Band:	Slipknot
Album:	The End, So Far
Style:	Alternative metal
Release date:	September 2022

01. Adderall
02. The Dying Song (Time To Sing)
03. The Chapeltown Rag
04. Yen
05. Hivemind
06. Warranty
07. Medicine For The Dead
08. Acidic
09. Heirloom
10. H377
11. De Sade
12. Finale

The worst, so far.

Where does Slipknot fit in the world of metal in 2022? A band who have long solidified their place among the biggest bands in the genre as stadium fillers and radio regulars, they have endured internal struggles and creative dead ends in much of their latter-day career. As a result, it's been a while since listening to a new Slipknot album was done out of excitement and youthful abandon rather than apathetic obligation, half-knowing you'll get some catchy singles and middling filler, yet you can't help but give them another chance.

With rumours abounding that this album is the result of contractual obligation, the omens didn't bode well and, well, they were right. The End, So Far does little to change this reputation and attitudes towards the album, rather than challenging for the spot as their best album, it's fighting to avoid being the worst record they have put out. Much of the album is rife with incomplete ideas or mediocre material; though some dimly lit bright spots shine through, they are overshadowed by the band's prior output and scant consolation for the effort of digging for diamonds in the dirt.

While not exactly setting the world ablaze, the bright spots do evoke a positive response, though they won't immediately become earworms like their prior classics. "The Dying Song (Time To Sing)" is cut from the cloth as the band's prior singles, though it seems more threadbare than prior radio hits. "Hive Mind" and "Heirloom" are two tracks that seem built for the stage; hopefully they become the two tracks the band keep in setlists going forward. "De Sade" is a warping and winding song that seems to stitch disparate pieces together well to make a strong whole.

While creatively the band seem to phone it in, in terms of performance and production The End, So Far is as strong as the rest of their discography. The band sounds as powerful as ever, continuing to walk the tightrope that is balancing nine musicians in the mix; it might sound like a carbon copy of their previous productions, but if it ain't broke eh?

If this sounds like little consolation then yes, you would be right. No matter how competently played and produced a bad song is, you can't polish a turd and turn it into gold; a bad song is still a bad song at the end of the day. The End, So Far is mostly split into three camps, tracks that feature a good idea, but are poorly utilized ("Adderall", "Warranty"), songs that just seem to meander from start to finish ("Yen", "Medicine For The Dead") and mediocre tracks ("The Chapeltown Rag"). The result is an album that seems rushed out or with minimal effort put into it (lending credence to the rumours of contractual obligations), leaving listeners with little in the way of replay value beyond trying to salvage what they can.

There is enough material here that sounds like it could have been much better had the band been given more time to work on it, but unfortunately that still renders The End, So Far as an album of unfulfilled potential rather than potential reailzed.

Slipknot continue their mid-career crisis with The End, So Far, a record that should hopefully serve as a wake-up call for the group; change direction now and maintain forward momentum or fall into the trap of many older bands, that being to solely live on your former glories while fans tolerate your new material.