People in Slipknot’s homeland are ashamed of the band, says Corey Taylor

The origin of Slipknot It is relatively common among American rock and heavy metal bands that have achieved fame. The group was founded in Des Moines, capital of Iowa, a state in the Midwest of the country. Although it is the main city in its area, its proportions are modest: 214 thousand inhabitants, with 699 thousand if considering the metropolitan region, covering six counties.

Having a local band succeed globally should be a source of pride for the people of Des Moines, or even Iowa, right? Wrong — at least according to Corey Taylor.

In an interview with Zach SangShow (via Metal Hammer / website Igor Miranda), the lead singer of Slipknot claims that several people from Iowa feel “ashamed” that his group came from there. According to him, issues of social and political behavior would be related to the peculiar feeling.

“What we represent is still anathema to many people in Iowa today. Many people are still ashamed of the fact that Slipknot come from there. This is because of this newfound resurgence of conservatism. As much as Iowa – when I was there – was a purple state [em referência à mistura das cores dos Partidos Republicano e Democrata]today is very red [em referência à cor do Partido Republicano].”

There is also, according Taylor, a lot of resentment on the part of some local artists of his time. Virtually no other Iowa musician has achieved the same level of popularity as the masked band, which, as reported by Coreygenerates bitter reactions.

“There are guys from Des Moines that I’ve known for 30 years, and when I meet them, they look at me crossly. There are so many bitter idiots in that damn town. They just didn’t want to accept the fact that they didn’t want success as much as we did.”

Still according to the singer, it is not a question of merit. There were, according to him, “great bands” on the local scene. However, they did not “have the same strength” as the Slipknot.

Slipknot tried to help local bands

Finally, Corey Taylor ensured that the Slipknot tried to help Des Moines artists and even made an allusion to the seattle, another American city that became notorious for the emergence of grunge. It ended up not working — and it was the fault of the musicians who received the aid.

“Everyone we tried to help screwed up. They just didn’t want it as much as we did.”

The Iowa Album

The relationship of Slipknot with Iowa is so curious that the state gave its name to the band’s second studio album, released in 2001. It was from this work that songs such as “Left Behind”, “My Plague”, “The Heretic Anthem”, “Disasterpiece” and “People = Shit”, some of the group’s greatest classics.

In interviews, the members state that they named the album Iowa because the place was their “source of energy”. Not surprisingly, even with their success, they decided to remain in the state, as they did not want to be alienated from their inspirations. The album was recorded in Los Angeles, California, but the musicians continued to generally reside in Des Moines.

The first track of the work also makes reference to the state. “(515)”, introductory vignette, was named after the telephone area code for central Iowa.

One of the most successful albums in Slipknot, Iowa surpassed the mark of 1 million copies sold in the United States, reaching 3rd place on the national chart. It also entered the top 10 in more than five countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada (where it ranked first).