From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Dead Memories" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot, the song was released as the third single from their fourth album All Hope Is Gone. The track was released on December 1, 2008.[1] The music video for the single was directed by P. R. Brown and Shawn Crahan. The video premiered on MTV2 on October 25, 2008. When performed live, Jim Root performs the solo.
[edit] Music video
The music video for "Dead Memories" was directed by P. R. Brown.[2] On September 30, 2008 the band's record label Roadrunner Records released a 15 second teaser video on YouTube which featured vocalist Corey Taylor in what appears to be a grave in torrential rain.[3] The video premiered on MTV's Headbangers Ball on October 25, 2008 as part of the Headbangers Ball 20th anniversary special programming.[4][5] The treatment for the music video was percussionist Shawn Crahan's idea, Crahan calls the music video a "short film" and admits that it was a "very" expensive video. Crahan's initial idea was to have several rooms, he introduced the idea to vocalist Corey Taylor who decided what each room would be.[6]
The music video starts off with Taylor walking from the Iowa State Capitol in downtown Des Moines[7] into a rural area. Taylor walks through fields and begins to dig. He seemingly falls through the ground into a room below, now wearing a mask. The room is occupied by turntablist Sid Wilson, who is crawling on the walls and ceiling. Wilson tries to stop Taylor from leaving the room by grabbing his leg, however, Taylor is able to leave the room and enter a second room, which is occupied by drummer Joey Jordison, who is being pampered by women. Taylor spectates the scene, but does not interact with anybody, and then leaves the room. He enters a third room that is occupied by sampler Craig Jones. When Taylor enters the room the video is solarized and remains so throughout the scene. Taylor walks around Jones and inspects his mask. Jones then lights a flare and holds it up, and Taylor finds the door then leaves the room and enters a fourth, which is occupied by bassist Paul Gray.
This room is filled with mirrors, and Taylor inspects the room while Gray watches. Taylor then waves to establish if it's a mirror. Gray smashes the mirror, and Taylor falls backwards, and into another room, occupied by percussionist Shawn Crahan. Crahan is dancing with several women, and doesn't acknowledge Taylor, who pushes his way into another room, which is occupied by guitarist Mick Thomson. The two stand off, and Taylor fails to push past Thomson several times before finally getting to the next door. He enters a seventh room which is occupied by guitarist James Root and women. Taylor walks through the crowd into an eighth room, which is occupied by percussionist Chris Fehn, who is lighting candles. Taylor spectates and eventually blows a candle out. He is shown digging above ground again, when a second Taylor rises from the hole. On 5 November 2009, a 10 minute "short film" version of the video featuring narration by Corey Taylor was released.[8]
[edit] Reception
During album reviews for All Hope Is Gone, "Dead Memories" was remarked upon for its melody and accessibility. Reviewing for Blabbermouth.net, Ryan Ogle says that the track shows Slipknot's diversity, he went on to state it's "well-written and melodious".[9] Dan Martin of The Guardian compared it to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica and went on to say, "[it] is so listenable it's almost conventional."[10] However, Jim Kaz of IGN said that the track almost detracts from the intensity of the album, stating, "it's at this point the band loses a little momentum."[11] In the same vein Ogle of Blabbermouth.net says that it's a track that "lack[s] the white hot fire that allows the rest of the disc to burn our asses."[9] It is the band's most successful single on the Mainstream Rock tracks chart peaking at number 3. However on the the Active Rock chart, it peaked at #1.
[edit] Charts
[edit] Track listing
- "Dead Memories" (Edit) – 3:41
- "Dead Memories" (Alternate Edit) – 4:00
- "Dead Memories" (Album Version) – 4:28
[edit] Dead Memories (Chris Lord-Alge Mix)
- "Dead Memories (Chris Lord-Alge Mix)" - 3:58
[edit] Personnel
[edit] References
