Skeptic (song)

"Skeptic"
"Skeptic" cover
Promotional single by Slipknot from the album .5: The Gray Chapter
Released	October 17, 2014
Format	Digital download
Genre	Thrash metal[1]
Length	4:46
Label	Roadrunner

Skeptic is a promotional single by American metal band Slipknot from their fifth major label studio album .5: The Gray Chapter. The song was first released as a promo/digital single on October 17, 2014.^[2] It was released on the same day as "Killpop". It was the sixth promotional single and eighth overall single released from the album. The song is a tribute piece to late bassist Paul Gray who died of a drug overdose in May 2010.^[3][4]

Background

The song was uploaded to their official YouTube channel on the same day as the Japan release of .5: The Gray Chapter on October 17, 2014. It featured original cover art; it is unknown at this time whether "Skeptic" will be a radio single and have a music video or will remain as a promotional single.

Critical reception

Loudwire stated "Today, we treat our ears to ‘Skeptic.’ Fans will automatically zone in on the track’s chorus: “The world will never see another crazy motherfucker like you / The world will never know another man as amazing as you.” Additional lyrics such as, “You were a gift,” “He was the best of us” and “I will keep your soul alive” point further toward Gray as the man referenced in ‘Skeptic."^[3] Metal Insider said "With a line like “the world will never see another crazy motherfucker like you, the world will never know another man as amazing as you,” we’re inclined to agree with that statement."^[5]

"Skeptic" was also included at number 99 on Spin magazine's list of the 101 Best Songs of 2014.^[6] Describing the song as "one of the year's most affecting love songs" that takes Slipknot "to surprisingly maudlin heights on the scream-along chorus", the magazine also noted it as "a rare unmasked moment for the enduring septet". Despite this, the review concluded that "the song is far too pulverizing to ever be considered their "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"".

References

1. "Review: Slipknot — .5: The Gray Chapter". Revolver. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015. The chunky, dirt-displacing low-end growl of “The Devil In I,” the pugnacious thrash of “Skeptic,” the relentless attack of “The Negative One,” the brief but tantalizing flash of ’80s shred in “Nomadic,”...
2. "Slipknot - 'AOV'". Roadrunner Records. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
3. "Slipknot Unleash New Tribute Track 'Skeptic'". Loudwire. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
4. "Slipknot Premiere New Song, "Skeptic" — Listen". Retrieved 12 November 2014.
5. "Slipknot no "Skeptic" on the legacy of Paul Gray". Metal Insider. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
6. "The 101 Best Songs of 2014". Spin. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.