3: (The Subliminal Verses) is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot, released on May 25, 2004, by Roadrunner Records.

Some band members had already been involved in side projects including Murderdolls, To My Surprise, and the reformation of Stone Sour.

3 is credited as Slipknot's first to incorporate more traditional, melodic song structures, guitar solos and acoustic instruments.

In 2008, drummer Joey Jordison said, "We didn't talk to each other for three months, we just sat there wasting money in the fucking Houdini mansion.

[14] Band members were divided over their experience of working with producer Rubin; some doubted his commitment to Slipknot as he split his time between many artists at once.

"[15] He explained that; "everything I did while I was drinking sounded like shit", while expressing how unhappy he was with the choice of vocal takes which ended up on the album.

[13] During this time, percussionist Crahan worked on Voliminal: Inside the Nine, a video documenting the creation process of the album and the touring which would follow.

[16] In a Q&A for his book You're Making Me Hate You, Taylor stated that the first verse and chorus of the track "Circle" was written and recorded during the Iowa tour in 2001, and that it was the same take that ended up on the album.

Conversely, guitarist Jim Root said in that same interview, "A lot of the guys in the band say Rick was unavailable.

According to Todd Burns of Stylus, songs such as "Pulse of the Maggots" and "Before I Forget" incorporate a "pounding metal" style.

[20] AllMusic wrote that tracks, such as "The Blister Exists", "Three Nil", and "Opium of the People", combine the two extremes of their recognizable metal edge with melody, and the most apparent shifts being in Taylor's vocal style, with relatively few songs relying solely on screamed vocals in comparison to their earlier work.

In a 2008 interview, guitarist Mick Thomson explained that vocalist Corey Taylor made a point of avoiding the use of profanity in response to claims that he relied on use of it.

[22] Only two instances of profanity occur on the album, which are the use of the word "bitched" in "Duality" and "bastards" which appears in the intro monologue for "Pulse of the Maggots".

[4] Taylor's diversity in his vocal delivery was praised; Burns considered tracks like "Vermilion Pt.

[24] The mask was made of stitched leather, with a zipper around the mouth area,[23] and copies can be obtained as part of the band's merchandise.

[25] It is featured in the music video for the album's second single "Vermilion", in which the band appears whenever the protagonist wears the mask.

[4] Todd Burns of Stylus wrote that people who accuse the band of having "softened" are "mistaking softness for maturation".

[20] Sean Richardson of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A− and wrote that it is a "deranged hippie update" of Slayer's "masterpiece" Reign in Blood, which was also produced by Rubin.

It cited the group's integration of "hyperactive bass drums, complex, compelling riffs and ridiculously fast fretwork" with more melodic styles and described Vermilion as "the key track ... an emotional, melodramatic, utterly convincing rollercoaster ride".

[47] Alternative Press criticized the album, writing that it "plays out like a tepid, second-rate version of Iowa, which pretty much makes it a third-rate anything else.

's Chris Heath also reviewed the album negatively, writing that "The Nameless" combines "the ludicrously vicious and ridiculously placid" and that by doing so makes the track feel "awkward".

3: The Subliminal Verses peaked at position number two on the US Billboard 200, following selling 242,683 copies in its first week.

[57] All tracks written by Corey Taylor, Mick Thomson, Shawn Crahan, Craig Jones, Jim Root, Chris Fehn, Paul Gray, Joey Jordison and Sid Wilson.