In case you were living in a cave in Mars on Friday, Slipknot unleashed the official video for new single The Devil In I, new masks, members and all! We thought we'd take a special minute-by-minute look at the Des Moines legends' latest offering...
0:18 The new Slipknot video kicks into spooky territory with a rising lift containing a figure draped in a red sheet and the unmistakable, spiky head of Craig Jones, before we see two mysterious masked figures in wheel chairs looking like a cross between Stephen Hawkins and Cillian Murphy’s take on Scarecrow from Batman Begins. Interesting…
1:04 Our first detailed glimpse into the new masks of Slipknot in full arrive as we find them playing in a room surrounded by gyrating weirdos in straight jackets. Much like the previous album mask changes, some remain only subtly different, such as Craig Jones’s spikes and Chris Fehn’s “evil pinnochio”, while Corey’s reinvention is once again one of the most radical, looking like an evil Phil Mitchell.
2:02 We see Sid Wilson hanging around a dingy sewer, and it soon becomes apparent he’s a bit peckish. Instead of going to find the nearest Nando’s or popping to the corner shop for a Mars bar, he decides to start eating himself instead. It’s no secret a lot of bands mellow out a bit with age, but watching Sid chomp on his own bloody fingers proves this certainly isn’t the case with Slipknot. Crikey.
3:11 We see various members of the band milling about in previous masks, including Jim Root analysing some TNT and Corey in his All Hope Is Gone-era mask looking wistful sat at a desk, leading finally to Mick Thomson. Oh God, Mick Thomson! The gore keeps coming as an act as simple as taking his mask off results in him ripping his own face off. That’s gotta hurt.
3:17 Those two masked chaps in the wheelchairs have been quietly minding their own business until they bump into the various members of the ‘Knot covered in blood. Now would probably be a good time to get out of there, but like every stupid decision ever seen in a horror movie they stick around, and the guys whip out knives and start getting all stabby on them. Bloody hell. Poor lads.
3:35 It wouldn’t be a Slipknot video without Clown hitting a barrel with a baseball bat, would it?
4:11 It’s a good job this rock star malarkey has worked out for Corey as we get the impression he’s not best suited for a desk job. When faced with paperwork, he instead opts to blow himself up. Now, if the textual analysis that we did in GCSE Media Studies serves us well, we’d suggest that these deaths of previous incarnations of band members is their way of saying this is a fresh new start for Slipknot - after all, a lot has changed between this and All Hope Is Gone. And we approve.
4:14 Hey, look! Those masked fellas who were in the wheelchairs turned out to be the new bassist and drummer! Of all the mystery surrounding the new Slipknot album, this was perhaps the biggest question on most people’s minds. Just as Corey hinted at earlier this week, they too are masked but, interestingly, have matching masks that are different from the rest of the band.
4:38 Those grisly deaths keep coming as Chris is pecked to death by a bunch of pesky crows and an incredibly miffed dog is let loose on Craig. It only leaves a couple of members left, which brings us to Jim Root. In what looks like an incredibly fucked-up version of a Looney Tunes cartoon, he sticks the aforementioned dynamite in his overalls and also blows himself to smithereens. One of those red sheet folks pops along to clean up the mess he’s made.
5:32 …and we’re left with the last man standing, Clown. Perched at the top of a staircase in his old Iowa era mask, and with a noose hanging around his neck, he promptly sets himself on fire and hangs himself. Which brings us quite grimly to the end of the previous Slipknot chapter and ready for 5: The Gray Chapter. They don’t do things by halves, do they?
Pre-order .5: The Gray Chapter here and here via iTunes, and take a peek at our immense new issue, out Tuesday, right here.