A lot of bands have come and gone in the two years we've been doing the Lycos 50. Bands appear, enjoy a couple of weeks of high web searches, and then fade out again.
There is one band that has never made the Lycos 50 but always hovers around our top 100 searches. That band has a new album on the way that could give them that final push onto our list and into the forefront of American pop culture. And then parents should be very, very afraid when they hear the name Slipknot.
Shock rock as always had a place on the American music scene, from Alice Cooper to GWAR to Marilyn Manson. Hey, who can forget the comic book printed in Kiss' own blood? Slipknot may be the scariest yet. They may be the most annoying yet. They may be both.
Just in case you thought nothing edgy ever came from middle America, Slipknot is a nine-member rap-metal hybrid coming straight out of Des Moines, Iowa. Their shows seem to revolve around harsh guitars, non-stop profanity, and disgusting bodily fluids. In the grand tradition of theatrical shock rock, the band members are numbered 0 through 8 but never give their real names. They all wear matching jumpsuits, and fright masks which they never take off while in character. In fact, one of the most popular Slipknot searches is Slipknot unmasked.
The band released their first album, Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. in 1996 and then moved to the Roadrunner label. Their self-titled 1999 album is the best-selling record in Roadrunner's history. Slipknot's new album, Iowa, comes out on August 21, although it has been delayed a few times and will probably be delayed a few more. Songs include "New Abortion," "Heretic Anthem," and "Kumbaya."
For those curious, Slipknot is the #11 musical artist on Lycos 50 this week, right behind Alicia Keys and on top of Metallica and Limp Bizkit. They were the #8 band of 2000 on the Lycos 50's year-end list.
To confuse things a bit, there's an improvisational jam band called Slipknot that's active in New England, but it is clear most of the slipknot searches are for the Iowa metalheads.
You can check out Slipknot's page on Lycos Music, with tons of free downloads, or a couple of Slipknot fan pages on Angelfire here and here.
When Iowa comes out, we're expecting Slipknot to enter the Lycos 50 and debut at #1 on the Billboard charts. When they do, remember you heard it here first.
P.S. We're just kidding about "Kumbaya," which is not actually on the record.
