• Interview with Joey (#1)
• Interview with #0,1,2,4,6,8
• Interview with Joey (#1) again
• Int. with #1 (MetalUpdate.com)
• Int. with #1 (MU.com) part 2
• Int. with #8 (IGN for Men)
• Int. with #4 (IGN for Men)

Interview with Joey (#1)

By Kristen Thorgren September 9, 1999 (members.aol.com/promogrrl/slipknot.html) Kristin: How was your experience at Ozzfest? #1 (Joey): Ozzfest was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to our band at that time, reason being our record wasn’t even out yet and Sharon Ozborne, Ozzy's wife, promotional pack with a video on the band. “That’s new that’s fresh that’s exciting. Something like I've never seen before to keep the tour interesting and fresh every year need a new buzz band on there.” She specifically picked us and put us on there and it was really cool cause Roadrunner and our street teams have been doing so good at promoting us at that time our record was coming out in a month and a half so when we went to go do the shows the response was overwhelming we had the biggest crowds on the second stage throughout out the whole thing and our record wasn’t even out yet we had CDs and shirts and sold a lot of merch it was really good it was the best thing that could’ve happened at that time it was very fortune to grab that tour. K: How do you feel about having 3 street teams, through Roadrunner streetwise, etc? #1:Its Awesome I mean it couldn’t get any better the more people the better, more response. I think we speak to kids in a language that most metal bands don’t speak to them and that’s why we have so many fans and we're so grateful to our fans. We stand outside every show for hours just to make sure they all are thanked let them all know they are very appreciated. Were very thankful that they are there for us. K: What kind of musical influences do you have? #1: Wide array of influences anything from like slayer to the police to cannibal corpse to all that stuff we listen to it. It’s easier for me to tell you what I don’t like than what I do. Same with everyone else in the band. The fact is we have 9 guys in the band we have kickass influences it all makes slipknot. K: Where’d you get the idea for the costumes/masks? #1: We didn’t want to be about our names or our faces because there is a lot of rock bands and metal bands that cheat their fans because they worry about clothing endorsements and about a lot of things that end up watering down the music and about watering down the things that matter and that’s the kids. We wanted to be about our music and the best way to drive our music home that way is to put together a package we we’re not exploiting ourselves and were keeping everything hidden and were not cheating our fans in rockstarism and the best way to do that was to throw it all out and concentrate just on our music and the best way to do that is to put on a uniform army, industrial overalls and it seemed to work for us pretty well. K: Finally, are there any plans for a headlining tour? #1: Our Fans keep telling us that we need to do that obviously we could do that. I don’t know if we’d do as many people so we want to stay at least on this Coal Chamber tour for as long as possible cause theres a lot of good things. They hit a lot of B Markets and we haven’t hit those markets yet so its really good we get to go those places. So the kids can see us they don’t know about our band I mean were still unknown in a lot of places so they more people we can hit. A kid in Louisiana deserves to see us as much as a kid in New York they deserve the same show so we need to go to as many places as possible that’s why its great to be on tour with Coal Chamber to us out to those audiences.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Interview with #0,1,2,4,6,8
 

When you guys were in Odessa,Texas do you remember the guy wearing/holding the gas mask in the air? Shawn: Yes absolutely and I want to tell fans, I know faces and I recognize faces but we're terrible at names, but we remember everyone's face What was it like to play Locobazooka, and will you return to Worcester anytime soon? Shawn: It was pretty cool- we like the outdoor feel and the tents and the local people selling jewelry and stuff- Les Claypool actually got to watch us- cos he never got to see us at Ozzfest because of slots -we liked it, we'll do it again if they ask us Who did you guys hang out with on the Ozzfest tour? Shawn: (hed) pe and System of a Down How was it being on a major tour like that? Get sick of it fast? Miss it? Shawn: It's kinda weird cos a lot of bands didn't like Ozzfest but we loved it we're looking forward to hopefully being on it this year were gonna try, we might not be but we're gonna try Do you like seeing girls at your shows? Or do you think they should stay home and not get hurt? Shawn: I love seeing girls at shows because girls are girls and they feel pain and love and all that stuff too and they've got the magic so- girls Do you like Madonna? Shawn: I love Madonna she's hot -she kicks ass for her age -one thing about Madonna is that she's constantly changing it up and doing what she feels Who do you think the sexiest woman alive is? Shawn: my wife Dead? Shawn & Sid & Paul: Marilyn Monroe Any of you guys vegetarian? Vegans? Virgins? Shawn: No, no and no. In the song (Sic), what does it say at the beginning? Does it say Pick up the Pace or here comes the pain? Shawn: Here comes the pain What do you think about other bands using alternate percussion, do you think that the other bands would be ripping you off? Shawn: Well all that stuff isn't just brand new with Slipknot -so um it depends you know? its kinda like do you know who Slipknot is? Yeah Do you know they use two percussionists? Yeah Do you like Slipknot? Yeah Do you guys wanna be like Slipknot? Yeah Then I have a problem with it -especially like we'll know who's copying when the percussion's getting a little wacked then ill have a problem with it- What is the song "Prosthetics" about? Corey: The song's based loosely on a 1960's movie called the collector- it is about a guy who kidnaps this girl and basically adds her to his collection and keeps her there -it's a weird kind of psychological thing, and prosthetics takes it a little bit further -where he is put into a deep sick psychosis and he goes through the whole collecting thing, at the end of the song he ends up killing her and having sex with her- Will you ever come to Jackson, MS in the near future? Shawn: We hope to be coming everywhere- if we'll play Odessa, Texas- then we'll play everywhere- Odessa will go down in remembrance of the tour What are your favorite horror movies? Shawn: all the Evil Dead's, Army of Darkness, the Shining, the Exorcist Have you heard of the band called REVOLT? Shawn: no Paul: no Sid : no What are your future touring plans (ie.the rumors of the pantera tour)? Shawn: We will be doing pantera- what