Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat Era
Slipknot started in September 1995 with Anders (Colsefni) and Shawn (Crahan). Anders and Shawn hung-out all the time, they would play Werewolf: The Apocalypse (RPG) all the time (where much of the lyrics came from for MFKR). Anders was helping Shawn with some welding in his garage one winter, and they got talking about putting together a brand new band. At the time they were both drummers (Anders had been singing for awhile), and wanted to put together a band with extra stand-up percussion. Anders called Paul Grey (who was in L.A. at the time), and persuaded him to return to Des Moines and give it a try. They'd attempted to do so before as early as 92 and even wrote songs: "Slipknot" and "Gently", but Shawn got too busy and it fell apart. With the three core members: Andy, Shawn and Paul they enlisted the help of guitarists Donnie Steele (ex- Body Pit guitarist) and Quan Nong (ex heads on the Wall). The band retreated to Anders basement to figure out their sound and how to improve musically.
The band began practicing under the name of Meld, following the first six practices Quan Nong left due to his following of a more Alternative/Punk style. Feeling something was missing, Paul was determined to get Joey involved with his new project, despite failing to receive his interest in earlier projects such as Body Pit. Paul met up with Joey at Sinclair's where Joey worked nights, there he tempted Joey to watch rehearsals within Anders' basement. Joey reluctantly agreed and despite missing two rehearsals due to work priorities, eventually made it down to the basement to view a practice session. This basement, was "largely, open spaced", not only was the area so small and cramped but for soundproofing the members used carpet samples and scraps from a nearby pet grooming centre, this made the whole basement smell of Cat piss. The first song that Joey heard them play was a song known as "Slipknot", followed by "Gently" and "Fur". Joey soon realized that he had to be in this band and soon began to play the drums; pushing Shawn onto percussion. A band had formed. Within the cramped basement new songs were being turned out by the minute, including titles such as "Killers Are Quiet", "Do Nothing Bitchslap", "Confessions", "Some Feel", "Part of Me" and "Tattered and Torn". Paul, Shawn and Joey also began to meet up at Sinclair's to discuss ideas and plans for the future. Shawn and Joey also decided that the band would require three drummers to provide a hardcore audio assault. Shawn wanted a drummer to the left and right with one at the back controlling it all, creating a wall of power, a first layer... Joey plays the main set and as a result is the main drummer who holds the band together.
Shawn is the "Total Power Drummer" and is all aggression, finally the third element of percussion was performed by Anders adding a tribal feel. Within Sinclair's Shawn and Joey also realized that the band would need another guitarist due to the vacant position left by Quan. Josh formerly of Modifidious and Inveigh Catharsis was called and he soon added himself to the band. Now there were six. Josh was seen as the "icing on the cake" so to speak adding a touch of melody to the batch of songs already written The people of Des Moines knew that a new band was forming and they knew who was in it. However no one had heard or seen them. Soon a small performance was given, Slipknot's first show was actually under a different name, Meld (Josh's idea). It was at a club that (Josh) believes was called the Crowbar at that time. They did it without masks however Anders wore his fur skin loincloth and Paul wore wire through all his piercing. This show happened about a month or two after Josh got into the band (I'm thinking it was mid to late Nov. 95'). That was the only show they'd ever done with Donnie. The band went through the names Pyg system and Meld, before agreeing on the simpler name of "Slipknot", the title of their first song. Slipknot began to take notice of their stage show and thus eventually the idea of "Slipknot" spawned. The idea of what slipknot was about evolved and following discussions Shawn turned up to a practice wearing his legendary Clown mask, the sextet decided almost unanimously, with the exception of Donnie, that masks should be worn. Joey came fully equipped with his molded and expressionless Kabuki Mask and despite difficulty within practices the idea took off; the whole anti-image appearance which fitted so well with their rule of ignoring trends had a great appeal. Soon Shawn contacted Mike Lawyer, due to an interest in recording some studio work. Mike