Try as I might, I just can’t come up with much of a preamble for this
interview. I have but two songs, one in demo form, from which to judge
this groups abilities and virtually no biographical information
whatsoever, still, there is something very exciting, or better yet,
unnerving about this band of Iowans that call themselves SLIPKNOT.
Unnerving enough that I have the distinct impression that by the time you
read this they will have been kicked off the Ozz-Fest and be disturbing
the peace of other towns on their own. The interview speaks volumes on
its own bat anyway so anything that I could offer would be forgotten with
each irreverent SLIPKNOT passage. My hillbilly relatives have a saying
that would seem to fit well here, “That just ain’t right Dave, it just
ain’t. It is unnatural and God don’t like it!” Well, at least I have
that going for me.

DAVID LEE Though I have heard a good buzz about the band I have no bio or
photo, in fact, all I do have is this two song sampler, which is cool but
doesn’t tell me much about SLIPKNOT.

M. SHAWN CRAHAN Can you guys hear that crazy echo?

COREY TAYLOR Yeah, what are you doing putting some crazy effects on that
shit or something?

DL No.

SHAWN Is that your tape player?

DL No.

COREY Uh, I know what it is, here is the test, if I get arrested in the
next five seconds, you know we are tapped, (Makes mock threat against a
public official.)(everyone laughs) It ain’t working dude so, it is all
good!

SHAWN Any way, let me give you the rundown real quick.

COREY Yeah give him the origin.

SHAWN We started in ‘96 and we started as a six piece band and basically,
all of us are from different bands that had opened up for each other with
the common philosophy of, we were just sick of the way that everything
was going in our hometown. There was no music scene, it was hard to get
bands CDS in that we liked and it was just frustrating but most of us
just wanted to push forward and make it a career. I started the band and
I decided that I wanted to have three drummers because I am very into
tribal, power stuff and I wanted the basics of all instruments which I
believe is the drums. I wanted one guy to stand on the left side of the
stage and one on the right and to have a really kick ass drummer in the
back and then you just have this wall of power that would be the first
layer. . .

DL And it would be easier to get endorsements from Paistie or whoever!

COREY (Laughing)He knows what’s up!

SHAWN Yeah, he knows what is up! Anyway, we did that and we released
this album called, “MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT.” And that album was,
basically, a kind of soul searching musical experience. We decided that
we were going to experiment with a whole bunch of different musical
styles to which we would assemble under the name SLIPKNOT and we were
able to achieve that. Back then we also had very, very wacky shows
instead of like, now we have all the same masks and stuff but in the old
days, I would rent a Barney suit or a nuns suit or someone would wear a
ballroom dress. . .

COREY I used to dress like a priest.

SHAWN Yeah, and one of the guitar players would dress up like Little Bo
Peep. Our shows, even though they were really dark and scary and
underground, there was a humor to what we did and that went along with
some of the music that we created. We had this one song called “Do
Nothing Bitch Slap” and it went from grindcore to death metal to punk and
reggae and then ending in disco. It went through all of these different
variations of musical styles but all under the name SLIPKNOT and we were
able to make that work but it was just an experiment to see what we
really wanted to do. Then, we finally wrote the song, “Spit it Out” in
late ‘97 and it stuck with a certain format. . .

COREY It kinda triggered something for us, really. It showed us that we
could write something that was just so sick yet so kick ass at the same
time. It really put us in the whole state of mind. Plus it was the
first real song that the band wrote from when I first got into the band.
It was really like a kickoff thing and we just started going from there.
We have written some really kick ass songs ever since and we have just
gotten better and better at our song writing ever since. It was a step,
a maturing thing but it was also kind of a disturbing thing.

SHAWN We actually lost, to give you a little bit more of our past, we had
an old singer and he really couldn’t sing worth a fuck and we were all
really into melody.

COREY He could growl.

SHAWN Yeah, he could growl and shit which was cool and that is where we
were at the time but SLIPKNOT’s philosophy has always been like, taking
it to the furthest entity. Corey has this wonderful sense of being able
to be extremely brutal and in your face but then can turn you right
around and give you an awesome chorus that just brings you right to your
knees. That was important to us because that was the next level, to be
able to achieve something like that. The old singer, he played drums and
sang and we were going to have him continue to be the percussionist but
he quit so, we went from a six piece to a nine piece and that is what we
are now.

COREY I am almost scared to see what we are going to come up with
next!(laughs)

DL You mentioned all the different styles and influences that you have
had but all I can ever remember coming out of Iowa is Captain Kirk from
Star Trek. Where did you get all of these influences from?

COREY You have to realize that when you come from a small town like this,
you develop a really strong sense of individuality because there is not a
lot going on.

DL Nothing to follow behind?

COREY Yeah. I mean, your bigger cities are basically eye candy and you
grow up with all of these toys around you and maybe one or two
individuals come out of that kind of setting but then if you grow up in a
place like Des Moines, which is basically a fucking graveyard with
buildings, it really brings out the best in you. You really get into
yourself and you really get into your friends and you get into making
shit up. You get into starting your own shit and being original. It
forces you to be creative.