I can tell you is that Pantera came to the first show on this tour- we hung out with Vinny and Darrell, they loved us they loved the show, they loved the band, they invited us to their strip club- we hung out with them -they are talking to our management personally- I mean Darrel and Vinny are personally talking to our management -there are some dates in a lot of December- the band stays out of all that you can tell us that were on Pantera tour, but until I'm there ready to go on the show, I wont believe it but, that isn't something that's hype- that's probably gonna happen Whose musical career do you most admire, and why(apart from your own)? Shawn: We like Mike Patton a lot because he is just a music genius- because he is able to reach out and do a bunch of other things with out worrying about the industry he'll put out a Bungle album that will be crazy and then the next Bungle album will be like a bunch of love songs - and he does it cos he needs to and he'll put out an album about pasta recipes - we also like bands like Neurosis - their new album is just incredible -they stay true to what they are- they are not trying to grab on to a trend or trying to change it up to get some money- they do whats in their hearts -slipknot likes people who stay true to their hearts- Picasso and Vangogh and Cezanne never made any money when they were doing impressioning Cezanne was selling still-lifes for food money- he painted because he had to paint and because he loved to paint England is getting siccer...can't wait for their tour Shawn: we will go to England and Australia- in November we are trying to go overseas-we are trying to get on the Big Day Out (Australia), were trying to, but we'll see What is Slipknot all about as a group what do they represent or what is their main motivation? Shawn: I specifically think Slipknot has always been and always will be about truth -we play for ourselves- we listen to our hearts- we play the music we were born to play-we do what we want -we don't make concessions for anybody, we come out and we do the best we can for the fans every night -we don't try to outdo ourselves -we don't try to be somebody else- so I think the bare minimum would be that we're truth - that's all that you can be- if you don't lie to yourself and stay true to yourself, then you'll succeed How have things changed at home in Des Moines since your success? Shawn: Des Moines hasn't changed, it will always be Des Moines, what I can tell you is that Slipknot is not there to defend itself everyday - back when we were home when everyone was talking shit we were there to defend ourselves- now that we're out living our dream, were still loved by the fans, the only difference is when we started Slipknot there weren't a lot of metal bands there, and now we go home and everyone is playing metal music Do you plan on working with Ross Robinson again? Shawn: We will work with Ross Robinson again we love him -he is like a 10th member When is your video is coming out? Shawn: Home video is not coming out we don't feel the fans are ready for our home video because it's not time- we want everyone in the world to have at least to see us twice before we start expressing our serious views and our comedy and our horror-we are definitely gonna release the song "Spit it Out" - there might be a few live songs on there because it would be upsetting for the fans to only get the "Spit it Out" video and there will be a very few sit down answers in the video but we haven't even agreed to that yet- no exploitation of our band- when we feel ready to do something we'll do it- we won't be told when to make a home video For Paul: what do you think of Cliff Burton? Paul: He was an amazing bass player, he was really good- it was a shame he died- I hope I don't die in a bus accident- he slammed a lot For James: what do you think about Slayer and Metallica? James: I think Slayer and Metallica are good. When will you release jumpsuits? Shawn: They are in the making right now-nothing is gonna be released until all the members of the band have jumpsuits that can't be duplicated- we are going to take our jumpsuits all the way so we're separated from the fans- we're expecting in the years to come to have a little army- the jumpsuits will probably be by the company Dickies- we don't wear anything under them when we play -we want everyone to be like us like that way Are you gonna do your own headlining tour? Shawn: Not anytime soon- it's been talked about but its not something that we're excited about, because we want this band to in a very honest way get to where we want to be- I don't think the band is ready to headline- we are fine with playing with great bands like Coal Chamber, Machine Head and Pantera- Will you do any more signings? Shawn: Yes we want to hopefully soon I love that -I love being in that environment -I want to do as many as possible -and I'm waiting for the kids to turn it up- I'm waiting for some crazy shit to go on- What is going on in the songs, "Scissors"/"Eeyore"? Joey wrote the lyrics to the song "Scissors" Shawn: It's the hidden track- Slipknot was based on the theory that we would never give up any style of music that we loved to play -for anyone- that we would gel things together under the name slipknot- it goes from all styles from beginning to end Corey: "Eeyore" is just about this one fucking guy from Des Moines, Iowa - he has long blonde fucking hair and he is a prick to people in the fucking pit he's a Thor looking jerkoff- he loves our band but he's a dick to everyone in the pit -he likes to hit fucking chicks-the song is about me losing my mind and just tearing the shit out of him What is up with Marlon Brando? Shawn: Paul, Joey and I were walking in New York and we overheard this guy saying it-and it hit me really hard- I don't want to explain it because I think people should work for content- no one should be given intelligence, you should search your own brain-if you know who Marlon Brando is, and you know what he became, and you know where he came from- its just like it's the best line of all time What is up with "Purity"? Shawn: It's like this- whether it's real or not, it affected Corey very much, the thought of it- so it was able to influence him- the song is not directly one hundred percent about it Corey: I still think its real -see the thing whether it's true or not, it's a real story- that we read about -that fucked our whole world up -can you imagine a girl being buried in a box and having all this lecherous bullshit drip down on her from this guy? and thinking that there is hope, because this kid is taking some bizarre note to this guy he doesn't even know- thinking that you are holding on to the shirt of hope -and you wake up and you're dead you're buried in mud -they find the note about a week later shoved in a library book for gods sakes -it just hurts your head- it's a case of what is good and bad in people- the box alone is reason enough to be like, 'I cant stand to be fucking human'- how can someone fucking do this to somebody? What is inside of us that is so fucking wrong? he had written quotes from Edgar Allen Poe and lots of fucked up things on the box.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Int. with #1 (MetalUpdate.com)
 

