“A Liar’s Funeral” by Slipknot

“A Liar’s Funeral” is a song written, recorded and performed by Slipknot. First off it is a bit challenging ascertaining who exactly the titular “liar” actually is. That is to say that this song regularly switches perspectives between the singer – Slipknot’s frontman Corey Taylor – and that of the “friends” he is relating to. But the prevailing theory is that the “liar” is a reference to his companions and that the foundation of this song is the singer suffering from depression and addiction.

So in that regard, what it actually details is how people interacted with him while he was enduring these afflictions. And let’s just say that they treated him badly, to the point where now he is reluctant to trust anyone. In fact based on the aforementioned theory, they hate him to the point of wanting to see him die, with suicide being alluded to in this track. But if such were the case, then he would be referring to himself as the titular “liar”, not the people he is interacting with.

What may likely be the case is that at times he refers to himself as the “liar”. Then at other parts of the song this designation is given to others. When he calls himself such, it is not to imply that he is untruthful. Rather it is a metaphor for the way people perceive him, as in being some sort of unsavory individual.  Moreover when he uses it as a designation for others it is not meant to be taken literally per se. Instead it also points to the way he perceives them – as people who have abused his friendship and now having had their fill want to discard him.

Conclusion

So basically Slipknot’s “A Liar’s Funeral” centers on the frustration the singer is experiencing due to dealing with the outside world while simultaneously being afflicted with depression. Further along in that regard, the song insinuates that he may be dealing with something more than just mental depression, as in perhaps even material deprivation (i.e. addiction). This has caused his close associates to turn on him. And apparently the culmination of these experiences has also resulted in him manifesting a higher degree of self-hatred in addition to distrust of others.

What Slipknot have said about “A Liar’s Funeral”

Speaking with the British magazine Kerrang!, Slipknot’s Jim Root described parts of the song as containing “real horror”.

Writing and Production

Slipknot wrote “A Liar’s Funeral” and produced it themselves. However, during its production, they were assisted by record producer Greg Fidelman. Owing to this, Fidelman is credited as a co-producer on the track.

 Release Date of “A Liar’s Funeral”

Slipknot made this song commercially available to the public on 9th August, 2019. It appears as the 7th track on their noted album We Are Not Your Kind (which is the band’s sixth studio album).

FYI, Slipknot didn’t release this track as a single. We Are Not Your Kind produced the following singles:

• “Unsainted” (which was the album’s lead single)
• “Solway Firth“
• “Birth of the Cruel“