The album "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)" is SLIPKNOT's third and, as of now, most recent album. By the time of this release, the band was at the peak of its popularity; Rick Rubin, best known for his work with RHCP, served as producer on this record. To be honest, the album doesn't provoke any particular emotions, but let's take it step by step. From a technical standpoint, there's nothing to fault. The drums are especially impressive; the guitars, despite sounding very light, are also recorded in a fairly interesting way -- but the electronics on this album are clearly overdone. The lyrics have changed too: the enormous amount of profanity has disappeared, but at the same time, so has their former delivery. The aggression of the first album is gone entirely; the vocals have become more measured, less ferocious, while the proportion of clean singing has increased many times over. On the positive side, one must note the periodically appearing interesting solos -- we can hear them on one of the album's strongest tracks, "Welcome," and a gorgeous solo also graces the song "Pulse Of The Maggots." The album contains a rather considerable number of nu-metal ballads -- "Circle," "Vermilion pt 1," the closing "Danger - Keep Away," and the downright poppy "Vermilion pt 2." Overall, whether the album is more interesting to fans of alternative heavy rock or electronic music is a big question. Fans of angry thrash will find nothing left to listen to here, but apparently the disc wasn't aimed at that audience anyway.
