How Slipknot Set the Stage for a Modern Metal Juggernaut with Their Self-Titled
There are many factions of Slipknot fans. Some could be separated by generation (Ozzfest 1999 graduates versus Gen Alpha #MetalTokers). Others spend their lives arguing about which Slipknot takes the top spot. Of the latter category, the fierce debate rages between stans of the band’s self-titled album, and their followup Iowa. Regardless of opinion, it’s fair to say that both albums set a standard for nu metal, built a foundation for the New Wave of American Metal, and contain songs covered by everyone from modern deathcore to Inland Empire hardcore. But, for all its breakout energy and ferocious creativity, the self-titled album had more nu metal residue than Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan can talk their way around. This does sometimes hinder the 1999 record’s staying power in a way Iowa decidedly transcended, but the sheer raw intensity of this thing remains nigh unfathomably to this day.
To avoid sounding overly kind, let’s begin by dispensing with the ridiculous hyperbole these guys always engage in whenever they talk about their music. Slipknot didn’t invent the “don’t you judge me” concept with “Surfacing.” They also didn’t pioneer the rap/metal crossover of the ‘90s. What they did was find a way to inject the Midwest metal underground into MTV-ready nu-metal. Joy Jordison was their first experience with double kick drums for many listeners — just as guitarists Mick Thomson and Jim Root weren’t coming from that funk metal meets Mr. Bungle style everyone became obsessed with back then. While simple compared to tech death, the riffage on the opening cut “(sic)” feels more like a nu take on death metal, not to mention the lack of funk and hip-hop elements in the rhythm section.
While relatively primitive compared to the extraordinary developments in extreme metal that preceded it, Slipknot clearly had a knack for making chaotic rage undeniably catchy. Even without its nonsensical chorus, “Eyeless” really shouldn’t appeal in the way it does in its whirlpool of breakbeat loops, grating guitar squeals, and destructive breakdowns. But even here Corey finds a way to inject melody when he’s not screaming his brains out. Everyone knows why “Wait and Bleed” blew up the way it did. The song distills the accessible side of the band while sounding like it could explode at any moment, whereas “Surfacing” embodies said explosion. Again, many 12-year-olds buy into the band’s over-intellectualizing. The song is pure frenzied rage, with all nine members joining in on a sonic dogpile.
For all its blunt force trauma, Slipknot hadn’t perfected their method of Trojan Horsing death metal into the mainstream. This album’s only blast beat comes in the secret track “Eeyore” (or at least it was a secret track at initial release), and single “Spit It Out” shows Slipknot’s nu metal elements in full measure. Granted, it’s still better than many bands who were cropping up during the late ‘90s. It’s way catchier, way heavier, and begs to be played in front of a massive audience. There’s a reason every one of the songs mentioned so far has a high likelihood of making it into a Slipknot live set to this day. They epitomized the juvenile frustration present in the wave they rode in on, with enough embellishments to elevate them above the riff-raff.
Delving deeper into the album reveals more disparity between dated and classic. The latter begins to rear its head once the verse of “Me Inside” morphs its electrifying intro into a derivative retreading of nu metal stereotypes. The scronky guitar noises and the lyrical angst wear its Korn influence a little too on its sleeve. But it’s really “No Life” and “Only One” that feels like a time capsule in a worse way. Taylor might be a better rapper than Fred Durst, but that doesn’t stop lyrics like “My freedom is best/ Whole country’s on house arrest” from falling flat. Even with the clever use of a Slayer sample, “Only One” simply loses its menace once the tryhard “spiritual miracle” part kicks off. Slipknot wanted to distance themselves from these moments, which is why they’re absent from Iowa and every album after.
As many die-hard fans will loudly attest, this is not the first Slipknot release. In fact, “Tattered & Torn” was originally released three years earlier on a demo album called Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. Besides having a different lineup (like Anders Colsefni on the mic), this earlier version of Slipknot emphasized experimentation and atmosphere. The self-titled version retains these elements, benefiting from better production and Taylor’s much more visceral vocal delivery. These moments also put more merit on the extended instrumentation, as Sid Wilson’s turntables and Craig Jones’ sampling play a more vital role in creating the unsettling atmosphere.
Without turntables, sampling, and two auxiliary percussionists, “Prosthetics” and “Scissors” simply wouldn’t exist — depriving the album of its most disturbing and unsettling songs. Respectively five and eight-and-a-half minutes long, both tracks begin by gradually layering each instrument in an unnerving crescendo. Whereas the former explores a fairly conventional story from the perspective of a deranged kidnapper (albeit convincingly creepy), the latter finds Corey Taylor giving the most insane performance of his career. It is here — not the Iowa title track — that his inner demons fully manifested. Regardless of genre, no other track hits that fever pitch of emotional abandon. Taylor splutters, groans, and wails his way into the track’s final moments. Many bands from this era had a hyper-emotive moment like this, but none of them rode that line between melodrama and believable pain quite like this.
It’s a shame that “Purity” had to be taken off the tracklist for legal reasons only months after its initial release, as many listeners wouldn’t experience such a solid track right in the middle of the album. With Jordison’s inventive groove in the verse and eerie chorus from Taylor, the song’s real crime angle helps it transcend the try-hard edginess of their contemporaries. On the other hand, a bonus get like “Get This” shows that the thrashier, deathier side of Slipknot was already in the works during these recording sessions. We can count ourselves lucky they decided to give the record label system the finger instead of trying to make an album of “Wait and Bleed” remakes.
Although decidedly standard slipknot tracks, “Liberate” and “Diluted” show that this younger Slipknot had chops to match their anger. Considering the fact Jordison recorded all of his drum takes live in only three days, the band has no business sounding this cohesive. But then again, he and founding bass player Paul Gray had already been playing together for four 4 years, so it only makes sense that the Rhythms would lock up so naturally during the crazed foray of drum fills and disjointed guitar stabs in “Liberate.” That’s the Magic of producer Ross Robinson. He knew how to bring that ferocity out of bands, while also pushing them to play authentically well. When you consider the fact Underoath started their latest album with a very similar riff to the “Diluted” riff, it just shows that Slipknot wasn’t making something specific to their time and place. People talk about Korn’s song “Blind” being the most ripped off riff from nu metal, but a whole generation of ‘core kids made their career on aping many riffs from this album.
While many bands from the nu metal era have only recently found acceptance, Slipknot always got more of a pass from the tastemakers. Whether it was filmmaker Sam Dunn or Brutal Truth’s Dan Lilker, the nine were “one of the good ones” in a cavalcade of perceived garbage. Relistening to their first outing does show some growing pains. If they had leaned into the rap-metal and made more Wait and Bleeds, perhaps they would’ve been another casualty of the scene. But the bulk of this album remains a clear-cut example of artistry found in an unlikely place. Put aside your progressive-techni-core-blackened-sludge and at least listen to “Scissors” front to back. This album’s sheer anguish will change you, even if the simpler machinations aren’t your cup of tea.
