"Goodbye" is the fifth single from the American heavy metal band Slipknot from their fifth studio album '' .5: The Gray Chapter''.

Background

"Goodbye" was initially going to be the introductory song for ''.5 The Gray Chapter'' but ended up becoming a full track. In an interview with

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

, Corey Taylor, the lead singer of Slipknot, explained that "Goodbye" was a song he had written about the death of Paul Gray, one of Slipknot's members. On the other hand, Slipknot's percussionist

Shawn Crahan Michael Shawn Crahan (born September 24, 1969), more commonly known by his stage persona "Clown", is an American musician. He is the co-founder and one of two percussionists for heavy metal band Slipknot in which he is designated #6. Crahan he ...

originally believed that "Goodbye" was about Taylor leaving the band. Taylor extended his explanation of the song to multiple magazines by saying that "Goodbye" was about the loss of words the band experienced after Gray's death and coming back together after "one of the darkest days of this band’s career".

Composition

In an opinion piece by Slipknot's guitarist

Jim Root James Donald Root (born October 2, 1971) is an American guitarist. He is one of two guitarists for heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #4, as well as the former lead guitarist for rock band Stone Sour. Life and career R ...

, Root revealed that his performance in "Goodbye" was inspired by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's playing style. Root also highlighted that the bass played by Corey Taylor was from the demo version of "Goodbye".

Release

Although the audio for "Goodbye" was released in October 2014, the track was picked by Slipknot as an official single in December 2015. "Goodbye" was officially released as a single in January 2016.

Reception

On one hand, critics praised Corey Taylor for his vocals in "Goodbye". Ray Van Horn Jr. of

Blabbermouth.net Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in Octob ...

praised Taylor for "staying largely in soar mode once the heavier masses take over the song" while Emilee Yaw of New-Transcendence complimented Taylor for establishing an emotional connection with the listener. Alternatively, reviewers criticized Slipknot's music style in "Goodbye". Dave Hanratty of Drowned in Sound said the song was "a lumbering mix of balladry and stadium metal" while Mike Lawrence of Metal Descent heavily panned the song by accusing Slipknot of being arrogant in the track.

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

;Slipknot *(#8) Corey Taylor – vocals, bass *(#7)

Mick Thomson Mickael Gordon "Mick" Thomson (born November 3, 1973) is an American musician. He is one of two guitarists for the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #7. Thomson originally met founding Slipknot members Anders Colsefni, Donn ...

– guitar *(#6)

Shawn "Clown" Crahan Michael Shawn Crahan (born September 24, 1969), more commonly known by his stage persona "Clown", is an American musician. He is the co-founder and one of two percussionists for heavy metal band Slipknot in which he is designated #6. Crahan he ...

– percussion, additional drums *(#5) Craig "133" Jones – sampling, keyboards *(#4)

– guitar *(#3)

Chris Fehn Christopher Fehn (born February 24, 1973) is an American musician. He was a percussionist and backing vocalist for the heavy metal band Slipknot from 1998 to 2019, in which he was designated #3. He was also the bassist for Will Haven from 201 ...

– percussion *(#0)

Sid Wilson Sidney George Wilson (born January 20, 1977) is an American musician. He is the turntablist for the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #0. Wilson was the youngest member of the band until bassist Alessandro Venturella and dr ...

– turntables * Jay Weinberg – drums

References

{{Authority control Slipknot (band) songs 2016 singles Songs about musicians Songs written by Corey Taylor