Most metal bands that "break through" commercially start by forming a bond with the "underground" community. Through touring and independent label releases they build a core audience, then later leverage their carefully-crafted street credibility into a more mainstream type of acceptance with subsequent releases. Slipknot is, perhaps, in the opposite position. In the first days of the 21st Century, Slipknot is selling tons of records to mainstream kids. While their debut Roadrunner album has sold over 300,000 copies, it has primarily done so without the support of the underground metal community. Too much media hype, too many fourteen year old Korn fans, too much of a "nu-metal" vibe for the true metalheads to embrace, right? Well spend a minute talking with dr ummer Joey Jordison, a.k.a. #1, and you might just change your mind. Once you get to know him, you'll realize the fact that Joey's personal metal credibility is undeniable. And once you hear him talk of what's next for Slipknot, I dare you not to become curious about this unique commercial juggernaut of a band who doesn't want to turn its collective back on metal and is willing to fight for the acceptance of our scene.   Metal Update: How important is it to you to go back and establish the core foundation of fans from the metal underground that might have disregarded you thus far due to the band's almost immediate massive mainstream acceptance and early hype? 1: The weird thing about this band was . . . underground people have certain bands that are so special to them - the whole thing really means so much. And then like, some fucking eighth grade kid wearing a Korn shirt has the record and they feel the band has cheapened. A lot of times that's not the band's fault. If you listen to a song like "Eeyore", which is a bonus track on the record, or if you listen to "Get this" from the digipack, or "Surfacing" or "[sic]" or even like fucking "Scissors" the roots are death metal, thrash, speed metal, and I could go on and on about all those bands. I know all the songs, and I know every fucking label. MU: Well, that's what we hope to do here, Joey. The whole point of us talking to you today is to address the question, "Is Slipknot a metal band?". . . 1: Yes, we're a metal band! With a capital "M"! MU: (laughs) Cool. But does Slipknot care about the underground metal scene? Basically, what I'm asking is, can you guys hang, and do you want to? 1: I'm right where you are. I'm a fan of music, I still go to shows. The records I buy are sure as hell not top 40. The current success of the band is due to the fact that we speak to a lot of those kids in a way they haven't been spoken to before. And, a lot of that music that they hear - even though, to me, I've heard it and know that bands have been doing this a long time - these kids have never heard it because it is a completely different audience. Kids that listen to Slipknot now have never heard Suffocation, even though that's what is in my CD player. MU: Well then I guess asking straight up if you yourself are a metalhead at this point is a silly question. 1: I'm wearing a Venom t-shirt now, dude! My t-shirt collection ranges from like Mercyful Fate to Venom to old Kiss, Black Sabbath, etc. MU: Musically speaking, does Slipknot have more in common with Limp Bizkit or Morbid Angel? 1: Morbid Angel. MU: Why do you say that? 1: Let me tell you why. If you listen to the riff in "Eyeless", to me that's a complete Morbid Angel ripoff. I admit it. It's got a ghost bend in the guitar which is a complete Immolation and Morbid Angel trademark. Where the string is bent up before it is even hit and then released when it is stricken down. It's a riff in "Eyeless", a break down part - "duh-duh-duh . . . weeeooowwwn . . . duh-duh-duh dudda-duh." That's Morbid Angel. Listen to "Here in After" by Immolation. That's where we get that from. MU: I think you guys get lumped in with the whole "nu-metal" thing. 1: We do. MU: And thus, a lot of the underground metalheads never gave you a chance. 1: That's because we happened so quick. That sucks for us because . . . Hey. Everyone who has the Slipknot record is a dedicated fan, and I appreciate it, and I will go above and beyond the realms of anything to do anything for them because they are the reason we are here. But the underground metal kids should also be happy because the current success of Slipknot, on songs like "Surfacing" and "[sic]" that have super-fast sixteenth-note double-bass -- none of those other fuckers in the other bands they lump us with could contend with that. Wait till you hear our fuckin' next record. This is just like the - dude, we've got three songs, and you wanna hear some serious shit. It smokes our first album. The shit's twice as technical, three times as heavy. The first track on the album's gonna be called "People=Shit". It opens up with a grindbeat with sixteenth-note double-bass and four layers of black metal and death metal screams. MU: You're obviously a killer drummer. 1: Thank you. MU: What were you doin' prior to Slipknot? 1: Ever hear of the band Anal Blast? MU: Sure. 1: Me and Paul, the bass player started that band. That CD that they have out called 'Vaginal Vempire' - We wrote every song on there. MU: Doesn't somebody from that band have something to do with Milwaukee Metalfest? 1: Don Decker. He helps book a lot of the bands. He runs metalfest shows. Anyway, I used to be in a thrash band and Paul and Mick were in this death metal band called Body Pit. And a lot of their songs that they wrote in Body Pit that are really technical and ultra-heavy are gonna be on the next record. 'Cause we saved 'em. This is our template: we've got a lot of the new-school kids who like our band, we've got a lot of the underground kids who like our band. When the next record comes out, a lot of those new-school kids are gonna be really turned on to the whole underground metal thing. 'Cause we've got mainstream success, but we want to use that mainstream success to throw in our old influences and ultra-heavy shit on the next record. And everyone will hear it. MU: That's fantastic. 