The masked band makes a corker of an album…

After more than a soft release summer scheduling, the August Bank Holiday brings some choice: Björk, Mercury Rev, New Order, The Strokes and Slipknot. Of this five albums there is only one contender for the top spot and that is - the masked nontet from Des Moines with an album named after their native state of Iowa. If you are fan then you know why they are riffs above the rest.

For others, this is a vast improvement on the self-titled album from two years ago (their debut was a low-financed/limited edition self-release 'Meet. Feed. Kill. Repeat.') with more intensity, heavier, darker and yet more focused offering. What makes it, probably, the HM album of the year is the extremeness of songs and the recording technique that has allowed vocal to be heard, lyrics to be understood. Corey Taylor doesn't roar less but it is with clarity down to the masterful work of Ross Robinson. This is near the end of the civilisation, as we know it and we love it.

A goat stares at you from the cover as 'People = Shit' opens the parade of aural assault properly - a noise'n'scream-intro '(5:15)' precedes it - of such fulfilling nature. The band still maintains ambition, soul and hunger to explore sonic places rather than being satisfied to settle in the comfy chair of popularity. Instead to simply make heavier version of 'Slipknot' and cash in, the band have gone for a varied approach that is a well crafted artefact of layered darkness, evil, hate.

There is more melody here ('Disaster Piece'), more cyber-metal ('My Plague'), deeper in the well of hell ('The Heretic Anthem'), venturing into anthemic territory ('Iowa')... The title track is timed at 15 minutes and it seems too long but it works by gradually peeling levels of evil until you are at the heart of its subject, a serial killer.

The album concludes with a bonus track, 'I Am Hatred', to enhance the band's standing, increases their integrity and boosts their reputation. Slipknot are hostiles in the outsiders' world; be happy to be a 'maggot' to the mighty masked ones!

663/666