Random Most Metal Stories About The Members Of Slipknot (14 items)

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  (#9) The Band's Official Scent Is Camel Dung

  Slipknot wanted to give something special to fans attending their inaugural two-day Knotfest, so they created a signature scent for the event: camel dung. 

  According to percussionist Shawn Crahan (the clown):

  We did the camel dung on the first Knotfest. It was awesome; it was beautiful... A very distinct smell. You can't huff it, but it's got this smell. And it's not necessarily the most comfortable thing, but it's not necessarily the worst thing, it's just remembering thoughts — it's gonna be a re-occurring thing.

  Since we're not a band anymore — we're a culture, everybody needs to get used to that real quick — that culture has to have a smell. You have to be able to be somewhere in the world, maybe be in a little pain, and then all of a sudden smell that and feel good again.
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  (#3) Before The Band Blew Up, Clown Kept A Decomposing Crow In A Jar To Huff Before Shows

  Every performer needs to get into the right headspace to achieve purity in his or her art. This is especially true of musicians, whose job requires manual dexterity, athleticism, and showmanship. 

  In the early days of the band, the members of Slipknot had their own special way of getting into the mood before a show. Clown (percussionist Shawn Crahan) kept a deceased crow in a jar, which he was allowing to decompose. Before each show, he took a big whiff of its terrible scent and passed it around to his bandmates. Wouldn't you know it, fans wanted in on the action, and they ended up eating the rotting bird. 

  Said DJ Sid Wilson of the ritual:

  We had a dead bird in a jar. Clown kept it in there for a long time. We’d bring it out on stage and take big deep breaths out of it, see what death smelled like, have that inside you, gets you in that dark place. It would make you throw up immediately, vomit in your mask. He had it in there for so long it started getting this gelatinous liquid in the jar as it decayed.
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  (#7) In The Early Days, Clown Kept His Own Excrement In Snapple Bottles And Rubbed It On Himself And His Bandmates

  According to guitarist Jim Root, on a 1999 European tour, Shawn Crahan would:

  ... put his sh*t in, like, a Snapple bottle and leave it on the speaker during the set. Then he'd smear it all over his drums and himself and Mick's back and, I think, mine, too. It just reeked — I was dry-heaving while we played.

   
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  (#11) Producer Ross Robinson Physically Abused The Band To Ensure Their First Record Sounded Great

  All great music producers develop a unique relationship with bands that helps them bring out the best material and performances. Some are hands on, others hang out on a couch and let whatever happens happen. Then, there's Ross Robinson, the producer of some Slipknot albums. 

  According to drummer Joey Jordinson: 

  Ross is the most intense person I’ve ever met in my life besides the nine of us. We were out for blood and Ross saw that... I would track my drums and we would all be headbanging, throwing our headphones off, punching the f*cking walls. He would take potted plants and throw them at me while I was playing and I’d have to duck them. He made [percussionist] Chris Fehn drink two gallons of water to where he was totally bloated and on the verge of throwing up just to get a mic’d mallet sound out of his stomach...

  Corey Taylor recalls:

  I’ve never screamed or sang like that in my life. Ross pushed me every day to the point where, by the end, I was literally broken completely in half and wide open and bawling and I couldn’t stop crying. I was throwing up all over the f*cking place.
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  (#5) Clown Hired A Drum Tech Because The Guy Drank Urine, Puked It Up, And Drank It Again

  In an interview with Rolling Stone, Slipknot's Clown revealed that he hired his drum tech based on his ability to swallow anything. "I told him, 'Drink this piss,' He's like, 'How much?' I give him a hundred bucks, he downs the piss.

  Then he's like, 'Another $75 to puke and re-drink it?' Sure. He rolfs, re-drinks it — 'See you guys later.' That's why he works for Clown."
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  (#10) Clown Almost Drowned Partaking In Ritual Self-Harm He Likens To Blood Letting

  Even if you've never heard Slipknot's music, you've no doubt seen pictures of them, and can probably surmise they get nuts on stage. 

  One of the band's wildest stage stunts almost took the life percussionist Shawn Crahan, more commonly known as Clown: 

  I went headfirst into this barrel on Ozzfest and I didn’t realize it was half full of water. I got stuck in that thing for about 35 seconds and I remember thinking, ‘You’ve done it, you f*cking went somewhere you shouldn’t have gone and now it’s going to get you.’ Then I got pushed over, came out of the bin and I was spitting out water. It was pretty serious dude.

  From that day on I realized that, if I was going to go into that zone, I had to at least pick my battles. At first, though, I didn’t care about the harm I was doing myself, in fact personal harm was invited. It felt good; it was like blood letting.

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