Iowa (album)

Iowa
Album cover
Studio album by Slipknot
Released August 28, 2001
Recorded 2001
Studio Sound City Studios and Sound Image in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California
Genre Nu metal
Length 66:19
Label Roadrunner
Producer
Slipknot chronology
Slipknot
(1999)Slipknot1999		 Iowa
(2001)		 Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
(2004)Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)2004
Singles from Iowa
  1. "Left Behind"
    Released: October 29, 2001
  2. "My Plague"
    Released: July 8, 2002
Alternative covers
Cover for some versions of Iowa.
Alternative covers
Cover for the 10th anniversary re-release of Iowa.

Iowa is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released by Roadrunner Records on August 28, 2001, it was produced by Ross Robinson and Slipknot. The title derives from the band's home state, Iowa, which members have stated is one of their greatest sources of inspiration. With much anticipation for the album following the success of their 1999 self-titled debut, pressures on the band were high. Their relationships with each other suffered and this was later described as the darkest time of their career.[1] It was also the first time that Jim Root had been significantly involved in a Slipknot album, the guitarist having featured on only two songs from their debut, due to his joining very late in the recording of that release. Despite troubles within the band and with Iowa's development, Slipknot promoted it for almost a year.

Iowa was a major success, premiering in the top tens of nine countries. Generally positively received, it includes some of their notable songs, such as "Disasterpiece", "The Heretic Anthem", "People = Shit" and the Grammy-nominated "Left Behind" and "My Plague". While more technical than their debut, Iowa is considered the band's heaviest and darkest album. It has been certified platinum in the United States and Canada. With a runtime of 66 minutes and 19 seconds, Iowa is the band's longest album. In addition to being their longest album, it also contains their longest song to date, the title track.

A special edition of Iowa was reissued on November 1, 2011 to celebrate its tenth anniversary. It was accompanied by full live audio of the hit DVD Disasterpieces and a film entitled Goat directed by Shawn Crahan, with the four music videos, never-seen-before interviews and footage from the Iowa period.[2]

Recording and production

Iowa was recorded and produced at Sound City and Sound Image studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Ross Robinson, who had also produced their debut album.[3] Drummer Joey Jordison and bassist Paul Gray began working on new music together in October 2000, and wrote material for most of the album.[4] During this time, other members took a break after the extensive touring that had followed their debut.[4] However, on January 17, 2001, Slipknot entered the studio to begin recording new material.[5][6] This period in the band's career became known as one of their worst. Jordison recalled, "That's where we got into a war," citing the lack of a break for himself and Gray.[4]. Other factors, including vocalist Corey Taylor's alcohol addiction, other members' drug addictions, and management issues affected relations in the band.[1]

"Recording Iowa was fucking hell," recalled Shawn Crahan. "I wanted to kill myself. There was drugs, bitches, rock 'n' roll, all that shit. People expected so much of us then. 'People = Shit' was our way of saying, 'Fuck off and leave us alone.'" "There was nothing happy about Iowa," confirmed Taylor. "All of a sudden we were these metal stars and we weren't really planning for it… We'd all got caught up in the lifestyle and the problems that come with that. A darkness set in at the beginning of Iowa that none of us quite recognised." Jordison, however, noted, "Iowa, even more than the first record, was the album we really wanted to make."[7]

It was the first album where guitarist Jim Root had been significantly involved[8], after joining during the later recording stages of Slipknot.[5] During an interview with Guitar magazine in November 2001, Root explained, "It was so exciting as well as scary to be part of this whole huge process," adding that there was a lot of pressure from fellow guitarist Mick Thomson to perform well.[8]

To FHM, Taylor revealed that he put himself in specific situations to achieve his performance on the album.[9] While recording vocals for the final song "Iowa", he was completely naked, vomiting all over himself, and cutting himself with broken glass. "That's where the best stuff comes from," he explained. "You've got to break yourself down before you can build something great."[9] While producing the album, Ross Robinson was injured in a dirt bike accident, suffering a fractured back in the process. He returned to the studio after a day of hospital treatment, reportedly "putting all of his pain into the album", much to the admiration of the band.[1]

Music and lyrical themes

Prior to its release, members promised a much darker and heavier album than Slipknot, and many sources praised the band for fulfilling their promises.[10] In 2008, percussionist Shawn Crahan recalled: "When we did Iowa, we hated each other. We hated the world; the world hated us."[11]

