WEBVTT - Slipknot: Death, Destruction, and Des Moines 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:16.120 Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is a 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:20.760 story about death, the smell of it, the feel of it, 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:25.160 the finality of it. It's a story about being bored 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:29.520 to death, about being beaten to death. It's about sudden 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:34.560 death and a death by a thousand cuts. Most importantly, 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:39.960 it's a story about death metal. Because this is also 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:43.599 the story of a band. A band whose music was 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:47.080 so dark that one of their members quit rather than 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:51.559 risk eternal damnation. A band whose live shows were so 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:55.880 intense they nearly left one band member dead. A band 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:58.960 whose music was so disturbing, so evil, that some would 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:03.240 say it led to immer. This is the story of 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:07.360 slipknot the most extreme thing to come out of Iowa 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:11.520 since the taco pizza was invented there in nineteen seventy four, 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:15.800 a band known for their stage mass as much as 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:20.480 their music. Great music, unlike that loop I played for 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.800 you at the top of the show. That wasn't great music. 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:28.200 That was a preset loop from my melotron called ozembic 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:33.120 Face MK one. I played you that loop because I 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:36.560 can't afford the rights to get Busy by Sean Paul, 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:40.880 And why would I play you that specific slice of 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:45.680 Down in Dirty Cheese. Could I afford it? Because that 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:49.880 was the number one song in America on May twenty third, 0:01:49.960 --> 0:01:53.000 two thousand and three, And that was the day too 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:57.880 California teenagers committed a brutal murder, a murder they claimed 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:05.320 was inspired by slip Knot on this episode Death Metal 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:10.320 down in Dirty Cheese. In the dark world of slip Knot, 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:13.400 I'm Jake Brennan, and. 0:02:13.360 --> 0:02:31.560 This this disgraceland. 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:49.680 He was screaming as he hit the water. Instantly he 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:53.280 knew he made a terrible mistake. The water was swirling 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.120 all around him, flooding into his mouth and filling his 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.920 throat and pushing into his lungs. Panicking, he tried to 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:03.120 his arms free, but they were pinned tightly to his side. 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.720 He couldn't move them an inch. As his body sunk 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:10.800 deeper and deeper into the murky water. His legs were 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:14.800 in the air. Kicking frantically, he prayed that someone, anyone, 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:18.440 would help him, but no one noticed, or if they did, 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:23.959 they were probably laughing. He was a clown, after all, well, 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:27.320 he was wearing a clown mask. At least the man 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:32.240 currently drowning in a metal barrel was Sean Kran aka 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:38.840 Number six aka Clown, the founder of Slipknot, and he 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:43.800 was about to die tragically choking to death in eighteen 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:47.119 inches of water, stuck upside down in a trash can 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:51.040 in front of thousands of metal heads at oz Fest 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:56.160 nineteen ninety nine. That summer, the band broke out on 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.920 their first nationwide tour as part of the oz Fest lineup. 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:03.400 Among bands like Slayer, Godsmack, and System of a Down, 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:08.880 slip Knot stood out first. There were the sheer numbers. 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:11.480 There were nine of them, like some kind of heavy 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:14.240 metal wu tank clan. Then there was the way they 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:19.240 looked like nine psychos wearing matching jumpsuits and creepy rubber 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:22.719 masks covering their faces. But none of that would have 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:26.440 mattered if this band didn't bring it on stage, and 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:32.720 that's exactly what they did. Their sound was massive, multiple percussionists, singers, 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:37.080 a DJ, a sampler, two guitars in a big, driving 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:41.559 rhythm section, and they played with sheer force, brutal force. 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.599 The band leaped around the stage like animals, jumping onto 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:47.919 and over each other, leaping into the crowd and routinely 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:51.320 pushing themselves until they left blood, puke, or any number 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:53.520 of other bodily fluids dripping from their masks. By the 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:58.000 end of the show. As clown Sean Kran pushed it 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:02.000 further than anyone. A whole cow's heads for the butcher 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:05.640 and toss them on stage or into the crowd. He 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:09.000 stuffed dead birds into jars and left under rot so 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:10.880 the band could get the smell of death on them 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:14.120 before a show, just like Mayhem did back in Norway. 