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Slipknot is an American nu metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. The current membership includes: Sid Wilson, Joey Jordison, Paul Gray, Chris Fehn, Jim Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, and Corey Taylor.

Slipknot uses a down-tuned guitar set-up (lead, rhythm, and bass guitars), two percussionists in addition to the primary drummer, and electronics (samplers and turntables). The band's sound has been described as "a threshing machine devouring a military drum corps." The band incorporates diverse vocal styles, typically involving growled vocals, melodic singing and even rapping while the lyrics generally follow an aggressive tone. The band's musical influences include extreme metal, industrial, and hip hop.

Slipknot's origins date back to 1992, and the band officially formed in November 1995. Slipknot underwent several line-up changes before releasing their debut album Slipknot in 1999. The band has released two other albums, Iowa and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), and are expected to release a fourth album in September 2008.

Early years (pre-1998)
Early formations of a band were beginning to coalesce as early as 1992 with the core band members, drummer Shawn Crahan, vocalist Anders Colsefini, and bassist Paul Gray enlisting the help of guitarists Donnie Steele and Quan "Meld" Nong.

In September 1995, the band The Pale Ones was created comprising Crahan on drums, Gray as bassist, Colsefini on vocals and guitarist Steele. Joey Jordison joined the band shortly after, taking up the role of drummer and, subsequently, Crahan moved to percussion. The band continued to develop their vision of what the band would be, deciding to add a second guitarist, recruiting Josh "Gnar" Brainard and moving Colsefini to percussion along with lead vocals. The band played their first live performance under the name of Meld on December 4 1995 at a club called Crowbar in Des Moines. Soon after, Jordison suggested renaming the band "Slipknot" after their song that eventually appeared on Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat.. The band also began experimenting with their image, wearing grotesque make up and eventually the anti-image concept developed towards the members wearing masks. Up until this point, the band had remained relativaly obscure due to their desire to wait until their music was fully developed.

With plenty of material ready, the band began recording in a local studio, SR Audio with Sean McMahon. In February 1996, guitarist Steele left the band due to his Christian beliefs; though the other band members were prepared to allow him to stay, Steele decided to leave. His replacement, Craig Jones, arrived during the mixing stages of this new project. On April 4, Slipknot played their first public performance at Des Moines reggae club the Safari, where they had also played most of their early gigs. Their second gig at the Safari was alongside Stone Sour. The band began to realize again that there was need for a change, as they were adding samples to their recordings but could not produce these sounds live. Therefore, Jones moved to full-time sampler and Mick Thomson was brought in to fill the space on guitar. After conflict over the mixing and mastering, the band self released their first album Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat. on Halloween, October 31 1996.

With the production of this album, Sean McMahon began distributing it between record and management companies, which resulted in airplay on local radio and, in turn, won a spot at Dotfest. Slipknot had returned to the studio having developed new material, which was, demanded more vocal melody. As a result, Corey Taylor was recruited from fellow Des Moines band Stone Sour; this moved Colsefini to backing vocals and percussion. While experimenting with their new vocalist, the band continued to do shows at the Safari club, during one of which Colsefini surprised his band and fans alike by announcing on stage that he was leaving the band. The gap on percussion was the filled by Greg "Cuddles" Welts, who was to become the first and only member to be fired from the band due to his lazy attitude. Chris Fehn replaced Welts on percussion. Towards the end of 1997, the band was assigned individual numbers respectively and began wearing uniform coveralls at their shows.

In early 1998, the band created another small demo, which included "Spit It Out". The demo was sent to many record labels and, along with a growing popularity on the Internet and help from their then manager Sophia John, interest grew from record labels and eventually producer Ross Robinson was contacted. The band, which had a strong interest in working with Robinson, met with him and it was then decided they would work together. Soon after, DJ Sid Wilson joined, after showing great interest and impressing band members. With the acquisition of Ross Robinson, interest grew and the band began getting offers from record labels. On July 8 1998 they signed to Roadrunner Records.

Debut album and success (1998–2001)
In late 1998, Slipknot entered the recording studio to work on their debut album. In the early new year, guitarist Brainard decided to leave the band due to personal reasons. His replacement was Jim Root, leaving the band with the current line-up. Recording finished in early 1999, and the band attended the Ozzfest which began in March. On June 29 1999, the band released their eponymous album Slipknot. 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."