1: You know, bands like Cannibal Corpse, bands like Immolation, and say, Internal Bleeding have a lot in common with what we do. And these bands might have more success because of us. MU: There is a rumor going around right now that Pantera is considering taking Satyricon on the road with them. A lot of people would be down on Satyricon for taking that tour. Some people would say that's them selling out. 1: They're not selling out, man. There's so many kids that aren't smart enough and don't have the resources to go out and find music like that. Honestly, they're not smart enough, they don't have the magazines, how can you blame someone? They just don't know. But if they hear the music, a lot of people will be like "I never knew this shit existed, but it fuckin' rules! I'll drop $15 on the album." MU: Whatever else you think of Pantera. at least Phil Anselmo uses his mainstream success to try to prop up underground acts. 1: I know those guys. They're good friends of ours. MU: Phil's a metalhead. 1: Dude, they're all metalheads. They're white trash, rebel flag wearin', we don't give a shit, we're fuckin' drunk, it's metal time. Yeah, they don't sound like Immortal, but they're metal, dude. There's a bunch of forms of metal. And I hate the mentality but I used to be this way too: anybody who's sold more than 100,000 records can fuck off. Well, I'm in the situation now where we have. And, you know, the greatest thing about all of the naysayers now who don't really think that we are necessarily metal, even though songs like "[sic]" and "Surfacing" and "Eyeless", all those songs are full-on metal songs, sorry, we have a lot of other influences that aren't black or death metal, but this next record's gonna shut a lot of fuckin' people's mouths. MU: What other kinds of influences are on your current record? 1: There's a lot. We were on the cover of Terrorizer this last month, and I think they got it. They go, when the record first came out, they were very skeptical. Ross Robinson produced it and all that shit. Does that mean it will have more in common with Korn than it should? And I remember they reviewed the album a few issues before and said that the first opening track has more in common with Suffocation than Spineshank. I was like, finally. They understand it. This is a magazine dedicated to a lot of the underground, you know, traditional metal, power metal, black metal, and death metal. None of that trendy new shit. MU: What other influences are on the record? 1: Well, like I said, I'm wearing a Venom t-shirt, and that has a lot to do with it. If you listen to a song like "Red Light Fever", off 'Welcome to Hell', if it was cleaned up and produced a lot better, I think it would have a lot to do with the tempos that we play on the album. Songs like that. Of course old Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, even though we don't use that kind of vocal, Mickey Dee is a great drummer, and I learned a lot of shit from that guy. Black Sabbath . . . the whole death metal movement had a lot to do with the structures of our songs. Even though we try to write a little bit more traditional song structures, the tempo changes - if you listen to like "Surfacing", there's this break where I stop and the bass goes "budda-da didda-di dadda-da . . . ," I'd like to see anyone who follows Korn try to play that riff. MU: What do you think of Limp Bizkit? 1: They can fuck right off. MU: Korn? 1: They can fuck right off. MU: Don't you think that Korn has elements . . . 1: You know what? I can't say that about them because they at least did start that whole neo-metal movement, but their last couple records have sucked. MU: Is there a Roadrunner sound? 1: No. It's trendy, dude. Roadrunner's gettin' too trendy with shit, tryin' to make more records, they're tryin' to become a major label. When we signed to them, all they said was "don't say that you're metal in interviews." I'm like, "dude, you signed Malevolent Creation!" 'Retribution' is one of the best fuckin' death metal albums ever recorded. Don't tell me we're not metal. MU: You are what you are. But Roadrunner is obviously putting a lot behind you guys as well. 1: Well, the funny thing was . . . it was a big choice. Ross mainly helped get our deal there. And Monty came and saw us, saying that this is cool and exciting and that nothing had gotten him this excited in a while 'cause there are so many elements covered within this band, we need to jump on it now or someone else will. Now we had a bunch of offers from major labels. But the first thing was that we wanted to remain underground. We were like, we're gonna go with Roadrunner, 'cause at the time they weren't breaking anybody. The biggest thing they had was Sepultura. And the 'Roots' album, a lot of people disagree, but I think it is a great record. MU: What do you think of the new Machine Head? 1: 'Burn My Eyes' is still the favorite. But, 'The Burning Red', which also has "burn" in the title, I don't get that, but it's got some good stuff on it, I do like it. People get in that mood where if it mellows out a little bit, they hate it. MU: To my ears, the difference between 'Burn My Eyes' and 'The Burning Red' is what you would call the Roadrunner sound. 1: Definitely. That's what sucks about it. MU: But obviously the relationship is working for you guys, at least form a business perspective. 1: That's 'cause we don't listen to anybody but ourselves. MU: Let's talk about Ross Robinson. There's rumors . . . 1: Are you talking about the Emperor thing? MU: Yeah. Does he listen to stuff like that? 1: Dude, he comes from - he came to a practice before he saw one of our shows. He heard the demo, he flew in, and when we played he had a smile on his face from ear to ear. And the reason was - he stopped the song. He's like, "man, I've waiting for a band like you guys, 'cause you got the elements covered of what music has today, but you come from a school . . ." - first bands he names: Morbid Angel and Carcass. MU: So you're saying that Ross is a smart guy who knows how to sell records, but he is a metal fan too. 1: When he first did Korn, there was not a band remotely like that in the world. So it was new. He wants to do bands like that, he wants to pick up on new bands. He doesn't want to get with a band who imitates what he has done before. Even though he did Limp Bizkit, they were more rap oriented, and it was still a new thing. All he wants to do now - when he picked us up, he picked Amen up, we're like his whole initial project to get away from that sound. Now he's talked to Emperor, told them how he'd like to do it. Now think of how all the Emperor fans would react if they found out Ross Robinson was producing the next Emperor record!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Int. with #1 (MU.com) part 2
 

