Slipknot is an American heavy metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1995 by percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan, former vocalist Anders Colsefni, and bassist Paul Gray. After several lineup changes in its early years, the band settled on nine members for more than a decade: percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan, percussionist Chris Fehn, bassist Paul Gray, drummer Joey Jordison, sampler/keyboardist Craig Jones, DJ/keyboardist Sid Wilson, guitarist Mick Thomson, guitarist Jim Root, and vocalist Corey Taylor. Slipknot is well-known for its attention-grabbing image, aggressive style of music, and energetic and chaotic live shows.

The band rapidly rose to fame following the release of their eponymous debut album in 1999. The 2001 follow-up album, Iowa, although darker in tone, made the band more popular. After a brief hiatus, Slipknot returned in 2004 with Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), before going on another hiatus and returning in 2008 with its fourth album, All Hope Is Gone, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. After another long hiatus, Slipknot released its fifth studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter, in 2014. Their sixth studio album, We Are Not Your Kind, was released on August 9, 2019. Their seventh studio album, The End, So Far, was released on September 30, 2022. The band has released two live albums titled 9.0: Live and Day of the Gusano: Live in Mexico, a compilation album titled Antennas to Hell, and five live DVDs. The band has sold 30 million records worldwide and over 12 million in their home country.[5][6]

Bassist Gray died on May 24, 2010, and was replaced during 2011–2014 by Donnie Steele. Jordison was dismissed from the band on December 12, 2013, before his eventual passing on July 26, 2021. Steele left during the recording sessions for .5: The Gray Chapter. The band found replacements in Alessandro Venturella on bass and Jay Weinberg on drums. After the departure of Jordison, as of December 2013 the only founding member in the current lineup is percussionist Crahan. Fehn was also dismissed from the band in March 2019 prior to the writing of We Are Not Your Kind and was replaced by Michael Pfaff. The band parted ways with Jones and Weinberg in 2023, with the latter being replaced by Eloy Casagrande the following year.