Skeptic (song)

Last updated
"Skeptic"
Skeptic cover.jpg
Promotional single by Slipknot
from the album .5: The Gray Chapter
ReleasedOctober 17, 2014
Genre
Length4:46
Label Roadrunner
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Skeptic" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot from their fifth studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter . The song was first released as a promo/digital single on October 17, 2014. [2] It was the sixth promotional single and eighth overall single released from the album. The song is a tribute piece to late bassist Paul Gray who died from a drug overdose in May 2010. [3] [4]

Contents

Background

The song was uploaded to their official YouTube channel on the same day as the Japan release of .5: The Gray Chapter on October 17, 2014. It featured original cover art; it is unknown at this time whether "Skeptic" will be a radio single and have a music video or will remain as a promotional single.

Critical reception

Loudwire stated "Today, we treat our ears to ‘Skeptic.’ Fans will automatically zone in on the track’s chorus: “The world will never see another crazy motherfucker like you / The world will never know another man as amazing as you.” Additional lyrics such as, “You were a gift,” “He was the best of us” and “I will keep your soul alive” point further toward Gray as the man referenced in ‘Skeptic." [3] Metal Insider said "With a line like “the world will never see another crazy motherfucker like you, the world will never know another man as amazing as you,” we’re inclined to agree with that statement." [5]

"Skeptic" was also included at number 99 on Spin magazine's list of the 101 Best Songs of 2014. [6] Describing the song as "one of the year's most affecting love songs" that takes Slipknot "to surprisingly maudlin heights on the scream-along chorus", the magazine also noted it as "a rare unmasked moment for the enduring septet". Despite this, the review concluded that "the song is far too pulverizing to ever be considered their "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"".

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Slipknot is an American heavy metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1995 by percussionist Shawn Crahan, former vocalist Anders Colsefni and bassist Paul Gray. After several lineup changes in its early years, the band settled on nine members for more than a decade: Crahan, Gray, Joey Jordison, Craig Jones, Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor, Sid Wilson, Chris Fehn, and Jim Root. Slipknot is well known for its attention-grabbing image, aggressive style of music, and energetic and chaotic live shows.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Taylor</span> American musician

Corey Todd Taylor is an American musician, songwriter, author and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #8, as well as the lead vocalist, guitarist, lyricist, and sole continuous member of the rock band Stone Sour.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Wilson</span> American DJ and keyboardist

Sidney George Wilson is an American musician. He is the turntablist for the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #0.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Thomson</span> American guitarist (born 1973)

Mickael Gordon "Mick" Thomson is an American musician. He is one of two guitarists for the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #7. Thomson originally met founding Slipknot members Anders Colsefni, Donnie Steele and Paul Gray through their mutual involvement in death metal band Body Pit, later joined in early 1996. Following the departure of bandmates drummer Joey Jordison in 2013 and sampler Craig Jones in 2023, Thomson is now the second longest-serving member of Slipknot.

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<i>.5: The Gray Chapter</i> 2014 studio album by Slipknot

.5: The Gray Chapter is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot, released on October 17, 2014, by Roadrunner Records. It was the first studio album by the band in six years and the first not to feature original founding members bassist Paul Gray and drummer Joey Jordison due to the death of Gray in 2010, and Jordison being fired from the band in late 2013, as well as the only Slipknot album to feature original guitarist Donnie Steele on bass, although the tracks he played on are unknown, and the first Slipknot album to have Alessandro Venturella on bass and Jay Weinberg on drums. The album includes six singles and has received commercial success and acclaiming reviews. A standard and deluxe edition of the album was released. It is also the band's final studio album to feature their longtime percussionist Chris Fehn before his dismissal from the band due to a lawsuit in March 2019.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">AOV (song)</span> 2014 promotional single by Slipknot

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References

  1. "Review: Slipknot — .5: The Gray Chapter". Revolver . October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015. The chunky, dirt-displacing low-end growl of "The Devil In I," the pugnacious thrash of "Skeptic," the relentless attack of "The Negative One," the brief but tantalizing flash of '80s shred in "Nomadic,"...
  2. "Slipknot - 'AOV'". Roadrunner Records. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Slipknot Unleash New Tribute Track 'Skeptic'". Loudwire . 17 October 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  4. "Slipknot Premiere New Song, "Skeptic" — Listen". Guitar World . Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  5. "Slipknot no "Skeptic" on the legacy of Paul Gray". Metal Insider. October 17, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  6. "The 101 Best Songs of 2014". Spin . December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.