MU: They'd freak. 1: They'd freak. MU: It's because the fans would expect that the choice of Ross as producer would signal Emperor's desire to change to a more mainstream approach. Like, say, Sepultura did. 1: Yeah, but they were changing on 'Chaos A.D.' They had the drums already going, they had the tempos slowin' down to more kinda crunchy thrash shit. I never considered Sepultura a death metal band, ever. They never had the death metal thing, they were a heavy, heavy thrash/speed metal band. MU: What do you think Emperor would sound like if Ross Robinson produced it? 1: I think the tone - they have this really . . . you know, the black metal reverb. A really tinny sound, treble out the fuckin' ass. Ross would bring a more immediate, probably a darker tone. The drums would have darker tones, it would be probably more pleasurable to the ear to listen to. Now people that listen to black metal shit, that's what they're down with. All those fuckin' bands that they listen to have that shit fuckin' production. But I think after a while you become accustomed. Just like in the old days when Terry Date was producing Dark Angel and Overkill and all those fuckin' bands, they all had that slick, fuckin' loud cymbals but punchy low-end type of sound, kinda like the Deftones are doin' now. But I think Ross would bring a more pleasurable tone to listen to, but I think the vocals and the performance out of the instruments would be better than anything they'd ever done before. And I think it would be Emperor - just with a different production, a different look on things. I think it would be great. I would love to hear it. Because I know the way Ross is, the dude's a metal guy. He used to play guitar in a band that had a song on like Metal Massacre Volume 3 or Volume 4. It was complete metal, thrashy shit. Then he started doin' production, doin' internships with W.A.S.P. and shit, makin' W.A.S.P. records. When you are a young kid, W.A.S.P. is pretty metal. I mean, it's cheese, but . . . MU: W.A.S.P. are cool. 1: They played Warlocks! Speaking of which we just got a Warlock endorsement from B.C. Rich. (laughs) MU: I gotta confess that I am more of a fan now than I was when we began this interview. 1: Well, I gotta tell you. We get so many different groups of kids that come to our shows. We get straight up black metal . . . we went to Europe, and I went out to this club, hoping to meet some fans. Now, Europe is a weird place, dude, 'cause those kids fucking live metal. I mean, all our shows were sold out. But they seem to pay more attention there. And I was talking to this girl who said "I hate Slipknot's commercial success.* But what she didn't realize, was that I was there with my Marduk shirt on. And she said, "you're not the drummer of Slipknot, he would never wear a shirt like that." And I had a studded metal belt on, and these boots, but she knew the red stripes in my hair. Then I got to talking to her about all of these bands, and we were talking about black metal. She went home, listened to the record, and then I saw her the next day at the show and she realized where all of those influences come in. It's like, you listen to the record and you think one thing. You come to see the show, and then you realize where a lot of that shit comes in, you actually see the band perform it, then you actually go back and listen to the record and it makes a ton more sense. MU: I didn't think Slipknot was for me. But I listened, and the shit is intense. 1: It's so cool. This is the only interview I've been excited to do. I did Alternative Press yesterday, I did Spin the other day. And I hate - I don't like doin' 'em. I have to do them though because I have a responsibility to those kids. I haven't had this much fun doin' an interview. You guys are like me. We could be friends. Not even talking about the band, just being fans of metal. MU: Absolutely. Let's shift gears for a second. What do you think of Marilyn Manson? 1: I have mixed opinions on the guy. It rules that I have mixed opinions because he brings that reaction out. Everyone has a reaction to Marilyn Manson and most people dis him, but I'm not going to dis him. I'll tell you what, to do the things he has done, and get it out to that many people, especially with MTV showing videos of pigeons takin' a shit on him . . . MU: But is he doing crazy shit which happened to become successful, or is he successful because he's doin' some pretty crazy shit? 1: Hmmm . . . interesting question . . . MU: Scratch that question. Let's keep it about Slipknot. How do you explain the crazy costumes and the masks to the underground metal scene? 1: That's where most of the problems come in with the underground metal scene. 'Cause to us, that shit ain't funny, that's serious. We never wanted to be about the Marilyn Manson rock star fashion thing. I don't speak over kids. I speak directly to them. Day in, day out, reactions to fuckin' life itself. We keep our lyrics open-ended so that they can get a positive reaction from them, or could be a negative reaction to bring out positivity. Those masks that we wear - we literally feel that way. We wear the scan bar code system and put tribal markings on the outfit and number ourselves 0-8. How many pictures do you see of the band . . . Have you seen the band live? MU: Well . . . I went to Ozzfest, but I think I was drinkin' a beer waiting for Slayer to come on during your set. (laughs) 1: I don't blame you dude! You didn't come to see us. But when you see pictures of the band, do they look funny to you or cartoony? MU: No, I mean . . . are you asking me if it looks like you're trying to be silly? 1: Yeah. MU: No, not at all. 1: OK. That's what I'm asking. 'Cause our guitarist, Mick, just got asked to join Brutality. And he already knew all the songs, he's ready to go. But this is the unit, and this is where he actually felt more accomplished as an artist to get his creative desires out. Because, where we came from, all the finger pointing and ridiculing for trying to do hard music brought about the masks and the trying to keep the rock star cliches bullshit out of it. 'Cause I'm not gonna cheat any of those fans. And that originally means all my friends in the underground music scene. Those are the original kids, those are the people who are carrying it on! Magazines like Metal Maniacs and people who listen to say, Satyricon - some of those fans think that even being in that magazine is selling out for them. How am I gonna explain myself to them? Even though I listen to the same shit. They just don't want to fuckin' hear it. MU: You're right about that, for a certain portion of the underground community, their whole game is to be holier than thou, or, if you will, unholier than thou. (laughs) I guess you lose them, and you can't be for everybody I guess. So will you ever give up the costumes or phase them out? 1: No, because our band is so over-compulsive with art, our imagery, and most importantly our music. Down the road . . . it's gonna be a Slipknot album. Everything you like about Slipknot is gonna be on the next record. Except, for the majority of our fans, it's gonna be something that they will not have the nearest clue where it came from. But, to the fans who are a lot of naysayers and skeptics, I think they will embrace the second record a lot more than the first. MU: What was your favorite band on the Ozzfest tour you did? 1: Slayer, dude. (laughs) Well, I actually gotta say Black Sabbath because they are the forefathers of metal. But after Black Sabbath, definitely Slayer. MU: Did you hang with those guys? 1: Sure. MU: What is Slayer's place in modern music? 