, bassist, main drummer, and vocalist are all amazing in their own way. corey has shown he has an ability to scream as well as anybody in the metal scene, and with the latest slipknot album plus stone sour he has proven that he can sing beautifully too. what more do you want?

also: i may not be a musician, but i do pride myself as being at least a decent writer - i write anything from poetry and lyrics to extensive academic essays, news articles, political satires, and hope to write a book sometime over the next several years. in any case, corey taylor can manipulate the english language as well as anyone i've seen. his lyrics may not be agreeable, are definitely misunderstood much of the time, and have a tendency to be downright outlandish. but the way in which he uses words to express his opinions and beliefs, assuming he does convey those things as such, is pure genius. i would put money on the fact that half of the people who listen to or read his lyrics don't understand what many of the words actually denote without first referencing them to a dictionary. of course, simply using big words doesn't amount to talent...it's being able to manipulate those words and incorporate them into the full context of the song so that the end product contains multiple meanings, each deciphered by the subjective interpretation of different listeners. in other words, corey's lyrics are like poetry and since true music is an expression of the soul - like any other form of art - lyrics SHOULD coincide with poetry more so than anything else. if your personal belief fails to correspond with this notion, that's fine...but i ask you again to locate a real musician (someone who knows how to structure and create genuine music, typically exemplified by a person who has spent at least a minimal amount of time learning jazz or blues, regardless of what they might play) and ask them their opinion on what "real" music is.

as for the other members of slipknot whom i considered to be extremely talented, they assuredly fall into the category of "real" musicians since there can be no doubt they know how music is structured. how so? listen to slipknot's very first album Mate Feed Kill Repeat. the album itself isn't all that wonderful in my opinion, however it encapsulates a wide variety of musical styles such as jazz, blues, rock, and to a lesser extent even some hip hop (NOT rap), thus proving that the people who created it are well oriented musicians who know how to play music that transcends the confining definition of "metal." likewise, all three of slipknot's main albums are conglomerations of different styles of music which end up being designated at "metal" but in no way does that narrow definition serve to justify the full scope of what their music is.

i want to finish up here by reemphasizing my points. if you personally believe slipknot is not good music, that's fine...go on thinking that way because it is your right to, nobody can tell you what you should or should not like - if you allow people to do so then you don't deserve the freedom our forefathers fought to grant you. but it is wrong if you attempt to invalidate their music (or any other music for that matter) based on your opinion alone. comparably, it is unjustifiable to label slipknot as bad music simply because they wear masks, since the act is not the music itself. you may or may not agree with the music or its' message, you may think the members of slipknot are just trying to show off by presenting themselves as they do, and it is very much possible that you dislike the band because of it. but in the end the fact remains clear: slipknot is musically talented, the most important/main members are masters at what they do. corey is a poet. hate them or love them...slipknot is music that comes straight from the soul, making the band something special in a music scene that is identifiable far too often by a lack of talent and the mindless reproduction of meaningless lyrics and repetitive, unimaginative instrumentation. think twice before you condemn things based on unfounded opinion. thanks.

# Dec 14, 2004 @ 12:28 PM ET | IP Logged