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.680 In the early days of black metal, Kran from Slipknot 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:21.000 would do anything to work the crowd into a frenzy 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:24.719 what it became his time in the late nineties, and 0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:27.680 now it looked like he was going to pay the 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:32.560 ultimate price. The trash can stunt was one of his 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.799 usual moves. He would find a trash can near the stage, 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:38.560 dive into it, and go rolling into the marsh pin 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:43.159 causing mayhem. It always made the crowd go crazy, Only 0:05:43.240 --> 0:05:46.080 this time, when he jumped face first into the barrel, 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:50.120 it was half full of water. Whatever disgusting liquid might 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:53.719 be floating around inside an oz Fest trash can. Kran's 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:57.880 entire face was underwater, his arms were stuck tight in darkness, 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:01.080 was gathering all around him see black rings in the 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:04.480 corner of his vision, and they were growing larger and larger. 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:09.080 His legs quick kicking, preparing for the inevitable, and he 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:12.080 hoped that dying at Ozfest would at least make him 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:14.680 a legend. And just when he was on the verge 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:18.920 of blacking out, the crowd surged forward and someone slammed 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:23.160 into the barrel and tipped it over. Water went pouring everywhere, 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:27.440 and Sean Kran finally crawled free, gasping for breath and 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:32.039 puking up muthfuls of the foul smelling water. After a 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.440 few seconds to catch his breath, he jumped to his 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:37.159 feet and sprinted back to the stage, and there was 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:40.320 no time to recover. He started pounding on a metal 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:43.000 beer keg as the next song kicked in. It was 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:44.920 all in the day's work for one of the biggest 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:50.360 metal bands in America. Four years before that, when Kran 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:52.720 pulled into an empty gas station parking lot in the 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:55.320 middle of the night, it would have been impossible to 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:58.880 imagine that it would lead here. It was one of 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:03.320 those cold des Moines Knights nineteen ninety five, A pair 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:05.720 of twenty something metal heads pushed their way into an 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:10.640 empty Sinclair gas station. Fluorescent lights hummed over her head. 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:13.960 Sean looked around the empty store, at the aisles of candy, 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:17.760 beer and porno magazines, and standing beside him was a 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:21.520 friend and fellow musician, Paul Gray. Paul nodded at the 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:24.320 short teenager with the long hair working the counter, and 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:28.080 they bumped fists with a grin. That was how Paul was. 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:31.240 Everybody knew him in Des Moines, and everybody loved him, 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:35.200 including the guy behind the counter. His name was Joey Jordison, 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:37.880 and although he was only five to three, he was 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:40.720 a ferocious drummer, and Paul thought he would be the 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:42.840 perfect addition to the new metal band they were putting 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:48.800 together because Paul lived and breathed metal, unlike Sean. As 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:51.960 a teenager, Sean was into punk. He loved that it 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:54.640 had something to say and the way the music raged 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:59.480 against bigotry and conformity. Inequality. Metal to Sean was nothing 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:01.760 more than the hair spray bands that could play it 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:06.400 on MTV, bands like Warrant and Poison. But Paul showed 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.280 him a different side of heavy metal music that was raw, 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:14.680 angry music with a message. Soon Sean was slamming around 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:17.800 to bands like Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel. He and 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:20.240 Paul were determined to invade the de Moi metal scene 0:08:20.240 --> 0:08:22.560 with a band every bit as heavy, over the top 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:26.720 and outrageous as their heroes, and once Joey, the little 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.240 dude behind the counter, agreed to join them on drums, 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:33.200 the pieces slowly began to come together. It was Joey 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.959 who suggested that they named the band slip Knot, after 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:37.920 a song they had been working out with the same name, 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.840 and not long after, Sean wore a creepy clown mask 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:44.080 he bought at a Halloween start a band practice as 