Solway Firth (song)
{{Infobox song
| name = Solway Firth
| cover = SlipknotSolwayFirth.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Slipknot
| album = We Are Not Your Kind
| B-side =
| released = {{start date|2019|7|22}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = {{flatlist|
- Melodic death metal{{cite web|last=Hickman|first=Langdon|date=August 13, 2019|title=Metal for the Masses: "We Are Not Your Kind" Sees Slipknot in Absolute Top Form|url=http://www.invisibleoranges.com/slipknot-we-are-not-your-kind-review/|access-date=August 13, 2019|website=Invisible Oranges}}{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=10 Heaviest Slipknot Songs |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/10-heaviest-slipknot-songs#all-hope-gone |website=RevolverMag |date=11 October 2022 |access-date=14 October 2022}}
- thrash metal{{cite web|last=Chillingworth|first=Alec|date=December 23, 2020|title=The Top 50 best Slipknot songs ever|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-top-50-best-slipknot-songs-ever/4|access-date=May 12, 2021|website=Metal Hammer|page=4}}
- stoner metal{{cite web|last=Monger|first=James Christopher|title=We Are Not Your Kind - Slipknot {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/we-are-not-your-kind-mw0003283853|access-date=May 12, 2021|publisher=AllMusic}}
}}
| length = {{Duration|m=5|s=56}}
| label = Roadrunner
| writer = * Shawn Crahan
| producer = * Greg Fidelman
- Slipknot
| prev_title = Unsainted
| prev_year = 2019
| next_title = Birth of the Cruel
| next_year = 2019
| misc = {{External music video
|{{YouTube|V3ADK6gsDGg|"Solway Firth"}}
}}
}}
"Solway Firth" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Produced by Greg Fidelman, it was released on July 22, 2019, as the second single from their sixth album, We Are Not Your Kind. The song's music video was directed by the band's percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan and features footage from the Amazon Prime Video series The Boys. The track peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart and number 14 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart.
Background
"Solway Firth" was released on July 22, 2019, as the second single from the band's sixth studio album, We Are Not Your Kind, following "Unsainted" two months previously.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8523165/slipknot-solway-firth-video |title=Slipknot Debuts Gory 'Solway Firth' Video: Watch |last=Spruch |first=Kirsten |magazine=Billboard |date=July 22, 2019 |accessdate=August 5, 2019 }} The song's title refers to Solway Firth, a section of sea which forms part of the border between Scotland and England,{{cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/slipknots-solway-firth-the-first-reaction |title=The first reaction to Slipknot's new single Solway Firth |last=Rees |first=Adam |work=Metal Hammer |date=July 22, 2019 |accessdate=August 5, 2019 }} but may also be alluding to the Solway Firth Spaceman, a popular subject of ufology; the recurring lyric "Here's an unexplainable one" is a likely allusion to this.{{cite web |last1=Goldenberg |first1=Matthew |title=Here are the Lyrics for Slipknot's New Song "Solway Firth" |url=https://www.metalsucks.net/2019/07/22/here-are-the-lyrics-for-slipknots-new-song-solway-firth/ |publisher=MetalSucks |access-date=December 9, 2020 |date=July 22, 2019}}
Reception
Media response to "Solway Firth" was generally positive. Reviewing the song for Metal Hammer, Adam Rees claimed that it was "an altogether different assault" from "All Out Life" and "Unsainted", describing the track as "dramatic, a little troubling and downright heavy". Similarly, Kerrang! magazine called it "a six-minute masterpiece".{{cite news |url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/slipknot-release-new-single-and-video-solway-firth/ |title=Slipknot Release New Single And Video, Solway Firth |work=Kerrang! |date=July 22, 2019 |accessdate=August 5, 2019 }} Loudwire's Lauryn Schaffner praised the performances of vocalist Corey Taylor and drummer Jay Weinberg on the track, outlining that "Corey Taylor's vocals [shine] through with brutal intensity [... and] Jay Weinberg's drumming also stands out as a high point, crushing extended double kick patterns throughout the cut."{{cite news |url=https://loudwire.com/slipknot-new-song-solway-firth/ |title=Slipknot Release Heavy New Song 'Solway Firth' |last=Schaffner |first=Lauryn |publisher=Loudwire |date=July 22, 2019 |accessdate=August 5, 2019 }} Several commentators have recognized "Solway Firth" as one of the "heavy" and "experimental" tracks promised by the band on We Are Not Your Kind – Nick Reilly of the NME claimed that the song "borders on Iowa levels of heavy", referring to a description made by Taylor, while Kerrang! also quoted Taylor when claiming that the single "boast[s] the 'experimental' side of the band's sound".
Music video
The music video features footage from Slipknot's summer 2019 European shows (including Download Festival) interspersed with clips from the Amazon Prime Video series The Boys.{{cite news |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/slipknot-unveil-new-track-solway-firth-2531392 |title=Slipknot return with furious new track 'Solway Firth' – listen |last=Reilly |first=Nick |work=NME |date=July 22, 2019 |accessdate=August 5, 2019 }} It was co-produced by Uproxx and Prime Video, with the band's percussionist and frequent director Shawn "Clown" Crahan directing.{{cite news |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/slipknot-unleash-video-for-brand-new-track-solway-firth |title=Slipknot unleash video for brand new track Solway Firth |last=Munro |first=Scott |work=Metal Hammer |date=July 22, 2019 |accessdate=August 5, 2019 }} Ryan Reed of Rolling Stone outlined that the "gruesome" video "alternates head-banging live performance footage with violent clips from" the series, highlighting "Bloody scenes [including] a man holding two severed arms and one character bashing someone's head into a bathroom sink."{{cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/slipknot-new-song-solway-firth-video-861780/ |title=Hear Slipknot's Pummeling New Song 'Solway Firth' |last=Reed |first=Ryan |date=July 22, 2019 |accessdate=August 5, 2019 }}
As of April 2025, the music video for "Solway Firth" has over 90 million views on YouTube.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3ADK6gsDGg|title=Slipknot - Solway Firth [OFFICIAL VIDEO]|publisher=YouTube|author=Slipknot|date=July 22, 2019|access-date=September 21, 2023}}
Charts
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for "Solway Firth" |
| scope="col"|Chart (2019)
!scope="col"|Position |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2019/hot-rock-songs|title=Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2019|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=March 22, 2020}}
| 97 |
{{col-end}}