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"The Nameless"
Single by Slipknot
from the album 9.0: Live
ReleasedNovember 1, 2005
RecordedAugust 22, 2005
VenueHouse of Blues (Las Vegas)
Length3:44
LabelRoadrunner
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Joey Jordison
Slipknot singles chronology
"Before I Forget"
(2005) 		"The Nameless"
(2005) 		"The Blister Exists"
(2006)
Music video
"The Nameless" on YouTube
"The Nameless"
Song by Slipknot
from the album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
ReleasedMay 25, 2004
Length4:28
LabelRoadrunner
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rick Rubin

"The Nameless" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. The song was released as the only single from their first live album, 9.0: Live, while it is also included on their third studio album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). A music video was released for the single in late 2005 and also was featured on MTV's Rock Top 10 as number two.

Musical structure

The song begins with a high-noted guitar riff, with mixed in samples, leading to the guitar notes getting lower, and lead vocalist Corey Taylor starting the lyrics with a scream. This eventually leads to low noted riffs with minor scales associated in. The song has a "basic minor-key riff," along with "thrash" riffs, and interludes that are much softer. The chorus is slow, emotional and epic. The song is in B minor,[1] like many other Slipknot songs.

Music video

Screenshot of "The Nameless" music video

The accompanying music video was directed by band member Shawn Crahan,[2] who has also created and assisted with several of Slipknot's other videos.[3][4]

The video depicts Slipknot performing live on their second headline tour The Subliminal Verses World Tour. It features various clips and shots of their fans during the concert. The video was directed by the band's co-founder and custom percussionist Shawn Crahan,[2][5] and was featured on Voliminal: Inside the Nine,[6] the band's third video album that was certified platinum by the RIAA.[7] Many of the photos featured in 9.0: Live are seen in the video. At the end of the video, a caption says "Dedicated to all the Maggots [Slipknot fans] everywhere".

As of October 2023, the music video for "The Nameless" has over 15 million views on YouTube.[8]

Promotion of 9.0: Live

Before the 9.0: Live's release, a sample from the live recording of "The Nameless" was made available on the Internet through the band's record label.[9] A music video featuring the live recording of "The Nameless" was created to promote the album.[10]

Critical reception

Blender commented that "Relief from 'Prelude [3.0]' arrives quickly in the basic minor-key riffs and grooves of... 'The Nameless'..."[11] Dan Silver from NME said "'The Nameless' intercuts thrash riffs with softly-strummed interludes".[12] Robert Cherry of Rolling Stone said it "splices a cooing boy-band chorus onto a g-g-gunky speed metal verse".[13] Yahoo!s Chris Heath said the song "confusingly stitches both extremes together – the ludicrously vicious and ridiculously placid – into one track that simply feels awkward, wrong even".[14]

Appearances on other albums

  • "The Nameless" was featured in the album Promo only: Modern Rock Radio in 2005. The album is by various artists including System of a Down, OK Go, Fall Out Boy, and several others.[15]
  • It was also track number eight on Radioactive: Mainstream & Rock series in December 2005. The album features various artists that include many of the artists featured on Promo only: Modern Rock Radio.[16]
  • The song also appeared on The Scorched Earth Orchestra Performs Slipknot,[17] an album produced by Noah Agruss and released on August 12, 2008.[18] With nine other tracks, the tribute album released by Vitamin Records and includes covers of tracks from Slipknot's first three studio albums. The label's website enthuse that The Scorched Earth Orchestra "expand on Slipknot's marching-band-from-hell framework" with "booming percussion, in-your-face horns [and] string sections that rip at your flesh".[17]

Track listing

US Promo single
No.TitleLyricsArrangerLength
1."The Nameless" (Edit 1)Corey TaylorSlipknot3:44
2."The Nameless" (Edit 2)Corey TaylorSlipknot4:01
Netherlands Promo single
No.TitleLyricsArrangerLength
1."The Nameless" (Edit 1)Corey TaylorSlipknot3:44
2."The Nameless" (Live)Corey TaylorSlipknot4:44
Japan single
No.TitleLyricsArrangerLength
1."Prosthetics" (Live)SlipknotSlipknot5:17
2."The Nameless" (Album version)Corey TaylorSlipknot4:28
3."Before I Forget" (Molt-Injected mix)SlipknotSlipknot4:40
Germany single
No.TitleLyricsArrangerLength
1."The Nameless" (Live)Corey TaylorSlipknot3:44
2."The Nameless" (Enhanced video)Corey TaylorSlipknot4:28

Charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[19] 25

References

  1. ^ Ultimate-Guitar.com The Nameless Tab
  2. ^ a b "Slipknot cap a year of destruction". 93X Rocks. October 4, 2005. Archived from the original on January 15, 2008. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  3. ^ "Vermilion" (Insert). Slipknot. Roadrunner Records. 2004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Blabbermouth.net: SLIPKNOT Films 'Sulfur' Video - Mar. 23, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  5. ^ Humphreys, Ashley. "Slipknot Biography: MFKR". Slipknot-metal.com. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  6. ^ Voliminal track listing. Roadrunner Records. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  7. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  8. ^ Slipknot (October 27, 2009). "Slipknot - The Nameless [OFFICIAL VIDEO]". YouTube. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  9. ^ "Slipknot: Live Album Sample Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. October 13, 2005. Archived from the original on December 13, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  10. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (October 3, 2005). "Slipknot Cap A Year Of Destruction With 9.0: Live; More Stone Sour On Tap". MTV. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  11. ^ Ratliff, Ben (May 25, 2004). "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) - Blender review". Blender. Retrieved March 7, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Silver, Dan (June 8, 2004). "Slipknot : Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses". NME. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  13. ^ Cherry, Robert (June 10, 2004). "Slipknot (Metal) - Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  14. ^ Heath, Chris (June 3, 2004). "Slipknot - Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  15. ^ Promo Only: Modern Rock Radio (November 2005). AllMusic. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  16. ^ Radioactive: Mainstream & Rock Series (December 2005). AllMusic. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  17. ^ a b "The Scorched Earth Orchestra Performs Slipknot". Vitamin Records. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  18. ^ "AllMusic ((( The Scorched Earth Orchestra Performs Slipknot > Overview )))". AllMusic. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  19. ^ "Slipknot Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nameless_(song)

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