Slipknot

Slipknot (band)

Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...

is a heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band formed by vocalist and percussionist Anders Colsefni, guitarists Donnie Steele and Josh "Gnar" Brainard, bassist Paul Gray

Paul Gray (Slipknot)

Paul Dedrick Gray also known as The Pig or by his number #2 was an American musician, best known as the bassist, primary songwriter and one of the founding members of the Grammy Award-winning metal band Slipknot....

, drummer Joey Jordison

Joey Jordison

Joey Jordison , is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work as the drummer for the nu metal band Slipknot. He grew up in Waukee, Iowa with his parents and two sisters, and was given his first drum kit at the age of 8...

 and percussionist Shawn Crahan, in Des Moines

Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

. Since its inception in 1995, the band has gone through multiple lineup changes, all occurring before the release of its debut album Slipknot

Slipknot (album)

Slipknot is the debut album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It was released on June 29, 1999 through Roadrunner Records, after a demo containing a few of the songs had been released in 1998, and was reissued in December 1999 with a slightly altered track listing and mastering, as a result of...

, in 1999. The band is known for its large lineup, which consists of nine members, including a vocalist, two guitarists, a bassist, a primary drummer and two additional percussionists, a sampler

Sampler (musical instrument)

A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...

, and a turntablist

Turntablism

Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...

.

In 1996, during the mixing stage of the band's demo album Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., Slipknot saw its first lineup change when guitarist Donnie Steele left the band and was replaced by Craig Jones. Shortly after, drummer Jordison suggested they would need a full-time sampler and Jones fit the position as "he liked doing that anyway." Mick Thomson was brought in to fill the open position on guitar. After the release of Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. the band were working on new material which required more vocal melody and vocalist Colsefni struggled with this. In 1997, Corey Taylor

Corey Taylor

Corey Todd Taylor sometimes known by the number 8, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it...

 was recruited from local band Stone Sour

Stone Sour

Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...

 and after practicing with Slipknot "everything just clicked." As a result, Colsefni was moved to backing vocals and percussion. However, Colsefni became unhappy with his new role and left the band a month later.

Wanting to retain their percussive edge, the band chose Greg Welts as Colsefni's replacement. Towards the end of 1997, each member chose a number as his alias. In 1998, Welts was asked to leave the band and was replaced by Chris Fehn

Chris Fehn

Christopher Michael "Chris" Fehn , or known by his number #3, is an American musician known as one of the two custom percussionists of the Grammy Award winning nu metal band Slipknot and is the current bassist for the band Will Haven.-Personal life and career:Fehn was born and raised in Des Moines,...

. Slipknot considered including a DJ in their lineup, but had difficulty finding one because "the people [they] knew who were DJs all sucked!" Sid Wilson

Sid Wilson

Sidney George Wilson also known as Ratboy or DJ Sid, #0 , is an American disc jockey known as the turntablist of the Grammy Award winning band Slipknot. He is the youngest member of the band.-Biography:...

 approached the band after seeing them live. He proceeded to impress the band with his ability and his antics; Wilson was considered "Slipknot material" and his hiring brought the lineup to nine members. The final change in the lineup came in the latter stages of the recording of the band's debut album, Slipknot, in 1999. During a break in recording, Brainard decided to leave the band and was replaced by Jim Root

Jim Root

James Donald "Jim" Root , also known by his number #4, is an American musician known for being the rhythm/lead guitarist of the heavy metal band, Slipknot, and the lead guitarist for rock band, Stone Sour...

.

This lineup remained unchanged until May 2010, when bassist Paul Gray was discovered dead in a hotel room near his Iowa home. On June 21, the cause of his death was confirmed as an accidental overdose of morphine

Morphine

Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...

 and fentanyl, a synthetic morphine substitute. The band toured in the summer of 2011 with former guitarist Donnie Steele filling in for Gray.

Current members

Sid Wilson

Sid Wilson

Sidney George Wilson also known as Ratboy or DJ Sid, #0 , is an American disc jockey known as the turntablist of the Grammy Award winning band Slipknot. He is the youngest member of the band.-Biography:...

 (#0)

Active: 1998–present

Instruments: turntables, keyboard

Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

Release contributions: all Slipknot releases from Slipknot demo (1998) to present

The band was interested in adding a DJ to their lineup, but were reluctant because they didn't know any that they considered good enough. After seeing the band live, Sid Wilson proclaimed, "I knew I was born to be in this band." Wilson contacted the band to show his interest in joining. After his attending rehearsals and an incident before a show in which he head-butted all the band members, he was deemed "Slipknot material" and has remained in the lineup since.

Joey Jordison

Joey Jordison

Joey Jordison , is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work as the drummer for the nu metal band Slipknot. He grew up in Waukee, Iowa with his parents and two sisters, and was given his first drum kit at the age of 8...

 (#1)

Active: 1995–present

Instruments: drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

Release contributions: all Slipknot releases

Joey Jordison joined soon after the band was formed in 1995.

Chris Fehn

Chris Fehn

Christopher Michael "Chris" Fehn , or known by his number #3, is an American musician known as one of the two custom percussionists of the Grammy Award winning nu metal band Slipknot and is the current bassist for the band Will Haven.-Personal life and career:Fehn was born and raised in Des Moines,...

