slipknot n : a knot at the end of a cord or rope that can slip along the cord or rope around which it is made

English

Noun

1. alternative spelling of slip knot

Slipknot is an American metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. The current membership includes: Sid Wilson, Joey Jordison, Paul Gray, Chris Fehn, Jim Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, and Corey Taylor and they are one of the pioneering bands in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal.

Slipknot uses a down-tuned guitar set-up (lead, rhythm, and bass guitars), two percussionists in addition to the primary drummer, and electronics (samplers and turntables). The band's sound has been described as "a threshing machine devouring a military drum corps."

In September 1995, the band The Pale Ones was created comprising Crahan on drums, Gray on bass, Colsefini on vocals and guitarist Steele. Joey Jordison joined the band shortly after, taking up the role of drummer and, subsequently, Crahan moved to percussion. The band continued to develop their vision of what the band would be, deciding to add a second guitarist, recruiting Josh "Gnar" Brainard and moving Colsefini to percussion along with lead vocals. The band played their first live performance under the name of Meld on December 4 1995 at a club called Crowbar in Des Moines. Soon after, Jordison suggested renaming the band "Slipknot" after their song that eventually appeared on Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat.. The band also began experimenting with their image, wearing grotesque make up and eventually the anti-image concept developed towards the members wearing masks. Up until this point, the band had remained mainly obscured due to their desire to wait until their music was fully developed. |format=Ogg}} With plenty of material ready, the band began recording in a local studio, SR Audio with Sean McMahon. In February 1996, guitarist Steele left the band due to his Christian beliefs; though the other band members were prepared to allow him to stay, Steele decided to leave. His replacement, Craig Jones, arrived during the mixing stages of this new project. Their second gig at the Safari was alongside Stone Sour. Subsequently, Jones moved to full-time sampler and Mick Thomson was brought in to fill the space on guitar.

With the production of this album, Sean McMahon began distributing it between record and management companies, which resulted in airplay on local radio and, in turn, won a spot at Dotfest. Slipknot had returned to the studio having developed new material, which was, demanded more vocal melody. Chris Fehn replaced Welts on percussion. Towards the end of 1997, the band was assigned individual numbers respectively and began wearing uniform coveralls at their shows.

In early 1998, the band created another small demo, which included "Spit It Out". The demo was sent to many record labels and, along with a growing popularity on the Internet and help from their then manager Sophia John, interest grew from record labels and eventually producer Ross Robinson was contacted. Soon after, DJ Sid Wilson was brought in to the band after showing great interest and impressing band members. With the acquisition of Ross Robinson, interest grew and the band began getting offers from record labels. On July 8 1998 they signed to Roadrunner Records.

Debut album and success (1998–2001)