got an engineer/producer of his named Sean McMahon to meet up with them during a practice session. Sean McMahon: "I was contacted by former members of a band called Body Pit to check out their new band at their rehearsal space". Sean McMahon: " The band floored me the first time that I heard them play in Anders' basement. This was way before the masks and coveralls evolved. The band was solid and incredibly tight. The music had some melodic parts at that time. They played Slipknot, Gently, Do Nothing/Bitchslap, Killers Are Quiet, Vizqueen, and Fur for me. Anders himself was wearing a wolf fur loincloth - and nothing else. I did not pretend to fully understand what the band was about, as we were just getting to know each other, but it was very plain to me that Slipknot (Meld or Pale Ones at that time) was extremely good at what they did, and had the requisite drive to take it all the way". " The band soon started work on their first project, dubbed, MFKR. "Mate Feed Kill Repeat". The band grabbed every available moment to practice, perform and record within the SR Audio Studios. SR audio was customized for the MFKR sessions by the band itself. SR audio was filled with pornographic posters, films, toys, lights and many other objects all to make the band feel right at home. The recording phase for MFKR was one odd occurrence after another, Sean explains "We cut basic tracks live - all of them, including all 3 drummers, all playing together in the same room! The band advocates the use of extreme violence as a conflict resolution tool, and recording was no exception. The wall next to Clown's percussion rig acquired a few holes from his fist and drum sticks. Then there were the anatomically correct chalk line body outlines in the parking lot. Also, Joey played drums naked on one track, which he nailed". During February of 1996 (the post production stage of mfkr) a great change occurred within Donnie Steele; he found God. He realized that he could not be within such a band as Slipknot with the beliefs he held and as a result withdrew himself from the group. At this crucial point in the bands short history a new member was called up; a former member of Joey's band Modifidious, his name was Craig Jones, he had come highly recommended by Jordison. During his arrival, the MFKR album was already in its mixing stages. The mixing of MFKR was anything but smooth, each song being remixed many times. Strain was added by different view that each member held and things often got intense. Not only were their problems with the mixing but the band was also unhappy with the mastering that was done on the CD, hence they insisted that Sean should do it. Slipknot's first major show in which they would unveil themselves to the people of Des Moines became booked for the 4th April 1996 at the locally known meeting place pronounced, "The Safari". On the day's arrival the room was packed with 200 people. The band arrived in Joey's car and each member sported their individual garments. Paul with wire weaved in and out of his piercing, Andy covered with electrical tape and tribal paint, Josh showing off an executioners hood while Craig had placed pantyhose on his head. Joey and Shawn each used the masks they had always worn, the Clown and Kabuki masks. Before the band began to play Joey began to incessantly shout, "I need a little Christmas in my drink" repeatedly with each new phrase increasing in volume, energy and power. The band then slammed into their debut song, "Slipknot". By Slipknot's second performance at the club Paul had found a new "Pig" mask. The band played a total of seven shows at the club in one month alone. The band carried on playing their shows which were much more "insane" than we see these days (taming of the media etc...), rather than the same uniform jumpsuits and regular masks the band played in different things, for example Shawn rented out a large purple "Barney" suit and others wore Nun dresses and even ballroom dresses or a Little Bo Peep outfit. The shows were really dark, underground and scary however they still carried an element of humor. The shows would start with strobe lights flashing and a sample from Craig, usually of a mad laugh and "ice cream" man chimes, Shawn would drop a power saw to create a series of sparks to fly over the crowd. Joey still felt that the band was incomplete. He wanted more; a different sound and a greater variety. Craig was promptly shifted onto samples, leaving an empty vacancy. Hence Mick formerly of Bodypit arrived. MFKR was eventually finished on Halloween, 1996. The party had begun and 400 people turned up in masks to celebrate the occasion. The album was sent out to