Slipknot. One of those bands you either learn to hate, or to love. I, like so many other kids, grew up listening to their music. I thought that it was the best thing in the fucking world. But getting older I grew out of their music. I still have all their albums on my hard drive, but I rarely listen to them anymore. But from time to time, I still love to pop in some Slipknot and just release all my anger at the world. Their early work might be some of the most emotion driven music ever written. Full of hate and angst. The perfect thing for any wannabe rebel 13 year old. So basically me back in the day. Today I'm going to review their first album, the legendary Selftitled, that made Slipknot who they are today. I will not be reviewing the intro. Enjoy.

1.(Sic)

Heavy. Has some thrash and some VERY nu metal elements. Good shouted vocals, good mix, extremely mediocre guitar work, but that fact is made up by the drumming. Bass is not audible. Perfect for whenever you need to release some anger. All in all good song that takes you on a ride.

Rating: 7/10

2.Eyeless

This is the first song on the album that shows some of Slipknots crazier elements, starting right off the bat with the strange sounding guitar at the beginning, and then the almighty shout of Corey Taylor who seems to switch around screaming and almost crying. Vocals are extremely good. The same mediocre guitar work, but the main thing in this song absolutely is Taylor, who delivers a extremely good performance. Towards the end is a very good breakdown. Again, the vocals are just amazing. Taylor's vocals are what makes this song.

Rating: 9/10

3.Wait and Bleed

Another one of their staple songs. Shows again, the talent of vocalist Taylor. This song actually has some singing. Slightly more interesting guitar work this time around. The song delivers with some interesting guitar work, solid drumming and good vocals.

Rating: 7/10

4.Surfacing

Songs starts off with a little lick by Mick Tompson, and then goes right off into rage mode with Taylor shouting "Fuck you all" as loud as he can. Chorus is very strong, and will make you want to stand up and hit babies in the face. Through out the song the word "fuck" occurs about fifty times. Very strong drumming and good guitar work. Again though, Taylor makes the song, just because he sounds so damn full of hate.

Rating: 8.5/10

5.Spit it out

Probably their most "nu metal" song. Song starts off with Taylor rapping, and then goes into a screaming backed by heavy, heavy detuned guitar work. Vocals are different on this song, they are more a growl than a scream. Fits perfectly with the song. The screamed verses will make your head bang, apart from that though, quite mediocre song. Typical nu metal, but a bit more heavy.

Rating: 6/10

6.Tattered and Torn

This is when the band starts to get really crazy. Extremely creepy sounding. Not heavy at all, just very fucking crazy. Lots of screaming and shouting. The band goes totaly banana after the creepy bits though. Sounds like a bunch of mad men playing music. All in all though, there's not much to the song.

Rating: 6.5/10

7.Frail Limb Nursery

Strangest piece on the album. It's just noises with a girl talking. I like it. Sounds like something right out of a serial killers head. Not a "real" song. Just noises and a voice.

Rating: 7/10

8.Purity

Starts off with a good guitar riff. Very low tuned guitars. Song then becomes very slow, with Taylor singing. Then goes into very heavy, shouted bridge. Very brutal sounding breakdown at about two minutes into the song and towards the end. Not bad, but not as good as other songs on the album either.

Rating: 6.5/10

9.Liberate

Starts right off with Taylor shouting. Sounds similar to Spit it Out. Quite mediocre, but has a good chorus. I'd thing that this song would be perfect for concerts.

Rating: 7/10

10.Prosthetics

Another of their more creepy songs. Again more slow singing, but this time around it actually sounds good and the whole song has a atmosphere of it's own. Mediocre chorus, but the bridge is really what makes this song stand out. It's good.

Rating: 7/10

11.No Life

Similar to Liberate. Starts with Taylor rapping, and then goes into detuned nu metal style guitar riffs. Probably my least favorite song on the album.

Rating: 5.5/10

12.Diluted

Quite depressing sounding song. Probably has the most interesting lyrics on the album. The song itself is kind of mediocre, but the lyrics make up for it. Great chorus with Taylor shoting "What the hell did I do to deserve all of this?".

Rating: 7.5/10

13.Only One

Another typical nu metal song with rapping and heave detuned guitar riffs. I'd say the only thing I like about this song is the chorus.

Rating: 6.5/10

14.Scissors

Similar to Prosthetics, but better. Even better bridge. Absolutely batshit.

