Review: Slipknot's New Song "Unsainted" Showcases Band at Catchy Best | Revolver

Review: Slipknot's New Song "Unsainted" Showcases Band at Catchy Best

Lead single off 'We Are Not Your Kind' finds sweet spot between heavy and hooky

Seven months really isn't that long a time, but it feels like we've been waiting an eternity since Slipknot unleashed the ferocious standalone single "All Out Life" back on Halloween. There's been a steady stream of hype since then, as the Iowan juggernaut has thrown a litany of teases our way, from fleeting glimpses at new masks to an album release date quietly buried within a tour announcement. But friends, we're finally here at the drop of another new Slipknot song, this one the official lead single off their forthcoming sixth album, We Are Not Your Kind.

Simply put, "Unsainted" is straight-up classic 'Knot, a showcase for each member's abilities that hits all the touchstones to make a Maggot happy. Right off the bat, the band even sympathetically evokes the agony and ecstasy of waiting for and then finally hearing a new Slipknot song, ramping up the tune's creepy intro into an angelic chorus backing frontman Corey Taylor. He sings from the heart while the song swells, and as it hits its breaking point — to lyrics about letting go — shit shifts into overdrive and everything slams at once. There's an all-out percussive assault, underscoring a fusillade of distorted riffery. But the heaviness of "Unsainted" is more than balanced out by its chorus, which reflects Corey's singing from the intro and reinvents it as a massive, pop sing-along so infectious it actually echoes American Authors' sunny smash "Best Day of My Life." But just when things seem like they might get saccharine, the song takes a dark turn: The second chorus leads into a breakdown that evokes self-titled era 'Knot — complete with samples courtesy of Craig Jones that sound like the band is communicating with aliens on a different frequency — before the group sticks the landing with a neat piledriver of an outro.

Some fans may bemoan the fact that the song isn't as heavy as "All Out Life." But the fact is, what has always made Slipknot Slipknot is their ability to fuse near-extreme-metal heaviness and darkness with earworm pop hooks, from "Wait and Bleed" to "Duality." "Unsainted' could easily prove to be this album's "Before I Forget," offering up a memorable and gnarly riff that'll satisfy the kids in the pit, while also delivering a super-catchy chorus for the newly initiated or casual fans. It sounds stadium-ready, and we don't see it getting unstuck from our heads anytime soon. Keep it coming.