Slipknot's history is full of dark turns, and almost everyone in the group has a tragic
tale to tell.
Let's take a look at the many awful incidents that have shocked a band that's usually more
accustomed to do the shocking themselves.
This is the tragic real-life story of Slipknot.
Many members of Slipknot have had rough patches in their lives, but few started as early as
vocalist Corey Taylor.
According to Blabbermouth, Taylor spent part of his teenage years living in a trailer park
near Waterloo, Iowa where, according to Taylor, the activities were somewhat limited.
The singer reportedly described the place by saying,
"At a place like that, there's only two things to do, really, you take drugs, and you f---."
As a result, the young Taylor developed a dangerous taste for narcotics.
As a teenager, Taylor reportedly said he once woke up in a trash can 12 miles from his home,
with no shirt, no shoes, and blood on his face.
While his memory of the events was spotty, he figured he had been at a party and overdosed,
and instead of taking him to a hospital, his "friends" merely dumped him in a trash can
somewhere under the assumption that he was dead.
Terrifying as the experience must have been, this particular dark cloud ultimately had
a silver lining: During his long walk back home, young Taylor decided that he had to
get out of that place.
Suffice to say, he followed through.
Slipknot's 2001 sophomore album Iowa is as brutal as they come.
According to Revolver, at least part of the album's sound may very well stem from the
fact that its recording was an absolute horror show.
The band was in a rather dark place thanks to the sudden and unexpected fame their first
album had brought them, and the copious amounts of sex and drugs that tend to come with rock
stardom had hollowed them out and left them depressed.
Producer Ross Robinson broke his back during the recording and was confined to a wheelchair.
Singer Corey Taylor had personal issues and a drinking problem, and reportedly resorted
to cutting himself with broken glass during recordings just so he could feel something.
Both guitar player Jim Root and DJ Sid Wilson had nasty breakdowns, with the latter's eerie
sound booth freak-out becoming the album's haunting intro, "515."
After the album was done, things didn't get much easier.
The worn-out band now had to deal with a record company that had expected a chart-friendly
follow-up to their hit record, and not the absurdly angry Iowa album they got instead.
Even the album's touring and promotion cycle brought little reprieve: Iowa came out a week
before 9/11, and the band's aggressive music was banned from many radio stations in the
aftermath of the terror attack.
Slipknot percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan likes his stage antics with a healthy dose
of GG Allin.
According to Louder, Crahan had a tendency to go in the zone during live shows, and behave
so dangerously that he said his wife would later tell him:
"You're pushing it too far.
If you die, you're just going to be some guy in a book somewhere."
For a while, Crahan was actually quite intrigued at the prospect of winning the Darwin Award
in the category of heavy metal performances.
"I like making records, I like making videos, I like living in LA, I like travelling, but
it's all about playing live."
However, one particular incident taught him to avoid turning his inner clown up to 11.
One of his early go-to stunts was jumping headfirst into a garbage can, then falling
over and kicking people in the legs while using the can to protect himself.
Unfortunately, one particular time on Ozzfest, the barrel he dived into was partially filled
with water and he got stuck.
For roughly 35 seconds, Crahan's head was submerged and he was certain that he was going
to die.
The watery deathtrap was ultimately pushed over and the Clown lived to rock another day,
but the terrifying experience taught him to rein in his performances...at least a little
bit.
But despite that close call, he says he still welcomes a healthy dose of personal pain during
performances.
Today, Slipknot have been around long enough that people know what to expect of them, but
in 2003, they were still relatively new kids on the block.
Their most recent album was the brutal Iowa and it was easy to see them as unpredictable
and shocking because, well, they were.
Maybe that's why the police linked the band to a horrifying killing committed by two metal
fans from San Bernardino, California in spring 2003.
To be fair, 20-year-old Jason Lamar Harris and 16-year-old Amber Rose Riley specifically
stated that they were listening to Slipknot both before and after the deed.
Reportedly, the duo was particularly invested in the band's song "Disasterpiece," which
does feature some rather gruesome lyrics, so maybe it's understandable that the cops
raised an eyebrow.
Of course, it soon transpired that the duo had been planning the heinous act for months,
and had already made one unsuccessful attempt to do it.
Regardless of the two's taste in music, they were both tried as adults and sentenced to
prison for their crime.
Slipknot, of course, was never charged.
In August 2008, Slipknot was going through a rough patch.
The band had been forced to cancel several shows because drummer Joey Jordison broke
his ankle, but something even worse related to the band loomed in South Africa.
In the city of Krugersdorp, an 18-year-old student rampaged through Nic Diederich Technical
High School, waving a sword and slashing at people while dressed in a mask and costume
that resembled Jordison's stage outfit.
The student killed one person and injured another two, and people soon started pointing
fingers at the band, alleging once again that they had somehow inspired the act.
The director of a local student support network told the media,
"He came here camouflaged as the guy from Slipknot.
We know the wrong kind of music and drugs have bad effects.
Young people need to be informed of the effects of bad Satanic music."
Slipknot initially declined to comment on the incident, but singer Corey Taylor eventually
expressed his shock.
He also pointed out that the band and its music can hardly be blamed for the actions
of a disturbed person.
Fortunately, South African authorities agreed, with the head of the police's investigative
psychology unit saying,
"People jump to conclusions, and always God or Satan told the killers to do it.
These notions shouldn't be taken seriously because it is straightforward: someone, of
their own free will, can kill another person."
