Old Slipknot Mask

Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa, formed in 1995. Slipknot consists of nine members, the current band members are Sid Wilson, Joey Jordison, Paul Gray, Chris Fehn, Jim Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, and Corey Taylor.

With each new album, Slipknot has used new masks and coveralls. The masks have not changed dramatically with the release of their second and third albums, as the masks are more of an extension of what they previously were. Jordison addressed the issue in an interview in 2004, stating that the change in masks is to show growth and difference within age. The old Slipknot masks are readily available in many online stores.

During the music video and live performances of their single "Vermilion" the band, change their respective masks to death masks made from casts of their own faces. Also in 2004, Gray claimed that the special effects company Screaming Mad George made their masks from their third album cycle, and pictures of the band's masks from their second album cycle can be found on the SMG website.

The masks have been subject of much criticism, generally thought of as a gimmick to try sell their product. The band strongly objects to these claims, proclaiming that the masks are used to draw the attention away from themselves and put it on the music. Several members have said how the masks are a visual representation of how the music makes them feel and how they put the members in an animal-like mentality. The coveralls and numbers are an extension of the anti-image concept they created with the masks. The integrity of the masks is also a topic of criticism as band members have appeared outside of Slipknot without the masks. Most band members have addressed the issue. Percussionist Crahan specifically addressed the issue during an interview.

Beginning on April 1, 2008, Slipknot's official website began to display splash teasers to promote All Hope Is Gone. During the process there had been around 18 splash teasers, the first nine displayed the band in their new large masks, however the last seemingly showed dark figures with what seemed like ordinary size heads. During the recording of the video shoot for Psychosocial, the purgatory masks could be seen being burned in the background.

The band's image has started controversy over the years. A portion of the controversy comes from the band Mushroomhead, who, along with their fans, claim that Slipknot stole their image.

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