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:47.560 a joke, but there was something so sinister that the 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:51.000 idea stuck, and soon everyone had a mask and a 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:53.920 number in place of their name. It was so dark, 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:58.800 so disturbing, and it was perfect too, because right from 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:01.319 the start the music a slip Knot with some of 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:04.600 the most dark and disturbing music anyone in Iowa had 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:07.800 ever heard. It was so dark that, even though there 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:10.640 were filling clubs, they still couldn't find even a tiny 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:13.640 little indie label willing to take on the band. It 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:16.439 was so dark that the band's first guitarist Donnie Steele, 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:20.640 a practicing Christian, quit the band rather than subject himself 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:24.240 to that kind of darkness. Not that Sean cared if 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:26.160 he was running people off. He figured their music might 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:29.439 be touching a nerve. Besides, when he looked out into 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:31.959 the crowd and saw massive kids writhing to the music 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:34.960 like maggots. The fact, that's when he nicknamed their fans 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:37.920 the maggots. He didn't think it was dark at all. 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:42.000 Darkness was already out there in the world, and people 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:45.600 needed something to release that darkness inside of them, something 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:49.280 to vent their frustrations, and that was the beauty of 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:52.040 a heavy metal show. The kids in the crowd went 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:54.720 nuts on each other for two hours, but they left 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:57.240 that darkness behind and then they went home in peace. 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:02.200 At least that's what Sean tried to explain Donnie. Placing 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:05.839 Donnie on guitar, though, didn't worry Sean, and that was 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:09.440 the easy part. Who worried him was that, after the 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:11.480 band spent forty grand of their own money to record 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:18.960 a proper demo, he could hear that their sound wasn't right. Sure, 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:21.720 the sound was big, but it needed to be bigger. 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.920 It was also missing something for all the grunting, growling 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:29.640 and unhinged screaming. Sometimes they just needed someone who could 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:33.800 well sing, just that tiny bit of sugar to help 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:38.840 all the darkness go down. Because they had fans, every 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:41.360 show seemed to bring out more and more than maggots, 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:44.560 and they had an image, and they had the drive. 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:46.920 But if they're ever going to break out of. 0:10:46.920 --> 0:11:06.360 Des Moines, they're gonna need a new lead singer. 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:21.680 The smell of death was everywhere. Sure, maybe not to 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:26.200 a human, but the rats, they could smell it, and 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:29.840 they were closing in from the shadows. They crept closer, 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:34.040 scurrying through the parking lot, trailing the scent, past gas 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:38.040 pumps and around piles of old tires. People think of 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.040 rats as a city problem, but the truth is that 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:47.080 they multiply everywhere. Rural areas mean farmland, and farmland means food, 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:51.920 and food means survival. Of course, country rats don't have 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:55.000 it quite as easy as rats in the city. While 0:11:55.000 --> 0:11:56.640 you might catch a New York City rat dragging the 0:11:56.679 --> 0:12:01.120 size of pepperoni pizza across the subway platform in Waterloo, Iowa, 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:04.400 in nineteen eighty eight, these rats had to scratch and 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:08.000 claw and kill each other just to stay alive. So 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:11.160 when the smell of fresh death hit their noses, they 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:15.080 knew they would have to act fast. There would be competition. 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:18.320 Some of the boldest rats weren't going to wait for 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:21.360 death to overtake the body lying in the dumpster. The 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:24.320 smell of blood was driving them into a frenzy, so 0:12:24.360 --> 0:12:27.440 they began to climb onto the dumpster and they tested 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:30.679 the lids, and their claws made a tapping noise as 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:33.719 they scurried across a thick black plastic looking for a 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:38.360 way in. Suddenly the lid flew open, sending rats flying 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:41.880 in every direction. A fifteen year old Corey Taylor sat 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:45.560 up with a shot. He let out a blood curdling scream, 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:49.320 and speaking of blood, he was everywhere soaked into his 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:53.320 t shirt, caked onto his nose, covering his lips, and 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:56.360 his shoes were missing. He had no idea what day 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:59.640 it was, He had no idea where he was. All 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:03.600 he knew who said his friends, his so called friends, 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:09.119 had left him for dead, Not that he was too surprised. 