Slipknot

Slipknot

Slipknot is an American metal band formed in 1995 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. This band is known for the characteristic masks of each of its members, which changes as they have release more discography.

Actually, it was the first metal band I started to listen this genre and on their music videos, the first thing that catch my attention was their masks. There are many myths about why they decided to wear masks. The best known is that the band members decided to hide their faces for fear of being judged, because the town where they grew up, Iowa, is very religious and they did not want to be seen badly, so they hid their identity. Another version is that the band considered that wearing masks is a good idea because they do not age, the person wearing them does, however none of these myths have been confirmed by the band.

Here we are the 8 current members of this band:

• Corey Taylor – lead vocals (1997–present)
• Mick Thomson – guitar (1996–present)
• Jim Root – guitar (1999–present)
• Craig Jones – keyboard, sampling, media (1996–present); guitar (1996)
• Sid Wilson – turntables (1998–present)
• Shawn Crahan – custom percussion, backing vocals (1995–present)
• Jay Weinberg – drums, percussion (2014–present)
• Alessandro Venturella – bass (2014–present)

Slipknot's beginnings date back to 1992. The band underwent many lineup changes before the release of their first demo Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat in 1996, on which the vocalist was Anders Colsefini. In 1999 the band released their successful eponymous debut with Corey Taylor as the new vocalist. Since then, they have released three studio albums: Iowa (2001), Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses (2004) and All Hope Is Gone (2008), which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. The band has released three DVDs, including Disasterpieces, which has sold 3 million copies in the United States.

Among the band's main influences are Black Sabbath, Pantera, Metallica, Slayer, Sepultura, Iron Maiden, Carcass, Judas Priest, Korn, AC/DC, Kiss and Beastie Boys. Thrash metal has been mentioned on numerous occasions as a major influence to define it along with nu metal. Slipknot uses two types of guitars (lead and rhythm), a bass guitar, two percussionists, plus drums and samplers and turntables. The band's sound has been described as "a threshing machine devouring a bunch of military drums".

In their early works, the vocals vary greatly, from occasional rapping to guttural vocals. In their more recent works they include more melodic vocals and have dropped the rapping. The lyrics always have a very aggressive tone, which are characterized by dealing with darkness, nihilism, anger, hatred, love, misanthropy and psychosis. Rick Anderson of Allmusic said of Slipknot's lyrics, "They are not meant to be quoted on a family website."

At the end, I shared with all of you my top 10 favorite songs from Slipknot. Hope you can enjoy them :).

10. Dead Memories - All Hope is Gone (2008)

9. Killpop - 5. The Gray Chapter (2014)

8. Everything Ends - Iowa (2001)

7. Vermilion - Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses (2004)

6. Custer - 5. The Gray Chapter (2014)

5. Purity - Slipknot (1999)

4. Psychosocial - All Hope is Gone (2008)

3. Before I Forget - Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses (2004)

2. Sulfur - All Hope is Gone (2008)

1. Wait and Bleed - Slipknot (1999)