Slipknot returned on Wednesday with yet another loud, aggressive metal single fit for a horror film. “All Out Life” was released on All Hallows’ Eve. It is the first single released by the band since the beginning of 2016, and it was released just over four years after their previous studio album, “.5: The Gray Chapter.”

 

The song's subject matter, according to front man Corey Taylor, regards the indifference and disregard of good music, among other things, of the past.

 

“‘All Out Life’ is a song that is trying to do two things: bring everyone together, but also remind everyone that the past is not something to be discarded with disdain. People are so eager to find the next big thing sometimes… making the past feel disposable, like a dirty thing,” Taylor said in an interview with Pitchfork. “...it's not the date on the music – it's the staying power.”

 

When analyzing the lyrics, this makes perfect sense, especially as the chorus begins: “Old does not mean dead, new does not mean best,” Taylor roars loudly and clearly. The whole first verse is loaded with metaphors that drive this message home if you're conscious of it, and the second verse addresses that listeners constantly pursuing new material often don't understand or are unappreciative of these cleverly crafted verses like those just demonstrated. As a result, they grow bored, and the band gives them a venomous sarcastic slam for their clueless-ness: “What a bore, I'm getting stuck in a metaphor / I don't wanna go to sleep”.

 

The song continues the extreme nü metal direction that had been regarded as a revisit during the release of “The Gray Chapter.” As a result, the band's sound on “All Out Life” does not appear to have significantly progressed or changed since their last album. Its guitar riff is uncannily reminiscent of “The Negative One,” the Grammy-nominated lead single from “The Gray Chapter.” Industrial effects are present that are incredibly similar to “Sarcastrophe,” track two from their previous effort. Indeed, it would not be far-fetched to call this a marriage between the two tracks. The vocals are fittingly all screaming; given the song is about respecting the old-school, it would make sense for the song to sound just like the majority of the music present on their 1999 self-titled record, with maybe a few shiny new updates to the engineering process that have come around since then. So, it might sound like their previous record (which was only four years ago), but keep in mind that “The Gray Chapter” comprised mostly the same musical effort that “All Out Life” is. All that's changed is the song's message.

 

Earlier in October, Taylor said the band would not be entering the studio until early 2019. So, if that remains the case, this would have been recorded earlier, possibly during the recording sessions for “The Gray Chapter,” and saved for the fans as a Halloween present while building hype for a long-upcoming album. The answer to the question of if this song will be on the summer 2019 new Slipknot record, consequently, is still high up in the air.