“The Chapeltown Rag” by Slipknot

“The Chapeltown Rag” by Slipknot is said to at least be partially based on the acts of Peter Sutcliffe. Peter was a convicted notorious serial killer from England who was known as the Yorkshire Ripper, He primarily operated in an area known as Chapeltown.

And even though the lyrics are accordingly quite macabre, according to Corey Taylor it’s not really about blood and guts, as the track would likely read to most listeners on the surface. Rather, it speaks to a concept like the power of the media – in this case of the social and mainstream varieties combined – and more specifically its ability to manipulate the masses.

But again, we would venture to say that it would be challenging for a listener, unless perhaps he or she is quite familiar with Slipknot’s artistry, to come to that conclusion just based simply on the wording.

And that is because the language contained therein is so generally violent that it doesn’t come off as if it has anything to do with the media per se. The only exception would be the bridge.

But there is this overall sentiment that maybe what “The Chapeltown Rag” is speaking to, theoretically, is a concept like the heavy presence of such disturbing material online and in the press. And along those lines just to note a “rag”, as utilized on this track, is basically a derogatory term for a newspaper.

“The Chapeltown Rag” and Slipknot

“The Chapeltown Rag” was made public on 5 November 2021. At the time of its release it was theoretically presented as the lead single from an upcoming Slipknot project.

Slipknot is a band from Des Moines. They have released six studio albums to date. And as of the release of this track one of the band’s founding members, percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan, is still down with the cause.

He is joined by a few other musicians who have also been affiliated with Slipknot since the 1990s:

• vocalist Corey Taylor
• electronic musician Craig “133” Jones
• DJ Sid Wilson
• guitarist Mick Thomson
• guitarist Jim Root

And the act is presently rounded out with the following:

• drummer Jay Weinberg
• bassist Alessandro Venturella
• percussionist Michael “Tortilla Man” Pfaff

And all of the aforementioned musicians, with the exception of Pfaff, are credited as the writers of “The Chapeltown Rag”. Furthermore, the band collectively produced the track. Slipknot handled the production alongside Joe Barresi.

Slipknot began teasing this song earlier in November. In marketing the song, they even created an entire website for that purpose. You can find that website under the URL thechapeltownrag.com.