many people and a person named Sophia at a local station KKDM managed to hear it and liked it. This lead to the arrangement of Slipknot's appearance in the local KKDM battle of the band's contest. The on air tournament was held every Wednesday at the Safari club in Des Moines, and spanned across several weeks beginning with the individual heats. Slipknot faced the band; Stone Sour - they won. Slipknot also defeated "Maelstrom" and "Black Caesar" who came second. Slipknot conquered all. This was one of the band's highlights that fuelled them to their current stardom. The money from the win helped fund the heavily in debt band's new projects and demos. The band continued the onslaught of supporting their debut Mate Feed Kill Repeat. According to ISMIST records the distributor, there were only 1000 copies of this made and distributed by the band as a promotional tool. By this time several record companies had investigated the band, one of these being Roadrunner who felt that they should not pick up Slipknot due to their thought that the vocalist required more melody. This rejection continued and nowhere could they be signed. Sophia became their first manager due to her contacts and love for this new band. Things then seemed to get worse; Shawn bought the Safari, which took time away from the band despite being a good investment. The band could no longer play in Anders' basement and things were falling apart. There were often tensions between Joey and Shawn and "Slipknot" had nowhere to play. However they still managed to make it onto the bill for the local "Dotfest" in June. There they played to the largest crowd in their history, a crowd of 12 000, containing many industry people. Not only was the sound dodgy and kept going out but the crowd began to throw chicken bones on stage. At the show Slipknot came out throwing Tampons into the crowd and had several "gimps". This was the first and last time for the "gimps". The gimps were Frank with a gas mask, Lanny with tribal markings in liquid latex, Greg covered with liquid latex and a ball gag in his mouth and Greg's friend Slick Rick in a latex hood. Slipknot had the original idea of having a professional stunt man, Rick, come out dressed as Shawn and then Shawn would come out and set him on fire. They had all the things to do it (for a long time it set in the cooler at Safari) but the city would not issue the permits to perform it so the event had to be abandoned. The set ended with them being cut off and an almost riot breaking out as Andy cut open his arms and tossed CDs over the fence to the fans. Joey quit. But he reconsidered and came back. Some good things did come out of this though, their performance left a mark, they made new fans and most importantly they discovered Sid Wilson (even though they did not speak to him). Slipknot looked for the success they were not getting and decided to enlist Corey Taylor of rival band Stone Sour, to join the line up. Joey, Shawn and Mick confronted him with the an ultimatum at his work place, "The Adult Emporium". They said, "Join the band or we will kick your ass!" Slipknot provided an opportunity not present in Stone Sour; the band could go places. The music over image policy also appealed. Corey began practicing with the band and the first lyrics he wrote were to be used in the song, "Me Inside". This was a very experimental move and everyone was wondering how it would turn out. This change resulted in Anders being pushed back to percussion and back up vocals. Soon this new breed of the Knot performed a show; it turned out it was a charity event for a local hospital. The Safari was packed to the brim. Corey came out wearing a large amount of makeup that gave a dark appearance, this was added to by two latex crosses marked over his eyes. Despite this excitement the show was riddled with technical problems and was the show that resulted in Joey's nickname, "Superball". Their next show was on 17th September, again at the Safari. This show was a great improvement however nearly a year on from the MFKR release an announcement was to be made. Just before Slipknot were about to storm into their final song, "Heart ache and a pair of Scissors", Anders made an announcement, "This will be my last show" he stated. This stunned both band members and the audience. Following this sudden change the band returned to the studio to re-record the songs on their second cd titled "Crowz" - minus Anders' vocals. Of these songs included, "Gently", "Do Nothing", "Slipknot", "Tattered and Torn", "Me Inside", "Carve", "Coleslaw", "Scissors", "Windows" and "May 17th" a song written by Shawn. Crowz was to be released October 31st 1997.
