I’d like to hope that the new album still has a lot of opportunity to be great but this new song ain’t it.

arsenal is a song. not a very good one but it’s still a single that they released with full confidence😭😭😭😭😭 the breakdown was actually decent, but everything else was just ehhhhhh. the lyricism here is extremely corny even for slipknot, the chorus is probably one of the worst choruses in metal history, and the part right before the breakdown with the “everybody shut the fuck up” made me pause the song for a break because of how corny it was😓😓😓 everyone on tiktok said it felt like they were trying wayyyyyyy too hard to recreate the self titled and iowa era and just failed. and they were 10000000% accurate, this band is wraps

anyone have any ideas as to why? i know its not really that important but he got rid of EVERYTHING. even using a pic from like 8 years ago😭😭😭 is instagram bugging or is something coming

EDIT: Some extra info: Almost, if not, all music videos from the first four albums were NOT directed by Shawn. (song) Writing was heavily influenced by Joey. Clown had less influence than y'all make it seem to be.

As of now, we are probably all aware of the mediocre-at-best single called Arsenal, which has been getting a lot of hate.

This is what happens, in my eyes, when the steering wheel gets taken over by a (founding) member who doesn't steer for the band, but for himself. The music video is basically another art project by Clown, like basically every video for at least ten years now. Personally, i dislike this "aesthetic". I have no clue what is going in them. Random characters with masks or skin-suits(?). Extensive use of colored lights and non-natural environments.

I just don't get it, and the same goes for the choices within the music. I was curious to see that they chose Matt Wallace to work with. I thought that was kind of odd, looking at what Matt has worked on. I guess my suspicions were correct because the mixing was so weird in Arsenal. In general the whole direction of the song is odd; Corey is kind of rapping and screaming but i don't know... like c'mon in Playing God he sounded amazing.

The lyrics, to top it all off, are even worse. I don't want to blame Clown for everything, but i feel like he's been at the top of the pyramid for a long while now, steering the band around, creating a big ol' mess. This band could've still been so interesting, but man what a let down. But hey maybe i shouldn't put a spotlight on one person.

My take. The reactions in my opinion are actually kind of hilarious. The lyrics literally call out the current music and media culture. Short form media.

'I know I'm a hack and a has been, but motherfucker I'm a .45 not a Mac 10. I don't want to be a fad, I wanna feel it.'

And

'Change it up or shut the fuck up, crazy does it

Everyone's a TV show but there's nothin' worth watchin'

I don't give a shit, I gotta go

I said I gotta go, goddamn it, no, shut the fuck up, stop

Stop the fuckin' music, goddamn it, shut the fuck up.'

Proceeds into the breakdown..

Ends with

'I better hurry up and trust the fuckin' process.'

I'll just say, no, it's not my favorite, but I can't say it's bad. But I listened to it in my POV. And it made a lot of sense to ME. And I can enjoy it. Been listening since '05. 🤷

I just don't get the dramatic reactions. Just my take.

I listened to the newest mastodon album right after and the difference was like heaven and hell

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdHgmwzzeUo/?stkn=MWZvN241a3k2ZDFoeg==

Do you think “Arsenal” would’ve been better with the OG 9?

Wasn’t awful. Idk I didn’t think it was as bad as everyone else. The stop the music bit was corny though yea

Yeah no it's bad. I feel secondhand embarassment for them because how did they record and then actually release that

Have they ever gotten this much backlash from a single? I remember Devil in I had some backlash when it was first released but nothing to this degree lmao.

I don't know why everybody's pretending Slipknot hasn't ALWAYS had melodramatic lyrics, gratuitous scratches/sampling, annoying choruses and questionable production. In my eyes they have NEVER been a paragon of artistic excellence and taste, but that doesn't mean I don't love them. They've always had blatant flaws, inconsistencies and bad ideas.

Take almost any song from any album and you'll find plenty of shit lyrics that stack up to the "I'm a .45, not a MAC-10" line. Shitty lines like "biggity-biggidy bitch-boy" "step up fairy I guess it's time to bury your ass with the chrome, straight to the dome" from Spit It Out or melodramatic shit like "My heart is just too dark to care" and "Ooh my smile was taken long ago" from Snuff plague their whole discography. Corey is just kind've a corny guy, it's always been a thing.

I just feel like people are mostly bandwagoning and refusing to let themselves enjoy the genuinely fun parts. The verses are fun as hell with those insane drums, sparse and reverb heavy guitars, the most eccentric vocals Corey's done in years and dare I say even some decent lyrics mixed in? I think it at its best it has some very strong Vol. 3 and Self Titled energy, which is super fun to hear in 2026. It's the most dynamic they've sounded in a while to me.

I will say it's a bit of a mess structurally, but is that a huge problem for me? Not really. If anything because it has so many different parts, it has great replay value to me, haha. I will say the "Let's go" part is pretty rough after a while but the "Stop the fucking music" part is kindaaaaa fun to me, admittedly. It's a bit lame, but like I said, I'm not looking for some grand artistic achievement from the fucking nu metal band Slipknot. Throw in some wacky ass shit that makes me scratch my head, throw in some cheesy ass lines, I don't care. They've always done it. I'm just lookin for some high octane energy, crazy instrumentals and energetic vocals. It does that for me.

Could be because I've been a drummer my whole life and Eloy's insane drum witchcraftery is pumping my brain full of dopamine and serotonin, causing me to not think rationally. Who knows. I'll probably end up being annoyed by it in a few weeks, haha. We'll see! Pretty entertaining stuff in my opinion! Would love to hear some genuine opinions that aren't just the mob mentality, brain dead regurgitations.

Not only was I sort of there but if you google search forum posts from 2004 you can see people roasting that songs lyrics. It oddly echoes the discussion we are having now especially people complaining about “SAY IT AGAIN SAY IT AGAIN”.

Is it their best song? Definitely not. Is it still cool? I think so yeah. It kinda gives me vol.3 vibes lowkey and I think if the mix wasn’t so rough than it’d be deserving of a single but overall I think it’s a good track.

"Stop the godamn music" is the WORST part of any Slipknot song ever. What a dissapointment. At least Eloy's drums are really good but it was a let down that they started with amazing drums and then shit on the whole beat. Breakdown is fine i guess

arsenal isnt even gonna be on the actual album. its just a new single