Slipknot (sometimes typeset as SlipKnoT to fit their logo) is a Grammy-winning American nu metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. The nine-piece formed in 1996 and is currently signed to Roadrunner Records/Nuclear Blast. German-based record company Nuclear Blast Records handles the record sales of the band in Scandinavia while Roadrunner handles the sales worldwide.
Their albums and home videos have achieved platinum sales status. The band's Grammy award nominations include Best Metal Performance, which their song, "Before I Forget", won after six successive years of nomination.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Early Days
Slipknot's first songs were composed in 1992. The original Slipknot group was that of Anders, Shawn and Paul, they had the idea of making a group and played around with the idea, they even wrote some songs as early as 1993. However Shawn became busy and project "Slipknot" fell through. Fortunately the idea was revived in 1995 by Shawn and Anders and thus Slipknot was officially formed in the September of 1995. The Slipknot band went through the names "The Pale Ones," "PyGSYSTEM," and "Meld" before they settled on SlipKnoT. Many of the songs on Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat and some that were added to later albums were written during these sessions. Shawn Crahan was the lead drummer before Joey Jordison entered the band. Crahan, being the founder, came up with the idea of having three drummers; first to create a powerful tribal sound, and second to create a "wall of sound", both of which Crahan wanted.
Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. Crowz and Slipknot (1995–2000)
In 1995 there were two rules. Slipknot had to play what they wanted to play and it didn't matter what they played, who they played to and the cost of seeing them play should never matter. The second rule was that there needed to be 3 drummers. The members came from several different bands (Pre-Slipknot Bands ) and each had the common view on the way that everything was going in the town of Des Moines, they were sick of it; there was no music scene, it was hard to get bands CDs, etc... . As a result Slipknot was born with one mission, this mission being to 'Clean up the music industry'. The band's aims remain to be to create a sound the world has never heard, a vision no one has ever seen, this can be clearly seen by the hype to Slipknot's second album. They sensed people were ready for a show, rather than some guys just playing some music.
The band achieved a stable line-up in late 1995, and released a demo entitled Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat on Halloween 1996. The demo was distributed by the small, Nebraska-based label -ismist Recordings. A year later Slipknot hired Corey Taylor (Stone Sour frontman) as the new lead vocalist and pushed Anders to percussion. They were always creating new material and were planning on releasing a second self released CD, Crowz, however this never came to fruition as they went through more line-up changes and eventually got signed to Roadrunner Records.
At the insistence of Midwest Promotion representative John Kuliak, Roadrunner Records signed the band in 1997. The band's first major label release, Slipknot, produced by Ross Robinson, was released in June of 1999. Regarding the album, Rick Anderson of All Music Guide wrote "You thought Limp Bizkit was heavy? They're The Osmonds. Slipknot is something else entirely." Also in 1999, the band was part of the Ozzfest, which greatly expanded the band's fanbase. In early 2000, the album was certified platinum, a first for any album released by Roadrunner Records. In July 2001, Q magazine named Slipknot as one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time".
The band achieved a stable line-up in late 1995, and released a demo entitled Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat on Halloween 1996. The demo was distributed by the small, Nebraska-based label -ismist Recordings. A year later Slipknot hired Corey Taylor (Stone Sour frontman) as the new lead vocalist and pushed Anders to percussion. They were always creating new material and were planning on releasing a second self released CD, Crowz, however this never came to fruition as they went through more line-up changes and eventually got signed to Roadrunner Records.
At the insistence of Midwest Promotion representative John Kuliak, Roadrunner Records signed the band in 1997. The band's first major label release, Slipknot, produced by Ross Robinson, was released in June of 1999. Regarding the album, Rick Anderson of All Music Guide wrote "You thought Limp Bizkit was heavy? They're The Osmonds. Slipknot is something else entirely." Also in 1999, the band was part of the Ozzfest, which greatly expanded the band's fanbase. In early 2000, the album was certified platinum, a first for any album released by Roadrunner Records. In July 2001, Q magazine named Slipknot as one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time".
Iowa (2001–2002)
Iowa, the band's second album with Roadrunner Records, was released in 2001. Critical response to the album was generally mixed: Jason Arnopp of Kerrang! called the album "one beautifully crafted labour of hate", and David Fricke of Rolling Stone called the album "the first great record of the nu-metal era." It was a commercial success also, peaking at number three on the Billboard album charts, and at number one on the UK album chart. However, the album only achieved a "3 Star rating" by All Music Guide. In mid-2001, the band once again toured with Ozzfest. The band was dropped by Roadrunner for sales in Scandanavia in 2002 due lack of success with Iowa in the area. Slipknot were snapped up by Nuclear Blast Records, an equally successful label in the following year. In 2001, the band went on tour with System of a Down in the United States, Mexico and Colombia. After seeing the success of the tour, System and Slipknot went on a Pledge of Allegiance Tour with Rammstein in 2002. A live album entitled Pledge of Allegiance Tour: Live Concert Recording was recorded from this tour. The band also appeared in the concert scene of the 2002 movie Rollerball. The single "Left Behind", a track from Iowa, was nominated for a Grammy in 2002. In 2002, the BBC said that Slipknot stole the show and proved entertaining after the band performed at Reading Festival in England.
Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and break (2003–2007)
In late 2003, the band began writing and recording with renowned producer Rick Rubin, who had previously worked with artists such as Johnny Cash, System of a Down, and Slayer. The band released their third album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) in May 2004. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 and Johnny Loftus of All Music Guide called the album "a satisfying, carefully crafted representation of [the band's] career to date." Robert Cherry of Rolling Stone said that the album "experiments with even newer extremes, which in Slipknot's case means tunefulness and traditional song structures." In 2004, the band toured with Ozzfest for a third time. In early 2005, the band went on The Subliminal Verses Tour with Shadows Fall and Lamb of God.
Several members of the band collaborated with other artists on the Roadrunner United: The All-Star Sessions CD released in October 2005. On the record, Joey Jordison was named a "team captain". James Root, Corey Taylor, and Paul Gray also contributed to the album. 9.0: Live, a live album recorded from shows in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Osaka, Singapore, and Tokyo, was released in November 2005. The album peaked at 17 on the Billboard 200.
In 2006, the band won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance for "Before I Forget". The DVD Voliminal: Inside the Nine was released December 5, 2006. In January, Corey Taylor stated in an interview with VH1 that the band is currently on hiatus until 2008 while the members work on their side projects.
Several members of the band collaborated with other artists on the Roadrunner United: The All-Star Sessions CD released in October 2005. On the record, Joey Jordison was named a "team captain". James Root, Corey Taylor, and Paul Gray also contributed to the album. 9.0: Live, a live album recorded from shows in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Osaka, Singapore, and Tokyo, was released in November 2005. The album peaked at 17 on the Billboard 200.
In 2006, the band won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance for "Before I Forget". The DVD Voliminal: Inside the Nine was released December 5, 2006. In January, Corey Taylor stated in an interview with VH1 that the band is currently on hiatus until 2008 while the members work on their side projects.
Reformation and new album (2007–present)
On April 19, 2007, the band's website posted a news article stating that a new Slipknot album "will surface in 2008." Jordison explained in a recent Kerrang! Magazine interview that this album would be the heaviest they've ever made, but still containing some experimental sounds, and recording shall commence in January 2008. On April 19, 2007 Jordison stated that he would be drumming for Korn in the summer of 2007.
In 2007, Joey Jordison announced the formation of a new side project with King ov Hell of Gorgoroth.
In 2007, Joey Jordison announced the formation of a new side project with King ov Hell of Gorgoroth.
Possible Break-Up
On May 4, 2007, MTV.com released a statement by Corey Taylor in response to rumors that the band would break up after their next album. Taylor responded by saying that "Slipknot fans are very pessimistic, and instead of looking at things in a pragmatic mindset, they go, 'Oh, I can't live.' Please." Taylor also said that the band was unsure what will happen after SlipKnoT's release of their next album, for which recording will begin in January 2008. "Nothing's really been written yet, and it's just kind of up in the air right now," Taylor said. "We're definitely going to do at least one more Slipknot album, let's put it that way. But after that, who knows? You get to a point in life where you've said all you can really say with one thing, and I've still got some stuff I want to say with Slipknot. But who knows where I'll be after that. So I want to at least make one more, and then I don't know what's going to happen."
Style
Slipknot has an extreme performance style provided by their massive line-up featuring a typical heavily downtuned guitar setup (lead, rhythm, and bass guitars), two percussionists in addition to the primary drummer, and electronics (samplers and turntables). Robert Cherry of Rolling Stone compared the band's sound to "a threshing machine devouring a military drum corps."
Their early work hosted a large range of vocal styles, ranging from rapping to occasional singing to grindcore-esque growling. Death metal growls can also be included. In more recent work, this vocal style remains present, but now includes more melodic singing. The lyrics generally follow a very aggressive tone, "[are] not generally quotable on a family website", and feature themes such as darkness, nihilism, anger, disaffection, love, Misanthropy and psychosis.
Their early work hosted a large range of vocal styles, ranging from rapping to occasional singing to grindcore-esque growling. Death metal growls can also be included. In more recent work, this vocal style remains present, but now includes more melodic singing. The lyrics generally follow a very aggressive tone, "[are] not generally quotable on a family website", and feature themes such as darkness, nihilism, anger, disaffection, love, Misanthropy and psychosis.
Image Identities
The band is known for its attention-grabbing image. The members wear matching uniform jumpsuits and homemade masks. In the past, their jumpsuits have featured large UPC barcodes printed on the back and sleeves, which are identical to the barcode on their first album, Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat. Aside from their real names, members of the band are referred to by numbers 0 through 8.
