List of Slipknot band members

Slipknot is an American heavy metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa in 1995 by vocalist and percussionist Anders Colsefni, guitarists Donnie Steele and Josh "Gnar" Brainard, bassist Paul Gray, drummer Joey Jordison and percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan.^[1] Since its inception in 1995, the band has gone through multiple lineup changes, many of which occurred before the release of its debut album in 1999.^[2]

In 1996, during the mixing stage of the band's first demo Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., Slipknot saw its first lineup change when Steele left the band and was replaced by Craig "133" Jones.^[3] Shortly after, Jordison suggested the group would need a full-time sampler and Jones fit the position as "he liked doing that anyway", so Mick Thomson was brought in to fill the open position on guitar.^[4] After the release of Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., the band members were working on new material which required more vocal melody, with which Colsefni struggled.^[5] In 1997, Corey Taylor was recruited from local band Stone Sour.^[6][7] As a result, Colsefni was moved to backing vocals and percussion, although he left soon after.^[8]

Wanting to retain their percussive edge, the band added Greg "Cuddles" Welts as Colsefni's replacement.^[9] Towards the end of 1997, each member chose a number as his alias.^[10] Slipknot later considered including a DJ in their lineup; after difficulty finding one, Sid Wilson was enlisted to bring the lineup to nine members.^[11] In 1998, Welts was asked to leave the band and was replaced by Brandon Darner,^[12] who in turn was replaced just a few months later by Chris Fehn.^[13][14] The final early change in the lineup came in the latter stages of the recording of the band's debut album Slipknot in 1999, when during a break in recording Brainard decided to leave the band, to be replaced by Jim Root.^[15]

This lineup remained unchanged until May 2010, when Paul Gray died of an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl.^[16] The band's shows in 2011, 2012 and 2013 were played with former guitarist Steele filling in for Gray, although he was kept backstage.^[17] In December 2013, Slipknot and Joey Jordison parted ways in controversial circumstances.^[18] The band recorded and released its fifth album .5: The Gray Chapter in 2014, which featured new bassist Alessandro Venturella and drummer Jay Weinberg, whose identities were initially kept secret.^[19]

Members

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Shawn "Clown" Crahan (#6)	1995–present	custom percussion backing vocals[upper-alpha 1]	all Slipknot releases
	Craig "133" Jones (#5)	1996–present	samples media keyboards[upper-alpha 2]	all Slipknot releases from Slipknot demo (1998) to present
	Mick Thomson (#7)		guitars
	Corey Taylor (#8)	1997–present	vocals
	Sid Wilson (#0)	1998–present	turntables keyboards
	Chris Fehn (#3)		custom percussion backing vocals	all Slipknot releases from Slipknot (1999) to present[upper-alpha 3]
	Jim Root (#4)	1999–present	guitars[upper-alpha 4]
	Jay Weinberg	2014–present	drums	.5: The Gray Chapter (2014)
	Alessandro Venturella		bass

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Joey Jordison (#1)	1995–2013	drums	all Slipknot releases from Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996) to (sic)nesses (2010)
	Paul Gray (#2)	1995–2010 (died 2010)	bass backing vocals
	Josh "Gnar" Brainard (#4)	1995–1999	guitars percussion backing vocals	Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996) Slipknot demo (1998) Slipknot (1999)
	Anders Colsefni	1995–1997	vocals custom percussion[upper-alpha 1]	Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996)
	Donnie Steele	1995–1996 2011–2014	guitars (1995–1996) bass (2011–2014)	Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996) .5: The Gray Chapter (2014)
	Greg "Cuddles" Welts (#3)	1997–1998	custom percussion	Slipknot demo (1998)
	Brandon Darner (#3)	1998	custom percussion	none

Timeline

Footnotes

1. Crahan and Colsefni also performed samples prior to Craig Jones joining the band, including on Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.^[20]
2. Jones originally performed guitar for the band in early 1996, before he moved over to samples and Mick Thomson joined.^[4]
3. Root only performed on two tracks on Slipknot – "Purity" and "Me Inside"; Josh Brainard performed on the remainder of the album.^[21]
4. Root also played bass on several tracks recorded for .5: The Gray Chapter, in addition to Alessandro Venturella and Donnie Steele.^[22]

References

Citations

• Arnopp, Jason (May 31, 2011), Slipknot: Inside the Sickness, Behind the Masks, Random House, ISBN 978-0091879334
• McIver, Joel (September 1, 2003), Slipknot Unmasked (Again), Omnibus Press, ISBN 978-0711997646

Footnotes

1. Arnopp 2011, pp. 40–42
2. Huey, Steve. "Slipknot: Biography & History". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
3. Arnopp 2011, pp. 50–51
4. Arnopp 2011, p. 57
5. Arnopp 2011, p. 70
6. McIver 2003, pp. 41–42
7. Arnopp 2011, p. 74
8. McIver 2003, pp. 44–45
9. McIver 2003, p. 47
10. Arnopp 2011, pp. 80–81
11. Arnopp 2011, pp. 91–93
12. McIver 2003, p. 54
13. McIver 2003, p. 57
14. Arnopp 2011, pp. 78–79
15. McIver 2003, pp. 61–63
16. Goldsmith, Belinda (June 22, 2010). "Slipknot Bassist Died of 'Accidental' Overdose". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
17. Adler, Shawn (May 24, 2011). "Slipknot Reveal Donnie To Replace Deceased Bassist Paul Gray". MTV. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
18. Lach, Stef (June 21, 2016). "Joey Jordison: I didn't deserve cowardly Slipknot sacking". Metal Hammer. TeamRock. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
19. "Corey Taylor Opens Up For The First Time About Slipknot's New Members". Blabbermouth.net. July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
20. "2001 - Anders Colsefni Interview". MFKR1. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
21. Hartmann, Graham (March 23, 2016). "7 Unforgettable Jim Root Slipknot Moments". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
22. "Jim Root: 'Seems Like Stone Sour Can't Even Write a New Record. They Lost a Good Writer'". Ultimate Guitar Archive. May 13, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2016.

External links

• Slipknot official website