MUSIC Slipknot to return with a new album

Getting the band back together wasn't easy, the lead singer said.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Fear not, Maggots: Fending off rumors of its demise -- fueled by an extended layoff, internal feuding and some high-profile side projects by its members -- Slipknot is ready to re-emerge.
And conquer.
The nine-piece outfit of masked metal heads, whose legions of rabid fans are affectionately referred to as Maggots, is set to release a new album and has launched a headlining tour.
"We went through a lot of darkness," said Slipknot lead singer Corey Taylor in a recent interview from his Iowa residence. "It affected us as a band and as friends."
Taylor, who also is the lead singer for Stone Sour, said things went downhill during Slipknot's last tour to support the platinum 2002 "Iowa" album, and there was a tremendous amount of negativity swirling about. "On the 'Iowa' tour, everybody was depressed and angry," he said.
So Taylor and Slipknot guitarist Jim Root reformed and toured with Stone Sour, scoring the hit "Bother," which appeared on the "Spider-Man" soundtrack. Drummer Joey Jordison hooked up with the Murderdolls, and the group's turntablist, Sid Wilson, performed solo as DJ Starscream.
Back together
Getting Slipknot back together wasn't easy, Taylor said, but it's been satisfying.
"We were all kind of leery, and I had serious reservations," he said. "But it was time for us to reconnect."
Slipknot has been an underground sensation since the late 1990s. Hailing from Iowa, the band performs in masks and utility jumpsuits, and each band member is assigned a number -- zero through eight -- as an onstage alias.
They play a pummeling, aggressive brand of heavy metal, with menacing songs such as "Wait and Bleed" and "Tattered and Torn." The band's first two albums have sold more than 1 million copies each, as have its two DVD releases, and its music is featured in several video games.
"I watched them evolve from the band that opened the side stage of Ozzfest to headlining 'The Family Values Tour,'" said Bram Teitelman, rock editor for Airplay Monitor and former metal editor for radio industry trade magazine FMQB.
New album, new sound
Taylor is excited about the band's third album, "Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses," which will be released May 25. Famed knob-twiddler Rick Rubin, who has had the golden touch with a diverse slate of artists such as The Beastie Boys, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Johnny Cash, handled production.
In Stone Sour, Taylor was allowed to develop a more melodic side of singing, and he said Rubin encouraged Slipknot to follow in that vein.
Will Rubin's touch push Slipknot into the mainstream? Teitelman isn't convinced.
"While he's no rookie when it comes to producing heavy music before, it's not like his production on Slayer's last album, 'God Hates Us All,' brought them any new fans on Rubin's name recognition alone," he said. "I don't think that Slipknot will ever really be a mainstream band."