THE nine masked metal men are back...and heavier than ever with their third disasterpiece.

It's been far too long since their last effort of IOWA, mainly down to Corey Taylor and Jim Root taking off their masks and making more inroads into the metal biz with their pet Stone Sour.

But forget the money-making spin-offs Slipknot make a return to the stage after being cooped up in a spooky mansion and set out Vol 3 with the best beginning to a metal album in many a moon.

Song one Prelude builds to a crescendo of manic guitar and just before you think it is about to end song two (and possibly the best song on the album) The Blister Exists crashes in.

From then on fans could possibly guess the script of hypnotic drum beats coupled with Taylor's gravelly groan.

Then comes something new for Slipknot, whether it's the Stone Sour influence or producer Rick Rubin putting his mark on the album, but two acoustic ballads slip in amongst the mayhem.

I haven't really made my mind up about whether they work but Taylor certainly has it in him to do a good job lyrically and vocally.