We Are Not Your Kind arrived during a resurgence of mainstream interest in heavy music (Ghost, Code Orange, Fever 333). It proved that Slipknot, nearly 25 years into their career, could still innovate without losing their edge.
The album’s themes of rejection and resilience resonated deeply in the pre-COVID era of 2019—a year marked by political polarization and online toxicity. When the pandemic hit months later, lines like “This is not a person / This is a disease” (“Red Flag”) took on eerie new meaning.
Another interlude, but this one is sinister. Distorted, gargled voices over a minimalist drum pattern. It leads directly into... Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind -2019-
A scathing indictment of fair-weather fans and critics. Opens with a haunting clean guitar before descending into a polyrhythmic assault. “Everyone you meet is playing a part”—a commentary on performative loyalty.
The album’s title, We Are Not Your Kind, is a direct middle finger to tribalism and expectation. Frontman Corey Taylor described it as a statement about being an outsider, even among outsiders. The band has always courted the "maggot"—the rejected, the weird, the angry. But here, they turn the mirror on themselves. We Are Not Your Kind arrived during a
This is Slipknot rejecting their own legacy. They are not your kind of nostalgia act. They are not your kind of nu-metal revival. Lyrically, Taylor dissects depression, addiction, manipulation, and the terrifying silence of a mind under siege. Musically, the band integrates haunting synth pads (courtesy of the late Craig Jones and Sid Wilson’s turntables) with blast beats, jazz-influenced percussion, and doom-laden sludge.
The longest true song on the album, "My Pain" is an ambient doomscape. It features whispered vocals, reversed samples, and a bass frequency so low it feels like a migraine. This is not a single; it’s an atmosphere. Taylor once described it as the sound of drowning in a dream. It is divisive, but essential to the album’s arc. The album’s themes of rejection and resilience resonated
This is where the band stretches. A clean, melodic guitar intro gives way to a sluggish, doom-metal verse. The song switches time signatures multiple times. Taylor croons, screams, and whispers. The lyrics address the pressure of public scrutiny ("What do you want from me? / You had my heart, now I want it back"). It’s a six-minute epic that never overstays its welcome.
The creation of We Are Not Your Kind was overshadowed by a very public schism. Longtime percussionist and founding member Joey Jordison had been dismissed in 2013, and songwriter/guitarist Jim Root had been temporarily fired from Stone Sour to focus on this record. Furthermore, vocalist Corey Taylor was battling depression and a divorce.
Instead of breaking the band, this tension became the album’s engine. The title itself—We Are Not Your Kind—was a reclamation of the band’s identity. It was a statement of defiance against the industry, fair-weather fans, and the people who doubted the band's longevity without specific members. Recording took place at EastWest Studios in Hollywood with producer Greg Fidelman, who previously worked on .5: The Gray Chapter. Fidelman’s production is notable for its "live" feel; it sounds like nine men playing in a room, capturing the aggression that some felt was polished off on their prior record.