From the entry of Eloy Casagrande on the battery, the Slipknot has been one of the most talked about topics on the internet, especially among Brazilian fans. The news, in fact, only increased expectations for the group’s two shows here in the 2024 edition of Knotfest Brasil, scheduled for the 19th and 20th of October.
Even before their new drummer, however, Slipknot had always been a big favorite among the Brazilian public. It’s no surprise that the band, despite being so heavy, was even in the Rock in Rio line-up – and has already played several big shows across the country throughout its career, which is going through a special moment.
This is because the “new era” is also celebrating 25 years of Slipknot, debut album released in 1999 and which helped define a generation of Rock and Metal fans. Since then, there have been several releases, line-up changes, tragedies, controversies and, of course, a lot of good music.
It is exactly these that we will focus on in this special, in which you will be able to delve into the history of Slipknot with 10 essential songs to understand this unique trajectory!
Special about IowaSlipknot’s second album
It is worth remembering that, recently, we also published a special here about Iowaa record that helped the band led by Corey Taylor to define its sound once and for all and shaped the sound of Metal for a long time.
You can read this special by clicking here.
10 essential songs in Slipknot’s career
1. “(sic)” (Slipknot1999)
The list couldn’t start anywhere else: right after the introduction of their first album, the group delivers one of their best and heaviest tracks in “(sic)”. The song, in fact, is so important to the history of the band that it was called “Slipknot” before it became the name of the group – which, at the time, was called The Pale Ones.
The person who told this story was the late drummer Joey Jordisonfurther revealing that it was written “in the first rehearsal, on September 15, 1995, and it sounded completely different [já que] Corey wasn’t part of it until then.”
The percussionist Shawn Crahanin fact, he added that it was written alongside Paul Gray “many years before starting the band”. However, “(sic)” only gained its iconic form “after everyone joined the band” and the song was taken to the producer ross robinsonanother fundamental figure in the group’s history who adopted a strategy that was at least unconventional in this recording:
We were all in the same room when we recorded this. It was hilarious. Everyone had their headphones strapped to their heads so we could rap [nas coisas] and go crazy while we played. Ross was throwing potted plants at Joey. It was the most insane thing I’ve ever seen.
2. “Wait and Bleed” (Slipknot1999)
Despite all the weight of “(sic)” placing the track among fans’ favorites to this day, the single responsible for propelling Slipknot to fame in the first place was actually “Wait and Bleed”, which hit the nail on the head by betting on a intro with melodic vocals that eventually gives way to Corey Taylor’s screams.
The contrast between the two ways of singing, added to the percussiveness that was still little explored at that time, especially in the US market, soon made the group emerge with a new sensation – and helped the debut album gain popularity. status classic, something that also had the help of other hits such as “Surfacing” and “Spit It Out”.
3. “People = Shit” (Iowa2001)
Here we go again, motherfucker! Instead of riding the wave of their success with their debut album, Slipknot decided to be even more daring in Iowa. The album raised the level of weight to something that perhaps many didn’t even imagine, something that became noticeable right from the opening with “People = Shit”.
This weight, in fact, was the result of an internal chaos and a “darkness” that set in at the beginning of the recordings, as Corey Taylor said some time ago:
There was nothing fun about ‘Iowa’. Suddenly we were metal stars, something we weren’t really expecting. We got lost in the lifestyle and the problems that come with fame, and a darkness set in at the beginning of recording. […] But, you know, sometimes you have to destroy yourself in order to build something great. That’s where the best things come from.
In addition to this, Iowa also delivered emblematic tracks such as “Disasterpiece” and “The Heretic Anthem”, still used today as a kind of anthem by the group’s fans. But it’s hard to disagree that the big impact here really was with that stone!
4. “Before I Forget” (Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses2004)
On their third album, Slipknot finally seemed more willing to face the fame that suddenly arrived. The change in aesthetics is notable, and “Before I Forget” was a fantastic example of all of this – starting with the clip, in which the members appear for the first time wearing normal clothes and without traditional masks, even though their faces are not visible .
More than that, “Before I Forget” represented for the first time a move by the band towards a slightly less aggressive sound. Here, the group seemed to find a balance between maintaining its identity and the possibility of talking to an even larger audience, perhaps because it was finally prepared for it.
The result, of course, is one of the biggest hits of his career.
5. “Vermilion Pt. 2” (Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses2004)
Despite everything said above about “Before I Forget”, even the scariest move by Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses was the release of “Vermilion Pt. 2”. The song arrived in acoustic format, opting for an almost-Emo aesthetic that matched very well with what was successful on MTV at the time.
