Genre: Nu-Metal, Groove Metal, Death-Metal-But-Not-Really
Formed: 1995 – Des Moines, Iowa (yes, really – Iowa)
Known For: Wearing masks, throwing punches (and mic stands), and turning pain into pulverising power.
🧠 WHO THE HELL ARE SLIPKNOT?
Slipknot are less a band, more a force of nature.
A sonic blender of rage, noise, and emotion – served raw, loud, and blood-soaked.
They rose from the cornfields of Iowa to become one of the biggest metal bands on the planet — all while screaming about trauma, alienation, and setting the world on fire (literally and figuratively 🔥).
And yeah — nine members. Industrial jumpsuits. Serial killer masks.
Because subtlety is for cowards.
🎭 THE NINE (Classic Era)
- #8 Corey Taylor – Vocals / Emotional scream king 👑
- #0 Sid Wilson – Turntables / Kung-fu goblin 🤖
- #1 Joey Jordison (RIP) – Drums / Absolute machine 🥁
- #2 Paul Gray (RIP) – Bass / The backbone 🪦
- #3 Chris Fehn – Percussion / Pointy nose boi 🤡
- #4 Jim Root – Guitar / Tall, calm, and dangerous
- #5 Craig Jones – Samples / “133” / The silent one 👽
- #6 Shawn “Clown” Crahan – Percussion / Chaos conductor 🩸
- #7 Mick Thomson – Guitar / The walking wall of riffs 🧱
🩸 Later Additions:
- Jay Weinberg (Drums) – Took over from Joey
- Alessandro “V-Man” Venturella (Bass)
- Michael Pfaff “Tortilla Man” (Percussion)
- And some mystery masks since. Slipknot’s turnover is wilder than Tesco on a Friday.
💿 SLIPKNOT’S SONIC SLAUGHTER – ALBUM BY ALBUM 🎧🔪
1️⃣ Slipknot (1999)
🎭 THE ERUPTION.
🎧 Wait and Bleed, Surfacing, Eyeless
Riff Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
*Unhinged, unholy, unskippable.
2️⃣ Iowa (2001)
🌪️ THE HEAVIEST ALBUM EVER. Fight us.
🎧 People = Sht*, Disasterpiece, The Heretic Anthem
Riff Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
If this album had a smell, it’d be blood and regret.
3️⃣ Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (2004)
🎻 Melodic. Experimental. Still savage.
🎧 Duality, Before I Forget, Vermilion
Riff Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
*Proof Slipknot weren’t just screamers — they were songwriters.
4️⃣ All Hope Is Gone (2008)
🧨 Political. Polished. Pit-starter.
🎧 Psychosocial, Sulfur, Snuff
Riff Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Their biggest commercial album. Also, “Snuff” broke our hearts.
5️⃣ .5: The Gray Chapter (2014)
🪦 Tribute to Paul Gray. Raw & real.
🎧 The Devil in I, Custer, Killpop
Riff Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Grief meets groove meets glorious chaos.
6️⃣ We Are Not Your Kind (2019)
🧬 Experimental. Cinematic. Epic.
🎧 Unsainted, Nero Forte, Solway Firth
Riff Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Arguably their most creative album yet.
7️⃣ The End, So Far (2022)
🕊️ Proggy, weird, and a bit divisive.
🎧 The Dying Song, Yen, Adderall
Riff Rating: 🔥🔥🔥
The weirdest Knøt record – but it’s still a banger in parts.
🎧 THE RIFF REPORT SLIPKNOT PLAYLIST – STAPLES FOR THE PSYCHOS
🎸 Wait and Bleed – Nu-metal royalty 👑
🎸 People = Sht* – Anger therapy 101
🎸 Duality – “I push my fingers into my…” yeah, you know the rest
🎸 Psychosocial – That breakdown
🎸 The Devil in I – So melodic it hurts
🎸 Nero Forte – Drum heaven
🎸 Spit It Out (Live) – For the “Jump the f** up!”* moment
🎸 Snuff – Tears in your mask
🎸 Vermilion Pt. 2 – Beautiful, broken, haunting
🧡 WHY SLIPKNOT STILL MATTER
Because they:
- Brought intensity back to metal
- Made 9-man carnage work on stage
- Spoke to a generation of outcasts, weirdos, and freaks
- Aren’t afraid to evolve, break rules, or set stuff on fire
- Still sell out arenas — masks and all
And because Corey Taylor could read a weather report and make it sound like the apocalypse.
🎤 FINAL VERDICT FROM THE RIFF REPORT:
Slipknot is the musical equivalent of a barbed-wire hurricane.
They’re violent poets.
Mask-wearing therapists.
A cult of chaos that helped thousands survive themselves.
Whether you’re in your bedroom crying to “Snuff” or flying across a pit to “Custer” — they’re YOUR band.
“WE ARE NOT YOUR KIND.”
But we are your soundtrack. Forever.
Michael is the founder, editor, and chief riff wrangler behind The Riff Report, an independent Welsh rock and metal publication built by fans, for fans. With a lifelong passion for loud guitars, unforgettable live shows, and the incredible community that surrounds rock and metal, he created The Riff Report to celebrate everything that makes the scene special—from legendary headline acts and grassroots venues to rising bands that deserve to be heard.
A familiar face at festivals across the UK, Michael spends much of the year covering events including Download Festival, Bloodstock Open Air, Steelhouse Festival, Firevolt, Plumpton Revival, and many more. Whether he’s battling the Welsh weather on a mountainside, surviving a weekend in a muddy campsite, or squeezed against the front barrier with thousands of fellow fans, he’s always searching for the next great story to share.
As editor of The Riff Report, Michael writes festival guides, breaking news, album reviews, gig reviews, interviews, opinion pieces, nostalgia features, and behind-the-scenes stories from across the rock and metal world. His writing combines honest opinions, humour, and a genuine love for live music, bringing readers closer to the bands, festivals, venues, and people that keep the scene alive.
Michael is particularly passionate about supporting independent artists, local venues, charities, and the wider UK rock and metal community. He believes every band deserves a chance to be discovered and every festival has a story worth telling. Through The Riff Report, he aims to shine a spotlight on both the biggest names in rock and the future stars waiting to break through.
When he’s not writing or interviewing artists, you’ll probably find him exploring festival campsites, photographing live shows, chatting with fellow fans over a pint, or planning the next road trip in search of more riffs, bigger crowds, and unforgettable moments.
Above all, Michael believes rock and metal are about more than music—they’re about community, friendship, and creating memories that last a lifetime. That’s exactly what The Riff Report exists to celebrate.
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Always chasing the next great riff. 🤘
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