Bassist and songwriter Paul Gray was also Slipknot's surprisingly warm heart, a pleasant
man who remained friendly and down-to-earth despite his success.
Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to last.
Like countless others, Gray battled with drug addiction.
By the time Slipknot was preparing their third album in 2003, he was so dependent on heroin
that the rest of the band actually staged an intervention.
Gray was temporarily able to kick his drug habit with his future wife, Brenna.
Though he seemed to be the sober pillar of strength and calm amidst his significantly
more chaotic bandmates, he unexpectedly succumbed to an accidental overdose of fentanyl, morphine
and Xanax in 2010.
It was later revealed that he also showed signs of significant heart disease.
He was only 38, and Brenna was pregnant with their child.
The bassist's shocking death shook Slipknot to the core, and they held a tearful video
press conference to address the tragedy.
Brenna stood with the band at first, but soon started blaming them for not helping Gray.
Gray's doctor Daniel Baldi, who prescribed him Xanax despite his addiction, was eventually
taken to court for 10 counts of manslaughter.
He was acquitted of the charges in 2018.
You'd think that Slipknot's hulking guitarist Mick Thomson would have little to fear in
a physical confrontation, but in 2015 he was in a fight so bad that he left in an ambulance.
The person who put Thomson in the hospital?
That was his own brother Andrew, and the Slipknot band member very much returned the favor.
Reportedly, the Thomson brothers had been enjoying a few drinks in a house in Clive,
Iowa, when they started fighting.
The inebriated battle progressed to the building's front yard, and at some point knives entered
the equation.
Both men suffered non-lethal stab wounds, even though Mick took one in the back of his
head.
It probably makes for awkward Thanksgivings, but on the plus side, the incident surely
helped Thomson's heavy metal credentials.
Neither Andrew nor Mick wanted to press charges in the aftermath, but Clive police did charge
them both with disorderly conduct by fighting.
Sadly, at least three people have reportedly died at Slipknot's live shows over the years.
A 21-year-old student from Michigan was reported to have died after going into cardiac arrest
while attending a Slipknot concert in 2005.
In 2009, it was reported that a 29-year-old concertgoer suddenly collapsed at another
show, also from a fatal cardiac arrest.
The most recent incident happened in 2019, when a 62-year-old fan was enjoying a mosh
pit at Slipknot's Knotfest concert in Tinley Park, Illinois, but reportedly took a hit
and collapsed outside the pit.
The fallen fan started having a seizure, and was left unable to receive immediate medical
attention.
He ultimately passed away.
Tragically, this happened mere weeks after the band had defused a potentially dangerous
situation during another show in San Bernardino, California.
In that incident, singer Corey Taylor abruptly stopped the concert to allow medical staff
to reach and treat injured fans.
Slipknot's first major lineup change since the death of Paul Gray came in December 2013
when the band ousted their longtime drummer, Joey Jordison.
The whole situation was rather mysterious, as singer Corey Taylor said that the decision
had been extremely painful, telling Living Out Loud LA,
"When we parted with Joe it was honestly because of necessity.
Starting to move on without him was one of the most difficult things we've ever done,
just as hard, in a lot of ways, as trying to move on without Paul."
The truth didn't emerge until 2016, when Jordison revealed at Metal Hammer's Golden Gods awards
ceremony that his departure was prompted by a medical condition.
Jordison suffers from a form of multiple sclerosis called transverse myelitis, and this nasty
nerve disease rendered him unable to play his instrument for months.
He eventually managed to push back the disease and regain his drumming ability, but describes
the experience as something he, quote, "wouldn't wish on [his] worst enemy."
He also added that he has absolutely zero ill will toward his former band over his departure.
Sometimes, the greatest tragedies in life happen not to you, but to your loved ones.
Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan experienced the most devastating thing that can happen
to a father in 2019, when his youngest daughter, 22-year-old Gabrielle, unexpectedly died.
According to TMZ, the cause of death was accidental drug overdose.
Although she reportedly did have a history of drug use, she had posted a sobriety coin
on Instagram just days before the incident, indicating that she was five months sober.
While undoubtedly devastated, Crahan handled this ultimate tragedy with the kind of poise
and grace one wouldn't necessarily expect from a man who wears a clown mask and wreaks
havoc for a living.
In an elegant Facebook message to the band's fans, he thanked everyone for their support,
apologized for not being able to personally reply to everyone who had reached out, and
expressed gratitude for those who did.
In 2019, another storm tore through the Slipknot camp.The group's percussionist Chris Fehn,
known for his long-nosed mask, sued the rest of the group, claiming that Slipknot's business
structure had gotten so confusing that other band members and their business manager were
essentially stealing money.
Fehn demanded forensic accounting to see precisely how much money he was owed.
The rest of the band was less than delighted by the percussionist's actions, and promptly
kicked him out of the group.
The band then issued a public statement that made no bones about their feelings, saying
mysteriously,
"Chris knows why he is no longer a part of Slipknot.
We are disappointed that he chose to point fingers and manufacture claims, rather than
doing what was necessary to continue to be a part of Slipknot.
We would have preferred he not take the path that he has, but evolution in all things is
a necessary part of this life."
According to Blabbermouth, Fehn has gone on to specify singer Corey Taylor and band leader
Shawn Crahan as the people who he feels are receiving undue amounts of money.
Still, despite his incendiary accusations, the Pinocchio-masked musician appears to hold
out hope of returning to the Slipknot fold.
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