Iowa, unlike its predecessor, saw Robinson capturing the band's technicality as opposed to the raw energy for which Slipknot became known for.[12] The band was also praised again for its use of an extended line-up consisting of additional percussionists, turntables, and programmed samples. NME stated that "every possible space is covered in scrawl and cymbals: guitars, percussion, electronic squall, subhuman screaming."[12] Although Iowa became widely regarded as the band's heaviest album to date, some tracks included melody, most apparent in "Everything Ends", "My Plague" and "Left Behind". On the album's thirteenth anniversary, Revolver looked back on the album as "their most extreme album yet". They compared several songs, namely "Disasterpiece," "People = Shit" and "The Heretic Anthem" as more death metal-influenced than most of the nu metal that the album contained.[13] While the album does have elements of hip hop music, Iowa has less hip hop elements than Slipknot's self-titled album, focusing more on elements of genres such as death metal and thrash metal.[14]

Iowa follows the lyrical style that vocalist Corey Taylor established on Slipknot's debut; it includes strong use of metaphors to describe dark themes including misanthropy, solipsism, disgust, anger, disaffection, psychosis, and rejection.[12][15] The album also includes many expletives; David Fricke of the Rolling Stone magazine said "there isn't much shock value left in the words fuck and shit, which Taylor uses in some variation more than forty times in Iowa's sixty-six minutes."[15] Fricke went on to praise Taylor's performance on the track "Iowa", comparing it to a "vivid evocation of a makeshift-cornfield grave at midnight."[15]

"Disasterpiece", said Taylor, "is my favorite Slipknot song. We started doing pre-production for the album in a warehouse in Iowa itself. I had meningitis and couldn't sing a note, so I was writing a lot of ideas down. When I heard them play 'Disasterpiece', I just wrote 'No one is safe' in huge letters. I knew from then that we were going to rip the throat out of the world with 'Disasterpiece'. That was the lynchpin for the whole album."[16]

Promotion

There was speculation over the title before its announcement with Nine Men, One Mission as the expected title in some sources.[5] Iowa was later announced as its title and was named after the band's home state of Iowa. Members have claimed that Iowa was the source of their energy, and they consciously made the decision to stay in the area, partially due to the fear of losing their creative direction.[3] The opening track "(515)" is also a reference to their home state, named after the telephone area code for central Iowa.[17] Initially the album was scheduled for release on June 19, 2001, and was to be preceded by a five-date warm-up tour.[18] However, the mixing of the album took longer than anticipated, causing the album's release to be delayed, as well as the cancellation of the tour.[18][10] The album was officially released on August 28, 2001.[19] In support of the album, Slipknot began a new tour called the Iowa World Tour. This included: a spot on Ozzfest in 2001,[20] an American co-headlining tour with System of a Down,[6] as well as tours in Japan, Europe and elsewhere.[21][22][23][24]

Prior to the album's release, Slipknot gave away copies of "Heretic Song", titled "The Heretic Anthem" on the album, free on their website. It was limited to 666 copies, to match the chorus; "If you're 555, then I'm 666." The giveaway began on May 15, 2001, and lasted until copies sold out.[25][26] The first official single released from the album was "Left Behind". In 2002, the band made a special appearance in the film Rollerball, in which they performed "I Am Hated".[25] Following this, a second single from the album was released, "My Plague", which appeared on the soundtrack for the film Resident Evil.[27]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[28]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[29]
Artistdirect[30]
BBC Musicfavorable[31]
NME(8/10)[32]
Rolling Stone[15]

Following the success of the band's self-titled album, author Dick Porter wrote that the anticipation for a follow up was intense.[6] Prior to its release, Jordison proclaimed: "Wait till you hear our fuckin' next record. It smokes our first album. The shit's twice as technical, three times as heavy."[10] Iowa generally received favorable reviews from music critics.[28] The College Music Journal reviewed it as "brutal, unrelenting, scorching..."[33] Many reviews noted its heavy themes; Alternative Press stated, "[it is] like having a plastic bag taped over your head for an hour while Satan uses your scrotum as a speedbag....[It] is over the top...you're going to be left in stitches."[34] NME said that it is "Exhilarating, brutal and good."[35] Rolling Stone credited the album for its originality, stating that "nearly everything else in modern doom rock sounds banal."[36] Producer Robinson was also praised for his work on the album; Uncut noted, "The barely relenting, tumbling noise attack marshalled by nu metal uber-producer Ross Robinson is expert."[37] Reviewing for Yahoo, John Mulvey said, "They're an evolutionary dead end, the final, absolute triumph of nu metal."[38]

