"Skeptic" | |
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Promotional single by Slipknot | |
from the album .5: The Gray Chapter | |
Released | October 17, 2014 |
Genre | |
Length | 4:46 |
Label | Roadrunner |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
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"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]
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.
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"".
Nu metal is a subgenre of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu metal rarely features guitar solos or other displays of musical technique, and emphasizes rhythm with instrumentation that is heavily syncopated. Nu metal guitarists typically use seven-string guitars that are down-tuned to produce a heavier sound. Vocal styles are often rhythmic and influenced by hip hop, and include singing, rapping, screaming and sometimes growling. DJs are occasionally featured to provide instrumentation such as sampling, turntable scratching and electronic background music. Nu metal is one of the key genres of the new wave of American heavy metal.
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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Stone Sour was an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor, Josh Rand (guitar), Christian Martucci (guitar), Johny Chow (bass) and Roy Mayorga (drums). Longtime members Joel Ekman and Shawn Economaki left the band in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Former lead guitarist Jim Root left in 2014. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2020.
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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,"...