Listening to Slipknot is like being hit by a car. Or rather, a tank. With three drummers, a dj, blistering guitars, and a vocalist who roars, this band creates what can only be described as a wall of sound. Their self-titled album presents us with some of the hardest metal to be conceived. This is some of the ugliest music I have ever heard in my life, and I like it a lot. As one can hear on the opening track, "Wait and Bleed," the band is capable of something resembling melody. But immediately afterward, on the track, "Surfacing (rough mix)," they tell us exactly what they think of melody, in words I cannot print here. Safe to say, just because they can keep melody, doesn't mean they want to. They prefer noise. There are technical aspects of the music which are to be admired. Firstly, the drumming here is virtuosic, fantastic, and three drummers simply increases the volume and force of this drumming. Also, the vocals are unbelievably grotesque and bellowing, and listening to the singer switch from speed rapping to bellowing, as on the song, "Spit It Out," is intensely gratifying.