"The Negative One" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released on August 1, 2014, it was the band's first new song since the death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010 and the 2013 firing of drummer

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 ...

. An accompanying music video premiered on Slipknot's official website on August 5, 2014; however, no band members were featured. 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 ...

told

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

that he saw the song as more of a "gift to the fans" than a regular single though it was still released as a digital single on iTunes and many other digital music retailers.

Reception

The song was nominated for the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for

Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Background

Before the release of this single, on February 27, 2014, all of the band's social media outlets were blacked out with no reason given. Later on, the band released small few second teasers for the new album each day, which turned out to be clips from the official video along with samples from the song.

Musical style

"The Negative One" returns to a more aggressive and chaotic sound, similar to the sound of ''

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 ...

'' and the self-titled debut album. Among others, it contains double-bass attacks and stomping percussion strikes combined with fast riffs, shrieking samples, and continuous aggressive shouting and screaming by Corey Taylor. The drumming was compared to the style of

Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...

Chris Adler Christopher James Adler (born November 23, 1972) is an American musician, best-known as a founding member and the longtime drummer of Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Lamb of God (band), Lamb of God from 1994 to 2019. He was also a Grammy A ...

, which led some to the question if he was the new drummer for Slipknot, although Adler said the rumor was incorrect.

Music video

The video was released on the band's official website via a private YouTube link after a countdown on their official site timed out on August 5. The next day, the video was made publicly available. Directed by Shawn Crahan, the music video features two women performing various acts along with props paying homage to some of Slipknot's earlier work. It does not feature any of the band members. This was the band's first NSFW video on YouTube and must have an account with 18+ years of age to watch. The video was whitelisted when first released, but now the link is public. However, age verification is still required. As of August 2024, the song has 29 million views on YouTube.

Track listing

Personnel

*(#0) Sid Wilson –

turntables A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

*(#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, backing vocals *(#4) Jim Root – guitars *(#5) Craig Jones – keyboards, samples,

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

*(#6)

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 ...

– percussion *(#7) Mick Thomson – guitars *(#8)

– vocals * Jay Weinberg – drums * Alessandro Venturella or

Donnie Steele Donnie Steele is an American musician, best known as one of two original guitarists of the heavy metal band Slipknot. Steele co-founded Slipknot in 1995, performing on the band's debut demo '' Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.'' He left in 1996 and wa ...

– bass

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Negative One 2014 singles Slipknot (band) songs 2014 songs Roadrunner Records singles Songs written by Corey Taylor Songs written by Jim Root Thrash metal songs