Slipknot is not the first band to wear a costume or elaborate face paint, but after over 20 years, their masks are an essential part of the band. The disturbing masks represent their intense music and explicit lyrics, and offer a view of the darker side of each musician's personality.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Slipknot is not the first band to wear a costume or elaborate face paint,
00:04but after over 20 years, their masks are an essential part of the band.
00:09The disturbing masks represent their intense music and explicit lyrics,
00:13and offer a view of the darker side of each musician's personality.
00:19Before the formation of Slipknot, two of the founding members of the band,
00:23Andrew Skolsefny and Sean Cran, became friends in the early 90s. The duo met at gigs from the
00:28same metal scene in Des Moines, Iowa. However, the two also got along well because they played
00:32a role-playing game called Werewolf the Apocalypse, which was more violent and
00:37less popular than the well-known RPG Dungeons & Dragons. Unlike D&D, the Werewolf franchise
00:43focuses on a horror theme, with main characters being werewolves and vampires. For both musicians,
00:49a major appeal of the game was that it was possible to become something else.
00:53In the book Slipknot, All Hope Is Gone by Joel McIver, Skolsefny says,
00:58"[The attraction was being able to play a different person,
01:01to be able to do something different. This was the founding of Slipknot. That was it,
01:06right there."
01:07After the band was created, this mentality was carried over into their first gig on December 4,
01:121995. Skolsefny says that from the very beginning, Slipknot performances have generated what he says
01:18is a primal feeling.
01:20"...I'm transformed into an animal, and that's the reason we wear what we do on stage."
01:27In January 1996, Sean Cran was rummaging through boxes of his stuff in the basement
01:31when he came across an old clown mask of his that he had not seen in 10 years.
01:36The percussionist then decided to wear the old clown mask during a practice session with the
01:40band, and that changed everything. The drummer enjoyed wearing the clown mask so much that
01:45he wanted to keep wearing it regardless of what the others wanted, even during shows.
01:49Cran recalls that there was some pushback from his bandmates. He said,
01:53"...a few of them were like, no f----- way. You can't be the only guy wearing some stupid mask.
01:58So I said, I really don't care what you think. This is who I am, and this is what I'm going to
02:02do. So here we are, all these years later."
02:05After Cran and Anders Skolsefny wore masks for a few performances,
02:09the rest of the band eventually gave in and agreed to do the same. Corey Taylor explained,
02:14"...we started from day one knowing we had to evolve, knowing that we had to stay relevant,
02:18and one of the things we knew we had to do was find ways to look like a unit
02:23and do it in a way that didn't feel forced."
02:26Masks became such a part of Slipknot's identity that the fans never saw the musicians' faces.
02:31Photographer Paul Harries took numerous pictures of the band and was frequently asked by fans if
02:37he had ever seen their faces, and even asked if the members actually had real faces. Eventually,
02:42as the band grew in popularity, some of the members became much more lax with showing their
02:47faces, especially Corey Taylor and Sean Cran. As his side project, Stone Sour, became more well
02:53known, not only was Taylor's face seen more often, but also Slipknot guitarist Jim Roots.
02:58The quieter members of Slipknot have remained more elusive than the rest, like Craig Jones
03:02and Chris Fenn, but pictures of their faces can also easily be found on the internet these days.
03:07Corey Taylor is one of the Slipknot band members who changes masks more than the others,
03:13and he does so because he believes it reflects how people change over time.
03:17According to Kerrang! Radio, the singer says,
03:19"...people like me, Clown, Sid Wilson, and a couple of others, we change ours drastically.
03:25Nobody stays the same over time. That's my belief."
03:28In the early days, Taylor wore a bondage mask but had issues because of his dreadlocks,
03:32which he threaded through holes cut in the mask. After a year of this,
03:35the singer did not like what was happening to his hair, so he severed his dreads and
03:39attached them to the mask, creating his signature look for both the band's self-titled and
03:44Iowa albums. By the All Hope Is Gone album cycle in 2008, Taylor released an entirely new,
03:51almost featureless face mask, arguably more eerie for its blank expression.
03:56The singer's last two masks have also been quite unique,
03:59with almost no connection to his previous masks.
