Slipknot is a heavy-metal band consisting of nine members, all of whom are male, who became popular because of its extreme music and dramatic stage performances. This group was first formed in the late 1995 in the unlikely locale of Des Moines, IA. It had 3 percussionists, 2 guitarists, 1 bassist, a DJ, a sampler and a lead singer. Aside from their real names, members of the band are also referred to by numbers 0 through 8 and each of them also wears a mask, which they said is part of their personality, like an extension of their body. To explain that, all the group members believe that wearing the masks shows more of what they are like inside and what the music does to them inside.

To be number 0 in the band is Sid Wilson who runs the turntables. He is in charge of the background noises and stuff. His mask is awesome, it is a skull with long hair. Next number 1 is Joey Jordison who is the drummer. He was born on April 26, 1975, and was the one who created the Slipknot "S" logo and thought of referring to their fans as "maggots." His mask is a white mask with goth make-up. Number 2 is Paul Gray who plays the bass guitar. He is a co-founder of Slipknot and is half black. Number 3 is Chris Fehn, who is the band's custom percussionist. He was born on February 24, 1974, and is considered to be the comedian of the group. Guitarist Jim Root is the number 4. He was born on October 2, 1971, and used to be a very shy guy until he became a part of Slipknot. His mask looks like Mike Myers' from "Halloween" but with scars vertically.

To continue, Craig Jones is the number 5. He used to be the band's guitarist but switched to samples and media stuff. He was born in 1972 and his nickname is 133 MHz. Number 6 is Shawn Crahan, who is the band's another custom percussionist. He was born on September 24, 1969. He is the co-founder of Slipknot and was the one that originally thought of using masks to make them stand out. He is the oldest member of the group and he does some backup vocals too. Mick Thomson, the guitarist, is number 7. He was born on November 3, 1973, and his mask is a metal one but with holes and has a face expression of anger. Last, number 8 is Corey Taylor who does the vocals. He was born on December 8, 1973, and has fathered at least one baby. His baby's name is Griffin Parker Taylor who is nicknamed "Itty Bitty Mouth".

Slipknot had experienced some early personel shifts before they finally settled around the nine-piece lineup in order from number zero to number eight. Early on their first formed, the music scene in Des Moines wasn't much to speak of, and the band's big-time ambition was usually met with disbelief and ridicule, which provided the initial spark for its mostly anonymous stage visuals. And so they worked on themself to create their own distinct music, and on Halloween 1996, Slipknot released an album called "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." which began to build a buzz around the group once it found its way to several labels. What a fortunate that the album was well-received, and several major record labels became interested in the group. As a result, the album was picked up for distribution by the Nebraska-based -ismist label, and also caught the attention of Roadrunner Records, which signed Slipknot in 1997.

Under the Roadrunner Records, Slipknot worked with producer Ross Robinson, with whom they recorded their official, self-titled debut album "Slipknot" which was released in June 1999. With the release of this album, the band gradually built an audience through near-constant touring, working their way up to the summer Ozzfest package tour, which really expanded their audience even more. Their live shows were also much-discussed hit with metal fans, and the band performed with such energy that Crahan gashed his head open on his own drum kit twice that summer, requiring stitches both times. Moreover, this debut album had spawned two tracks "Wait and Bleed" and "Spit It Out" that got the band some airplay, but most of the buzz, in fact, came from touring and word of mouth. Above all, in the spring of 2000, "Slipknot" was certified platinum; becoming the first such album in Roadrunner's history.

Shortly, in 2001, the follow-up of the debut album was released but it debuted only at number three on the Billboard Magazine album charts. The group once again toured heavily to promote the record and to raise its position as well. And after a long spell on the road, Slipknot took a break while the members worked on side projects. Two years after the hiatus, the band reunited in the late 2003 and began writing and recording with world-renowned producer Rick Rubin, who's worked with artists ranging from Johnny Cash to the Beastie Boys to Slayer. The cooperation later resulted in Slipknot's 3rd album "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)" which was released in May 2004. Fans positively responded this album and it debuted at #2 on the Billboard albums chart. To strengthen their position on the chart, the band embarked on a brief tour as a warm-up for their dates headlining Ozzfest that summer. One year later, on May 25, 2005, Slipknot released their next album named "Vol. 4 (the Subliminal Verses)".

Despite their success, Slipknot is often pointed by many critics due to their appearances, which are described as "gimmicky." Moreover, they are also accused of creating positions within the band for the sole purpose of increasing the total number of members, for example no other popular bands hold a position for a sampler, even if samples are included in the music.

Soon after the release of fourth album, the band came to another hiatus and announced that they would remain that way until 2008. Each members were busy with their solo projects especially the frontman Corey Taylor who also runs a highly successful band Stone Sour. Due to individual success, speculations spread that this hiatus came out as the end of the band. But Corey explained in 2007 that the band would do at least one more album.

"All Hope Is Gone" then came in 2008 and became the band's first album to top Billboard 200. Slipknot made a number of festival appearances during summer of the following year and also embarked on their "All Hope Is Gone" world tour. On May 24, 2010, the body of bassist Paul Gray was discovered by a maintenance worker in an Urbandale, IA, hotel room. He was 38 years old at the time of his death, which was later revealed to have been the result of an accidental drug overdose. The band decided to carry on without him, saying it was what he would have wanted.

In 2013 Slipknot started working on what was to become their fifth studio album. During the recording process, it was revealed that drummer Joey Jordison had left the band, in murky circumstances which were widely held to be acrimonious, and that the band had recruited a new rhythm section. Both drummer and bassist were still anonymous at the time of the album's release, but were rumored to be, respectively, Jay Weinberg, formerly of Against Me, and Alessandro Venturella, formerly of Cry for Silence. Titled ".5: The Gray Chapter" in honor of their fallen bandmate, the album was released in October 2014. Marking a return to a more raw, brutal, dissonant sound reminiscent of their earlier work, it was promoted with the singles "The Negative One" and "The Devil in I", which featured music videos directed by Shawn Crahan.