1: I've seen those guys live, like five times. I've never seen them go for it as much as they did on Ozzfest. Jeff Hanneman hasn't banged his head as much as he did on Ozzfest ever before. I'm talkin' even back in the 'Hell Awaits' days. And that dude has done thousands and thousands of shows. MU: Why do you think he went so crazy? 1: He was giving the middle finger to all the trendy-ass bullshit. We burned a fuckin' picture of Fred Durst on stage the other night. This month's Teen People has a fuckin' spread of that drummer from Korn in a Calvin Klein jeans ad! That's why we wear the masks, and don't let the faces and the clothing endorsements take over. We wear stuff that cannot be the subject of an endorsement to make the band more cheesy, to get more money or to get involved with ego shit. Now I'm not sayin' that we'd would do that anyway, but we're takin' a safety precaution and we're rebelling against all of that. We're like a musical hit squad that will fuckin' kill anything. The most important thing is this. I want your audience to know we give them the four-horn devil salute, and that our music is completely influenced by the same music they listen to, and when they hear the next record, it is for them. We do a cover of Terrorizer's "Fear Napalm"! MU: Cool! Any last words for the metallic legions out there? 1: Thanks to all our fans who bought our record. I do have to thank them first and foremost. And if there are other people, your readers, who want to venture out and listen to something different than what they are hearing right now, they should know that I listen to the same stuff as they do, and the next record is for them. I promise.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Int. with #8 (IGN for Men)
 

Des Moines, Iowa. Some refer to it as the middle of America, while others refer to it as the middle of nowhere. Regardless of your stance on the region, one thing's for damn sure: Des Moines knows how to rock. Actually, I'm not sure about the whole town, but the nine guys who make up Slipknot definitely know how to rock. In just a few short years, Slipknot has risen from the dying cornfields and barren farmlands of this bastion of Americana living to turn the world of heavy music (once called metal) on it's collective ass. Surging throbs of molten rhythms and scream therapy verbal discharge are the Slipknot specialty. Last week IGN For Men brought you an entertaining 2-part interview with Jim and Mick, the guitarists behind the grueling Slipknot six-string assault (if you missed that one, slam your cursor here to read it). Now IGN For Men is proud to bring you an exclusive interview with Slipknot frontman Corey (a.k.a. #8). Before Slipknot, Corey spent time working in an adult bookstore, so he has a wee bit of porn connoisseurism lodged within his persona. On top of that he's a comic book readin' fool. And of course, he's a rock-n-roll maniac. So now, without further adieu, here's the IGN For Men Interview with Slipknot: Part 3 IGN For Men:Hey man, I recently interviewed one of the vivid girls. I only bring this up 'cause I know you have a bit of a porn background yourself. Corey: Which one was it? IGN For Men: Kira Kener. Corey: Ooooooh, yeah. She rules. IGN For Men: So, let's talk porn, baby! Corey: I was watchin' porn when I was 13-years old. IGN For Men: What's your all-time classic porn flick, then? Corey: Oh $%&*.! I don't know man. My taste expands. But like in the '80s when they had really bad $%&*!@# hairdos and the bright lipstick was goin' on, I wasn't down with that. Once the '90s kicked-in though, man! You know, that's when amateur porn really started to kick-in, you know, and I was pretty down with that. But I'd have to say that my favorite of all time would have to be Vivid's Nylon. Very good movie. It's got Celeste in it. IGN For Men: I'm more from the Deep Throat era myself. Corey: Okay, right on. I dug that movie. I loved the '70s ones because everybody was hairy, you know. It was real, pretty $%&*!@' real lookin'. Everybody was ugly and they were just $%&*!@! IGN For Men: How did you fall into the adult bookstore gig? Corey: A friend of mine was working there. It's kind of funny because she'd been working there for awhile and then after I started she quit. I said 'What the $%^&, man!?' So I worked at a porn shop called the Adult Emporium for about three years, you know? It was probably the best job I ever had, you know? 'Cause I'd work the midnite-eight shift, the graveyard shift, and all the freaks would come in on my shift, you know? It $%&*!@# ruled, because what else do you need to write about except for real people? IGN For Men: Is that where some of your lyrical inspirations evolved from? Corey: Ummm, not really. A lot of it was just spending a lot of time sittin' there by myself. See, I worked by myself, you know? And a lot of times I was just kickin' it, gettin' very introspective. When there's nothing to do, you've got all your work done, all you can do is sit there and kind of reflect. I think a lot of that [my lyrics] had to do with the long hours I spent there. IGN For Men: Are the craziest mutha$%&*!@# really from Des Moines? Corey: Most of 'em are. I tell ya, this comes from a standpoint where a lot of the crazy people in the bigger towns, a lot of it is shock value. You know, they put on a huge front 'cause they want everyone to think that they're $%&*!@# outrageous, so out there. But you go to a town like Des Moines, man, where a lot of people are so full of pent up energy, man, that it's just amazing dude. It's like you get 'em in a $%&*!@# party situation and you do not know what the $%&* is gonna happen. Especially when you're growing up, man. There's nothing for kids to do. So you definitely develop a destructive $%&*!@# behavior just from the fact that the only thing to do is break #$%* and it pisses the old people off, which is pretty cool, you know? So, like I said, you get really introspective, you develop a really cool sense of self. IGN For Men: Wouldn't you say that you guys are going for shock value, what with the disturbing nightmare masks, the visceral soniference, and the $%&* you! attitude? Corey: Not really, man. I mean you've got to realize the reason that we did this, was that we put the masks on because so many people...we're musicians and we play music, man. We're kind of rebelling against [the continued commercialism of modern music; musicians doing Calvin Klein ads, etc.]. Obviously it [our masks] have a great look, but the reason that we started doing it in the first place was because we'd seen so many $%&*!