All Hope Is Gone by Slipknot

All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot's fourth album, hit in August 2008 on Roadrunner, and it's the Des Moines nine-piece throwing everything they had into one pot. Recording started that February back home in Iowa with Dave Fortman producing, and the result swings wildly: "Gematria (The Killing Name)" and the title track come in with a death-metal snarl, "Gehenna" slows to a woozy, trippy crawl, and "Dead Memories" and "Snuff" let Corey Taylor bleed openly. "Psychosocial" splits the difference, all chugging menace and a huge hook. The lyrics chew on anger, disaffection, obsession and the music business, with more politics than before.

It became their first album to top the Billboard 200 and eventually went platinum. It also turned out to be the last studio record from the Iowa-era lineup: bassist Paul Gray died in 2010, and drummer Joey Jordison was fired in 2013.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.