The band didn't start of wearing masks, the idea was originally brought up by Shawn who one day brought in a mask and mucked around with it. It was fun and the idea caught on, soon other members of the band were wearing masks, they pivoted around the idea of how a mask can make you a different person. It was a chance the group were willing to take, to be original and out there, it worked. One thing the masks aren't is something to get people into Slipknot, a point continuously repeated by the band. The group were constantly being degraded for trying something different and as a result the masks were used to conceal identities and portray the band as an anonymous entity. "It's not about our names or faces, it's about the music." state Slipknot
Today most members of the band have now been photographed without their masks, largely as the result of their work outside of Slipknot:
Vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist James Root appear unmasked when working with their band Stone Sour and Corey Taylor was unmasked in an appearance on the Killswitch Engage DVD. He has also appeared unmasked in the Des Moines Register and on a Metal Hammer DVD in which he receives a tattoo of Jean Valjean's prison number, 24601, upon his back.
Drummer Joey Jordison appears unmasked with his side project the Murderdolls and when he plays in other bands such as Ministry, Satyricon and Korn.
Percussionist Shawn Crahan appears unmasked with his bands To My Surprise and Dirty Little Rabbits .
DJ Sid Wilson works unmasked when performing as DJ Starscream.
Guitarist Mick Thomson appeared unmasked in a Total Guitar magazine shoot. He is also unmasked in the video for single "No Pity on the Ants" by Lupara. In the video, he plays a serial killer.
Bassist Paul Gray's face was revealed in a police mugshot leaked through The Smoking Gun, He also played unmasked on a recent tour with Reggie and the Full Effect (save for a notable Halloween performance, where the entire band wore Slipknot masks).
Gray and Jordison have appeared unmasked during various photo shoots and sessions with Roadrunner United.
In the video for "Before I Forget" the band performed without their masks; however, the band members' faces are shown only as brief glimpses, with the camera mostly focused on their hands and instruments. In the video, the masks are visible hanging off hooks, possibly representing their unwillingness to "forget." Each member is also unmasked in individual interviews on their DVD Voliminal: Inside the Nine.
The band's image has sparked controversy over the years. Some of the controversy comes from the band Mushroomhead, who, along with their fans, claim that Slipknot stole their image. In 2005, another source of controversy was the band's lawsuit against Burger King, claiming that company created the advertising based band Coq Roq to capitalize on Slipknot's image. The band's lawyer claimed that Burger King had contacted the band's label to get Slipknot to take part in "advertising campaign designed to motivate young people to vote."Burger King responded to the suit with a countersuit, and in that suit pointed out that many other bands, such as Mudvayne, Kiss, and GWAR have used masks as part of their image, although after private discussions the advertising campaign was dropped.
The band didn't start of wearing masks, the idea was originally brought up by Shawn who one day brought in a mask and mucked around with it. It was fun and the idea caught on, soon other members of the band were wearing masks, they pivoted around the idea of how a mask can make you a different person. It was a chance the group were willing to take, to be original and out there, it worked. One thing the masks aren't is something to get people into Slipknot, a point continuously repeated by the band. The group were constantly being degraded for trying something different and as a result the masks were used to conceal identities and portray the band as an anonymous entity. "It's not about our names or faces, it's about the music." state Slipknot
Today most members of the band have now been photographed without their masks, largely as the result of their work outside of Slipknot:
Vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist James Root appear unmasked when working with their band Stone Sour and Corey Taylor was unmasked in an appearance on the Killswitch Engage DVD. He has also appeared unmasked in the Des Moines Register and on a Metal Hammer DVD in which he receives a tattoo of Jean Valjean's prison number, 24601, upon his back.
Drummer Joey Jordison appears unmasked with his side project the Murderdolls and when he plays in other bands such as Ministry, Satyricon and Korn.
Percussionist Shawn Crahan appears unmasked with his bands To My Surprise and Dirty Little Rabbits .
DJ Sid Wilson works unmasked when performing as DJ Starscream.
Guitarist Mick Thomson appeared unmasked in a Total Guitar magazine shoot. He is also unmasked in the video for single "No Pity on the Ants" by Lupara. In the video, he plays a serial killer.
Bassist Paul Gray's face was revealed in a police mugshot leaked through The Smoking Gun, He also played unmasked on a recent tour with Reggie and the Full Effect (save for a notable Halloween performance, where the entire band wore Slipknot masks).
Gray and Jordison have appeared unmasked during various photo shoots and sessions with Roadrunner United.
In the video for "Before I Forget" the band performed without their masks; however, the band members' faces are shown only as brief glimpses, with the camera mostly focused on their hands and instruments. In the video, the masks are visible hanging off hooks, possibly representing their unwillingness to "forget." Each member is also unmasked in individual interviews on their DVD Voliminal: Inside the Nine.
The band's image has sparked controversy over the years. Some of the controversy comes from the band Mushroomhead, who, along with their fans, claim that Slipknot stole their image. In 2005, another source of controversy was the band's lawsuit against Burger King, claiming that company created the advertising based band Coq Roq to capitalize on Slipknot's image. The band's lawyer claimed that Burger King had contacted the band's label to get Slipknot to take part in "advertising campaign designed to motivate young people to vote."Burger King responded to the suit with a countersuit, and in that suit pointed out that many other bands, such as Mudvayne, Kiss, and GWAR have used masks as part of their image, although after private discussions the advertising campaign was dropped.
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