Everyone on the internet is currently losing their collective shit about the new Slipknot teaser that just appeared on Slipknot1.com. But to put it into real context we need to look back at everything since the Knot's last musical release in 2008.
ALL HOPE IS GONE IS RELEASED
After Psychosocial owns dancefloors the world over, All Hope Is Gone is released in August, 2008 to universal acclaim from critics, fans and owners of fully functioning ears everywhere.
DOWNLOAD 2009
The finest show Donington has seen in the post-Monsters Of Rock era and a landmark performance that will go down in the annuals of heavy metal history. The band’s first UK festival headline performance was, quite simply, the stuff of legend and cemented their status as one of the greatest bands to ever hit metal.
PAUL GRAY PASSES AWAY
Tragedy strikes Slipknot as bassist Paul Gray passed away on May 24th, 2010. The heart of the band, a founding member and, crucially, one of the band’s key songwriters was gone. No words can do the impact of this tragedy justice. Family, friends, bandmates and fans lost a legend and a man whom we will never forget.
PAUL GRAY PRESS CONFERENCE
In one of the most gut-wrenching and disconsolate showings of human emotion you will ever see, the remaining members of Slipknot took part in a press conference to come to terms with the death of their fallen brother. Clocking in at just under 8 minutes, it will forever go down as some of the most distressing and heartbreaking footage to ever play a part in metal history.
GO THEIR OWN WAY
As the band were on downtime at the point Gray’s death, the remaining members of Slipknot would continue as planned and go their separate ways musically. Joey would record and tour a second Muderdolls album, Women And Children Last, as well as stints behind the drum kit with Rob Zombie. Shawn Crahan released an album with his Dirty Little Rabbits and Corey Taylor would release a new Stone Sour album, Audio Secrecy, in September 2010 and his first book, The Seven Deadly Sins: Setting The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good in 2011.
ANTENNAS TO HELL/RETURN TO THE ROAD
After a year in mourning, Slipknot returned to the road in 2011 for a select number of European festival shows. These included a headline performance at Sonisphere 2011, complete with a minute’s silence in memory of Paul Gray. 2011 also saw a reissue of Iowa to mark the album’s 10th Anniversary.
The following year, the band would headline the Mayhem Festival across the US, as well as the first ever Knotfest in Wisconsin, all in support of the band’s first greatest hits compilation, Antennas To Hell. All of the artwork and the entire collection was dedicated to the years Paul Gray was with the band. Original Slipknot guitarist Donnie Steele would play bass on all of these tour dates, obscured from the audience behind Joey’s drum kit.
2013: A YEAR OF RELATIVE INACTIVITY
Despite a triumphant set headlining Download Festival for the second time, Slipknot were relatively inactive for the majority of 2013. As Corey and Jim Root toured the second part of Stone Sour’s House Of Gold And Bones collection, speculation began to reach fever pitch about the band reconvening to begin work on a brand new Slipknot album with Crahan saying that in 2014 “the Knot’s back, there’s blood in the air, there’s art to be made’.
JOEY JORDISON NO LONGER IN SLIPKNOT
In one of the most shocking statements in recent times, Slipknot made the announcement on December 12th, 2013 that Joey Jordison was no longer in the band after 18 years of service. The band cited “personal reasons” and asked for “quiet respect” which was countered on January 1st, 2014 by Jordison himself who issued a statement that he “did not quit Slipknot” and was as “blindsided” by the news as all the band’s fans. There is still no public reason or resolve behind the drummer’s departure at the current point in time.
STONE SOUR FIRE JIM ROOT
On May 17th of this year, Stone Sour confirmed they had parted ways with Jim Root. This had no bearing on Jim’s role within Slipknot and while the guitarist took to Twitter to vent his displeasure at no longer being in Stone Sour (“not my decision. Not happy about it.”), Corey Taylor confirmed that same day “Jim and I are still working together in Slipknot and the album is almost done”. Again, this was said on Twitter.
And now in July 2014, Slipknot have dropped this. Where do they go from here?