@ bands suck the money dick and just completely cheese out to where they would get onstage and they'd be like 'Hey, look! Do you like my new hairdo?' 'Cool!' 'D'ya like my new shirt that I bought on Santa Monica Boulevard today?' 'Cool!' 'Here's my new shoes, I'm endorsed.' 'Cool!' It's like '$%&* you, man! Play your $%&*!@' music!' Nobody gives a $%&*, they want to $%&*!@' hear your music. And that's why we did the masks, that's why we did the coveralls, that's why we did all those things. We were like '$%&* my face! Here's my mask, this is what the music turns me into.' And 'You know what? $%&* the clothing and the $%&*!@' fashion show that these other mutha$%&*!@# are puttin' on! Here's my coveralls, deal with that!' And 'Oh, music is product?' 'No, music is expression, here's my $%&*!@' barcode. There's your product!' 'Oh you want my name? You want to $%&*!@' be a namedropper? Here's my number on my right arm.' 'Piss off and die!' You know, we were so $%&*!@' tired of being let down and seeing so many other kids being let down by this $%&* that it was either you wait and wait and wait or you do it yourself. IGN For Men: And there isn't any corporate Slipknot sponsorship either, right? Corey: $%&* no! The only real sponsorship we have is for like guitars and $%&*, which we need 'cause we can't afford to buy our own $%&* right now. IGN For Men: So I guess we shouldn't expect a Slipknot Gap commercial anytime soon, should we? Corey: $%&* no! Negative. You will not and if you ever do see us, dude, shoot us in the face 'cause we don't know what the hell we're doin'. We're not in this for the $%&*!@# modeling. We're not in this for any of that $%&*, dude. The music mainly and $%&*!@ foremost. We don't give a $%&* about all that crap. IGN For Men: And the chicks. I know you want to get the chicks and backstage groupies. Corey: Oh well, you know. It used to be that, but I have a girlfriend right now. I'm behaving myself, I'm not getting into the 'Road Warrior' stories yet. Y'see, I did that $%&* a long time ago, man. Like everything you can do on the road, I did. So it holds no #$%&*! mystery or secret key for me, know what I'm sayin'? If I ever want to do it I'll probably have to take $%&* in somebody's mouth. That's how $%&*!@ far out there I've become, dude. I'm tellin' you. IGN For Men:Well that would be takin' it one step further than Mike Patton, who once took a $%&* on stage in the early days of Mr. Bungle. Corey: Oh I don't doubt that, man. He's $%^&*!@ gone. He's like one of my heroes. He's like one of the baddest $%^!@ singers of all time. He's a really incredible singer, man. He has done so much with his voice, just his voice. I don't know if you've heard his solo record, with the throat noises? It's amazing. Plus the Fatomos album, it's so good, dude. It's a very acquired taste. We had the privilege of seein' them live when we recorded our album. We were just blown away. We bought the album when it came out and it was exactly like it was on stage, man. If you can, definitely check it out. And listen to it with an open $%&*!@ mind. It makes Bungle look like Lawrence Welk. It's that $%^&!@-up. IGN For Men: Besides showing what the music does to you inside, the masks also provide quite a bit of anonymity. I mean earlier you said I could shoot you if you ever took a Gap commercial. Hell, I'd be delighted to honor that request, but I don't know what the hell you look like. That's why you guys really wear the masks, so if anybody really hates your $%&8, they don't know what you look like. Corey: [laughs] Yeah, I love it dude. I was walkin' around in the Virgin Megastore the other day and I saw so many Slipknot shirts, it was $%&*!@' hilarious 'cause none of 'em recognized me. It ruled. I mean that's what it's all about. IGN For Men: So will you ever do the 'Slipknot Unmasked Tour' a la KISS? Corey: I don't think so, man. I mean, no [laughs] $%&* no! I don't know man. I mean if it ever gets down to the point where we take the masks off, I think that's gonna be the time to call it a day, you know what I'm sayin'? Because that's so much a part of what we are. The masks are really just another $%&*!@' instrument for us to use. IGN For Men: So you're not hiding from the world, then? Corey: Not really. We're not really hiding anything. I mean we're actually showing more of what we're expressing than you think. Everybody wants to think that we're hiding behind these masks, you know? That's bullshit. If we were hiding, you'd never see us. But we're out, we got out and $%&*!@' live our lives. We do our things. If kids $%&*!@' recognize us, we stop and talk to 'em. I think they respect that more than a bunch of guys that kinda just huddle on the $%&*!@' bus and don't talk to anybody and then just get out and do our thing. Because we do this it keeps us well rounded. It keeps us very down to earth, it keeps us doing what we want to do, it keeps our eyes on the prize. IGN For Men: Since you don't huddle on the tour bus, what do you do to pass the time while out on the road? Mick confessed to being a bit of an N64 head, but that he doesn't bring his set-up on tour as the rest of you guys thrash his controllers. Corey: [laughs] Mick likes to bitch, that's all I'm sayin'. As for me, I like to watch, I like to coach, y'know? I see patterns and $%&* and then I'll tell 'em about it. I don't have the hand coordination for it for some reason. I can work a joystick like a mutha$%&*!@, like the old Atari 2600's. That was my game. I can play at the arcade and $%&*, but I can't get into the Nintendo thing. There's only one real game that I like to play anyway and that's Tetris, the heroin of $%&*!@' arcade games. It's so addictive, dude. I had to buy like two or three different games 'cause I was burnin' 'em out. I sit in bed, $%&*!@' put on my headphones and play Tetris. And that's on a boring night. IGN For Men: What do you coach and who do you end up coaching? Corey: Umm, I think it's for like the first person games like Goldeneye, your Dooms. I remember $%&* because people are very busy looking around for other $%&*, so they forget to file things in their head. I'm not playing and I'm not sweating getting killed, so I'm remembering all the details and $%&*. So I coach like that. I coach on the new Tony Hawk game. I see $%&* when they're $%&*!@' skating and I remember where it is. I'm like 'Go back! Go back! You might need a little more speed to $%&*!@' do a grind on that pipe right there!' IGN For Men: What kind of nightmares do you have? Corey: [laughs] That's a little personal, isn't it? IGN For Men: Okay, do they influence your lyrics? Corey: A little bit, yeah. I wrote "Purity" because of a nightmare. I had the nightmare because of the story. It $%&*!