SlipKnot: Lyrics, History, Ideology.

Nowadays SlipKnot is one of the most shocking and non-typical extreme metal bands. These nine people, who never showed theirs faces, have made a real break-through in metal music. But before having achieved great success, they had to overcome common difficulties...

The history of Slipknot began in Iowa, a small state where corn was growing everywhere. Shawn Crahan who worked as a welder met Paul Grey and one more ex-member of Slipknot in 1991. At that time the guys were playing for themselves like the majority of beginners were doing. It was easy to find people with common interests in such a small town as De-moin. At that time the line-up of the band was constantly changing, they did not even have the title. Finally in 1992 the title "Slipknot" appeared, there were 6 members in the new band. The guys were playing in Anders' cellar. Though the cellar turned out to be too small and it became the reason of numerous conflicts among the members of Slipknot. Nevertheless, the musicians were working on their own songs, and their first tracks of SlipKnot were based on those materials: "What's Wrong", "Idiot", "Gently","Slipknot". The image of the band was formed only after Shawn had one day appeared at the rehearsal wearing a mask. The guys laughed at it, but noted the idea. Due to this accident, the scandalous image of Slipknot appeared.

1995 turned out to be a turning point for Slipknot. The guys already had the material for the album, the only thing left was to find a studio and money. In 1996 Slipknot managed to find the necessary 30.000$, and the album (1000 copies) was released. But this recording was more like a demo and was entitled "Mate, Feed, Kill, Repeat". Although the circulation was small, Slipknot was noticed and got its first fans. Once Ross Robinson (the representative of "Roadrunner Records") was present at their concert. Ross offered Slipknot to strike a deal, and the guys immediately agreed.

In summer 1999 the band's first real album Slipknot was released. It contained 20 real tracks and sold a lot of copies. There appeared plenty of rumors and various stories about maniacs and masks, which made Slipknot more popular. One of the musical critics was absolutely right as he said: "It's not that they mix various, often incompatible styles, they absorb them, adding to this crazy mix their impetuous rage, hatred and horror. The lyrics correspond: "Fuck you all! Fuck this world! Fuck everything is you stand for!" This very phrase reflects the idea of the music and lyrics of Slipknot's album.

74617000027
These bar-code figures are on the costumes of all the band members. This bar-code was on the first Slipknot CD. The track itself is just an intro to the second track of the album.

(SIC!)
Slipknot's lyrics are devoted to Corey's favourite author - Edgar Allan Po.

Wait & Bleed...
That's what Corey says about the lyrics of the song: "The song is about a guy who is constantly dreaming black-and-white that he is lying in a bath full of blood with his veins cut...Then he wakes up and sees that his dreams are real. He does not want to believe in it and every time tries to fall asleep again. So he waits and bleeds..."

Surfacing
Some kind of Slipknot"s anthem against lies and corruption of the world. The lyrics also tell about the fans who are being accused of everything.

Tattered and Torn
Slipknot's lyrics tell about a guy who can not solve his problems, that is why he chooses death, so he cut the veins.

Liberate
Slipknot's lyrics deal with miserable life of a guy. He is being constantly mocked at while he tries just to avoid his enemies.

Prosthnetics
Corey: "The track is based on the film "The Collector" (1960). This film deals with a mentally ill person whose hobby is to collect girls. Slipknot's lyrics tell about this madness.

Diluted
It's the main Corey's song. In the lyrics he hends people and God to hell as they made him the way he is. And then they criticize Corey for being different. All hid ideals are dead as they did nit correspond to the ideals of society. On the whole, Slipknot's lyrics reflect the ideas of the band.

Only One
This song appeared on "MFKR", it was remade and included into the new album. The lyrics tell about a fight that only one can survive.

Me Inside
Slipknot's lyrics tell about people from the band's native town who consider themselves "kings". Part of the song is in Spanish: "Somos feos apestamos y pero reinamos joto muthafuck".

Get This
The song reflects the essence of Slipknot. Slipknot's lyrics say that the guys will never stop. They say: "We are Slipknot. That's what we are doing and that's what we like doing."

Despise (Demo)
The lyrics are similar to that of "Get This".

That's what Slipknot say about this work: "We like to play energetic cheerful music, to entertain ourselves and our audience. We mix our own tracks with the songs of Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, The Band, Traffic, Little Feat and others. One of the main advantages of Slipknot is our ability to turn the concert into an unforgettable show."

Then the band started touring, it was a mixture of horror and disgust. Slipknot's lyrics were shocking; their bright painty masks made them look like clowns of hell. Slipknot also released a video that sold out immediately. Slipknot got the status of the scandalous band and their album was certified platinum.

In 2001 Slipknot released their new album "IOWA". Another portion of furious lyrics and wild music was accepted with great enthusiasm. Slipknot's lyrics are penetrated with solitude, insanity, hatred...This album differs from the previous one, so it's worth discussing in detail.

People=Shit
Slipknot's lyrics tell that all people are mean by nature. They destroy nature and everything surrounding them. And as a man will, anyway, die one day, "People=Shit".

Disasterpiece
Slipknot's lyrics deal with people who criticize others without thinking and try to thrust their opinion on them.

Everything Ends
"This song's lyrics are about my latest attempt to commit suicide, to be exact, the lyrics are about the first day of my life when I realized what it's all about. To be more exact, the lyrics are about the last day of my old life that I even don't want to remember and about the first day of the life I continue living now," says Corey.

The Heretic Anthem
The lyrics present one more anthem. It's the anthem to man's independence. No one has a right to give you orders or make you be like everyone. Be yourself, be a heretic...

Gently
The lyrics of this song written by Anders (ex-member of the band) deal with the world of spirits, where one feels protected from the dangers of the outer world. One feels calm and happy...

Left Behind
Slipknot's lyrics tell about a guy who has not grown up in contrast to his friends. As a result, they stop paying attention to him and he goes away. Then he feels lonely...

There was an impression, the album was recorded by insane people. Slipknot's gloomy lyrics was accompanied by wild screaming and roaring. No doubt, Slipknot achieved what they wanted, they created the atmosphere of hell, where light could not penetrate.

Then Slipknot began touring again. Some worshipped Slipknot, other consider them maniacs and perverts. But all of them agreed - Slipknot's lyrics and music made a real break-through in music.

But then Slipknot disappeared suddenly. In this silence it was rumored that Slipknot broke up. But it was not true! Slipknot did not waste their time; they were just looking for a new producer. Their next album appeared on May 25 2004. Slipknot also shot 5 videos to their new songs.

Slipknot changed greatly. Their songs became quieter, the lyrics were different, even the masks changed. Then Slipknot went on a tour, after it they spitted again. In 2006 SlipKnot received Grammy for the best metal performance. On December 5 2006 their double DVD was released "Voliminal: Inside the Nine". Shawn says, that Slipknot will probably break up: "The main reason is that some of us have not seen each other for more than two years". Some band members have their own side-projects, though maybe they will still gather together to impress the world with their new work once again...