50 Fun Facts About Slipknot

Slipknot formed in 1995 in which Iowa city?

Founders Shawn Crahan, Anders Colsefni and Paul Gray all came out of the same shifting Des Moines metal scene of the early 1990s.

Under what name did Colsefni, Crahan and Gray start the band in September 1995?

They played their first public show that November as Meld. Body Pit, Heads on the Wall and Vexx were earlier Des Moines bands of the future members.

The name Slipknot was borrowed from what?

Jordison suggested it in late 1995 during planning sessions at a Sinclair gas station where he worked the overnight shift.

Much of Slipknot's early planning happened at what kind of business where Jordison worked nights?

Gray, Crahan and Jordison plotted the band's future at a Sinclair station in Des Moines.

What was the title of Slipknot's self-released 1996 demo album?

It came out on Halloween 1996 and cost the band an estimated $40,000 of their own money. It won local airplay but no label interest.

Corey Taylor was recruited in 1997 from which other local band?

The band wanted more melodic vocals. Taylor and Jim Root later revived Stone Sour during Slipknot's 2002 hiatus.

Which label signed Slipknot to a $500,000, seven-album deal in 1998?

The deal was signed publicly on July 8, 1998. Their debut became the first Roadrunner album ever certified platinum.

Which producer offered to record Slipknot's debut after watching them rehearse in Iowa in 1998?

Robinson, known for Korn, produced the self-titled album and Iowa. Rubin did Vol. 3, Fortman All Hope Is Gone, and Fidelman the later albums.

Slipknot recorded their self-titled debut at Indigo Ranch Studios in which California town?

They left Des Moines on September 29, 1998. Guitarist Josh Brainard quit over Christmas and Jim Root completed the lineup.

Slipknot's first tour, in 1999, was as part of which touring festival?

Ozzfest hugely expanded their audience; the self-titled album followed on June 29, 1999.

Which Slipknot album was certified triple platinum in 2025, making it the band's best seller?

The debut only peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200 but kept selling; it went platinum in May 2000, a first for Roadrunner.

Which Slipknot single lost the 2001 Best Metal Performance Grammy to Deftones' "Elite"?

It was the band's first Grammy nomination. They finally won the category in 2006 for "Before I Forget".

Along with "Frail Limb Nursery", which debut track was pulled after a copyright claim?

Both were inspired by an online story about a kidnapped girl named Purity Knight. "Purity" resurfaced on Disasterpieces and the 10th anniversary edition.

Slipknot's second album, released in August 2001, is named after what?

Iowa peaked at number three in the US and number one in the UK, and is widely regarded as the band's heaviest and darkest record.

Iowa's closing title track is the band's longest continuous song at roughly what length?

Corey Taylor has described recording its vocals as the lowest point of a session the band called the darkest time of their career.

Which Iowa single appeared on the soundtrack of the 2002 film Resident Evil?

"My Plague" was also Grammy-nominated in 2003. The same year the band performed "I Am Hated" in the Rollerball remake.

During the 2002 hiatus, Joey Jordison formed which horror-punk band with Wednesday 13?

Jordison switched to guitar for the Murderdolls. Scar the Martyr, Vimic and Sinsaenum were his later projects.

Under what solo DJ name has the band's turntablist, number 0, performed?

Wilson, the band's turntablist and number 0, went solo under the Transformers-inspired name during the band's hiatuses.

Which producer made Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) with the band at The Mansion in Los Angeles?

It is the only Slipknot album Rubin produced. Crahan later complained the band wasted money waiting around "the Houdini mansion."

Slipknot won their first Grammy, for Best Metal Performance in 2006, with which song?

The track later turned up on the set list of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Which Slipknot video did the band's label call the best music video in its history?

Vol. 3 produced six singles in all, including "Vermilion" and its acoustic-led sequel "Vermilion, Pt. 2".

For "Vermilion" in 2004-05, the members wore special masks made from what?

The life masks were a one-off. Since 2000 the regular masks have been custom-made by special effects artist Screaming Mad George.

Slipknot's first concert album, released in 2005, was titled what?

It peaked at number 17 on the Billboard album chart. Disasterpieces and (sic)nesses are video releases; Day of the Gusano is the 2017 Mexico live album.

Which Slipknot album was the first to debut at number one on the Billboard 200?

Released August 20, 2008, it outsold The Game's LAX by just 1,134 units in its first week.

The 2008 album was recorded at Sound Farm Studio in which Iowa town?

Producer Dave Fortman ran the February 2008 sessions; Jim Root later said the experience made him appreciate Rick Rubin.

