NO ONE IS - SAFE

Many people have asked me what my end-all-be-all record would be. If you could only get ONE more record, what would it be? I have skirted around this question many times simply because I did not have a response. I liked the hunt more than I did actually finding the holy grails. Deep down, however, I very well knew my answer. There's this little band from Des Moines, Iowa called Slipknot. Maybe you have heard of them? Never quite made it out of the local scene... (just kidding).

Growing up in Iowa I didn't have much to latch onto. I wasn't into agriculture, so farming was not my route. I quickly discovered my passion and love for music, which very quickly turned into an obsession for metal. It wasn't much longer until I was introduced to Slipknot who, in my eyes, were local heroes. I do not think of my upbringing without associating it with Slipknot in some way. Slipknot was a rite of passage for Iowan metal-heads. Whichever way you went after that was irrelevant - at some, they crossed your plate. For me, they never left.

In 2001 they released a crushing album entitled Iowa. This is, to date, their heaviest album in terms of both composition and lyrical content (in my opinion). The stories surrounding the recording process and tour cycle of this record are almost un-human. I'm talking puke, human waste, decomposing and rotting animals, self-harm, drugs, alcohol, the death of loved ones - you name it. These outside factors are sonically present. (515) is composed entirely of Sid Wilson breaking down in the booth after his grandfather had passed away. Ross Robinson, the producer, caught and recorded this personal moment; this track sets the tone for the entire album.

Iowa has always been unobtainable for me. It hardly shows up, is very expensive, and is very rarely in good shape. I have only seen one copy in person and was decently beat. One of my biggest regrets is not buying a sealed original in 2018. I desperately wanted to find my favorite Slipknot record. Finally, 21 years after the original release, Slipknot and Roadrunner Records have re-issued it. This moment is overdue. I am always going to be on the hunt for an original, as that is now officially my "Holy Grail" record. For now, however, I have something to hold me over a bit longer.

I write this discombobulated and in between spurts of head-banging. The harshness and pain living inside my ears has never been so pleasurable. Excuse my very low-effort and wandering post, but I felt the need to express the amount of joy and happiness I am feeling.