Full Slipknot Era
Rarely since the fiery crash of Buddy Holly's plane in 1959 have the words "Iowa" and "rock and roll" been used in the same sentence. As we've come to know it, Iowa means corn, livestock, conservatism, and precious little else. And like a thousand other landlocked heartland nowheres, it brims with kids dying from boredom, and with small-minded politicians trying to keep their little slice of Americana quaint, quiet, and soul-crushingly sterile. But the kids aren't all right - they're getting pissed. And in Des Moines, their rage has a name: Slipknot. Draped in Ed Gein-style coveralls and nightmarishly surreal masks, touting a sound patched from the best parts of metal, hip hop, violent L.A.-style "new metal," and armed with a multidimensional percussive onslaught the weight of a hundred Neubautens, you could call Slipknot equal parts style and substance. You could also call it payback time for Middle America. In a recent Alternative Press cover story, drummer Joey explained the band's vitriolic attack this way: "All of us were so used to having the middle finger thrown at us, that when we finally threw it back, we did so with ten times the venom." And they hit a nerve in the process. Slipknot's self-titled Roadrunner album is nearing platinum status. Their home video, "Welcome to Our Neighborhood," has dominated Billboard's Top Ten since its release, and is already platinum. But that's just America. Australians have made the album gold and the video platinum, and the band continues to sell out gigs there - and throughout Europe and Japan too. Even grumpy old England -- notoriously intolerant of heavy American rock -- has chimed in with a Silver record and New Musical Express' declaration of Slipknot as "brilliant." Similar accolades can be found within recent cover stories in Alternative Press, Circus, Guitar World, Hit Parader and Metal Hammer, and the band has also been featured in Kerrang!, Metal Maniacs, Rolling Stone, and Spin, among others. To top it off, the tune "Wait and Bleed" (which the band performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien) has lately been rotating on MTV, KROCK NY, KROQ LA, LIVE 105 in San Francisco, WHFS Washington, DC, KNDD Seattle and so on. The video for the single has been officially added to MTV as well. Surprised? Don't be. From the skull-pummeling "Sic" and unforgiving bludgeon force of "Surfacing," to the sublime melodicism of "Wait and Bleed," to the entrancing percussive drive of "Prosthetics," Slipknot's Ross Robinson-produced Roadrunner CD swarms with such dense instrumentation that you'd swear it was a whole symphony of sickos in command. And you'd be right: Slipknot is made up of nine native Iowans: DJ Sid (#0), drummer Joey (#1), bassist Paul (#2), percussionist Chris (#3), guitarist Jim (#4), sampler Craig (#5), percussionist Shawn (#6), guitarist Mick (#7), and vocalist Corey (#8). Nine guys, each with his own gruesome visual persona AND dehumanizing number. Sounds like a lot? Percussionist Shawn wouldn't have it any other way. "Our music is so reliant on each other that if one guy is gone, it just wouldn't be our songs. Without one person, something is really, really missing. Everybody has to be present. Even the littlest things make our songs magical." And it is about the songs, after all. While some visually oriented bands forget about that, the beast that is Slipknot, with its virally infectious sense of melody and explosive, percussion-driven backbone, knows its priorities well. "We never put on the shit we wear to try to get people into us," says Joey. "We did because, after being degraded constantly for trying to play music or do something in Des Moines, it just came out to be like we were an anonymous entity.
No one gave a fuck. No one cared, so we were never about our names or our faces; we're just about music." Shawn concurs, but refuses to downplay the importance of the band's freakish, startling visuals. Or their pathological appeal. "The masks are an extension of our personalities," he says. "Everybody's got a sort of tweaked, demented way about themselves, and we just alter the masks over time. It feels really, really good when we wear our masks for an hour and then take them off. The first thing we do is go, 'God, what a relief.' But we always seem to put them back on after a show." Forming in mid-1995, Slipknot endured the necessary growing pains and lineup changes before arriving at what they now call "a family unit." Within a year, they'd recorded, self-released and self-distributed their debut, "Mate, Feed, Kill, Repeat," which helped catch the fancy of more than a few big label suits. Eventually signing with Roadrunner via Ross Robinson's I AM RECORDS imprint, they recorded the explosive self-titled album and exported the horror to the outside world through a series of live shows that Shawn understates as simply "like nothing else out there." This included an exposure-grabbing stint on Ozzfest 1999 and a slew of sold-out shows with label-mates Coal Chamber. Which brings us full-circle in a way. Because, in actuality, there was one other strange incident besides Buddy Holly's death in which "Iowa" and "rock and roll" could be uttered in the same breath before Slipknot: January 20, 1982, when Ozzy Osbourne bit the had off a bat during a gig in Des Moines. "We got the whole thing about the bat right in us," recalls Joey. "When we were little, we kept hearing about this guy named Ozzy biting the head off a bat. That was here in this town, and we've had a little bit of the bat in us ever since." The heaviest band around could have no better teacher. And indeed, as Slipknot moves from a slot on last year's Ozzfest to the headline act at this summer's Tattoo the Earth and MTV Return of the Rock tours, one thing is clear as crystal meth: Corn ain't the only thing growing in America's heartland. Consider yourself warned, planet earth!