Rating: 8/10

All things considered, the S/T is a good album. Not as special as kids like me used to make it out to, but still really good. There's nothing copied or rehashed from other bands here. It's all original work, and was quite quintessential for nu metal and some other genres too. The kids that were listening to Slipknot in 1999 were playing metalcore and deathcore a couple of years late. So without any bias, I'm giving this album a solid 7/10.

Angelo out.

In Thailand, students are not allowed to have long hair. In Bangkok many schools do away with it these days, but outside of Bangkok school are still extremely strict about this matter. The typical Thai male student hair cut, which is called "Trong Nak Rearn"(student's hair cut) is this:

As you can probably see, it's basically a military haircut. This haircut originated from Japanese soldiers in WW2 that were marching through Thailand. This is the haircut that 90% of students up to grade 9 are forced to have. After grade 9, things become a bit different though. Because in Thailand military field duty is a must, and the only way around is doing 3 years of preliminary military training in high school, practically everyone does preliminary military training. And doing military training, of course means further cutting your hair in a military style. But those few of us, like me, that do not have to attend military training, or just don't, should basically be free to have any haircut we want. But here is where things get a bit conflicted. How pupils have to cut their hair, both male and female, basically depends on the school. Generally pupils at private schools have longer hair. But if a public school were to allow their pupils to have even longer hair, nothing would happen at all. There are no regulations that state that public schools must force their pupils to have short hair. So why don't they do it? It's mostly the idea that short hair will make young men look neat and tidy. But come on, let's face the truth, a military haircut will make any youngone look shit. Especially young Asian men. 

So that's some truth on haircut regulations in Thailand. I might write more about this topic in the future, as it has been the center of much heated discussion, as it should be in my opinion. But anyway, thanks for reading, Angelo out.

Food.

It must be one of the things that people love most about Thailand. That spicy, tasty and filling food Thailand is so famous for, all the way from fried rice, to national dishes like Tom Yum Gung. But how to know where to eat? What to order? And how to know if it's going to be good? Well, here are my basic tips for getting your grub in Thailand.

First off, what you have to realize when thinking about food in Thailand, is that the more expensive looking restaurant, or food shops as most people call them, will almost never be the best ones. I know, I know, Thai food shops sometimes look kinda dirty. Not a place where westerners would like to eat. But they're not, haha. Trust me. My aunt owns a small Thai food shop. Food shops may look rough on the outside, but the food is what matters. That goes especially for people on the road in Thailand, travelling between provinces. In the smaller and less advanced provinces, it might be that the only grub you get is from exactly that kind of food shop. But trust me when I say, 85% of the time the taste will be delicious. And the food will be prepared in a way that's not dirty at all. Now, of course there are top grade restaurants in cities like Bangkok or Hua Hin that serve amazing Thai food, but those restaurants come with a hefty price. For comparison, at a normal local food shop, you can expect to pay up to 50 baht  for a plate of any kind of rice or fried noodles. At a real restaurant with air condition and personnel, expect to pay 100+ baht. So if you want to save money and get the authentic experience, choose the normal Thai food shop, not the fancy looking restaurant.

Now, the main courses you will get EVERYWHERE are

1. Khao Phad - Fried rice (pronounced Kao Pat)

Fried rice is probably the most known dish all around in Thailand. It's a well rounded, filling meal that consists of rice, egg and meat of your choice.

2. Phad Krapao - Rice topped with fried meat of your choice and basil. Often served with an fried egg on top. (pronouced Pat Krapaow)

Phad Krapao must be the most eaten dish by locals in Thailand. Absolutely delicious, can be spicy though, so don't forget to order "Mai Ped"(not spicy) if you can't take some good old chilli.

3. Phad Zee Ew - basically the same as fried rice, but with noodles instead. Delicious too if you're craving for a change from fried rice. (pronounced Pat Zee-Ew)

So now we've gone over choosing at place to eat and the three main courses you'll get anywhere, for cheap. But how will you know if a foodshop is good or not? Well, in Bangkok you can pretty much count on the food being at least ok. If you sell shit food in Bangkok, you go out of business quick. But on the road, a good way to guess is to look at if there's people in it. If there's people in the foodshop, it will be ok. Because people in the provinces stay local. They eat local, and buy local things. But either way, the chances that the food will be literally bad, are extremely slim. Food is just that good here in Thailand.

That's it for today folks. after writing all this stuff about food, I think I'm going get something to eat myself. Have a nice one :-)