Slipknot – All Hope Is Gone (2008): Number One and Uncompromising

April 24, 2026

All Hope Is Gone is Slipknot's commercial peak. Released on 22 August 2008 via Roadrunner Records, their fourth album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 — making them the first extreme metal band to achieve that feat with a studio album — and went platinum in the US. It is their heaviest and most technically accomplished record.

Background & Recording

Produced by Dave Fortman, All Hope Is Gone was recorded at Mansion Studios in Iowa and represented a conscious return to the band's heavier roots after the more melodic Vol. 3. The album is faster, more aggressive, and more technically demanding than anything Slipknot had previously released, showcasing the full range of the band's musicianship.

The sessions were also marked by growing tensions within the band — tensions that would eventually lead to the departures of bassist Paul Gray (who passed away in 2010) and drummer Joey Jordison (who left in 2013). All Hope Is Gone is, in many ways, the last album by the classic Slipknot lineup.

Tracklist

Execute
Gematria (The Killing Name)
Sulfur
Psychosocial
Dead Memories
Vendetta
Butcher's Hook
Gehenna
This Cold Black
Wherein Lies Continue
Snuff
All Hope Is Gone

Key Tracks

Psychosocial is the album's defining track — a ferocious, technically complex song with a massive chorus that became one of Slipknot's biggest singles and a permanent fixture in their live set. Dead Memories provided the melodic counterpoint, a brooding, atmospheric track that showcased Corey Taylor's range. Snuff is the album's most surprising moment — a stripped-back acoustic ballad of genuine emotional power that stands as one of Taylor's finest vocal performances. The title track All Hope Is Gone closes the album with a relentless, thrash-influenced assault.

Legacy

All Hope Is Gone proved that Slipknot could reach the top of the mainstream charts without compromising their sound. It remains their best-selling album and a landmark of 21st-century heavy music. The loss of Paul Gray, who passed away in May 2010, gives the record an additional poignancy — it stands as the last full studio document of his contribution to the band.