What Do Slipknot Look Like Without the Masks?

by David Anderson

The nine members of Slipknot were able to keep their faces well-hidden for many years, but with the rise in popularity of the band Stone Sour, which features vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root, along with the unmasked interviews within the 2006 ‘Voliminal: Inside the Nine’ DVD, Slipknot’s identities were eventually revealed.
Although Slipknot members such as Craig Jones and Chris Fehn still fly below the radar while unmasked, such individuals as Corey Taylor, Shawn Crahan and others have become instantly recognizable by fans. Below are pictures of every Slipknot member unmasked, including the band’s late bassist Paul Gray. Behold, the true faces of Slipknot:
#0 – Sid Wilson (turntables):

Roadrunner / Facebook: Sid Wilson

#1 – Joey Jordison (drums):

Roadrunner

#2 – Paul Gray (bass):

Roadrunner / File Photo

#3 – Chris Fehn (percussion / backing vocals):

Roadrunner

#4 – Jim Root (guitar):

Roadrunner / Steve Pope, Getty Images

#5 – Craig Jones (sampling / media):

Roadrunner / Slipknot press conference

#6 – Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan (percussion / backing vocals): 

Jo Hale / Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

#7 – Mick Thomson (guitar):

Roadrunner

#8 – Corey Taylor (vocals):

Roadrunner / Michael Kovac, Getty Images

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Gene Simmons Will Never Work at a Suicide Prevention Hotline

by David Anderson, August 1, 2014 9:57 AM

 

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

You know that list you’ve been making of rock stars you’d turn to if a loved one was threatening to throw themselves off a bridge? Put Gene Simmons at the bottom.
The Kiss co-founder shared his disdain for those who don’t feel life is worth living during a recent interview with Songfacts, saying he doesn’t get along with former members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss because “I don’t get along with anybody who’s a drug addict and has a dark cloud over their head and sees themselves as a victim. Drug addicts and alcoholics are always: ‘The world is a harsh place.’ My mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. I don’t want to hear f— all about ‘the world as a harsh place.’ She gets up every day, smells the roses and loves life.”
But lest you interpret Simmons’ remarks to mean that his mother’s horrific experience has convinced him of the sanctity of life, he quickly made it clear that he couldn’t care less. “For a putz 20-year-old kid to say, ‘I’m depressed, I live in Seattle,’” he sneered. “F— you, then kill yourself. I never understand, because I always call them on their bluff. I’m the guy who says ‘Jump!’ when there’s a guy on top of a building who says, ‘That’s it, I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to jump.’ Are you kidding? Why are you announcing it? Shut the f— up, have some dignity and jump! You’ve got the crowd.”
Speaking of having the crowd, Simmons then went on to add that while Kiss made a recent effort to record with Lady Gaga (“we got close”), he’ll never consent to an album of collaborations between the band and other artists. “When I was a kid, you didn’t have to be a Beatle fan to be in awe of them, but I was. I didn’t want any other band to get near the Beatles. Too pure. They looked like they came from the same Beatle mother. They looked like brothers or something,” he explained. “I didn’t want to see anybody with the Beatles, or with Led Zeppelin, I didn’t want them to jam with anybody. Look, it’s all personal taste. AC/DC is one of the great bands. I don’t want to see anybody jam with them. I just want to see AC/DC.”

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