Slipknot (band)
Slipknot | |
|---|---|
| File:SlipKnot-Volume3 New Look.jpg | |
| Background information | |
| Years active | 1995 – Present |
| Members | Sid Wilson, Nathan "Joey" Jordison, Paul Gray, Chris Fehn, James Root, Craig "133" Jones, Shawn "Clown" Crahan, Mick Thompson, Corey Taylor |
Slipknot is a nine piece nu/alternative metal band located in Des Moines, Iowa, formed in 1995 and currently signed to Roadrunner Records. There is a debate concerning the group's musical genre, with fans generally classifying them as alternative metal while some critics and musicians classify them as nu metal. Aside from their real names, members of the band are also referred to by numbers 0 through 8. Each of them wear masks.
Slipknot is currently one of the more popular musical groups of the contemporary music scene, with violent stage performances, and music which is perceived as extreme in comparison with other bands in the mainstream market. Their albums and home videos have achieved Platinum-sales status, with Grammy indications in the "Best Heavy Metal" and "Best Hard Rock" categories for songs from all three of their albums. They recently won the 2006 Grammy for Best Metal Performance, with their song 'Before I Forget'.
The band is also known for its peculiar image: the members wear matching uniform jumpsuits (most of which have UPC barcodes printed on them) and each has a unique mask. They change masks after every studio album, although the masks rarely have any major changes in them. Some members have several masks for each time period.
Initally the members had a desire to remain mysterious, and preserve their secret identities, refusing to be photographed maskless, even to the point of conducting interviews or posing with fans while wearing their masks (or at least obscuring their faces in some other way). Another reason for the masks is to take the focus off of themselves and onto the music.
Today most members of the band have now been openly photographed without their masks, largely as the result of their work in other, non-Slipknot bands:
- vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist James Root appear unmasked when working with their band Stone Sour
- drummer Joey Jordison appears unmasked with his side-project the Murderdolls.
- percussionist Shawn Crahan appears unmasked with his band To My Surprise
- Sid Wilson works unmasked when performing as DJ Starscream [1]
- guitarist Mick Thompson appeared unmasked in a Total Guitar magazine shoot
- bassist Paul Gray's face was revealed in a police mugshot leaked through The Smoking Gun.
- Gray and Jordison have also appeared unmasked during various photo shoots and sessions with Roadrunner United.
In the video for "Before I Forget" they performed without their masks; however, the band members' faces are shown only as brief glimpses (mainly close-up shots on their eyes and mouths), with the camera focused mainly on their hands and instruments.