Iowa
Iowa is probably best known as "the middle of nowhere." Most non-residents consider the corn-and-pig-state a geographical black hole. Since rock'n'roll's dawning in the early '50s, Iowa has had no singular voice to put on the musical map. Naming a significant musical entity from the state is inarguably a fruitless task; it simply can't be done. However, nine freaks from Des Moines, draped in industrial coveralls, surrealistic self-made masks, and an attack that combines violently regurgitated "L.A. neo-metal," death metal, hip-hop, and downtuned screeching horror--are about to leap upon the unsuspecting world like a musical of Clockwork Orange. Have you ever thought about what a messed-up hard-core metal band from "the middle of nowhere" would sound like? "Ultra-violence" only begins to describe it... Meet 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. (In human terms that's DJ Sid Wilson, drummer Joey Jordison, bassist Paul Gray, percussionist Chris Fehn, guitarist Jim Root, sampler Craig Jones, percussionist Shawn Crahan, guitarist Mick Thomson, and vocalist Corey Taylor, respectively.) Each comes equipped with not only a frightening visual personal and number assignment, but a talent on his particular instrument that combines and collides to form the nine-headed savior/destructor of modern heavy music dubbed Slipknot. Now, with the tools and talents (not to mention complex-yet-infectiously-catchy songs) that this band holds in its grasp, the world has no choice: Slipknot has arrived, and you must now decide how to deal with it. Formed during the later half of 1995, the band went through necessary lineup changes to arrive at what they now describe as "a family unit." All native Iowans, their rather unassuming, un-happening locale gave the members plenty of space and time to perfect their unusual take on heaviosity. The band recorded and distributed the self-released debut Mate, Feed, Kill, Repeat in 1996, and the ball hasn't stopped rolling since. Attracting the attention of a number of labels, Slipknot finally signed to Roadrunner through noted producer Ross Robinson's I AM RECORDS imprint in 1997 and entered Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu with Robinson to record their self-titled debut. From the pummeling "Sic" and the unforgiving bludgeon of "Surfacing"to the sublime melodies within "Wait And Bleed" and the hypnotizing rhythmic drive of "Prosthetics," Slipknot's vast array of influences comes seamlessly wrapped up in a sonic love/hate letter to the outside world. The touring that will follow is promised to be "unlike anything else that's going on out there. Seeing is believing." So says Shawn Crahan. And it's a gross understatement of what actually transpires when it all comes together on stage. Until you hear the sound they create, having nine members in the band might seem ludicrous. Shawn claims it couldn't work any other way: "We've maintained an excellent practice schedule for the last three years. Everybody's on time, everybody's always there, and we always practice as a unit. Our music is so reliant on each other that if one guy, even the DJ, is gone, it's just wouldn't be our songs without him. Without even one person, something is really, really missing. Everybody has to be present. Even the littlest things make the songs magical." Just as striking visually as they are musically, Slipknot stresses that the visuals do not take precedence over the music. "We never put on the shit we wear to try and get people into us," says Joey Jordison. "We did it because, after being degraded constantly for trying to play music or do something in Des Moines, it just came to be like we were an anonymous entity. No one gave a fuck, no one cared, so we were never about our names or our faces; we're just about music. So we just put it on and it started gettin' people, and it just started to turn into this big thing. The music's the most important, though. The coveralls and masks happened, and for some reason it worked, therefore we had to kind of continue with it. We got stuck with it." Now that they're stuck with it, they hardly feel like themselves without it. Shawn feels that "...the masks are extensions of our personalities. Everybody's got sort of a tweaked, demented way about themselves, and we just alter the masks over time. It feels really, really good when we wear ourmasks for an hour, and then afterwards we take them off, and the first thing we do is go, 'God, what a relief!,' but we always seem to put 'em back on after a show and walk around the place." And the visual presentation will change over time, just as the music certainly will. "I think things will always be changing with Slipknot. Everybody grows older every year, and with that you change, and that's