 (#3)

Active: 1998–present

Instruments: custom percussion, backing vocals

Release contributions: all Slipknot releases from Slipknot

Slipknot (album)

Slipknot is the debut album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It was released on June 29, 1999 through Roadrunner Records, after a demo containing a few of the songs had been released in 1998, and was reissued in December 1999 with a slightly altered track listing and mastering, as a result of...

(1999) to present

Following the departure of Greg Welts, Chris Fehn was brought in to fill the void in percussion and backing vocals. Previously, Fehn had asked the band if he could roadie

Road crew

The road crew are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians...

 for them; reportedly, his initiation resembled the vetting process from the film Fight Club

Fight Club (film)

Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...

. After a month of "[seeing] if he would fit into Slipknot", Fehn was finally admitted. He has remained in the lineup ever since.

James Root (#4)

Active: 1999–present

Instruments: rhythm guitar

Rhythm guitar

Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...

Release contributions: all Slipknot releases from Slipknot (1999) to present

James Root joined the band in 1999, near the end of the recording of Slipknot. He was brought in as a guitarist following Josh Brainard's departure and is the most recent member in the current lineup.

Craig Jones (#5)

Active: 1996–present

Instruments: samples

Sampler (musical instrument)

A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...

, media

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

, guitars, keyboard

Release contributions: all Slipknot releases from Slipknot demo (1998) to present

Craig Jones was first brought in to fill the guitar position after Donnie Steele's departure. Joey Jordison realized that they were incorporating an increasing number of samples in their recordings and couldn't produce them live, so Jones became Slipknot's full-time sampler.

Shawn Crahan (#6)

Active: 1995–present

Instruments: custom percussion

Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

, backing vocals

Release contributions: all Slipknot releases

Shawn Crahan was a member of the original band formed in 1995 and was initially the drummer until Joey Jordison joined the band. After Paul Gray's death, Crahan is now the only founding member left in Slipknot.

Mick Thomson (#7)

Active: 1996–present

Instruments: lead guitar

Electric guitar

An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

Release contributions: all Slipknot releases from Slipknot demo (1998) to present

Shortly after Craig Jones entered the band as a guitarist, the band decided that he would move to samples. Thomson was brought in to play guitar and has remained in the lineup since.

Corey Taylor

Corey Taylor

Corey Todd Taylor sometimes known by the number 8, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it...

 (#8)

Active: 1997–present

Instruments: lead vocals

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

Release contributions: all Slipknot releases from Slipknot demo (1998) to present

Corey Taylor was recruited from fellow local band Stone Sour

Stone Sour

Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...

 in 1997; Slipknot's music required more melodic singing, which vocalist Anders Colsefni struggled to perform. The initial idea was to have the vocalists share duties, but it was later decided that Taylor would take over the majority of the vocals and Colsefni was moved to backing vocals.

Former members

Donnie Steele

Active: 1995–1996, 2011 - present (touring)

Instruments: guitar (1995-1996); bass guitar (2011 - present)

Release contributions: Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996)

Donnie Steele was a member of the original band formed in 1995. In February 1996, during the mixing process of Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., Steele decided to leave the band. Steele was a "devout Christian" and realized that the band was no longer a project he could be a part of. The band announced on March 10, 2011 that Steele would be their touring bassist for their Summer shows as a replacement for Paul Gray who died on May 24, 2010.

Anders Colsefni

Active: 1995–1997

Instruments: lead vocals, custom percussion, backing vocals, tribal drums

Release contributions: Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996)

Anders Colsefni was a member of the original band formed in 1995. In 1997, Corey Taylor joined the band to share the lead vocalist position. However it was decided that Taylor would replace Colsefni and he was subsequently moved to backing vocals. Colsefni was unhappy with his new role in the group, and left shortly thereafter to revive the band Painface

Painface

Painface is an American death metal band that originally formed in 1998 in Des Moines, Iowa.-History:Painface was formed in 1998 by Anders Colsefni. The band recorded an album called FleshCraft. After Colsefni left Slipknot, he used the name Painface for a new band he was forming...

. His last name is often mistakenly spelled "Colsefini".

Greg Welts (#3)

Active: 1997–1998

Instruments: custom percussion, backing vocals

Release contributions: Slipknot demo (1998)

After the departure of Colsefni, Greg Welts was recruited to fill the spot left on percussion and backing vocals. In 1998, prior to the band signing with Roadrunner Records

Roadrunner Records

Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...

, Welts was demanded to leave the band becoming the only member to actually be kicked out.

Brandon Darner (#3)

Active: 1998-1998

Instruments: Percussion

Not much is known about Darner. He was the replacement for custom percussionist, Greg Welts. He didn't stay long and was replaced by Chris Fehn. He only played in the "Crowz" era.

Josh Brainard (#4)

Active: 1995–1999

Instruments: guitar

Release contributions: Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996) Slipknot demo (1998), Slipknot (1999)

Josh Brainard was a member of the original band formed in 1995. Brainard left the band during the recording stages of Slipknot in 1999. The reasons for his departure are unclear, it was widely thought to have been because of family constraints however Brainard dispels these rumours, explaining that; "some decisions were made that I wasn't particularly happy with."

Paul Gray (#2)

Active: 1995–2010

Instruments: bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

, backing vocals

Release contributions: all Slipknot releases

Paul Gray was a member of the original band formed in 1995. He was with the band until his death from taking an overdose of morphine

Morphine

Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...

 mixed with fentanyl on May 24, 2010 at the age of 38.