Slipknot included variations of previously released songs, including "(sic)", and "Slipknot". These versions were faster than their previous recordings and this shift in intensity was welcomed by old fans. In the same year, Slipknot released their first home video Welcome to Our Neighborhood (which was later released on DVD in 2003). In early 2000, Slipknot was certified platinum, a first for an album released by Roadrunner Records. In July 2001, Q named Slipknot as one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time".

Anticipated follow up and side projects (2001–2003)
The band had created a huge fan base, and the expectations for their follow up album were great. They went back into the studio in early 2001 to work on a new album. Iowa, the band's second album with Roadrunner Records, was released on August 28 2001. Jason Birchmeier of All Music Guide said "It's really all you could ask for in a Slipknot album, and then some," and David Fricke of Rolling Stone called the album "the first great record of the nu-metal era." It was also a commercial success, peaking at number three on the Billboard album charts, and at number one on the UK album chart. In mid-2001, the band once again toured with Ozzfest. The band also appeared in the concert scene of the 2002 movie Rollerball. In the same year, the BBC said that Slipknot stole the show and proved entertaining after the band performed at Reading Festival in England. In the same year Slipknot released their second visual output, with their DVD, Disasterpieces.

2002 also saw the first serious musical projects for Slipknot members outside of the band. Lead vocalist Taylor and guitarist Root revived their band Stone Sour with the release of their eponymous debut album Stone Sour. Drummer Jordison also had his own project in which he took up the role of guitarist in the Murderdolls. Slipknot planned to work on a third album towards the end of 2002 but the band was experiencing problems. At this time there were rumours concerning whether the band had split, and if there was the possibility of a third album. By mid 2003, Crahan also had a new side project, To My Surprise, in which he worked with producer Rick Rubin.

Rebirth and hiatus (2003–2007)
It was the rebirth of Slipknot, you know what I mean it was like... us coming back together, pushing out the vibe that had gotten in there and kinda started pulling people away. But we figured out that you know, we do have to get space you know, we do need to let people be sometimes. — Paul Gray on Slipknot's third album

In late 2003, Slipknot began writing and recording with 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) on May 24 2004, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200. Johnny Loftus of All Music Guide called the album "a satisfying, carefully crafted representation of [the band's] career to date," while Robert Cherry of Rolling Stone said the album "experiments with even newer extremes, which in Slipknot's case means tunefulness and traditional song structures." The title of the album denotes that this is their third album, band members later mentioned that they do not consider Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat. as an album which reflects the band. In 2004, the band toured on the Ozzfest for a third time, the same year they made their first appearance at Download Festival, where Jordison replaced Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich after he was rushed to hospital. In 2005, Slipknot made live appearances without percussionist Crahan&mdash;who was supporting his wife during an illness&mdash;including their return to Download Festival.

They released their first live album, 9.0: Live, which included recordings from shows in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Osaka, Singapore, and Tokyo. The album was released on November 1 2005 and peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200. In 2006, the band won their first and only Grammy for Best Metal Performance with "Before I Forget". Later that year, Slipknot released their third DVD Voliminal: Inside the Nine.

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, Jordison was named a "team captain". Root, Taylor, and Gray also contributed to the album. In 2006, Root and Taylor once again returned with Stone Sour releasing their second album Come What(ever) May. Jordison drummed for several bands while on tour including; Ministry (2006) and Korn (2007). He also produced 3 Inches of Blood's third album Fire Up the Blades which was released in early 2007. Later in the year Crahan revealed a new side project, Dirty Little Rabbits.

Recent events (2008–present)
Slipknot will be returning in 2008 with their fourth studio album. Preparation for the album has been noted to have started in October 2007, recording was due to begin in January 2008, but it was pushed back to February. They are aiming for a September release. For this release, the band has displayed interest in making it their heaviest album to date, such as the expansion of thrash metal riffing that was introduced on Vol. 3. However, they also want to make it their most experimental record, and will be including more acoustic guitars and melodic vocals, as well as introducing hi-hats and cymbals to the additional percussion. The producer for the fourth album has been announced, and it is Dave Fortman, the guitarist for the now-disbanded Ugly Kid Joe. He is also a professional producer, having worked with several artist such as Superjoint Ritual, Otep, Mudvayne, and Evanescence. The first ever Rockstar Mayhem tour festival will be taking place in July and August 2008, Slipknot has confirmed that they will headline the festival. Slipknot is also now confirmed to be playing the Reading and Leeds festival in August.

