"Solway Firth" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Produced by Greg Fidelman, it was released on July 22, 2019, as the second single from their sixth album, ''

We Are Not Your Kind ''We Are Not Your Kind'' is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Recorded at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California with co-producer Greg Fidelman (who previously produced the band's 2014 album '' .5: The Gray Cha ...

''. The song's music video was directed by the band's percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan and features footage from the

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

series '' The Boys''. The track peaked at number 8 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Rock Songs chart and number 14 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart.

Background

"Solway Firth" was released on July 22, 2019, as the second single from the band's sixth studio album, ''

'', following " Unsainted" two months previously. The song's title refers to

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

, a section of sea which forms part of the border between Scotland and England, but may also be alluding to the Solway Firth Spaceman, a popular subject of

ufology Ufology, sometimes written UFOlogy ( or ), is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary claims, extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial hypothesis, extrate ...

; the recurring lyric "Here's an unexplainable one" is a likely allusion to this.

Reception

Media response to "Solway Firth" was generally positive. Reviewing the song for ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'', Adam Rees claimed that it was "an altogether different assault" from " All Out Life" and " Unsainted", describing the track as "dramatic, a little troubling and downright heavy". Similarly, ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' magazine called it "a six-minute masterpiece".

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...

's Lauryn Schaffner praised the performances of vocalist

Corey Taylor Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter, author and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Slipknot (band), Slipknot, in which he is designated #8, as well as the lead vocalist, guitarist, ly ...

and drummer Jay Weinberg on the track, outlining that "Corey Taylor's vocals hinethrough with brutal intensity .. andJay Weinberg's drumming also stands out as a high point, crushing extended double kick patterns throughout the cut." Several commentators have recognized "Solway Firth" as one of the "heavy" and "experimental" tracks promised by the band on ''We Are Not Your Kind'' – Nick Reilly of the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' claimed that the song "borders on ''

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

'' levels of heavy", referring to a description made by Taylor, while ''Kerrang!'' also quoted Taylor when claiming that the single "boast the 'experimental' side of the band's sound".

Music video

The music video features footage from Slipknot's summer 2019 European shows (including

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

) interspersed with clips from the

series '' The Boys''. It was co-produced by

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

and Prime Video, with the band's percussionist and frequent director Shawn "Clown" Crahan directing. Ryan Reed of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' outlined that the "gruesome" video "alternates head-banging live performance footage with violent clips from" the series, highlighting "Bloody scenes ncludinga man holding two severed arms and one character bashing someone's head into a bathroom sink." As of April 2025, the music video for "Solway Firth" has over 90 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2019 songs 2019 singles Slipknot (band) songs Roadrunner Records singles Songs written by Jim Root Songs written by Corey Taylor Songs written by Shawn Crahan Melodic death metal songs Thrash metal songs Stoner rock songs