Band of the Week

I know this band looks a little crazy in these wicked masks, and yet also very interesting. but their music really is good.

I personally like some of their music, just not all of it.
(But I'm that way with alot of bands.)

So here is a little bit of 411 on the band, “Slipknot”.

Slipknot, is an american heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray, after several lineup changes in their early days the band consisted of nine members for the greater part of their tenure.

The band members wear matching uniforms, have unique masks respectively and have aliases, which are simply numbers.

The original idea of wearing masks while performing is often attributed to a clown mask that percussionist Crahan would bring to rehearsals when the band first started.

The concept developed, and by late 1997, the band decided that every member of the band would wear unique masks and matching jumpsuits.

Band Memebers:

Sid Wilson, Paul Gray, Joey Jordison, Chris Fehn, Jim Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, and Corey Taylor.

However, the death of Paul Gray on May 24, 2010 left the band with only eight remaining members.

Slipknot is well known by their attention-grabbing image, aggressive music style and their energetic and chaotic live shows. The band had somewhat of a meteoric rise to success following the release of their self-titled debut album in 1999.

The concept behind wearing matching jumpsuits has been described as a response to commercialism in the music business and led to the idea of assigning the band members numerical aliases.

The band strongly objects to these claims, proclaiming that the masks are used to draw the attention away from themselves as individuals and put it on the music.

 Several band members have noted that wearing the masks also helps keep their personal lives private.

History:

Slipknot was formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in September 1995 when drummer Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray started a band named The Pale Ones.

The lineup was made up of friends who met through the local music scene, including vocalist Anders Colsefni and guitarist Donnie Steele.

A lot of the band's early development was retrospectively attributed to late-night planning sessions between Gray, Crahan and Jordison at a Sinclair gas station where Jordison worked nights. It was there, in late 1995, that Jordison suggested changing the band name to Slipknot after their song of the same name.

In December, Slipknot began recording material at SR Audio, a studio in the band's hometown.  Without a recording budget, the band were forced to self-finance the project, the costs of which came to an estimated $40,000.

In February 1996, guitarist Donnie Steele decided to leave Slipknot due to his Christian beliefs.

After a complicated time with mixing and mastering, the band self-released the demo album Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. on Halloween, October 31, 1996.

Slipknot received a small amount of airplay on local radio stations off the back of the demo. However, it didn't lead to any kind of interest from record labels, so the band returned to the studio to develop new material.

While working in the studio, Slipknot continued to do local shows, during one of which in September 1997, Colsefni announced on stage that he was leaving the band.

In early 1998, Slipknot produced a second demo featuring five tracks exclusively for record labels.  The band began to receive a lot of attention from record labels, and in February 1998, producer Ross Robinson offered to produce their debut album after attending rehearsals in Des Moines.  In late June, Slipknot received a $500,000 seven-album deal from Roadrunner Records; the band signed the deal publicly on July 8, 1998.

Iowa and hiatus (2001–2003)

Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and second hiatus (2003–2007)

All Hope Is Gone, Gray's death and third hiatus (2008–present)

Controversy

Slipknot has been the subject of many controversies throughout their career, both for their image and their music. The lyrical content of some of Slipknot's songs has been linked to several violent and criminal incidents.

Awards

Slipknot: Double Platinum (February 2001)

Iowa: Platinum (October 2002)

Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses): Platinum (February 2005)

9.0: Live: Gold (December 2005)

All Hope Is Gone: Platinum (August 2010)

Grammy Awards and nominations

Slipknot has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, resulting in one win.

"Wait and Bleed" – Best Metal Performance, 2001 (nomination)

"Left Behind" – Best Metal Performance, 2002 (nomination)

"My Plague" – Best Metal Performance, 2003 (nomination)

"Duality" – Best Hard Rock Performance, 2005 (nomination)

"Vermilion" – Best Metal Performance, 2005 (nomination)

"Before I Forget" – Best Metal Performance, 2006 (winner)

"Psychosocial"- Best Metal Performance, 2009 (nomination)

Studio albums

Slipknot (1999)

Iowa (2001)

Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (2004)

All Hope Is Gone (2008

Offical Website

http://www.slipknot1.com/