Slipknot

Esteemed writer Bill Bryson opened his breakthrough travel/memoir "The Lost Continent: Travels In Small Town America" thus: I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to. Slipknot, the American band specialising in grinding alt-metal and theatrical shock-rock, also come from Des Moines, Iowa. Actually, they formed there in 1995, six years after Bryson published those words.

Other than that quirk of mid-west geography there are very few obvious similarities in the careers. The band did, however, return to Des Moines over Christmas 1998 as they were working on their debut album in California. That self-titled album came out in mid-1999 and was well received, due in part to their June 1999 appearances at Ozfest.

It was Slipknot’s second album, Iowa (2001) that really put the band on the global map. A #1 in the UK and Canada, it reached #2 in Australia and #3 in the US and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Musically, British magazine NME observed how "every possible space is covered in scrawl and cymbals: guitars, percussion, electronic squall, subhuman screaming." Regarding the band’s lyrics, dark and taboo themes abound while those with a sensitivity to swearing are advised to steer clear. Although one glance at their signature horror themed masks would probably be enough to deter all but the most ardent metal heads. Fortunately for the band there are plenty of those.

Slipknot’s 2022 album—The End, So Far—topped the ARIA Australian chart.