Slipknot is an American metal band from Iowa officially formed in 1995. They are one of the pioneering bands in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. The current membership are: Sid Wilson, Joey Jordison, Paul Gray, Chris Fehn, Jim Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, and Corey Taylor.


The band incorporates various vocal styles, typically involving shouted vocals, melodic singing and even rapping while the lyrics generally follow an aggressive tone. The band's musical influences include groove metal, extreme metal, industrial metal, and hip hop.
The band's primary influences include Black Sabbath, Slayer, Judas Priest, Korn, AC/DC, Kiss and Beastie Boys.


Slipknot underwent several line-up changes after releasing their debut album, the self-produced Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat. in 1996. This was followed by their first studio-produced effort Slipknot in 1999. The band has released two other studio albums, Iowa and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), and are expected to release a fourth album in September 2008.
They have started working on their fourth album in October 2007 and it should be released in September 2008. The band wants to make their fourth album their most experimental record, and will be including more acoustic guitars and melodic vocals, as well as introducing hi-hats and cymbals to the additional percussion. The album will be the band's first work with Dave Fortman as producer.


Slipknot will also be touring Europe and the UK in the latter months of 2008, with the bands Machine Head and Children of Bodom opening at their concerts.