As previously reported, SLIPKNOT will release its fourth album, All Hope Is Gone, on Roadrunner Records on August 26, 2008. The album was recorded this spring in Slipknot's home state and is co-produced by the band and Dave Fortman. RollingStone.com has published a review of six unmastered tracks. An excerpt can be found below:

"The album — the first Slipknot record to be recorded in the band’s home state — kicks off with a spoken word intro, as frontman Corey Taylor gradually grows more and more agitated, snarling, 'Where are your gods and politicians?' and 'You rage for no reason because to have no reason.' The first full song, 'Gematria', features twin guitar solos from Mick Thompson and Jim Root as Taylor repeatedly asks, 'What if God doesn’t care?' while the band’s multiple percussionists generate a din that’s more suffocating than ever. Taylor repeatedly invokes America on the lengthy track, and his thoughts aren’t especially ambiguous."

Go to this location for the complete overview.

"The nine" will spend their summer laying waste to arenas in North America as they headline the first annual Rock Star Energy Mayhem Festival. As Slipknot's first tour in three years, these dates are sure to bring the band's legion of diehard fans, affectionately dubbed "maggots," out in full force.

All Hope is Gone is more of a statement than a record. Corey Taylor comments, "Every album we have made is a statement about that space in time. I think this era is the most mature, most beautiful and the most powerful. We have made an album that will show the road behind, the road ahead, and where we are as men. I think it's the best thing I've ever made. And I challenge anyone to prove me wrong."

The album promises to blend elements of 2004's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and 2001's Iowa, while adding a perspective, freshness and depth that only three years apart can bring. The first single "Psychosocial" will be delivered to radio on June 30 and will be available digitally on July 1. A complete track listing will be announced shortly.

Slipknot is the ever-evolving definitive voice in hard rock music. They are pioneers of an alternative metal scene, where scarring riffs and thunderous percussion are punctuated by vocals, which seamlessly shift from brutal to melodic within a breath. The band's previous studio albums, Slipknot, Iowa, Vol.3:(The Subliminal Verses) have all been certified platinum or better, as have their DVDs, Welcome to Our Neighborhood, Disasterpiece and Voliminal: Inside the Nine. The double live 9.0: Live holds a gold certification.

Slipknot have announced the following European headlining dates with MACHINE HEAD and CHILDREN OF BODOM in tow:

November

5 - Moscow, Russia - Stadium Olimpijski
7 - Helsinki, Finland - Old Ice Hall
8 - Tampere, Finland - Ice Hall
10 - Oslo, Norway - Spektrum
12 - Stockholm, Sweden - Hovet
13 - Copenhagen, Denmark - KB Hallen
15 - Berlin, Germany - Arena Treptow
17 - Winterthur, Switzerland - Eishalle Deutweg
18 - Milan, Italy - Palasharp
20 - Amsterdam, Holland - HMH
21 - Paris, France - Zenith
22 - Paris, France - Zenith

December

14 - Antwerp, Belgium - Lotto Arena
15 - Luxemburg - Rockhal

Additional dates will be announced in the coming weeks.