Influences and style
Slipknot are known for their often chaotic and energetic live shows.

The band's primary influences include Black Sabbath, Slayer, Judas Priest, Korn, AC/DC, Kiss and Beastie Boys. Death metal, and black metal, have been mentioned as a key influence on the band's musical direction alongside nu metal which the band is generally listed as. They have also stated that they are influenced by industrial bands like Head of David, Godflesh and Skinny Puppy as well as Neurosis and jungle music like Roni Size. Slipknot has an extreme performance style provided by their large line-up featuring a typical heavily down-tuned guitar set-up (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 growled vocals. In more recent work, this vocal style remains present, but now includes more melodic singing. The lyrics generally follow a very aggressive tone and feature themes such as darkness, nihilism, anger, disaffection, love, misanthropy and psychosis. Rick Anderson of All Music Guide regards the group's lyrics as "not generally quotable on a family website". There has been controversy surrounding Slipknot's lyrics, including a case in which a pair of young killers blamed the lyrics from the song "Disasterpiece" for their vicious crime and a case in 2006 in which lyrics from the song "Surfacing" were found at the site of a grave robbing. However, the band has never faced any serious allegations that their lyrics may incite violent or criminal behaviour.

Image and identities
It's our way of becoming more intimate with the music. It's a way for us to become unconscious of who we are and what we do outside of music. It's a way for us to kind of crawl inside it and be able to use it. — Corey Taylor on the masks

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 album, Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat. Aside from their real names, members of the band are referred to by numbers zero through eight.

With each new album, Slipknot has aquired new masks and coveralls. Though the masks have not changed dramatically with the release of their second and third albums, they are more of an extension of what they previously were. Jordison addressed the issue in an interview in 2004, stating that the change in masks are to show growth and difference within age. During the music video and live performances of their single "Vermilion" the band change their respective masks to death masks made from casts of their own faces. Also in 2004, Gray claimed that the special effects company Screaming Mad George made their masks from their third album cycle, and pictures of the band's masks from their second album cycle can be found on the SMG website.

The masks have been subject of much criticism, generally thought of as a gimmick to try sell their product. The band however strongly object these claims, proclaiming that the masks are used to draw the attention away from themselves and to the music. Several members have said how the masks are a visual representation of how the music makes them feel and how they put the members in an animal-like mentality. The coveralls and numbers are an extension of their anti-image concept they created with the masks. The integrity of the masks is also a topic of criticism as band members have appeared outside of Slipknot without the masks. The issue has been addressed by most band members, percussionist Crahan specifically addressed the issue during an interview on The Sauce when discussing the release of their 2006 DVD Voliminal: Inside the Nine, proclaiming that the masks are always going to be part of the Slipknot show.

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.

Current members

 * (#0) Sid Wilson - turntables (1996–present)
 * (#3) Chris Fehn - custom percussion, backing vocals (1997–present)
 * (#4) Jim Root - lead and rhythm guitars (1999–present)
 * (#5) Craig "133" Jones - sampling, keyboards (1996–present)
 * (#6) Shawn "Clown" Crahan - custom percussion, backing vocals (1995–present)
 * (#7) Mick Thomson - lead and rhythm guitars (1996–present)
 * (#8) Corey Taylor - lead vocals (1997–present)

Former members

 * Donnie Steele - lead and rhythm guitars (1995–1996)
 * Anders Colsefini - vocals, custom percussion (1995–1997)
 * Greg "Cuddles" Welts - custom percussion (1997)
 * Josh "Gnar" Brainard - lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1995–1999)
 * Paul Gray - Deceased

Discography

 * 1996: Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat
 * 1999: Slipknot
 * 2001: Iowa
 * 2004: Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
 * 2005: 9.0 Live
 * 2008: Untitled studio album
 * 2014: ".5 The Gray Chapter"

RIAA certifications
These statistics were compiled from the RIAA certification online database.

Grammy Awards and nominations
Slipknot has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and has won once.


 * "Wait and Bleed" - Best Metal Performance, 2001 (nomination)
 * "Left Behind" - Best Metal Performance, 2002 (nomination)
 * "My Plague" - Best Metal Performance, 2003 (nomination)
 * "Duality" - Best Hard Rock Performance, 2005 (nomination)
 * "Vermilion" - Best Metal Performance, 2005 (nomination)
 * "Before I Forget" - Best Metal Performance, 2006 (winner)