The first single, "Left Behind", was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 44th Grammy Awards.[39] The second single, "My Plague", was nominated in 2003 for the same award at the 45th Grammy Awards.[40] The single "Left Behind" peaked in the top thirty for single sales the United States and the UK.[41][42] In addition, "My Plague" reached the 43rd position on the UK charts.[42] Iowa was ranked sixth in the "50 Albums of the year" by NME in 2001.[35] The album reached the top position on the UK Albums Chart,[42] and the second spot on the ARIA Charts in Australia.[43] The album reached the third spot on the Billboard 200[44] and Finnish Charts.[45] On October 10, 2001, the album was certified platinum in the United States.[46] In Canada, the Canadian Recording Industry Association certified the album as Platinum, on September 5, 2001.[47] The British Phonographic Industry has certified the album as gold in the UK.[48] In 2009, Iowa was rated 3rd in UK magazine Kerrang!'s "The 50 Best Albums of the 21st century" reader poll.[49] Loudwire listed Iowa at #2 in their "Top 11 albums of the 2000s" and #6 in their "Top 100 albums of the 21st century".[50][51]

Track listing

All music written by Shawn Crahan, Paul Gray, Joey Jordison, Chris Fehn, Mick Thomson, Sid Wilson, Craig Jones and James Root. All lyrics by Corey Taylor except where noted.[52]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."(515)" 0:59
2."People = Shit" 3:35
3."Disasterpiece" 5:08
4."My Plague" 3:40
5."Everything Ends" 4:14
6."The Heretic Anthem"Corey Taylor, Paul Gray, Joey Jordison4:13
7."Gently"Shawn Crahan4:54
8."Left Behind" 4:01
9."The Shape" 3:37
10."I Am Hated" 2:37
11."Skin Ticket" 6:41
12."New Abortion" 3:36
13."Metabolic" 3:59
14."Iowa" 15:03
Total length:66:19

Personnel

Aside from their real names, members of the band are referred to by numbers zero through eight.[53]

