The four-year gap between Slipknot's last album and ALL HOPE IS GONE found the members of Slipknot diversifying with successful side projects like Stone Sour, but the time spent was hardly wasted. The fresh experience and exposure to other music has helped the masked metalheads deepen their sound. Touches of thrash, rap, industrial, and surprising melody have helped in Slipknot's evolution. "Gematria (The Killing Name)" and "Butcher's Hook" employ the brutal double bass drumming and cascading tempos of metalcore, along with a harsh vocal style. Elsewhere, the melodic vocals more characteristic of "nu-metal" and of singer Corey Taylor's work in Stone Sour crop up, almost tipping into power-ballad territory on "Snuff." Both "Pychosocial" and "Dead Memories" recall the hard, knotty funk of Korn, and the title track itself is a desperate, riff-heavy anthem. Overall, the dark, sophisticated palate that has kept Slipknot above the alternative metal pack is still in place.