somethin' Slipknot is always going to do." As for the number assignments they wear on their coverall sleeves, they're lucky numbers, significant and vitally important to each member. When choosing them, "Everybody fell into a number," says Shawn. "There was not one person in the band arguing over a number. It was really weird." Thanks to a hefty Ross Robinson production job on SLIPKNOT, Slipknot's vision, part one, has been successfully realized. Shawn feels that Robinson was as highly motivated to work on the record as the band were to work with him: "We're a highly, highly aggressive band, and very seldom do we meet people who are in the realm of our aggressiveness when we play as a unit, and Ross took us into the recording room and was throwing punches at us. He was into it. Ross got up every day and went and worked out so he could be in shape to do our album." When label reps and Robinson himself came to Des Moines to check out Slipknot at their best (on stage), the memberswere left with little more to do for after-show entertainment than go to local strip clubs. After hosting guest after guest, the band were completely burnt out. Now, nobody in Slipknot ever wants to step inside a strip club again (it's Des Moines's leading form of entertainment, incidentally). Shawn grunts in disgust: "Fuck the strip bars. Fuck taking anybody to strip joints. We got shit to do." The "shit" is wrapped up in a pretty little package called SLIPKNOT. It's the discordant sound of the middle of nowhere, a terrain where Slipknot is jester and king...
Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
"What I want to know is can you watch something that can change you?" That is the question posed by Slipknot's M. Shawn Crahan, more commonly known as Clown. With one view of Slipknot's latest DVD, Voliminal: Inside The Nine, you will be shaken, jarred and have your attention arrested. And yes, to answer Crahan's question, you will be changed, because Slipknot are that type of band. If any metal band has the power to educate, entertain and change lives, it's the nine-headed, hard rock enigma known as Slipknot. Since their formation in Des Moines, IA, in September 1995, the band has released three studio albums that have sold over five million copies in the U.S. Their latest studio record, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), released in 2004, debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has sold over 1.5 million copies in the U.S. to date, spawning the singles "Duality," "Vermillion" and "Before I Forget." In November 2005, the band released Slipknot 9.0: Live, a gold-certified, double-live album. Before Crahan reconvened with his eight bandmates to start working on Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), he was already laying the groundwork for this brutal slice-of-life double-DVD. Equal parts revealing documentary, stream-of-consciousness art film and live video, the discs take the band's fans (a.k.a. Maggots) deeper into the world of Slipknot than they've ever been before. Created and directed by Crahan, Voliminal: Inside The Nine offers reams of raw, gonzo footage shot across the world from backstage, onstage, on the street, in the tour bus and in the studio, offering viewers a true bird's eye view of the band. It's as though you've been granted unlimited, unprecedented access to the band. Unlike hundreds of formulaic documentary DVDs, Voliminal: Inside The Nine is undiluted, uncompromising and in your face, revealing Slipknot in all their joyous misery, and all their ugly beauty. "For the last three years, I vowed to get to the center of what I know I'm a part of, which is one of the greatest bands in the world today," Crahan says. The first disc, titled Voliminal, is a 80-minute film made up of rapidly edited scenes shot on handheld digital cameras, for 28 months during the making of Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and on "The Subliminal Verses" world tour. This is not a slick concert film with interspersed backstage footage. Nor is it a travelogue of fantastic sights and fabulous babes. This is survival in the belly of the beast. Crahan has assembled the shots into a dizzying cacophony of deafening sound and jarring imagery that's both challenging and impossible to ignore. "My intent was to make you sick to your stomach," Crahan says. "It was said to me very early in my career that rock n' roll is 23 hours of hell and one hour of God," states Crahan. "I've always thought about that. So, this film is all that and more. It's seconds in the day. It's lightning responses to actions. It's that voice inside that shouts, 'I'm on top of the world, and I want to die because I'm so isolated and alone in a world that I never even thought existed, but rock n' roll has taken