SLIPKNOT Vinyl Records and CDs

Adopting stage costumes reminiscent of Clive Barker's Hellraiser might cause some to wonder what it is about Slipknot's music that cannot speak for itself. But for the mostly teenaged fan base of these twisted metallurgists, the masks are infinitely more entertaining than the Iowa farm boy personalities behind them. The nine, count 'em, nine members of this band crank out dense, claustrophobic walls of sound that turn the forces of Metal and hip-hop loose on one another in a brutal battle royal. Whereas the vast majority of Rap Metal acts aren't rap at all, at least Slipknot are down enough to get themselves a DJ. Perhaps beneath the carnival-esque madness of their costumes, there is method after all.