| We Are Not Your Kind | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 9, 2019 | |||
| Recorded | November 2018 – April 2019 | |||
| Studio | EastWest, Hollywood, California | |||
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| Length | 63:29 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
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| Slipknot chronology | ||||
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| Singles from We Are Not Your Kind | ||||
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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 Chapter), it was released on August 9, 2019, by Roadrunner Records. The title is taken from a lyric in the song "All Out Life", which was released as a standalone single in 2018 and features as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album. We Are Not Your Kind is the only Slipknot album to be recorded as an eight-member band, as their former percussionist Chris Fehn was fired from the band in March 2019 after suing the group for alleged unpaid royalties.
After the conclusion of the touring cycle for .5: The Gray Chapter, Slipknot guitarist Jim Root and percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan began writing and demoing material for the band's follow-up album in early 2017. According to Crahan, the group wrote and recorded a total of 22 songs and 26 interludes, with the plan initially being to produce the band's first double album. Recording began in November 2018, shortly after the release of the standalone single "All Out Life". The album was completed by April 2019 and "Unsainted" was released as the lead single the next month. This was followed by "Solway Firth" in July, "Birth of the Cruel" in August and "Nero Forte" in December.
We Are Not Your Kind received critical acclaim; numerous commentators hailed the album as one of the best releases of Slipknot's career, praising the level of experimentation displayed on several key songs. Others highlighted it as a modern landmark release in the heavy metal genre. "Unsainted" reached number 10 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, while "Solway Firth" also reached the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart top ten. We Are Not Your Kind debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200, becoming the band's third consecutive album to do so on both charts, as well as several other charts around the world.