- List of Slipknot band members
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Slipknot 
Slipknot performing at 2008's Mayhem Festival.Background information Origin Iowa Genres Heavy metal, nu metal, alternative metal Years active 1995–present Members Corey Taylor
Donnie Steele
Mick Thomson
Jim Root
Joey Jordison
Shawn "Clown" Crahan
Chris Fehn
Craig "133" Jones
Sid WilsonPast members Donnie Steele
Anders Colsefni
Greg Welts
Josh "Gnar" Brainard
Brandon Darner
Paul GraySlipknot is a heavy metal band formed by vocalist and percussionist Anders Colsefni, guitarists Donnie Steele and Josh "Gnar" Brainard, bassist Paul Gray, drummer Joey Jordison and percussionist Shawn Crahan, in Des Moines, Iowa.[1] Since its inception in 1995, the band has gone through multiple lineup changes, all occurring before the release of its debut album Slipknot, 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, and a turntablist.[2]
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."[3] 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.[4] In 1997, Corey Taylor was recruited from local band Stone Sour and after practicing with Slipknot "everything just clicked."[5] 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.[6]
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.[7] In 1998, Welts was asked to leave the band and was replaced by Chris Fehn. Slipknot considered including a DJ in their lineup, but had difficulty finding one because "the people [they] knew who were DJs all sucked!"[8] Sid Wilson 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.[9] 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.
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 and fentanyl, a synthetic morphine substitute.[10] The band toured in the summer of 2011 with former guitarist Donnie Steele filling in for Gray.[11]
Contents
Current members
- Sid Wilson (#0)
- Active: 1998–present
- Instruments: turntables, keyboard
- 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."[9] 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.[9]
- Joey Jordison (#1)
- Active: 1995–present
- Instruments: drums
- Release contributions: all Slipknot releases
- Joey Jordison joined soon after the band was formed in 1995.[1]
- Chris Fehn (#3)
- Active: 1998–present
- Instruments: custom percussion, backing vocals
- Release contributions: all Slipknot releases from Slipknot (1999) to present
- Following the departure of Greg Welts, Chris Fehn was brought in to fill the void in percussion and backing vocals.[12] Previously, Fehn had asked the band if he could roadie for them; reportedly, his initiation resembled the vetting process from the film Fight Club. After a month of "[seeing] if he would fit into Slipknot", Fehn was finally admitted. He has remained in the lineup ever since.[13]
- James Root (#4)
- Active: 1999–present
- Instruments: rhythm guitar
- 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.[14]
- Craig Jones (#5)
- Active: 1996–present
- Instruments: samples, media, 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.[15] 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.[3]
- Shawn Crahan (#6)
- Active: 1995–present
- Instruments: custom percussion, 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.[1] After Paul Gray's death, Crahan is now the only founding member left in Slipknot.
- Mick Thomson (#7)
- Active: 1996–present
- Instruments: lead guitar
- 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.[3]
- Corey Taylor (#8)
- Active: 1997–present
- Instruments: lead vocals
- Release contributions: all Slipknot releases from Slipknot demo (1998) to present
- Corey Taylor was recruited from fellow local band Stone Sour 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.[16]
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Vocalist Corey Taylor
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Guitarist Mick Thomson
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Guitarist Jim Root
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Drummer Joey Jordison
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Percussionist Shawn Crahan
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Percussionist Chris Fehn
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Sampler Craig Jones
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DJ Sid Wilson
Slipknot performing on the Mayhem festival in 2008
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.[1] 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.[15] 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.[17]
- 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.[1] 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.[16] Colsefni was unhappy with his new role in the group, and left shortly thereafter to revive the band Painface. His last name is often mistakenly spelled "Colsefini".[6]
- 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.[18] In 1998, prior to the band signing with Roadrunner Records, Welts was demanded to leave the band becoming the only member to actually be kicked out.[19]
- 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.[1] 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."[14]
- Paul Gray (#2)
- Active: 1995–2010
- Instruments: bass, backing vocals
- Release contributions: all Slipknot releases
- Paul Gray was a member of the original band formed in 1995.[1] He was with the band until his death from taking an overdose of morphine mixed with fentanyl on May 24, 2010 at the age of 38.
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Late bassist Paul Gray
Performing on the Mayhem festival in 2008
Timeline
References
- Arnopp, Jason (2001). Slipknot: Inside the Sickness, Behind the Masks. Ebury. ISBN 0091879337
- McIver, Joel (2003). Slipknot: Unmasked (Again). Omnibus. ISBN 0711997640.
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Arnopp 2001, pp. 40–42
- ^ "Allmusic Slipknot biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p41591. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
- ^ a b c Arnopp 2001, p. 57
- ^ Arnopp 2001, p. 70
- ^ Arnopp 2001, p. 74
- ^ a b McIver 2003, pp. 44–45
- ^ Arnopp 2001, pp. 80–81
- ^ McIver 2003, p. 50
- ^ a b c Arnopp 2001, pp. 91–93
- ^ Goldsmith, Belinda (2010-06-22). "Slipknot Bassist Died of 'Accidental' Overdose". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/news/slipknot-bassist-died-of-accidental-overdose-1004099551.story#/news/slipknot-bassist-died-of-accidental-overdose-1004099551.story. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- ^ Adler, Shawn (2011-05-24). "Slipknot Reveal Donnie To Replace Deceased Bassist Paul Gray". http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1659788/slipknot-reveal-donnie-steele-replace-deceased-bassist-paul-gray.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
- ^ McIver 2003, p. 57
- ^ Arnopp 2001, pp. 78–79
- ^ a b McIver 2003, pp. 61–63
- ^ a b Arnopp 2001, pp. 50–51
- ^ a b McIver 2003, pp. 41–42
- ^ "Slipknot reveal Paul Gray replacement for summer gigs". BBC. 2011-03-11. http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/12712967. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
- ^ McIver 2003, p. 47
- ^ McIver 2003, p. 54
Slipknot #0 Sid Wilson · #1 Joey Jordison · #3 Chris Fehn · #4 James Root · #5 Craig "133" Jones · #6 Shawn "Clown" Crahan · #7 Mick Thomson · #8 Corey Taylor
Donnie Steele
#2 Paul Gray · Anders Colsefni · #3 Greg "Cuddles" Welts · #4 Josh BrainardStudio albums Live albums 9.0: LiveDemos Singles "Wait and Bleed" · "Spit It Out" · "The Heretic Anthem" · "Left Behind" · "My Plague" · "Duality" · "Vermilion" · "Vermilion, Pt. 2" · "Before I Forget" · "The Nameless" · "The Blister Exists" · "All Hope Is Gone" · "Psychosocial" · "Dead Memories" · "Sulfur" · "Snuff"Video albums Tours Ozzfest 1999 · Livin La Vida Loco · World Domination Tour · Tattoo the Earth · Iowa World Tour · The Subliminal Verses World Tour · All Hope Is Gone World Tour · Memorial World TourRelated articles ListsArticlesBehind the Mask · Behind the Player: Paul Gray · Infected · List of Slipknot tribute albums · Nic Diederichs Technical High School slashing · Outside the Nine · Roadrage 2003 · Rollerball · Tattered and Torn · Up to our NecksGroupsStone Sour · Murderdolls · To My Surprise · Dirty Little Rabbits · Junk Beer Kidnap Band · Painface · DJ StarscreamLabelsCategories:- Lists of members by band
- Slipknot members
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