"Sulfur" is the fourth single from American heavy metal band

Slipknot The slip knot is a stopper knot which is easily undone by pulling the tail ( working end). The slip knot is related to the running knot, which will release when the standing end is pulled. Both knots are identical and are composed of a slipp ...

's fourth album ''

All Hope Is Gone ''All Hope Is Gone'' is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot, released on August 26, 2008 by Roadrunner Records. The album was published in two versions: the standard album in a CD case and a special edition packaged ...

''. The single was released on June 15, 2009, after a video was released on April 18, 2009. This was the last Slipknot video to feature their full original lineup with both bassist Paul Gray, who died the next year, and also the final appearance from

Joey Jordison Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison (April 26, 1975 – July 26, 2021) was an American musician. He was the original drummer of the nu metal band Slipknot (band), Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, and the guitarist for the horror punk Supergroup ...

who was fired from the band four years later, before his death in July 2021. "Sulfur", " Duality" and "

Psychosocial The psychosocial approach looks at individuals in the context of the combined influence that psychological factors and the surrounding social environment have on their physical and mental wellness and their ability to function. This approach is ...

" became downloadable content in ''

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

'' on December 8, 2009.

Background

Music video

The video was filmed on March 9, 2009 (just two days before the end of the

All Hope Is Gone World Tour The All Hope Is Gone World Tour was a concert tour by Slipknot (band), Slipknot that took place in 2008 and 2009 in support of the group's fourth studio album ''All Hope Is Gone''. The tour consisted of nine legs and took place in the United Sta ...

) in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area. It was codirected by percussionist

Shawn Crahan Michael Shawn Crahan (born September 24, 1969), more commonly known by his stage persona "Clown", is an American musician. He is the co-founder, percussionist, and only original member remaining of the alternative metal band Slipknot (band), Sli ...

and P. R. Brown; the latter's third Slipknot video. On April 14, 2009, Slipknot released a thirty-second preview of the video through

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and announced it would be premiered on ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consists of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obsc ...

'' on April 18, 2009. The video depicts the nine members playing in groups of three as well as footage of each member submerged underwater. Crahan explained that when he writes treatments for their videos he thinks, "What has Slipknot not done? What can we embark upon that will be fun and knowledge-enhancing instead of the same old song and dance?", saying that the members themselves are the treatment for this video. This further shows that they always try to give their fans as much of themselves as they can even though they are tired of live performances; revealing that, to change things up, they shot the members performing in groups of three. The concept of the members appearing individually underwater was modeled after a video installation entitled "Ascension" by

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...

ist

Bill Viola William John Viola Jr. ( , ; January 25, 1951 – July 12, 2024) was an American video artist whose artistic expression depended upon electronic, sound, and image technology in new media. His works focus on the ideas behind fundamental human ...

. Crahan explained that the smell of

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

is "something people either love or hate, and if you hate it, then it can be suffocating", so they incorporated water as a visual representation of that. He revealed that the members felt uncomfortable when shooting in an eleven-foot glass tank; he further explained, "You had to go up this really weird ladder and the water was dirty and it was a five-foot by five-foot tank and it looked like when you stepped into it you were gonna hit your head on the frame that holds the glass and it would just rip your nose off," but added that it was his favorite video so far "because it involved that fear". Chris Fehn expressed anxiety about the jump and Taylor was at one point "impaled" by one of Craig Jones' spikes. When Shawn comes up, he does it with his baseball bat.

Track listing

;Radio Mix Digital Download #"Sulfur" – 4:03 ; Digital Download # "Sulfur" – 4:37Sulfur

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

# "Sulfur" – 5:03 ;US Promo CD # "Sulfur" – 3:59 # "Sulfur" – 4:37 ;EU Promo CD # "Sulfur" – 4:01 # "Sulfur" – 4:37

Personnel

Slipknot *(#8)

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 ...

– vocals *(#7)

Mick Thomson Mickael Gordon "Mick" Thomson (born November 3, 1973) is an American musician. He is one of two guitarists for the nu metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #7. Thomson, who originally met founding Slipknot members Anders Colsefni, Don ...

– guitar *(#4)

Jim Root James Donald Root (born October 2, 1971) is an American guitarist. He is one of two guitarists for heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #4, as well as the former lead guitarist for rock band Stone Sour. Life and career Ro ...

– guitar *(#2) Paul Gray – bass *(#1)

– drums *(#6)

– percussion, vocals, music video director *(#3)

Chris Fehn Christopher Fehn (born February 24, 1973) is an American musician. He was a percussionist and backing vocalist for the heavy metal band Slipknot from 1998 to 2019, in which he was designated #3. He was also the bassist for Will Haven from 20 ...

– percussion, vocals *(#0)

Sid Wilson Sidney George Wilson (born January 20, 1977) is an American DJ and keyboardist. He is the turntablist for the nu metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #0. Biography Sid Wilson was born in Des Moines, Iowa. Both of his parents are from ...

– turntables, keyboards *(#5) Craig Jones – samples Additional Personnel *

Dave Fortman Dave Fortman (born July 11, 1967) is an American record producer and musician. He is the guitarist for rock band Ugly Kid Joe, and has done production work for bands such as Godsmack, Superjoint Ritual, Snot (band), Snot, Watership Down (band), ...

– producer * Jeremy Parker – engineer *

Colin Richardson Colin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound source ...

– mixing * Matt Hyde – mix engineer * Oli Wright – assistant engineer *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

– mastering * P. R. Brown – director

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulfur (Song) 2009 singles Slipknot (band) songs 2008 songs Songs written by Corey Taylor Songs written by Paul Gray (American musician) Roadrunner Records singles Songs written by Joey Jordison Songs written by Jim Root Thrash metal songs American hard rock songs Melodic metalcore songs Music videos directed by P. R. Brown simple:Sulfur