"I don't know what to do with myself": the internet reacts to Slipknot's experimental new album The End, So Far

Look alive, maggots! Slipknot's eagerly-awaited seventh studio album, The End, So Far, is finally here.

Arriving three years after the release of their last full-length album We Are Not Your Kind, the anticipation for The End So Far has had us sat on the edge of our seats, hungrily searching for any morsels of information to try work out what it could possibly sound like. Thankfully, over the last year, the Nine have been slowly drip-feeding us teasers, like when frontman Corey Taylor assured us all in an interview we'd be getting “fucking savage heavy shit”.

Earlier this month, the Iowan metal leader said that The End, So Far would even be "darker" than its predecessor and "like a heavier version of Vol. 3." We were also previously told that it would contain soundscapes from "different moons around different planets", and that it would "f**king freak people out".

Although Slipknot guitarist Jim Root recently revealed to take some issue with the album, noting that he believed the band could have taken "more time with pre-production and put out a better product", it's all sounded remarkably promising for the most part. But does it live up to the hype?

Well, Metal Hammer reviewer Dannii Llevers described The End, So Far as "the sound of a band still carving their own path of sonic carnage, right at the top of their game", and "nihilistic, challenging and as euphorically destructive as ever" in a glowing 8/10 review. In other words, we think it's great. As always, however, the internet has spawned a host of passionate opinions right across the spectrum - some positive, some furious, some straight-up hilarious.

"This one easily smokes your last two albums," replied one fan to a Tweet from the band. "Great offering this time around. Loved most of the songs on the album!"

"It's so good," Tweeted another. "The riffing in Hivemind, Warranty and Medicine For The Dead is great. I'm liking it more than. 5:The Gray Chapter and WANYK."

"Dark, experimental, vampiristic [sic], heavy" gushed another. "I love this shit." 

Some haven't been so keen and have been a little, erm, over the top in expressing it. 

"Well this sucked an entire ass," raged one (former?) fan. "Was looking forward to this for it to end up being the biggest piece of hot garbage I ever thought y’all could release. It’s just bad 'dad rock'. So if that’s what you guys were going for, congrats on the album. If not, delete it and try again."  

"I gotta be honest, and I'm probably gonna get roasted for this...but I actually didn't like it," lamented another. "I'm a massive 'knot fan, but this one just feels flat."

Perhaps predictably, some 'softer' material being present on the album has prompted comparisons to Corey Taylor's 'other band'.

"I love Slipknot but not gonna lie I felt like this Album was half Slipknot and half stone sour on LSD," suggested one fan. "I have always loved the band but this album was a very different listen for me. I wanted more heaviness."

Others have poked at at those seemingly gutted that a band over 25 years into its career might have evolved somewhat since the early days.

"It's really fun to hear the opinion of 30+ year old dads complaining about not having the same sound as Iowa or Selftitled," teased one fan. "I mean, it's not a perfect album but not bad either, there is no band or artist with a perfect row of music, it's called evolution."

One track on the album in particular has got people talking the most - Adderall, the opening song on The End, So Far and a stark departure from anything the band have done before. Taking in elements of atmospheric electronica and indie over its near-six minute running time, it's drawn comparisons to everyone from Radiohead to Gorillaz - and Slipknot fans don't know what to make of it.

"I love Slipknot with all my heart, but I don’t know what to do with myself with Adderall," joked one. "I was ready to mosh in my car, but I just waited with anxiety… my confusion is unparalleled."

"Honestly, pretty funny bit by slipknot to name the first song on their album Adderall [an ADHD medication] and have it be the quietest, most melodic song they've ever done," noted another. 

"Adderall was such a bizarre opener," claimed another. "I expected a Slipknot opener to be atmospheric or heavy as fuck! Not whatever Adderall was."

As always with Slipknot, it seems whatever the opinion might be, everyone has one. See those above plus more of our favourite fan takes from the internet below (tap below the original Slipknot Tweet to see them). The End, So Far is out now via Roadrunner - you can read all about it in the latest issue of Metal Hammer, featuring nine exclusive covers.