SHAWN Plus you never take it for granted, you really believe in what
you are doing. Like if I am waiting for an EYE HATE GOD CD to come in,
when I get it, I am all about it! I don’t just take it for granted. We
were in LA for like two months and, I don’t know, dude. It just seems
like it is the flavor of the month every time we are there. It is like,
“This is what is big now and this is what we are signing now.” and this
shit. SLIPKNOT has stayed the same and not cared what anyone has said
and we are just doing our thing without any outside sources and I know
that it is working. Ross Robinson has said that we are the best band
that he has ever recorded and he made the best album with us and we kinda
changed his life a little bit. A lot of people don’t know that Ross
really is a metal guru. I mean, he got FEAR FACTORY signed, he got COAL
CHAMBER signed he just did the new MACHINE HEAD album, he has worked with
the DEFTONES, you obviously know what he has done with KORN. . .He has
done a lot of heavy shit! He is really into metal and especially the
roots of metal. When you go into Indigo (studios) they have this giant
drum head that says “You have now entered MAN O WAR Level”, and MAN O WAR
has the world’s record for being the worlds loudest band. Like Corey was
just saying, we are from where we are from and we take the influences
that are right next door to us and we run with them and we don’t
apologize about it. We don’t try and act like we are from somewhere
else, we just do what we do.

COREY The craziest people in the world live in Des Moines, Iowa.

SHAWN That’s right dude!

COREY I’ll put the Pepsi challenge up against any of those fuckers. We
have the most twisted fucking individuals up in here.

DL Is that where you are right now?

COREY Yep, the home of the brave!(laughs)

DL Like I said I only have the two track sampler, when is the full record
due out?

COREY It is released world wide June 29th.

DL Just in time for these Ozz-Fest gigs.

COREY Absolutely, and it is a good date because we will have been on
Ozz-Fest for a little over a month and by that time people will be going,
“When the fuck is it going to come out?” They will be able to run out
and get it and they will know exactly what is up instead of just like “We
are putting this album out so, let’s go play some shows.” We have always
been like, the proof is in the pudding. The great thing about us is that
we don’t coddle the audience. We play music for us. We don’t fucking
play it to get a bunch of people to stand around and chillout. We are
very misanthropic, I am telling you right now! The problem with a lot of
people is that they start catering to a certain audience and that is when
the light starts to burn out. Our thing is, we do our thing and if
people dig it then that is fine, if people don’t dig it, that is fine.
If we get dropped tomorrow that is fine because we will still be in this
band together and we will still do this and we will still go on. This is
us and SLIPKNOT is family, it is blood, it is what we sleep, it is what
we live and that is exactly what the fuck SLIPKNOT is!

SHAWN That is why I think that the government is recording this shit.

COREY Dude, I am telling you! (Makes a second threat against a public
official)

SHAWN And after we do that we are going to have animal sex!(laughs)

COREY Yeah, animal sex, with kids in the room.

SHAWN Really, what the fuck is up with that? Dude, do you hear that,
Corey?

COREY I hear it! I am telling you that (public official) is hacking on
to us.

DL It is probably more than one agency. You got the DEA on one line and
the secret service on the other right now!

COREY Yeah, and the ATF is chillin’’ out with ‘em and then you got the
Better Business Bureau!(laughs)

SHAWN “Fuck, we got the SLIPKNOT!”

DL There are so many different kinds of bands playing on this Ozz-Fest
with so many different crowds that follow each one, how are you going to
deal with playing in front of an audience full of someone else’s fans?

SHAWN I’ll give you our little secret, we do not put up with, we have no
tolerance for anyone that is not paying attention. If you are not paying
attention, I am coming off the stage and I am going to get your
attention. I can’t give it all away and I have to watch how I say this.
. .

DL Because you are being recorded!(laughs)

SHAWN (Laughing) Yeah! Fuck them too! Dude, I am getting pissed! I am
really getting pissed by the minute by this government shit. I am really
getting paranoid! I feel like these transmitters on my brain, they are
overactive right now.

COREY I can sum it up for you dude, because we don’t care. You are
either going to like us or you are not and we are going to go out of our
way to fucking show you who we are so you will not go away thinking that
you ignored us. Nobody ignores us.

SHAWN We are really retarded.

COREY Yeah, there is something wrong with us.

SHAWN Yeah, there is something very, very wrong with us and if I ever
meet you, you will be like “You are a fuckin’ gimp!” I get really pissed
when other bands have to get chicks on stage to eat each other out and
shit like that. It is like, if I want to do that I will pay for it.
When you come see SLIPKNOT, and I can’t give it all away but, you will go
“These guys are fuckin’ retarded!” And if I know you on a personal level
before the show, you will talk to me and we will hang out and we will
have a nice time but then I will get on stage and I will do shit to you
that you thought was not even humanly possible! Then after the show you
will come up to you and say, “Hey bro!” We really don’t give a fuck and
it shows. I am not pointing any fingers to any band on Ozz-Fest but I
agree that some bands belong and some bands don’t and let the best band
win.