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:11.760 Even though he was only fifteen years old, he was 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:15.560 already living like somebody on borrow time. First, there was 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:20.560 his birthdate, December eighth. The date was seriously cursed. Jim 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:25.240 Morrison born on December eighth died. Young Sam Kinnison born 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:29.400 on December eighth died. Young Frank Sinatra Junior kidnapped on 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:34.200 December eighth. John Lennon shot on December eighth. You remember 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:36.120 that Vince Neil car crash where he killed the guy 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:38.880 from Hanoi Rocks. Want to guess what day that happened on? 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:44.000 You got it, December eighth. Corey's problem only began with 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:47.200 his birthday, though he was born in Iowa, but his 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.680 mom dragged him and his sister across the country looking 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.760 for a man, a payday, or perhaps both. But by 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:55.800 the time he was ten, Corey had lived in twenty 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:59.760 five different states and the paydays were hard to come by, 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:02.320 but his mom always seemed to find a certain type 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:06.400 of man. Guys with thick mustaches and cheap turquoise rings, 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.160 the kind who wouldn't hesitate to backhand a nine year 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:13.320 old boy with a big mouth. Grown up bullies. Corey 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:16.360 hated bullies, the kind who shacked up with his mom 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:18.599 and put the scars on his face, The kind that 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:21.240 roamed the halls at school looking for victims to torment, 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:26.000 and the kind lured him in before taking advantage, like 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.440 the kid who lived next door. When Corey's mom dragged 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:31.560 him down to Florida, he was five years older and 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:34.520 he had a great record collection, so he started inviting 0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:38.840 Corey over to listen to music Public Enemy Slayer, Metallica. 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:43.320 The music blew Corey's mind. He started dreaming about being 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:46.360 a singer, and the listening sessions also gave him a 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:48.320 safe place to be away from the chaos at home, 0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:52.200 or so he thought. One day, while they were listening 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:55.360 to music, the older boy pounced on him. He pinned 0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:56.920 him to the ground and took advantage of a ten 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:59.320 year old Corey, and then he made Corey swear to 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:01.280 keep it a secret, or else he would kill Corey 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:05.760 and his family. So Corey kept quiet. But by the 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:08.160 time his family moved back to Iowa, the rage inside 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:10.880 of him was burning out of control. He fought with 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.800 his mom, he got in trouble at school, he stayed 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.800 out late, ran with a wild crowd, and took every 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:21.240 drug that he could get his hands on. But getting 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:23.960 tossed in a dumpster and left for dead was too 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:26.920 big of a wake up call. To ignore. Corey knew 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:30.360 that something had a change, so he left Waterloo to 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:32.800 move in with his grandma and des Moines, and she 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:36.000 gave him love and stability, and she supported his musical 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:38.480 ambitions even though Elvis Presley was the heaviest thing that 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:42.120 she had ever listened to. And in des Moines, Corey 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:46.280 Taylor found a thriving metal scene, more kids like him 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.040 fed up than looking for a place to vent their 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:51.880 feelings and where they could slam into each other and 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:55.080 bang their heads and find something sort of like a family. 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.440 Corey started a band called Stone Sour and began packing 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.880 club's lows, but he was on the lookout for something bigger, 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:07.120 something heavier, something that could incorporate his love for both 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:11.600 Slayer and Public Enemy, something that could take over the world. 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:14.840 That's why he was standing in the front row of 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:18.040 a tiny des Moines club called the Safari in April 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:21.400 of nineteen ninety six. He was there to check out 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:24.120 the debut performance from a band of heavy hitters on 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.880 the local metal scene. They included Paul Gray on bass, 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:33.600 Sean Cran on percussion, and Joey Jordison on drums, and 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:37.240 they were called Slipknot while two hundred people were stomping 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:40.280 their feet and waiting for the band to emerge from backstage. 