Slipknot is a metal band from Des Moines, Iowa formed by vocalist Anders Colsefni, percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray (3) in September 1995. At first, they called themselves "The Pale Ones", then debuted as "Meld" on December 4, 1995, and finally settled on "Slipknot", a suggestion by Jordison.
Since their inception, the band went through various line-up changes and eventually ended up with nine members shortly before their signing to Roadrunner Records in 1999. After the death of Gray on May 24, 2010, and Jordison's firing on December 12, 2013, Alessandro Venturella and Jay Weinberg were brought in as replacements. In early 2019, Fehn was fired and replaced by an anonymous musician who was revealed to be Michael Pfaff in February 2020.
Ex-members:
Anders Colsefni - vocals, percussion (September 1995–September 1997)
Brandon Darner - percussion (July–August 1998)
Chris Fehn - percussion (1998–March 2019)
Donnie Steele - lead and rhythm guitars (September 1995–1996), bass guitar (2011–2014)
Greg Welts - percussion (September 1997–July 1998)
Joey Jordison - drums (September 1995–December 2013, † July 2021)
Josh Brainard - lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals (September 1995–January 1999)
Kun P. Nong - guitar (September 1995, rehearsals only)
Paul Gray (3) - bass guitar (September 1995–† May 2010)