@ me up so bad that I crawled underneath my bed and wrote it. But I don't want to delve too far into that. Let's just say that when I have nightmares they shake me so bad that I fall out of bed. It doesn't happen all that often, but when they come on, they come on. I got some $%&* goin' on, you know? But it's nothin' that I think any other normal maladjusted person wouldn't have, you know? I deal with it. I have the perfect outlet for it. It's [our music] very cathartic. It's one of things that I'm very glad that I have because if I didn't have it I'd probably be dead. IGN For Men: Clive Barker told me something to that very effect about his writing. Corey: Clive Barker? Cool. It makes sense, man, especially when you're dealing with very personal subject matter. IGN For Men: I know that the two things to do in Des Moines are to go to the skating rink or the graveyard. Which did you prefer hanging out at? Corey: What do you think man? I was at the $%^&*!' graveyard [laughs]. There was one, Woodland Cemetery, it's like right in the middle of town, it's not too far away from downtown, where we'd hang out. We'd get so drunk that we'd actually contemplate digging up a skull and drinkin' wine out of it [laughs]. You know? IGN For Men: Which superhero or super villain inspires you the most? Corey: Oh $%&*! [laughs]. You would ask the comic freak which superhero/super villain inspires me. IGN For Men: Hey, I didn't know you were a comic freak. Corey: Oh yeah. I am so into $%&*!@' comics. I collect comics, I collect action figures. I do it up. IGN For Men: Rattle off some titles that you dig. Corey: I've been collecting Spider-man since I was a kid. IGN For Men: Romita, McFarlane, or Larsen? Corey: I like 'em all, to tell you the truth. I'm not very particular. I care about the stories. I love McFarlane's look. I love Romita's look. I love Erik Larsen's look. I love 'em all. I even love the old Stan Lee/SteveDitko look. It's all Spidey to me. Whenever anybody gives any love to Spidey, I $%&*!@' love that $%&*. I like...ummm, oh christ, dude. When I really started gettin' into it, I collected some titles that aren't even $%&*!@' around anymore, 'cause they got cancelled. Which is bullshit. I collected Hellstorm: Prince of Lies, I still collect Preacher, which is one of the baddest $%&*!@' comics on the planet. If you read it, you're lucky. If you don't go $%&*!@' check it out. IGN For Men: I read Preacher, among other titles. Savage Dragon is my guilty pleasure, though. I dig Larsen's art and the mindless bash 'em up violence in every issue. Corey: Oh absolutely! See I loved...I got into DV8 for awhile before they changed writers and it turned stupid. DV8 were like the freaks of Gen13. They were the $%&*!@' alcoholics, the $%&*!@' drug addicts, the whores, you know? It $%^&*!' ruled! The first 12 issues are probably the baddest stories I have ever $%^&*!' read, man. They were so $%&*!@' cool. There's a lot more that I collect. But I started gettin' really into $%&*!@' action figures and kind of layin' off the [comics]. Wait, The Darkness, it's so $%&*!@' rad, dude! IGN For Men: I read the early Garth Ennis issues only. Corey: Ennis $%&*!@' rules! IGN For Men: What's your most prized figure? Corey: Aww $%&*. I think all of 'em dude. Ummm, I'd have to say...$%&*, I don't know, dude. You've got to realize that I've got like 13 huge boxes full of action figures still in the package. Yeah, I'm pretty $%&*!@' serious about it. See, when I didn't pay rent I used to spend my whole paycheck on [action figures]. That and drinkin'. Those were like my two passions. IGN For Men: Action figures and getting drunk, right on! Corey: That was it! IGN For Men: Did you ever get drunk and play with the figures? Corey: Aww no, no. I'd only take 'em out of the package if I had doubles. And I'd only get doubles when people would buy them for me. I'd be like 'Oh, I've got this one already' and then I'd take it out. I've got an old school Spider-man swinging from the light in my bedroom. He's hangin' from it. It rules. God, my most prized? Right now, at this moment, it would probably be the new Movies Maniacs 2 series. Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, it's got Michael Myers, it's got Ghostface from Scream, it's got The Crow, it's got Pumpkinhead, it's got Chucky and Bride of Chucky. IGN For Men: My buddy is really into the Puppet Master ones. Corey: I've got some of those. I want to get the two originals. I need the main guy with the hook and the knife. I can't find him. I've got Six Shooter. And Pinhead rules. You know, those movies suck, but they're actually pretty cool. I'm also a movie freak, too. Aww man, I gotta be done now. $%&* man, we'll have to hook up next time around and we'll talk some more shop. That'll $%&*!@' rule, man. I don't get to talk about this $%&* very often. IGN For Men: No problem. Corey: That's cool man, let's save it for next time. Take it easy. Spence D., thinks Ragman is one of the most underrated superheroes around.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Int. with #4 (IGN for Men)

nterview with Slipknot The dudes from Slipknot talk about their love for PlayStation games! January 21, 2000   Today in an exclusive interview, IGN For Men talked to the bad boys from the band Slipnot. In a surprising turn of events, the launched into a discussion about their love for the PlayStation and certain games for it, including Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Medal of Honor. Here's a clip from the interview. But to read the entire whacked out interview, check out this story. IGN For Men: What do you guys bring along with you on the road? Jim: To listen to? IGN For Men: Yeah, but also do you stock the bus with video games, movies, and such? Jim: Oh yeah. We've got Playstation and we had a Dreamcast and the hot game right now is Tony Hawks' Pro Skater. Oh yeah. That game rules. IGN For Men: I haven't played it yet... Jim: Oh God you gotta play it. I prefer the Playstation. IGN For Men: Other than Tony Hawks, what's your all time favorite? Jim: Umm, all time favorite? Wow! Siphon Filter was really good. I just played a game called Medal of Honor that I really liked a lot. I'm more into the shoot 'em up games, the pretend-you're-a-war-hero-go-kill-a-bunch-of-people games, you know? IGN For Men: I'm all about the third person zombie killing games myself. Jim: Yeah, yeah. I like those too, like Resident Evil and things like that. I'm really into those. What else have I played that was really cool? I liked Ace Combat 2 was a really cool game. IGN For Men: Do you guys have tournaments between the nine of you? Or are you more into single playing? Jim: [laughs]. Some of us aren't into it. But the tournaments usually happen with the drummers. And that's when they get out the Twisted Metal. And they'll do Twisted Metal until 5 in the morning. Yeah, pretty crazy. IGN For Men: Do you ever get it on that action? Jim: We usually don't bring enough controllers with us.