You’ve probably heard of masked metal band known as “Slipknot”. They are one of the largest Nu Metal bands to ever exist, and have remained successful since the early 2000’s. This is not really an informational piece on Slipknot, but rather a testimonial about how the band changed my taste in music and has changed my metal playlist forever.
Back when I was a freshman in high school, I didn’t like any newer metal bands. I was obsessed with the 80’s greats like Metallica and Megadeth, and thought any other styles of metal, especially newer metal, just downright sucked. I remember hearing Slipknot every now and then and thinking, “man, just another new metal band screaming and playing down-tuned guitars”. One day I was watching YouTube when I was supposed to be doing my schoolwork, and I saw the music video for Slipknot’s song, “Psychosocial”. It looked interesting enough for me to click on, and I was fully expecting to hate whatever I was about to hear. After the buildup in the intro of the song, and then the drop into the main riff, I was sold.
The more of Slipknot’s music that I listened to, the more I was hearing riffs that had groove in them comparable to the riffs I already loved so much from my favorite bands, not to mention the satisfying angst behind the vocals. What was unique about Slipknot that had been able to capture my attention so much better than other bands? It had to be the raw energy. Slipknot’s first two albums, the self-named album and Iowa, opened a door to that raw energy that I had never heard before. Their late drummer, Joey Jordison, is one of the greatest drummers of all time, and when I heard his drumming paired with the explosive riffs being played by James Root, I was amazed. The down-tuned heavy distorted guitar almost sounds percussive the way it adds to the drums and the rhythm of the song, and it is all topped off by Corey Taylor’s explosive vocals. Listening to the first two albums, it really sounds like Corey was just screaming without any sort of technique. While the screaming was probably obliterating his vocal cords, it really made for some “sic” vocals on the first two albums. Corey Taylor is the artist that made screaming tolerable and enjoyable for me, which has also helped to open my taste in music.
After listening to Slipknot for about a year I was a genuine fan of the band and I liked almost all their music. At this point I started to find music from other bands that I really enjoyed that I would have never listened to before, for example some of Korn’s earlier music, Disturbed, and I even credit them for getting me into Rob Zombie. Now how would Slipknot be a gateway to Rob Zombie? S-id Wilson, also known as “DJ Starscream” is who I credit for opening up my mind to some of the industrial metal bands like Rob Zombie. He was able to prove that those computers and turntables back there really could fit in, especially when you go back to songs like “Sic”, “Eyeless”, and “People = Shit”.
Slipknot widened my love for metal and changed my metal playlist forever. I went from nothing but Metallica, Megadeth, and some of the heavier classic rock bands, to having a huge assortment of music I could enjoy, and you better believe I turned my guitar down to “Drop A” for the first time. If you’re stuck in a rut and feel like you can’t find any more good metal music, maybe you could give Slipknot a try, but chances are you’re already listening to them.
