All three founding members were involved in the local heavy metal scene in Iowa before teaming up, playing for miscellaneous bands. In 1995, Crahan and Gray founded the new metal band “Pale Ones”. Drummer Jordison joined them soon after through an impressive audition. They also changed the band's name to “Slipknot”, the title of one of their early songs, at Jordison’s suggestion.
They released their independent album, “Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.” on Halloween night 1996. It was a completely self-funded project. It’s the only Slipknot album that features Anders Colsefni as their lead vocalist. Since the album never got any traction, Colsefni was replaced by new guy Corey Taylor.
Not keen on giving up, Slipknot got back to the drawing board. And it was worth a second chance. Their second album, the self-titled “Slipknot” was released in June 1999, through the heavy metal label Roadrunner Records. It became a moderate industry hit, peaking at the #51 spot on the famous Billboard 200 list in the US. However, it topped the charts in the independent albums and in the heatseekers category.
Since then, the Iowa-based metal band has released 5 more studio albums, thus they have 7 in total. The best selling among them has been their second, self-titled one from 1999. Meanwhile, the new Slipknot album titled “The End, So Far” was released in September 2022.
The biggest Slipknot hits to date are “Wait and Bleed” (1999), ”Duality” (2004), “Psychosocial” (2008), and “The Devil in I” (2014). The band is known for their eery, horror-themed aesthetics while performing live or in a music video. The band members usually wear masks at every Slipknot concert.
Slipknot’s line-up has changed a lot over the years. Sadly, two of the three founders have passed away. Paul Gray died in 2010, while Joey Jordison did so in 2021. The current line-up consists of the sole living founder, percussionist and vocalist Shawn “Clown” Crahan, lead vocalist Corey Taylor, keyboardist Craig Jones, guitarist Mick Thomson, DJ and second keyboardist Sid Wilson, second guitarist Jim Root, bassist Alessandro Venturella, drummer Jay Weinberg, and second percussionist and backing vocalist Michael Pfaff. Check where the next Slipknot concert is playing on the page above.
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