Biography:
Slipknot is a heavy-metal band consists of nine members, all of whom are male, who becoming popular because of its extreme music and dramatic stage performances. This group was firstly formed in the late 1995 in the unlikely locale of Des Moines, IA; in which it has 3 percussionists, 2 guitarists, 1 bassist, a DJ, a sampler and a lead singer. Aside from their real names, members of the band are also referred to by numbers 0 through 8 and each of them also wears a mask, which they mention to be part of their personality, like an extension of their body. To explain that, all the group members believe that wearing the masks shows more of what they are like inside and what the music does to them inside.
Slipknot (sometimes typeset as SlipKnoT to fit their logo) is a Grammy winning American Nu metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. The nine-piece formed in 1995 and are currently signed to Roadrunner Records. Their albums and home videos have achieved platinum sales status. The band's Grammy award nominations include Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance, which their song, "Before I Forget", won after six successive years of nomination.
Slipknot members:
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:
Sid Wilson - Turntablist Chris Fehn - one of the three percussionists Paul Gray - Bassist Corey Taylor - Vocalist
Craig Jones - Sampler/Keyboardist James Root - Rhythm guitar Joey Jordison - Drummer/Guitarist Mick Thompson - Lead Guitarist
Shawn Crahan - Percussionist
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 and on a Metal Hammer DVD in which he receives a tattoo of Jean Valjean's prison number, 24601, upon his back.
Drummer Joey Jordison appears unmasked with his side project the Murderdolls and when he plays in other bands such as Ministry, Satyricon and Korn.
Percussionist Shawn Crahan appears unmasked with his band To My Surprise and Dirty Little Rabbits .
DJ Sid Wilson works unmasked when performing as DJ Starscream.
Guitarist Mick Thomson appeared unmasked in a Total Guitar magazine shoot. He is also unmasked in the video for single "No Pity on the Ants" by Lupara. In the video, he plays a serial killer.
Bassist Paul Gray's face was revealed in a police mugshot leaked through The Smoking Gun, He also played unmasked on a recent tour with Reggie and the Full Effect (save for a notable Halloween performance, where the entire band wore Slipknot masks).
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. In the video, the masks are visible hanging off hooks, possibly representing their unwillingness to "forget." 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, 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.