Which acoustic-led 2008 track has been called Slipknot's attempt at a power ballad?

The album also produced "Psychosocial", whose video shows the band burning the oversized "purgatory masks" from the pre-release photo shoots.

Founding bassist Paul Gray died in May 2010 in a hotel room in which Iowa city?

The next day the remaining eight members held an unmasked press conference with his widow and brother. Gray had been planning to tour with the supergroup Hail!.

Which 1996-era guitarist returned to play bass, hidden behind Jordison, on the 2011 tour?

Steele had left the original lineup over the lyrics. He stood in for Gray from 2011 to 2014, positioned out of the audience's view.

Slipknot's 2012 greatest-hits compilation was titled what?

Roadrunner teased it with a video on May 29, 2012; Taylor confirmed the release on Twitter the same day.

The first Knotfest in August 2012 was held in Iowa and which other state?

Deftones, Lamb of God and Serj Tankian played the two-city event, which also debuted a Slipknot museum.

Slipknot announced Joey Jordison's departure after 18 years in which month and year?

Jordison said he did not quit and was blindsided; in 2016 he revealed transverse myelitis had cost him the ability to play drums near the end.

Joey Jordison later revealed he had left Slipknot because of which neurological disease?

He recovered enough to drum in the death metal supergroup Sinsaenum from 2016. Jordison died in his sleep in July 2021, aged 46.

What does the 2014 album title .5: The Gray Chapter refer to?

It was the first album without Gray or Jordison. Its single "The Negative One" was the band's first new song in six years.

How was the identity of new bassist Alessandro Venturella leaked to fans in 2014?

Taylor joked he was "upset" about it. A tour personnel list posted in December confirmed both Venturella and drummer Jay Weinberg.

Which drummer joined Slipknot in 2014 and was replaced by Eloy Casagrande a decade later?

Weinberg, son of E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg, departed in November 2023. Casagrande had played with Sepultura.

Which percussionist sued the band in March 2019 and was dismissed days later?

Fehn alleged withheld payments and accused Taylor and Crahan of running business entities that collected the band's money.

Fans nicknamed the concealed percussionist who joined in 2019 what?

He was eventually confirmed as Michael Pfaff, formerly of Crahan's side project Dirty Little Rabbits, in March 2022.

"Unsainted" was the lead single from which 2019 album?

Its video unveiled each member's new mask. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, the band's third in a row.

Which 2019 single's video used clips and audio from the Amazon series The Boys?

It was the second single from We Are Not Your Kind, released July 22, 2019.

Which producer, who mixed Vol. 3, produced both the 2014 and 2019 albums?

Fidelman is also known for his work with Metallica and System of a Down. Barresi mixed The Gray Chapter.

The End, So Far, released in September 2022, was Slipknot's last album for which label?

Their contract expired on April 1, 2023; "Bone Church" was surprise-released that February as a final single for the label.

Sampler and keyboardist Craig "133" Jones, who left in 2023, had been a member since what year?

Jones joined as Donnie Steele's replacement on guitar, then moved to samples when the band needed to reproduce them live.

Eloy Casagrande, confirmed as Slipknot's drummer in 2024, was previously in which band?

Fans found the name "Eloy" in the metadata of 25th-anniversary promo material before his debut at Pappy & Harriet's in California.

Which member was announced as departed in August 2026, leaving Crahan the only founder?

TMZ had reported the DJ's removal in July; the band's own post confirming it was deleted shortly after going up.

The band says the idea of wearing masks began with what object Crahan brought to early rehearsals?

Crahan became known for his clown masks and took the stage name "Clown". He is number 6.

What number is Corey Taylor designated within Slipknot?

Sid Wilson is 0, Jordison was 1, Gray 2, Fehn 3, Root 4, Jones 5, Crahan 6 and Thomson 7.

Which singer and his bands Mr. Bungle and Faith No More are cited as Slipknot's biggest influence?

Corey Taylor has said watching Faith No More at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards saved his life. Mr. Bungle wore masks and jumpsuits years earlier.

Shawn Crahan made his directorial debut with which 2016 feature film?

It was based on a graphic novel and starred Kim Coates. Pollution is his 20-minute experimental short from 2019.

Corey Taylor's debut solo album, released in 2020, was titled what?

The follow-up CMF2 came in 2023. Hydrograd and House of Gold & Bones are Stone Sour albums.

According to the band's page, Slipknot has sold roughly how many records worldwide?

More than 12 million of those were sold in the United States. A majority stake in the catalog was sold to Harbourview Equity Partners in 2025.