me here'. Like the films of Harmony Korine, Voliminal juxtaposes seemingly unrelated ideas into a collage of disturbingly surreal reality. The result is a shocking, disorienting view of the thrill and terror of dangling on the precipice of the abyss. "It's vomit at its finest," explains Crahan. And that's a beautiful thing, in the world of Slipknot. In addition to being savage and uncompromising, Voliminal is also a creative work of art. For one scene, a camera was fixed to drummer Joey Jordison's kit. When the drum riser rotates and flips upside-down, viewers experience every vertigo-inducing moment. Says Crahan, "I wanted you to be right there." Since Voliminal was shot on handheld cameras, the audio is sometimes crackly and distorted, but that just adds to the cinema verité feel of the production. Take to the scene of bassist Paul Gray, which was shot at the front of the stage in a space so noisy, the band's playing sounds like mortar rounds detonating on a battlefield. "That's what I want you to hear because that's what he's going through," Crahan says. Ultimately, Voliminal will put the viewer and the fan at one with Slipknot. Buried within the septic folds of the first Voliminal: Inside The Nine disc, are nine "rabbit holes" that viewers can access with their DVD remotes. Each "hole" will feature a short starring each member of the band. The second disc of Voliminal: Inside The Nine features exclusive, in-depth interviews with each of the band members. The discussions cover 10 years of band history in unflinching candor. "The band is 10 years old and I felt that we needed to talk for real," Crahan says. "We're going into our places of choice, individually, and you're being invited all the way in. Hopefully you'll be able to stomach what is real." In addition to personal band interviews, the second DVD will include bonus live footage taken from festivals and television performances from around the world and the music videos from Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) - "Duality," "Vermilion," "Before I Forget," "The Nameless" and the controversial "Vermilion 2," which was never officially released. Fans will also get an up-close view of the "death masks" Slipknot use in concert. Voliminal: Inside The Nine, in addition to vividly capturing the last three years of Slipknot, reminds viewers that the band has only scratched the surface of what it will accomplish during its career. "I'm not worried about going anywhere because we're only getting better," Crahan explains. "We constantly remind all of you that we don't push the envelope because we are the envelope."
All Hope Is Gone
"Slipknot -- which features DJ Sid Wilson (0), drummer Joey Jordison (1), Gray (2), percussionist Chris Fehn (3) Root (4), sampler Craig Jones - 133 (5), percussionist M. Shawn Crahan - Clown (6), guitarist Mick Thomson (7) and Taylor (8), -- is still heavy, still enamored of great, big walls of deeply textured layers of sound. But this time, they've approached their music with an eye towards stylistic expression that completely invalidates any and all comments about heavy metal clichés. Moreover, they've continued the exploration of melody that began on their first record.
Songs like "Sulfur" and "Psychosocial" deliver crushing verses and bridges, but then explode into soaring choruses that provide a powerful showcase for Taylor's voice. The song "Vendetta" features a sleazy, rough-and-tumble kind of swagger, but still delivers Slipknot's trademark balls-out fury. And "All Hope Is Gone" just spews raw anger, aggression, hate and foulness that serves as a reminder to anyone still stupid enough to harbor doubts that Slipknot are experts at delivering pure, heavy-metal punishment.
"It's our fourth album, and we wanted to do something different," says Gray. "You can't put out the same record over and over again. At the same time, you can definitely still tell that this is Slipknot."
"I'm looking forward to the expressions on people's faces when they hear the new record," says Taylor. "There's very, very heavy stuff on this album, and it's gonna blow people's minds. But I'm also excited for them to see the stuff that's different on this album, the more experimental music. No one's going to expect it."
Much of the album's diversity comes from the band's new approach to writing and recording. Over the years, most of the members have worked on various side projects, none of which sound remotely like Slipknot. It's no surprise to find out that these efforts influenced the writing process. Perhaps even more importantly, All Hope Is Gone was the first album on which contributions came from nearly all the band members, with each person bringing his own unique voice to the mix. The band co-produced the album with Dave Fortman.
