Paul Gray – Skin Back Alley

Slipknot confirm new album details and October release date

25/08/2014 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Slipknot have now confirmed the details of their fifth studio album, revealing that it will pay tribute to late bassist Paul Gray.

The new album will be titled 5: The Gray Chapter, and is slated for release on the 20th of October via Roadrunner Records.

The standard edition of the album will feature 14 new tracks, with a deluxe edition also being made available featuring an additional 2 new songs.

5: The Gray Chapter is the band’s first album since 2008’s All Hope Is Gone and their first since the death of founding bass player Gray, who died in 2010.

Slipknot have also announced the Prepare For Hell Tour, which will take in numerous dates across North America, with special guests coming in the form of Korn and King 810. The tour will begin on the 29th of October in El Paso, Texas.

Corey Taylor says: “We’ve been waiting a long time for this. Not only do we get to tour with friends who we respect, we’ve also chosen a band that represents the fury of the future. Slipknot is coming to your town. And hell’s coming with us.”

The full tracklist for 5: The Gray Chapter is:

“XIX”
“Sarcastrophe”
“Aov”
“The Devil In I”
“Killpop”
“Skeptic”
“Lech”
“Goodbye”
“Nomadic”
“The One That Kills The Least”
“Custer”
“Be Prepared For Hell”
“The Negative One”
“If Rain Is What You Want”
“Override” (Deluxe edition bonus track)
“The Burden” (Deluxe edition bonus track)

Slipknot made the albums official first single, The Devil In I, available to stream over the weekend, and you can listen to it below:

Slipknot reveal single cover artwork for “The Devil In I”

13/08/2014 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Slipknot have revealed the cover artwork for “The Devil In I”, the official first single from their forthcoming fifth album.

Due out in October, the LP will be the band’s first without bassist Paul Gray, who died in 2010, and drummer Joey Jordison, who left the band last year.

In an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show, Slipknot singer Corey Taylor described “The Devil In I” as “completely different” from the song “The Negative One”, which was released via the band’s web site at the start of August. “It’s more melodic, but it’s dark, [and] it’s powerful, man,” Taylor said about “The Devil In I”. “It’s something different. People are gonna lose their minds when they hear that.”

Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio that fans will have to wait a while yet for details of the band’s new drummer and the album title. “We’re keeping a lot of that under wraps, out of fairness, because we want the music to speak for itself,” he said. “We don’t want people listening to our music and making up their minds about something before they even know what the music is. So trust me, you know, when the time is right, we will give you the answers that you need, and that’s the way it is.”

Rumours have suggested that drummer Jay Weinberg has been recruited to play on the new album and tour. Weinberg is the son of Max Weinberg, longtime Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band drummer.

SLIPKNOT announced in December 2013 that it had parted ways with Jordison. The band has not disclosed the reasons for Jordison’s exit, although the drummer issued a statement in January saying that he did not quit the group.

The official video for “The Negative One” was directed by Slipknot percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan, who has directed the vast majority of the band’s music videos and concert documentaries. You can watch it below.

Doctor acquitted of Slipknot bassist’s death

03/05/2014 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Photo Credit: Des Moines Register

Dr. Daniel Baldi has been acquitted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, including one charge involving the death of Slipknot bassist, Paul Gray.

Rolling Stone reports, via The Des Moines Register, that the jury deliberated for two days at the close of the trial, eventually deciding that the prosecution had failed to prove that Baldi had acted recklessly, or prescribed drugs that knowingly lead to his patients’ deaths.

Paul Gray’s widow, Brenna, was a witness at the trial in April, and claimed that Baldi continued to prescribe Xanax to her husband while knowing that Gray had a history of abusing it. She also said that Baldi reduced Gray’s Xanax dosage in the months leading up to his death of an overdose of morphine and fentanyl in May 2010.

Since the bassist’s death, members of Slipknot have worked on solo albums, but have not recorded another album as a band. It was announced in February, however, that the remaining members have entered the studio to record together.

Frontman Corey Taylor says of the new material: “I can say that, to me – and this is only my opinion – it’s a cross between [2001’s] Iowa and [2004’s] Volume 3, but that’s honestly just scratching the surface. I think the fans are going to be very, very excited when they hear this stuff.”