Slipknot’s “Unsainted” Lyrics Meaning

Slipknot’s “Unsainted” is a song based on the depression of the singer (Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor) as well as what appears to be his disenfranchisement with mainstream religious practices as a potential remedy.

The first verse finds him “weathering a rough patch”, which means he is going through a challenging time in his life. Indeed we can see particularly in the chorus that he is even contemplating suicide. He also alludes to the idea that under such circumstances, he is compelled to “pick a lord and… pray to it”, as in choose a religion. However, the “stories” he comes into contact with via these belief systems do not appeal to him.

However in the second verse Corey expresses that he is still inclined to “keep a buckle on the devil” and “(reach) out for… God”. In other words, he desires to live a righteous life. But once again, he alludes to the fact that he is not interested in “bibles”. He also goes on a rant which reads as if he may be criticizing society in general but particularly within the context of the religious ideas which dominate it.

Meaning of “Unsainted”

And that brings us to the overall idea which this song is centered on, that the singer has been “unsainted”. What this term means, in his own words, is that some unspecified person(s) “killed the saint (in) him”.  The term saint would allude to the good side of his nature. So Taylor is basically saying that someone has destroyed his good side. And who is actually guilty of such is never mentioned. But within the overall context of the track, it would likely be the same socio-religious entity he spoke of earlier.

Facts about Facts about “Unsainted”

• Slipknot wrote “Unsainted” without help from any additional songwriters.
• The band worked with record producer Greg Fidelman to produce “Unsainted”.
• 16th May, 2019 was the release date of this Slipknot track. It was released as the lead single from the 2019 album We Are Not Your Kind. FYI, the aforementioned record is the band’s sixth studio album.

Did Slipknot’s drummer Chris Fehn play a role in the creation of this song?

No. And why is that the case? Simply because he had already been fired by the band members before they began working on the song. Owing to this, “Unsainted” is Slipknot’s first single to be released without any input from Fehn.