COREY I think that they are just trying to branch it out because people
have been tagging it as just being metal. To me that is fine and I would
go anyway but you are getting bands like PRIMUS and well, BUCK CHERRY was
on the second stage and they can lick my ass for all I care.

SHAWN Don’t they got that song “I got the cocain, I got the cocaine?”

COREY Yeah!

SHAWN It’s like, “Dude, I got a gun!”

COREY If you are singing about drugs you don’t do as much as you say you
do. I don’t care what you fucking tell me. I think that they (Ozz-Fest)
are trying to show some diversity and that metal fans can get into
different streams of metal. People can say that PRIMUS isn’t metal but I
can play you some songs off of “PORK SODA” that are pretty fuckin’
metal-ish. It is just that way and there are different streams of metal.
I am into SLAYER and at the same time I am into KORN and PRIMUS so it is
like people have different interests and it is only when people get
fiercely protective that the problems start. I think that we are going
to draw a lot of attention from those people that are into the different
bands. That, to me, is encouraging because it is going to bring a lot of
people together instead of dividing them up. I don’t know if that
answered your question but the government is still listening so I am
trying to keep it all together and I have payed my taxes since ‘95. . .

DL Well, I definitely appreciate the fact that you said BUCK CHERRY could
lick your ass because I was worrying that I wouldn’t be able to come up
with enough good quotes from this little conversation!(laughs)

COREY Oh dude, print it! Blow it up with a big “fuck you” going off! I
am serious I can’t stand that shit!

SHAWN Lick my fucking O-Ring!

COREY Lick my O-Ring and I will give you the fucking Oh-face! Oh, Oh,
Oh. . . BUCK CHERRY, bend over, fuck you! How is that? Hey print in
there that I called them “BUTT CHERRY.”

DL It is so cool to hear a band actually say what they think about
another band instead of “Oh, we are all musical brothers. . .” Fuck you,
you big pussy! It’s like everybody is running for some kind of office or
something.

SHAWN Yeah! Exactly! I am not going to talk no shit on SLAYER because
we are all going to slam to SLAYER! Dude, I will be in the fucking pit
slamming to “Reign in Blood” every fucking night but I am not going to
get up there and buy a fucking “I got the cocaine” T-shirt! I am not
going to do it, I am just not into it.

COREY You know what is funny? A lot of bands sweat going on before
SLAYER and we are going on right before SLAYER and we are all excited.
Fuck it! Bring it on! If people are out there talking shit about us, we
don’t care as long as they took the time to walk over to our part of the
stage to talk shit.

SHAWN Fuck Dave, we will just play a SLAYER song and tell them all to
just shut the fuck up!

COREY Fuck yeah! We will do “Reign in Blood” and pop their cherry!

SHAWN Yeah dude we are going to play “Reign in Blood” and ruin it for
ya!(laughs) We are big SABBATH fans and SLAYER fans. I am even a huge
PRIMUS fan.

COREY Yeah, totally, I love PRIMUS.

SHAWN It is just weird dude because when something that is so underground
gets so huge and I am telling you, Ozz-Fest is huge. It is beyond God
realm and you just be glad that you are a part of it and you do the best
that you can. As long as you stay away from the “Cocaine.”(laughs)

COREY You appreciate the fact that somebody believed in you enough to
give you this chance without having an album out. We could blow it. We
could totally lose it but it is just the fact that somebody believed in
us that we could work that much harder. When you are family with us, you
are fucking in!

SHAWN Everybody that works with us, our manager, our roadies are our best
friends and we have known them for a long time so we are taking them with
us.

COREY We try to keep it as close to home as possible and keep it as real
as possible and I think that is going to keep us sane in the long run.
The fucking government is still listening!

SHAWN I am telling ya! I have got to cancel my phone and I am not doing
nothin’!

COREY We want to keep this interview going but I am sweating and the
police van has driven by twice! I am all looking out my window like a
cocain addict or something.

SHAWN Well, they are going to have a little surprise if they come in my
house, that is all I am going to say.

COREY This is flippin’ me out. I got to get the log puller out, dude.

SHAWN It’s like they’ll bust down the door and say “He has got a shredder
and a speculum, what the hell?”(laughs)

DL I was going to bring my kids to Ozz-Fest but now I am not so sure.

COREY Yeah, just give ‘em a snow cone or something for our set and send
him on his way. We don’t do ‘nothin’ too, well yeah we do, but. . .I am
not saying shit! Hey can we go, because the government is scaring me?

DL Yeah, I think that was probably more than I needed to know all in one
sitting! I hope you guys got all the bail money you’ll be needing for
this tour.(laughs)

SHAWN I don’t know man but I am getting spooked here! (Line goes dead.)

David Lee Wilson