Slipknot Reinvented

Finally got my hands on Slipknot's much anticipate 3rd studio album, Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses) (RoadRunner), and suprised to say the verdict after listening to it is a mixed bag. Their first self-titled release was truly ground-breaking to me the first time I heard it, and their follow up, IOWA, was a complete change from their debut. Now, Vol.3 once again sees Iowa's own nine man weapons of masked destruction turn another page as they explore more new ground.
I really got into their debut right off the bat, but it took me awhile to get into IOWA due to the shift in style from new metal to a more heavy Pantera-esque sound. This third serving looks to be another one that will take some time to digest. When I first heard IOWA, I listened patiently waiting to hear the next "Wait and Bleed", "Spit It Out", or "Purity", but nothing came close to that realm of greatness. But I still eventually found the gems in IOWA. Now listening to Vol.3, I patiently waited for the next "Left Behind", "My Plague", or "Heretic Anthem". Instead, I find another mix bag of differing styles that will take a while to get used to. Vol.3 sees the band shifting from speed metal (The Nameless, Welcome), to death/thrash metal (Three Nil, Opium of the People), some psychedelic (Prelude,The Virus of Life), gothic/black metal (Vermillion) and even two accoustic songs (Circle & Vermillion,Pt2)!
I can easilly name "Three Nil", "Opium of the People", "Vermillion", and the first single, "Duality", as my favorites so far, and the latter being the hands down best track on the album (Check my blog archives for a review of the video).
As a neat bonus, the CD comes enhanced with a link to exclusive music, video, downloads, as other stuff from the bands official webpage.
Overall, you wouldn't know the difference if you never heard the previous albums before. But if you have, this definately takes awhile to re-adjust to like IOWA was to Slipknot. Still great stuff and highly recommended.
Album Rating: ***1/2