Charts

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Slipknot 10 years after...". Rocksound. May 2009. pp. 60–65.
  2. ↑ "Slipknot's Iowa To Be Reissued November 1". Roadrunner. September 28, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  3. 1 2 More Maximum Slipknot, The unauthorised biography of Slipknot (Media notes). Chrome Dreams. 2004.
  4. 1 2 3 "Joey Jordison plunges into Slipknot hell". Drum!. October 2008. pp. 44–45.
  5. 1 2 3 Arnopp, Jason (2001). Slipknot: Inside the Sickness, Behind the Masks. Ebury. ISBN 0-09-187933-7.
  6. 1 2 3 Porter, Dick (2003). Rapcore: The Nu-Metal Rap Fusion. London: Plexus. ISBN 0-85965-321-8.
  7. ↑ Bryant, Tom (14 July 2012). "Hell unleashed". Kerrang #1423. p. 23.
  8. 1 2 "Wrecking crew". Guitar. November 2001.
  9. 1 2 "Slipknot". FHM. December 2001. pp. 76–80.
  10. 1 2 3 Udo, Tommy (2002). Brave Nu World. Cromwell. ISBN 1-86074-415-X.
  11. ↑ "Slipknot's Clown Talks About Upcoming Album". Blabbermouth. January 9, 2008. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
  12. 1 2 3 Segal, Victoria (August 22, 2001). "Slipknot: Iowa". NME. UK. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Interview: Slipknot Look Back on the Making of 'Iowa'". Revolver. August 28, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2015. Fortunately, the band members were able to channel their animosity into their music, creating their most extreme album yet. Songs like "Disasterpiece," "People = Shit," and "The Heretic Anthem" draw far more from death metal's scathing currency than nu-metal's trendy angst.
  14. ↑ Packard, Michael T. (November 9, 2001). "Heavy Metal". The Harvard Crimson.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Fricke, David (September 17, 2001). "Iowa album review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  16. ↑ Bryant, Tom (14 July 2012). "Hell unleashed". Kerrang #1423. p. 23.
  17. ↑ "NPA (Area) codes – Iowa". North American Numbering Plan Administration. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  18. 1 2 McIver, Joel (2003). Slipknot: Unmasked (Again). Omnibus. ISBN 0-7119-9764-0.
  19. ↑ "Iowa: Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  20. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Slipknot Biography". Macrovision. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  21. ↑ Hubbard, Michael (August 26, 2002). "Slipknot liven up Reading's finale". BBC News. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  22. ↑ Mernagh, Matt (June 18, 2001). "Slipknot Kill The Industry". Chart. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
  23. ↑ "'Maggots,' rejoice: Slipknot is back". Green Bay Press-Gazette. November 8, 2001.
  24. ↑ Bartz, Simon (April 3, 2002). "Slipknot unmasked!". The Japan Times.
  25. 1 2 "The joy of 666". NME. UK. May 15, 2001. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
  26. ↑ Moss, Corey (August 29, 2001). "Slipknot Shoot For 'World Domination' With Iowa". MTV. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  27. ↑ "Resident Evil (2002) – Soundtracks". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  28. 1 2 "Iowa - Slipknot". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  29. ↑ AllMusic Review
  30. ↑
  31. ↑ Winwood, Ian (October 27, 2011). "Slipknot Iowa - 10th Anniversary Edition Review". BBC Online. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  32. ↑ NME. August 25, 2001. p. 49
  33. ↑ Iowa album review. College Music Journal. October 1, 2001. p. 13.
  34. ↑ Iowa album review. Alternative Press. July 2001. p. 75.
  35. 1 2 50 Albums of the year 2001. NME. December 29, 2001. p. 59.
  36. ↑ Fricke, Davide (September 17, 2001). "Slipknot (Metal): Iowa". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  37. ↑ Iowa album review. Uncut. November 2001. p. 120.
  38. ↑ Mulvey, John (August 23, 2001). "Slipknot – Iowa". Yahoo Music. Archived from the original on January 13, 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
  39. ↑ "Slipknot's Paul Gray: "I Know System Of A Down Will Win Grammy"". Blabbermouth.net. February 27, 2002. Archived from the original on December 19, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
  40. ↑ "Grammy Awards Nominees Announced!". Blabbermouth.net. January 7, 2003. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
  41. ↑ "Billboard.com Artist Chart History – Slipknot". Nielsen Business Media Incorporated. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  42. 1 2 3 4 "Slipknot". The Official Charts Company.
  43. 1 2 "Slipknot Australian Charts". australian-charts.com. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
  44. 1 2 3 "Iowa – Slipknot". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  45. 1 2 "Slipknot Finnish Charts". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
  46. 1 2 "American album certifications – Slipknot – Iowa". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  47. 1 2 "Canadian album certifications – Slipknot – Iowa". Music Canada.
  48. 1 2 "Iowa Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. August 24, 2001. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  49. ↑ "A Century of Sound". Kerrang!. August 8, 2009. pp. 22–47.
  50. ↑ http://loudwire.com/top-11-metal-albums-of-the-2000s/
  51. ↑ http://loudwire.com/top-100-hard-rock-metal-albums-21st-century/
  52. ↑ Billmann, Pete; Jacobson, Jeff; Story, Jeff (2001). Iowa (Guitar/vocal/tab. ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard. ISBN 0634037374.
  53. ↑ "Biography". Slipknot. Allmusic. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  54. ↑ "Slipknot Austrian Charts" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  55. ↑ "Slipknot Belgium (Flanders) Charts" (in Dutch). ultratop.be.
  56. ↑ "Slipknot Belgium (Wallonia) Charts" (in French). ultratop.be.
  57. ↑ "Slipknot Danish Charts". danishcharts.com.
  58. ↑ "Slipknot Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  59. ↑ "Slipknot French Charts" (in French). lescharts.com. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
  60. ↑ "Slipknot Germany Chart history" (in German). musicline.de. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
  61. ↑ "Slipknot Irish Charts". irish-charts.com.
  62. ↑ "Slipknot Italian Charts". italiancharts.com.
  63. ↑ "Slipknot New Zealand Charts". charts.org.nz. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
  64. ↑ "Slipknot Norwegian Charts". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  65. ↑ "OLiS: sales for the period 03.09.2001 - 09.09.2001". OLiS.
  66. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  67. ↑ "Slipknot Swedish Charts". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  68. ↑ "Slipknot Swiss Charts". hitparade.ch. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  69. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  70. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2001". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  71. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Slipknot; 'Iowa')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  72. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – Slipknot – Iowa" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  73. ↑ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2001年12月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. December 2001 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan. 507: 12. February 10, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2014.

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