Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Rock Revolt
Blabbermouth.net
Exclaim!	(7/10)
Kerrang!
Metal Hammer
Q
Revolver
Rolling Stone

.5: The Gray Chapter is the fifth studio album by American metal band Slipknot. It was released in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands on October 17, 2014, the UK on October 20, 2014 and in North America on October 21, 2014. It is the first studio album by the band in six years and the first not to feature founding bassist Paul Gray and longtime drummer Joey Jordison due to the death of Gray in 2010 (the title of the album being a reference to his name), and the departure of Jordison in late 2013. The album includes five singles and has received commercial success and acclaiming reviews. A standard and deluxe edition of the album was released.

"The Negative One" received a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 57th annual Grammy Awards. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album the following year, along with a Best Metal Performance nomination for the song "Custer".

The writing process of the record began in late 2013. Wanting to dedicate more time to the album, guitarist Jim Root decided not to tour with Stone Sour in January 2014. According to frontman Corey Taylor, the sound of the album is somewhat of a cross between 2001's Iowa and 2004's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Taylor stated that the material contains "gorgeous melodies" and the artistic direction as Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) but yet retains some of its "brutality" from the Iowa era.

A new bassist and drummer were added to the lineup during live shows. Taylor told Loudwire that two similar masks were created for their appearances in music videos and stage performances, as they felt it was disrespectful to have them sporting unique masks. Both members were briefly shown in the music video for "The Devil In I", but their identities have not been announced by Slipknot amidst speculation. Root revealed in an interview that founding guitarist and former touring bassist Donnie Steele was involved in some of the studio sessions for the album, but that ultimately Steele declined to rejoin the band in favor of starting a family with his wife. Bassist Alessandro Venturella of Krokodil was identified by the unique tattoos on his hands, performing in the video for "The Devil in I". Jay Weinberg from the band Against Me! was brought in to audition on drums after Joey Jordison was fired from Slipknot. Jay Weinberg is the son of Max Weinberg the drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and Conan O'Brien's Drummer/band leader for his late night talk show. Max Weinberg introduced Jay Weinberg to Slipknot and from there on forged a friendship by going to several concerts and being invited backstage; the band liked what he brought to the table and was told he was free to join if he wanted and he accepted. The album was produced by Greg Fidelman and mixed by Joe Barresi. Fidelman is known for his work with Metallica, System of a Down, Audioslave and more, as well as mixing Slipknot's third album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), in 2004.

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