Slipknot (sometimes typeset as SlipKnoT to fit their logo) is a nine-piece musical group from Des Moines, Iowa, formed in 1995 and currently signed to Roadrunner Records.

The band has been on major tours such as Ozzfest and their albums and home videos have achieved platinum sales status.The band also has Grammy award nominations in the Best Metal Performance and Best Hard Rock Performance categories for songs from three of their four albums and in 2006 the band won its first Grammy.

Slipknot's first songs were composed in 1993.During the early years the band went through the names The Pale Ones, Pyg system, and Meld before the band 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.

The band achieved a stable line-up in late 1995, and released an album entitled Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat on Halloween 1996.The album was distributed by the small, Nebraska-based label-amidst Recordings.A year later Slipknot hired Corey Taylor as the new lead vocalist and pushed Anders to percussion.Anders was not interested in being a percussionist and left the band to pursue his own musical goals.

At the urging of Midwest Promotion rep John Kuliak, Roadrunner Records signed the band in 1997.Slipknot then released their self-titled album, Slipknot, which was produced by Ross Robinson, 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 toured with Ozzfest, this tour greatly expanded the band's fan base.In spring of 2000 the album was certified platinum, a first for any album released by Roadrunner Records.In July of 2001 Q magazine named Slipknot as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time.

Iowa, the band's second album with Roadrunner Records, was released in 2001. Critical response to the album was generally favorable. Jason Arnopp of Kerrang! called the album "one beautifully crafted labor of hate"and David Fricke of Rolling Stone called the album "the first great record of the nu-metal era".The album peaked at number three on the Billboard Magazine album charts and at number one on the UK album chart.In the summer of 2001, the band once again toured with Ozzfest.In fall of 2001, the band went on The Pledge of Allegiance Tour with System of a Down. This tour would spawn a live album titled Pledge of Allegiance Tour: Live Concert Recording.The band also appeared in the concert scene of the 2002 movie Roller ball.The single Left Behind, a track off of 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.

In late 2003 the band began writing and recording with renowned producer Rick Rubin, who had previously worked with artists such as Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Slayer.The band released a fourth album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) in May 2004. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart.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 Albums Chart.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. 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.

Slipknot's style is rather extreme. This is exemplified by a Rolling Stone review which compared the band's sound to "a threshing machine devouring a military drum corps Slipknot's early work hosted a large range of vocal styles, ranging from rapping to grindcore-esque growling.In a more recent work, this vocal style remains present, but has expanded to include melodic singing.The lyrics generally follow a very aggressive tone and are, as Rick Anderson of All Music Guide put it, "not generally quotable on a family website."The lyrics feature such themes as darkness, nihilism, anger, disaffection, and psychosis.The band features a rather typical guitar setup with a lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, and bassist. The guitars are heavily down tuned and near death metal in tone.Unlike many bands, Slipknot features two percussionists in addition to the primary drummer.

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. The initial reason for the band wearing masks was the disbelief and ridicule the band received in reaction to their musical ambition.Aside from their real names, members of the band are referred to by numbers 0 through 8.

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.
* Drummer Joey Jordison appears unmasked with his side project the Murderdolls and Ministry.
* Percussionist Shawn Crahan appears unmasked with his band To My Surprise
* DJ Sid Wilson works unmasked when performing as DJ Starscream
* Guitarist Mick Thomson 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 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.[28] 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, whose fans claim that Slipknot stole their image.In 2005 another source of controversy was the band's lawsuit against Coq Roq, claiming that the advertising based band capitalized on Slipknot's image.

Current Members

* # 0 - Sid Wilson - turntables
* # 1 - Joey Jordison - drums
* # 2 - Paul Gray - bass guitar
* # 3 - Chris Fehn - custom percussion, backing vocals
* # 4 - James "Jim" Root - rhythm guitar
* # 5 - Craig "133" Jones - samples, media, keyboards
* # 6 - Shawn "Clown" Crahan - custom percussion, backing vocals
* # 7 - Mick Thomson - lead guitar
* # 8 - Corey Taylor - lead vocals

Former members

* Anders Coselfini - Vocals/Percussion
* Donnie Steele - Guitar
* Greg "Cuddles" Welts - Percussion
* Josh "Gnar" Brainard - Guitar/ Backing Vocals
* John Green - Guitar
* Quan "Meld" Nong - Guitar
* Patrick M. Neuwirth - Guitar
* Sam Fletcher - Drums