Slipknot (album) - Recording and Production

Recording and Production

In 1997, following the release of the band's first release Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., the members of Slipknot continued to write new material and work in SR Audio, a local studio, with new vocalist Corey Taylor. The band had started work on a follow-up but never got further than pre-production. Songs written and recorded in this period include "Slipknot", "Gently", "Do Nothing", "Tattered and Torn", "Heartache and a Pair of Scissors", "Me Inside", "Coleslaw", "Carve", "Windows" and "May 17th". In 1998 Slipknot was receiving growing attention from record labels including Epic and Hollywood Records.

On September 29, 1998, Slipknot left Des Moines, Iowa for Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu, California, anxious to record an album after a long wait to be signed. They released this demo to prospective labels and producers; the track "Spit It Out" was the main focus of the demo and, with help from their manager Sophia John, they were able to get a copy of the eponymous demo to Ross Robinson. The band wanted him to work with them on their debut album and after meeting with the band Robinson signed them to his own label, I Am, but later helped sign them to Roadrunner Records.

The album's recording process was "very aggressive and chaotic", as producer Ross Robinson strove to capture the intensity that the band created when performing live. Within three days all the drums were recorded, which contributed to the raw, live sound on the album that the band considers integral to its musical direction. By November 11, 1998, the recording of the album seemed complete and the band returned to Des Moines. During the Christmas period, guitarist Josh Brainard, who recorded on all the tracks to that point, decided to leave the band. The reasons for his departure are unclear, it was widely thought to have been because of family constraints however Brainard dispels these rumours, explaining that; "some decisions were made that I wasn't particularly happy with." His replacement was Jim Root, with whom the band returned to the studio in February 1999. Slipknot finished recording during this period, with two extra songs: a re-recording of "Me Inside", and a new track called "Purity". The mixing stages were very challenging, as drummer Joey Jordison and producer Robinson mastered the entire album with analog equipment, instead of the then more common method of using digital formats. "Wait and Bleed" and "Spit It Out" which had appeared on the demo prior to the album, were released on the debut, also; the demo songs "Interloper" and "Despise" are available on the digipak version of the same album. "Snap" was featured on the soundtrack for the film Freddy vs. Jason.