Slipknot’s trump card here was their sincerity. “Vermilion Pt. 2” never sounds like an attempt to create a hit; in fact, despite being acoustic, the track is as experimental as anything else the band had done until then – if not more so, as it relies on some dissonance and creating an uncomfortable atmosphere for the listener.
The importance of “Vermilion Pt. 2” is also unquestionable, as it opened up space for other great moments in the group’s discography, such as “Snuff”, and helped its audience understand that metalheads don’t live solely on Metal!
6. “Psychosocial” (All Hope Is Gone2008)
After practically a decade active on the world stage, Slipknot seemed to encounter some obstacles: how to continue to be acclaimed without doing the same thing over and over again? All the albums until then had brought innovations, but the path to explore seemed to be getting smaller and smaller.
As expected, the band solved this problem in the best way possible. It’s hard to say that All Hope Is Gone It was an album of great experiments, but “Psychosocial” is the perfect example of how they were able to take the formula from previous years and reframe it for a new context, repeating their success while daring even more.
Almost defying the public, the group brought here an even heavier version of what they sought in “Before I Forget”, betting on the groove and the very melodic chorus to “pack” a very heavy song and complete with an epic guitar solo. , which certainly impressed many young metalheads when they heard it for the first time.
7. “The Negative One” (.5: The Gray Chapter2014)
As we said at the beginning of this special, Slipknot’s career was marked, in addition to all the good things, by many controversies and tragedies. After years of seeming to be “hanging on by a thread”, the band saw its first major loss with the untimely death of Paul Gray, in 2010. In 2013, Joey Jordison was fired and the future was uncertain to say the least.
The uncertainty was short-lived: in 2014, Slipknot overcame all this to release .5: The Gray Chapterrenewing its formation with the arrival of Alessandro Venturella It is Jay Weinberg. The two seemed to help the group get out of a possible doldrums that had lasted for years, and which had logically been driven by the loss of Paul, and the release of “The Negative One” was a milestone for any fan of the band.
The anxiety to see the new phase soon gave way to the ecstasy of seeing the group sharper than ever; after being a little gone, Sid Wilson was back with full force and protagonism in one of the heaviest songs in the band’s history, which even flirted with genres such as Death and Black Metal in the track that redefined what we could expect from their aggressiveness, sounding almost like an evolution of Iowa.
8. “Custer” (.5: The Gray Chapter2014)
Despite everything we said above, “The Negative One” did not emerge as a big hit and the band’s new album, .5: The Gray Chapteronly gained more strength when the second single (“The Devil in I”) reached the public – to this day, in fact, the song is one of the band’s most popular and has impressive numbers.
But who would have thought that, practically 10 years after the album’s release, an unlikely song would take this lead? We are talking about tu-tu-ta, tu-tu-ta, tu-tu-ta-ta-ta of “Custer”, which unexpectedly went viral on TikTok and even became part of a trendsas we told you here.
9. “Unsainted” (We Are Not Your Kind2019)
Five years after .5: The Gray Chapter, Slipknot was once again the target of the same questions: what’s next? Does the band still have quality material to deliver? What will be the innovations on the next album?
We Are Not Your Kind It didn’t please everyone, it’s true, but it’s difficult to find any fan who complains about “Unsainted”. The lead single from the 2019 album became a classic almost instantly, and it’s no surprise: its sound is very reminiscent of the group’s beginnings, with a touch of innovation to maintain the experimental tone that accompanies each new release from Corey and company.
In its heaviest parts, however, “Unsainted” sounds as if it could have been taken directly from the debut album – and we say that in the best possible way, since rescuing a sound from the past with such authenticity is one of the most difficult tasks, especially considering the band’s lineup changes.
10. “Yen” (The End, So Far2022)
To close the list, we couldn’t help but include something of The End, So Far, Slipknot’s controversial last album to date. The album has tracks that fit very well into the group’s discography, such as “The Dying Song (Time to Sing)”, but the highlight here is “Yen”.
Totally bizarre, the song opens up a whole other sonic dimension to what Slipknot are capable of doing. It’s as if, here, the weight of the aggressive guitars was replaced by something even heavier: the tension of a song that leaves the listener pleasantly uncomfortable from beginning to end, playing with this paradox in the same way a horror film does.
“Yen” is proof that Slipknot are open to continuing to be bold, as long as their listeners remain willing to give every crazy thing that comes their way a chance. And it’s not like the literal heaviness isn’t present either, thanks to a reversal of expectations that places the chorus as the most aggressive part of the song.
This is more of what we hope to see in the next album – which hasn’t even been announced, but which already has a lot of expectations thanks to the presence of a new lineup that has everything it needs to become remarkable.