04:02I love the fact that every mask was different because it represented a different person. It
04:08wasn't all linear and just kind of thrown together."
04:12Like Corey Taylor, the masks of Sean Cran have changed a lot over the years. However,
04:16they've all been variations of the clown theme that he's had from the beginning.
04:20The clown persona has become such a part of Cran's identity that his nickname is
04:25Clown, and even though he doesn't wear the original mask during shows anymore,
04:30the drummer still has and cherishes the mask that started it all.
04:33Cran was initially drawn to the mask at a Halloween store many years earlier while
04:38walking in the mall with his girlfriend. He was supposed to buy lunch, but instead,
04:41he spent all of his money on the clown mask. In an interview with the BBC, Cran said,
04:47"'I had gotten a version of this mask when I was 14.
04:50I just never knew why it was in my world, but it was always around me."
04:54"'And then one day, it just so happened it was that moment of clarity to decide
05:01what I wanted to project.'"
05:03He went on to say of his mask,
05:05"'This thing has no f-----g limits.'"
05:09When it came time for the intimidating guitarist to choose, Mick Thompson initially went for the
05:13look of the iconic hulking mass murderer Jason Voorhees from the classic horror franchise
05:18Friday the 13th. This meant that he easily found a hockey mask at the store, but it involved very
05:24little imagination. So, after wearing the hockey mask for the cover of their first album in 1999,
05:29he exchanged it for a black leather mask that shortly after had his own metallic design.
05:34Thompson's masks have all been based on his original hockey mask idea,
05:38albeit with some major tweaks to incorporate his own style. The guitarist's masks have evolved,
05:44but for over a decade the changes have been minor, so his signature look has remained relatively
05:50the same during the last few album cycles. The metallic grill over the mouth is something he
05:55stuck with and made his own, yet it's also the way his newer masks are linked to the original.
06:00As one of the band members who has modified his mask the least,
06:03Thompson summed up his feelings on the matter when he said,
06:06"'If you know who you are, you don't need change.'
06:09I think I pretty much nailed it with this one, for being able to get across how I am."
06:15Originally, like all new Slipknot members, Jim Root did not choose a mask and instead
06:20was given the black bondage mask of the member he replaced, Josh Brainerd.
06:24But the inherited mask was simply too difficult to play in, and Root wanted a mask of his own,
06:30so he discarded the hand-me-down almost immediately. To represent his mischievous
06:34character, the guitarist now usually wears a type of jester mask.
06:38The group also had a role in the decision because Root said in a radio interview,
06:42"'The guys chose this mask to tame me. I was a timid guy before I joined this band.
06:48Now, I'm a freak.'"
06:50Like Mick Thompson, Root's masks have remained very similar to the mask he wore during the
06:54release of the album Iowa back in 2001. Both musicians seem to firmly believe
06:59that there's no reason to fix something that isn't broken.
07:04Craig Jones' first mask was basically just underwear over his face until he got more
07:09creative for the release of Slipknot's first album. Now, Jones is known for his mask with
07:13nails sticking out of it, similar to Hellraiser's Pinhead. The sampler initially stuck the nails to
07:19an old helmet and added a flashlight as well. However, he switched it up to a spiked leather
07:24mask for the release of Iowa. Since Jones is notorious for his silence during interviews,
07:29he also put a zipper on his mouth slit that he could slowly zip shut with glee when asked to
07:35speak. From then on, Jones' bondage Pinhead look has become his own,
07:39and the only real change is that the nails have gotten longer.
07:44The masks of Sid Wilson have changed more than the masks of any of his other bandmates. Over the
07:50years, the DJ went from a standard gas mask for Slipknot's first album to a skull-shaped gas mask
07:55for Iowa, then a stylized skull for Volume 3, The Subliminal Verses, and a robotic mask for
08:01All Hope Is Gone in 2008. Wilson made sure that it was somewhat functional and included adjustable
08:07eyebrows to display his desired expressions, and fully leaned into the Transformers look in 2012.
