Slipknot is a nine-piece heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Aside from their real names, members of the band are also referred to by numbers 0 through 8: Sid Wilson - 0, Joey Jordison - 1, Paul Gray - 2, Chris Fehn - 3, James Root - 4, Craig "133" Jones - 5, Shawn "Clown" Crahan - 6, Mick Thomson - 7, and Corey Taylor - 8. Slipknot has become one of the more popular heavy metal bands of the planet, with their extreme music and brutal stage performances. Their albums and home videos have achieved Platinum-sales status, with Grammy nods in the Best Metal and Best Hard Rock categories for songs from all three albums.

The band is also well-known for its peculiar image: the members wear matching uniforms (sometimes with UPC barcodes printed on the them) and each has a unique mask of his own.

Contents

1 History 2 Members 3 Ex-Members 4 Discography 5 Unreleased Discs 6 External links

History

The group formed in 1995, and released a demo album called Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat in 1996. The album was well-received, and several major record labels became interested in the group.

Slipknot eventually signed to Roadrunner Records, and released their self-titled debut album in June of 1999. Despite receiving little airplay, the album was successful, due mainly to word-of-mouth. Regarding the album, one reviewer wrote "You thought Limp Bizkit was hard? They're the Osmonds. (Slipknot) are something else entirely. And it's pretty impressive." [1] (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ykuk6j4771r0~T1)

Heavy touring--including an Ozzfest stint in 1999--greatly enhanced the band's fanbase.

2001's Iowa, the follow-up to their debut album, was widely anticipated and debuted at number three on the Billboard Magazine album charts. They again toured heavily to promote the record.

After an almost 2-year hiatus, the band regrouped in late 2003, and began writing and recording with world-renowned producer Rick Rubin, who's worked with artists ranging from Johnny Cash to the Beastie Boys to Slayer.

The band released their third album, Volume 3: The Subliminal Verses in May 2004. Reviews were mostly positive, New Musical Express noted "At least two thirds of it is still comprised of head-spinning speed metal, but there are signs of genuine progression -- not to mention progressive rock -- from the off." The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard albums chart.

Five members of the band have been photographed without masks: Vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root with their band Stone Sour, drummer Joey Jordison with his side-project Murderdolls, percussionist Shawn Crahan with To My Surprise, and bassist Paul Gray through mugshots leaked through The Smoking Gun.

Members

• 0 Sid Wilson - Turntables
• 1 Nathan "Joey" Jordison - Drums
• 2 Paul Gray - Bass guitar
• 3 Chris Fehn - Percussion
• 4 James Root - Guitar
• 5 Craig Jones - sampler
• 6 Shawn "Clown" Crahan - Percussion
• 7 Mickael Thompson - Guitar
• 8 Corey Taylor - Vocals

Ex-Members

• Anders Colsefini
• Greg "Cuddles" Welts
• Josh Brainard
• Brandon Darner

Discography

• Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat (1996)
• Slipknot (1999)
• Iowa (2001)
• Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) (2004)

Unreleased Discs

• Crowz (1997)
• Roadrunner Records Demo (1997)

External links

• Official Slipknot website (http://www.slipknot1.com)
• Roadrunner Records' Slipknot webpage (http://www.roadrun.com/artists/slipknot/)
• MFKR1.com (http://www.mfkr1.com/)
• The Smoking Gun: Paul Gray (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/paulgray1.html)
• Slipknot News - News and comprehensive FAQs (http://www.slipknotnews.com)
• Slipknot Board - The largest Slipknot message board (http://www.slipknotboard.tk)
• Slipknot CPD - A Fansite (http://www.slipknotcpd.com)
• Disasterpiece - comprehensive Slipknot website made by a fan (http://www.geocities.com/disasterknot)
• - PeanutForum Message Board dedicated to metal (http://peanut.forumer.com)

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