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:43.600 Corey watched in awe as a group of masked men 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:46.640 emerged from the back of the room and ran through 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.040 the crowd like a marauding gang on their way to 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:53.680 the stage. Once they were there, the tall bass player, 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:56.640 who Corey figured was Paul Gray, even with the pig 0:16:56.680 --> 0:17:00.840 mask covering his face, hit a thunderous low note. The 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:04.720 drummer pounded out of Phil and then everyone, the band, 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:08.760 the crowd, and Corey in the front row, went off 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.680 Ninety minutes later. Corey was sure of him this band 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:16.720 could take over the world. They were only missing one 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:22.840 thing him. It took a year, but eventually Paul, Sean 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:26.480 Joey and guitarist Mick Thompson officially invited Corey to join 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:30.480 Slipknot as a lead singer, and Corey agreed. He picked 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:34.760 out a mask and adopted the number eight aka infinity 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:39.399 aka forever because that's how long you wanted his songs 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:42.440 to be remembered. It may have seemed like a big 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:45.320 brag at first, but soon it was becoming reality because 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:47.359 with Corey in the mix, suddenly the band had a 0:17:47.400 --> 0:17:50.639 totally new dimension. They had a singer who could growl, 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:53.040 who could scream, who could rap, and yes sing in 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:56.199 honest to God melody. When the time came and with 0:17:56.280 --> 0:18:00.000 Corey Taylor as lead singer, the band sound expanded dramatic. 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:04.960 They added a DJ, bringing their number to nine death metal, rap, 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:07.560 pump thrash that were throwing it all into the mix, 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:11.359 and all of it worked. Their self titled album became 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:15.000 the fastest selling debut in heavy metal history. Their pulverizing 0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:17.919 sets at oz Fest in nineteen ninety nine cemented their 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:20.159 status as one of the heaviest bands on the scene. 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:23.119 The pressure to go even further on their follow up 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:27.239 was huge, so Corey dug deep into painful memories from 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:30.760 growing up to harness lyrics for the second album. He 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:34.920 spilled out grotesque revenge fantasies against the bullies who tormented him, 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:38.520 dark stories of his homeless years as a teenager. He 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.520 also laid down withering critiques of the fame hungry coattail 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:44.480 riders and clueless record executives who were beginning to circle 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:48.520 the band. It all made for haunting material, but it 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:51.960 also took its toll. Corey began drinking more and more 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:54.400 as he dug deeper and deeper into the worst memories 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:57.359 of his life, and the alcohol made him feel numb. 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:01.320 In the recording studio, drank till he puked in order 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:03.679 to take away the pain, but then he would resort 0:19:03.720 --> 0:19:06.639 to cutting himself with shards of broken glass just to 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:08.680 feel something so he could make it through a song. 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:14.000 The recording process was as brutal as the record itself, 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:17.720 but it all seemed worth it When Iowa was released 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:20.639 in two thousand and one, the album went all the 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:23.800 way to number three on the Billboard charts. But after 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.960 several years of intense touring and recording, the band was 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:30.040 coming apart of the seams, and the darkness that they 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:33.240 harnessed in the recording studio was leaking out into the 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:37.080 real world because Corey Taylor's dream of having his music 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:41.560 remembered forever was about to come true in the worst 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:52.080 possible way. We'll be right back after this word. We're 0:19:52.480 --> 0:20:03.760 wre darkness stretched out like a blanket. It covered the 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:08.080 baseball fields, the playgrounds too, and also the palm and 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:12.520 pepper trees. In the late night hour. That darkness covered 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:17.520 every inch of Paris Hill Park in San Bernardino. It 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:20.719 was a warm May night, and the wind rustled through 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:24.040 the leaves of the trees, and everything else was silent, 0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:27.040 and from a walking path high up on the hill, 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:33.320 everything seemed still down below, everything except two barely visible 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:37.919 human outlines leaning against the tree. They were Jason Harris, 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:43.600 age twenty, and Amber Riley, age sixteen. From the path, 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:47.480 they wouldn't