Slipknot was formed in 1995, in Des Moines, Iowa. They consider themselves a “family unit.” There are 9 members that make up the band, each assigned a number, from 0 to 8. The group is covered in jumpsuits, and individually different masks. They describe their masks as an extension of their personalities. Instead of hiding themselves, they believe they are showing more of their inner selves by wearing the masks, which also contributes to the intensity and aggressiveness in their music, because the masks bring pain and discomfort.

The band consists of 3 percussionists, 2 guitarists, a bassist, a DJ, a sampler, and of course the lead singer. Slipknot’s complex violent heavy metal/hardcore/hip-hop sound is matched by no other. The band released their debut “Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.” in 1996, and everything has been uphill since. Slipknot had many record labels chasing them, but they finally decided to sign with Roadrunner Records, which hosts other bands such as Fear Factory, Coal Chamber, Soulfly, and Spineshank, to name a few. They went into a L.A. studio in 1998, to record their self titled album, which was released on 6/29/99. For you people who haven’t heard them you’re, probably thinking “man, 9 members..? How do they put that together and make it sound like music?” Well dude, they do it perfectly. Its scary actually. Yeah, these guys give Iowa something to be proud of…