08:13More recently, for the last two album cycles in 2014 and 2019, Wilson has worn a hood with
08:19creepy teeth, first with metallic eyes, and with the most recent mask looking more like he's wearing
08:25the skin of a human than any previous mask. Chris Fenn is notorious for wearing a long,
08:31Pinocchio-like nose on his masks that he says reflects his comedic personality.
08:35It is common to see the drummer rub the nose in a vulgar manner during performances.
08:40When discussing his first mask, Fenn noted of the mask's zipper,
08:45"...I chose it for the bondage factor."
08:47For the Volume 3, The Subliminal Verses era, the drummer's mask had the fascinating
08:52characteristic of often changing colors. The mask first looked like it had started to rust
08:57and then eventually became all red. Fenn's masks changed very little with only minor alterations.
09:03Sometimes he wore a hood over the back of his head, while he did not for other album cycles.
09:07Fenn used the same mask for Slipknot's self-titled debut album, And, Iowa,
09:12and the drummer noted how bad of an idea that was due to how bad the mask ended up smelling.
09:18Early on, bassist Paul Gray wore a Halloween pig mask that the band said was a reflection
09:23on his character flaw of self-indulgence. However, a rival band, Mushroomhead,
09:28accused him of stealing their look, so Gray modified his subsequent masks to be more
09:32human in style. While the mask for Iowa still retained a vaguely pig-like look,
09:37the black mask he wore in the Volume 3 The Subliminal Verses cycle lost that trait,
09:42and instead had a Hannibal Lecter-looking design with nails that made a grill over the mouth.
09:47Before Gray tragically passed away in 2010, the bassist featured two different masks for a couple
09:52of years during the All Hope Is Gone era. Both retained the Hannibal Lecter style of the previous
09:57mask, but one had a paint smear and the other had small cracks to differentiate them.
10:02As a child, Joey Jordison was creeped out by the blank look of Japanese Kabuki masks after he
10:08witnessed his mother wearing one when she came home from a Halloween party. Jordison kept this
10:12style for his masks throughout his years with the band, only with slight alterations.
10:17The drummer's last mask for the All Hope Is Gone cycle was the most creative,
10:21appearing like a demonic Christ with a crown of thorns and stitches across the face.
10:26Even though the blank expression of the Kabuki masks frightened him the most as a kid,
10:31it became one of his favorite features as an adult. As Jordison noted,
10:35You feel however you want to feel — scary, evil, or perverted — all those things held in one mask.
10:42But like other members, the drummer had issues playing in the masks, saying,
10:46It's very difficult to play in the masks sometimes. You feel like you're locked in hell.
10:51Sadly, Jordison passed away in July 2021.
10:55After Paul Gray's tragic death and Joey Jordison's emotional exit from Slipknot,
11:00bassist Alessandro Venturella and drummer Jay Weinberg replaced them in the band.
11:05But out of respect for the former members, the masks they were given were less creative than
11:09those of their bandmates. Both masks appeared as corpse-like faces with a pentagram on the forehead.
11:15After Chris Fenn's departure from Slipknot in 2019, he was quickly replaced by a drummer who
11:20was believed to be Michael Pfaff of Sean Cran's side project, Dirty Little Rabbits,
11:24says Alternative Press. Yet, the band attempted to keep his identity secret so he was simply
11:30known as Tortilla Man, due to the look of the basic mask he was provided with.
11:34Similar to the masks of Venturella and Weinberg,
11:37it has a zipper mouth and looks like decaying skin, and resembles a tortilla.
11:43In the most recent round of Slipknot masks, Alessandro Venturella and Jay Weinberg have
11:48been allowed to wear masks that are entirely their own. This is especially beneficial for
11:52the new bassist, whose mask plays tribute to Paul Gray's with a pig look, but also
11:57incorporates his own samurai design. On the other hand, Corey Taylor's mask ended up being a huge
12:03letdown after all the hype leading up to its release. Renowned makeup artist and special
12:07effects master Tom Savini helped design and create the mask, so there was a lot of built-up
12:13excitement and expectations for greatness. Instead, the high hopes were quickly dashed
12:18once the mask was revealed, with many posters on Reddit and other platforms ridiculing it
12:23for its comically large cheeks and chipmunk look.