have looked too suspicious, maybe a young couple 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:50.879 of for clandestine late night mina, or just some friends 0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:53.560 sneaking a smoke and sharing a pair of headphones hooked 0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:57.159 up to a CD Walkman. And that was the problem 0:20:57.200 --> 0:21:01.240 for Jason. Were he and Amber friends or were they 0:21:01.400 --> 0:21:04.960 something more? Amber knew he was obsessed with her, but 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:08.399 she toyed with him, she acted like his girlfriend, and 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:11.480 then she would flirt with their friend Terry, and it 0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:16.399 drove Jason fucking mad. Besides, he and Amber had so 0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:21.280 much in common. They both loved horror movies, death metal, horror, 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:24.639 core rap. The more gruesome the better, and they couldn't 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:27.639 get enough of that shit. And Amber talked all the 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:30.920 time about wanting to see a dead body. Jason had 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:35.199 practiced on a few neighborhood pets. But tonight they're going 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:38.280 to go further because Jason had a plan that would 0:21:38.320 --> 0:21:42.240 bind him and Amber together forever. They were going to 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:47.200 find out what it was like to kill someone. As 0:21:47.240 --> 0:21:49.760 a lone figure emerged on the walking path far in 0:21:49.800 --> 0:21:54.440 the distance, Jason hit the back button on the CD player. Instantly, 0:21:54.720 --> 0:21:58.199 a squealing guitar riff kicked the song to life. He 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:01.520 and Amber locked eyes and they started chanting along with 0:22:01.600 --> 0:22:07.120 the singer, words about vengeance and brutal violence. Jason pulled 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:09.760 the knife out, and the blade glinted in the moonlight 0:22:09.800 --> 0:22:13.320 as he set it down behind his back. A moment later, 0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:17.000 their friend Terry emerged from the shadows. He nodded to Jason, 0:22:17.040 --> 0:22:18.919 but his face lit up with a smile when he 0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:22.680 saw Amber. Jason could tell Terry had a thing for Amber. 0:22:23.520 --> 0:22:27.320 Fucking Terry. Terry sat down next to Amber and began 0:22:27.359 --> 0:22:30.360 to chat without a care in the world. Jason laid 0:22:30.440 --> 0:22:34.400 back for a few moments, waiting. Then he started having 0:22:34.480 --> 0:22:38.919 second thoughts. Maybe they should call it off, but Amber 0:22:38.960 --> 0:22:42.280 locked eyes with him and he couldn't resist. He could 0:22:42.280 --> 0:22:45.840 hear the song playing on repeat in his mind. Then 0:22:45.880 --> 0:22:47.880 he picked up the knife and plunged it down into 0:22:47.880 --> 0:22:52.679 his friend Terry's chest, again and again. The next morning, 0:22:53.080 --> 0:22:55.560 police found the body of Terry Taylor with his throat 0:22:55.640 --> 0:22:58.240 slashed and more than twenty stab wounds in his body. 0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:01.520 Jason's mother called the police when he and Amber asked 0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:05.480 her for help getting bloodstains out of their clothes. When 0:23:05.480 --> 0:23:08.320 the police questioned them, the song the pair said they 0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:13.080 were listening to and repeat was Disaster Piece by slip Knot. 0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:19.840 It was two thousand and three and darkness was everywhere 0:23:20.160 --> 0:23:22.720 as the members of Slipknot were moving into Rick Rubin's 0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:26.560 house in studio to begin working on their third album. 0:23:27.000 --> 0:23:29.680 Corey Taylor may have written Disaster Piece as a fuck 0:23:29.720 --> 0:23:32.200 you to the bullies of his childhood, but in two 0:23:32.200 --> 0:23:34.000 thousand and three, no one wanted to hear it. In 0:23:34.040 --> 0:23:38.240 the media firestorm that followed, radio stations quit playing the 0:23:38.240 --> 0:23:42.080 band's music, high schools band kids from wearing their shirts. 0:23:42.760 --> 0:23:46.679 Paul Gray was concerned darkness was starting to engulf the 0:23:46.720 --> 0:23:50.680 band from the inside. The pressure from their success, the 0:23:50.680 --> 0:23:54.400 media frenzy from the murders, all combined with the physical 0:23:54.440 --> 0:23:57.840 toll of constant touring and recording, it was driving the 0:23:57.880 --> 0:24:02.960 band apart, anseled a European tourist, citing tensions within the band, 0:24:03.400 --> 0:24:07.040 and then they announced the hiatus. Corey Taylor and guitarist 0:24:07.119 --> 0:24:10.879 Jim Root reformed Stone Sour and had an immediate alternative 0:24:10.920 --> 0:24:15.000 rock hit. Joey Jorison started his own band, Murder Dolls. 0:24:15.640 --> 0:24:17.919 Sean Kran was busy with a new record label he 0:24:18.000 --> 0:24:22.000 was starting, but Paul Gray didn't take on any side projects. 0:24:23.000 --> 0:24:25.399 As one of the founders of slip Knott, Paul had 0:24:25.400 --> 0:24:28.200 been there since the beginning and ever since he put 0:24:28.240 --> 0:24:31.159 on the mask. Paul knew that slip Knott was his 0:24:31.280 --> 0:24:34.480 band for life, so he tried to hold the rest 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:36.840 of the band together, and as the rest of the 0:24:36.840 --> 0:24:41.040 band slid further apart, Paul slid further and further into Heroin. 0:24:42.119 --> 0:24:46.919 Because for a band with big appetites, Paul Gray aka 0:24:47.000 --> 0:24:51.120 Number two aka Pig had the biggest appetite of them all. 0:24:52.240 --> 0:24:56.120 He loved the Maggots. After shows and anywhere he would 0:24:56.119 --> 0:24:58.880 come across them, he would always find time to chat 0:24:58.920 --> 0:25:02.919 with fans, and he loved to write songs. In fact, 0:25:03.440 --> 0:25:05.720 he and Joey had recorded dozens of demos for the 0:25:05.760 --> 0:25:10.800 new Slipknot album, and he loved Heroin, especially when he 0:25:10.800 --> 0:25:13.760 had nothing to do, which is exactly what Paul had 0:25:13.800 --> 0:25:16.399 been doing at Rick Rubin's Laurel Canyon mansion for the 0:25:16.520 --> 0:25:21.120 last three months. Nothing. When he arrived in la Paul 0:25:21.240 --> 0:25:23.920 was eager to get to work, so he was disappointed 0:25:23.920 --> 0:25:27.359 when he pulled up to the mansion and everyone was gone. 0:25:27.840 --> 0:25:31.080 Corey split for the Rainbow on the Sunset Strip almost 0:25:31.080 --> 0:25:33.840 as soon as he dropped his bags, and Sean was 0:25:33.840 --> 0:25:37.119