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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 25, 2008

Updated:

SLIPKNOT:

ALL HOPE IS GONE

(ROADRUNNER) ***

Slipknot is at a crossroads. Its fourth studio album is stellar but likely not what longtime fans expected.

"All Hope Is Gone" rocks hard. But any doubt as to whose vision defines this band is gone. This is Corey Taylor's show, and some fans may have trouble distinguishing this disc from his side band Stone Sour's "Come(What)Ever May."

It shouldn't matter, but Maggots, the band's hardest-core fans, may not embrace standout tracks such as "Sulphur" and "Dead Memories" because they are more melodic than the in-your-face Slipknot song.

A better comparison is Metallica's 1991 so-called "Black Album," particularly the haunting, beautiful "Snuff," which deserves to be a bigger hit than "The Unforgiven."

Download this: "Dead Memories" and "Snuff"

John W. Allman

B.B. KING:

ONE KIND FAVOR

(UNIVERSAL) ****

Some blues greats are like rotgut - raw and blinding with a kick that leaves you in a gutter.

At 76, B.B. King is like an old barrel of Glenfiddich. Smooth and mellow, with a sneaky wallop.

His latest release, "One Kind Favor," is one of his best in years. There is so much energy here that it belies the opening number - a soulful rendition of Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," which is the request asked by the album title.

If you want to hear one of the last of the original blues greats at the top of his game, do yourself one kind favor and get this CD.

Download this: "Sitting On Top Of The World"

Howard Altman

THE WALKMEN:

YOU & ME

(GIGANTIC) **½

After basking in the rocking light of 2006's "A Hundred Miles Off," The Walkmen descend once again into the wee hours' urban abyss for "You & Me."

They may not be drinking in the same bars here, since several songs concern travel. But bad behavior and hung-over remorse seem to follow The Walkmen wherever they roam.

Songs such as "In the New Year" and "Canadian Girl" conjure an atmosphere of stale cigarette smoke and ill-advised late-night phone calls. The ragged but tight playing, especially Matt Barrick's always simpatico drumming, suits the mood perfectly.

Too bad the mercilessly compressed production doesn't give the music much room to breathe. Ventilate, brothers, ventilate.

Download this: "Canadian Girl"

Curtis Ross

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