Slipknot: Behind The Masks

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor and percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan have revealed their faces on a BBC program, Artsnight documentary, about “Stepping Out of Our Psychological Skins”. The members discuss the meaning behind of their horrific but iconic stage masks, and their alter egos.

The Iowa outfit are regarded as a pioneers of the new wave of American heavy metal. The band has won many awards including their self-titled first album achieving double platinum status in 2001.

Taylor is known for his angry, aggressive, and antagonistic performances when he is amongst his fellow masked members. For him, the mask offers uniqueness and a way to go against the norm.

“It was so many different things all at once,” he recalled.“It was visual. It was visceral. It was antagonistic. It was dangerous. It was powerful. I had never seen a band like that before”.

He describes positively the mask is a way to distinguish “a physical representation of the person inside…who just never had a voice”, and by wearing the mask “you’re not being somebody else, you’re being yourself.”  

Crahan states the horrifying clown mask idea all started when he had a version of it when he was 14.

“I just never knew why it was in my world but it was always around me,” Crahan said while holding his mask.“Then one day, it just so happened, it was that moment of clarity to decide what I want to project. This thing has no f*ckin’ limits”.

Check out part of the interview with the two Slipknot members in the teaser clip below.