Iowa is the second studio album by Slipknot, released on August 28, 2001, by Roadrunner Records.
Deriving its title from the band's home state, Iowa was the end result of a Troubled Production onset by the pressures of high expectations following the success of their debut album, which bore down on the band members' relationships (cited factors around the time included issues with management and various band members struggling with drug or alcohol addiction). Several band members retrospectively considered the process of making the album the darkest time in the band's career; percussionist Shawn Crahan stated of the time in 2008, "...we hated each other. We hated the world; the world hated us."
Similarly, Iowa is often considered by fans to be the darkest and heaviest Slipknot album, with the band promising a darker album than their debut before its release. Its sound has been summarized as a cross of Nu Metal and Groove Metal, leaning more into extreme metal variants compared to the hip-hop influences of their debut album.
Iowa peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and topped the UK Official Albums Chart. A remix of "My Plague" appeared in Resident Evil (2002).
Tracklist:
- "(515)" (0:59)
- "People = Shit" (3:35)
- "Disasterpiece" (5:08)
- "My Plague" (3:40)
- "Everything Ends" (4:14)
- "The Heretic Anthem" (4:13)
- "Gently" (4:54)
- "Left Behind" (4:01)
- "The Shape" (3:37)
- "I Am Hated" (2:37)
- "Skin Ticket" (6:41)
- "New Abortion" (3:36)
- "Metabolic" (3:59)
- "Iowa" (15:03)
Principal members:
- (0) Sid Wilson - Turntables, vocals on "(515)"
- (1) Joey Jordison - Drums
- (2) Paul Gray - Bass, backing vocals
- (3) Chris Fehn - Percussion, backing vocals
- (4) Jim Root - Guitars
- (5) Craig Jones - Sampling
- (6) Sean Crahan - Percussion, backing vocals
- (7) Mick Thomson - Guitars
- (8) Corey Taylor - Lead vocals
People trope noises when they're sick:
- Album Intro Track: "(515)" is a noise track with Sid screaming "death" over and over again after hearing his terminally ill grandfather died just as Sid was going to visit him in the hospital.
- Breather Episode: "Left Behind", at least by the standards of the album. It is a relatively straightforward hard rock song that sounds like a proto-Stone Sour. It comes after the dark and ominous "Gently", which, itself, follows a string of heavier songs.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Just like the first album, though the majority of the swearing is concentrated in the first half. "People = Shit" stands out in that it had already dropped six fucks before the first appearance of the Title-Only Chorus.
- Darker and Edgier: It's heavier and less hip hop-influenced than the self-titled debut, with some songs having death metal and punk influences.
- Despair Event Horizon: "Everything Ends" manages to combine these themes with a "Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Epic Rocking: Skin Ticket (6:41) and especially the title track (15:03).
- Last Note Nightmare: The Surprisingly Gentle Song "Left Behind" ends with Corey singing "We let it all slip away...slip away...slip away..." twice and a creepy electronic sample courtesy of Craig playing.
- Laughing Mad: The Villain Protagonist throughout the title track, most notably near the end."You will live forever..." (laughs)
- Longest Song Goes Last: The 15:03 title track, which is more than twice the length of the second-longest (the 6:41 "Skin Ticket").
- Madness Mantra:
- "(515)" has its only lyrics being Sid repeatedly screaming "death".
- The outro of "Skin Ticket" has Corey screaming "keeping myself alive" like a madman.
- The protagonist of the title track has several of these, though they are not in the printed lyrics.
- Miniscule Rocking: "(515)" is just one second short of a minute.
- Number of the Beast: Invoked in "The Heretic Anthem""If you're 555, then I'm 666"
- Song Style Shift: "Gently" is slow and atmospheric in its first half, but gets faster and heavier near the end.
- Title-Only Chorus: "People = Shit", though it also has a post-chorus that still repeats the title."(People = Shit) What you gonna do?
(People = Shit) 'Cause I'm not afraid of you
(People = Shit) I'm everything you'll never be
(People = Shit) Yeah!" - Step Up to the Microphone: Sid Wilson on "(515)", though it's him making wordless moans and screaming "death" in a Madness Mantra.
- Villain Protagonist: Multiple songs, but the title track stands out. It is implied to be a Serial Killer reminiscing about his favorite victim. He is also clearly not all there in the head.
- Word-Salad Horror: The various ad-libs that appear throughout the title track and add to its horror.