"I think everyone just went in with an open mind. We would always listen to everyone's ideas, and if they worked, they worked, if they didn't, they didn't," explains Gray. "This time, we really tried to build off the ideas, really tried to work on them. I think it helped that so many of us were able to spend time doing our own thing, too. Just writing with different people really makes a difference in how you think about music. When we finally came together, we were able to bring that to the mix."
Slipknot also made the executive decision to abandon Los Angeles, where they had recorded previous records. Instead, they came back home and set up camp in Iowa. The differences were immediately apparent.
“It gave us more time and energy to experiment in the studio. I was able to come up with more guitar sounds than ever,” says Root.
While the heart of Slipknot remains its music, its soul is planted firmly on stage. Today, Slipknot are playing in sold-out arenas, but the band developed their talents by slogging it out in the Midwest, playing any show they could find. These were frequently one-off shows; the band would travel from their hometown of Des Moines to places like Omaha and Chicago. "There were never any actual tours in those days," says Thomson. "Our shows were like sporting events: We’d put everything into them and then afterwards, we'd be fucking exhausted. We weren't going to pile into a van -- all nine of us -- and then drive all night to the next show. We'd have fallen asleep at the wheel and died."
"Those early shows were rough, but I loved the small stage," says Gray. "There was something intimate about it. It was like an old-school punk show, which is what I grew up with."
"I don't miss that shit at all," disagrees Thomson. "It was 8,000 degrees, you're bumping into people, you're tripping over equipment. Those small stages have low ceilings, so the heat's trapped real low -- right at your head. Those shows are about survival, not about playing."
As difficult as those early shows were for the band, they were just as challenging for whoever might be standing in the front row.
"Shawn used to bring chop saws on stage to grind pipes for sparks," remembers Thomson. "Once, a chunk broke off and sent a kid to the hospital. But people who got hurt at our shows were cool about it -- we'd follow them to the hospital and sign some shirts and shit. It was like, you know, no harm, no foul."
"Everyone tried to control us, though," says Taylor.
"Yeah, those fuckers," says Thomson. "We'd be on tour and fire marshals would show up with camcorders and accuse us of all kinds of crazy bullshit. They'd say, 'We heard you set yourselves on fire.'
"Well… okay, we'd done that!" Thomson continues, laughing. "Sid and Clown would spray each other with lighter fluid and then they'd pull out lighters. That got us in trouble. One promoter would call the next -- they'd warn each other and they'd hit us with 'do not' lists. We were castrated."
Surviving for 10 years is an accomplishment for any band. With Slipknot, it feels like some sort of miracle. Personalities frequently collide, side-projects abound, and on-stage fights are common. And yet, year after year, album after album, all nine men keep coming back for more. "We're banded together in hate," says Jordison. "Sometimes we hate each other, sometimes we hate the world, sometimes we just hate our own lives. But when we get together, something monstrous happens and we pull this amazing sound out of all that energy.
"Plus," he adds, "we believe in world domination, and this is the band that's gonna get us there."
"You know, we went from being some local band in a basement to selling millions of records," says Gray. "It's going to be a decade since the first album came out. I'm so happy and amazed and proud and thankful for where this band has gone. I've gotten to see the world -- and I get paid for it! I'd have done it for free."
Chris Fehn agrees. "I think the best part about being in this band has been getting exposure to the rest of the world. You realize that everything in the world is the same -- people feel the same, they have the same desires, hopes, fears. Being worldly is a gift that I don't ever want to give back. It changes your life -- especially when you're from a small town in Iowa."
"I always knew we'd go far. I just knew it," says Taylor. "There was no way this band was going to fail. But I never knew we'd reach the heights we've come to. We've traveled the world so many times; all the different countries are like our second homes. To this day, it still blows me away that we took this crazy idea and made it a global sensation."
source:http://slipknot.wikia.com/wiki/Slipknot_%28band%29
15.27
Fred Morton
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