siLLy puPPy SLIPKNOT was of course one of the most successful bands to emerge from the nu metal craze that was extreme popular in the late 90s and early 2000s when artists emerged from nowhere and sold gazillions of albums virtually overnight. Despite SLIPKNOT scoring a double platinum with its first “official” self-titled release which came out in the summer of 1999, the band was formed as early as 1995 in the unlikely setting of Des Moines, Iowa by percussionist / vocalist Shawn Crahan, drummer Joey Jordison and bassist Paul Gray. Together they released an album of a completely different styles titled MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. which came out in 1996 and after the success of the following album with new singer Corey Taylor was demoted by the band as a “demo,” however in reality, MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. at 51 minutes in length and adequately produced IMHO truly is a bonafide album that is worthy of being considered the actual debut.

This album (or demo if you will) was the only one to feature the band’s original vocalist Anders Colsefini who was less attention getting than the overly aggressive style of Corey Taylor. Likewise SLIPKNOT at this point was following in the footsteps of Mr Bungle rather than the nu metal style of Korn (for the most part) which would propel them into the big leagues. While not exactly a clone of Mr Bungle in the stylistic department per se, at this point SLIPKNOT was very much into eclecticism where they mixed everything from death metal, industrial, funk and jazz as well as some 90s nu metal elements which makes this one of the most peculiar debuts of an extremely successful metal band ever to have emerged. MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. is actually quite the mind fuck really as it delivers a series of eight tracks that when considered in their entirety will give the impression that some of the tracks were slipped in by completely different tracks.

Unlike Mr Bungle that delivered an eclectic but somewhat consistent connecting tissue via the vocal style of Mike Patton, SLIPKNOT’s debut showcases not only an eclectic roster of music genres but stellar diverse performances by Colsefini however this little artifact remains somewhat of a mystery to casual nu metal worshippers and after the band’s ascent into the international spotlight, this bizarre alter ego of a debut became a hugely sought after afterthought that was fetching some pretty steep prices due to the fact that a mere 1000 copies were created. This album is by far the most experimental of SLIPKNOT’s entire career and in many ways is very hard to believe that this is the same band that would produce the 1999 release and beyond considering there is very little to connect this phase of the band’s existence to what would propel them into the nu metal superstardom arenas. Nevertheless, MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. is an interesting eclectic shit show of styles and for that reason many who loathe the nu metal style have come to appreciate this one.

Where does one even begin with this one? Well, with the opening track called “Slipknot” of course. This track insinuates that the album’s going to be a dark industrial metal album with a tortuous Godflesh inspired introductory groove that takes on the cyclical processions of a post-rock album with bleaker visions. The track forges ahead and then drifts into 80s heavy metal territory with melodic lead guitars soaring above the otherwise down-tuned alternative metal riffs below the surface. OK! Then after the five minute mark, the track morphs into a doomy death metal style that also adopts some of Pantera’s groove metal riffing. Not bad actually. This is some excellent melding of contemporary influences for sure and while all that is going on, the drumming style imitates the sparseness of both the nu metal and sludge metal acts of the 90s. “Gently” follows with a melodic arpeggiated guitar mix that sounds right out of the 80s “Ride The Lightning” era Metallica playbook although it becomes more like what the band would become and a sneak preview for the style the band would follow on their next album.

Starting with “Do Nothing / Bitchslap” the band goes bonkers with a funk metal intro that reminds me of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Mother’s Milk” album but then converts it to an industrial death metal sort of sound. The metal drops often and allows some weird funky jazz interludes to completely take over. Some of the crazy trade-offs are right out of the Mr Bungle playbook with funk metal from that band’s debut and the more crazy batshit weird efforts influenced by the “Disco Volante” album. Extremely bombastic outbursts jump out at the end and periodically throughout the album. “Only One” features rap and funk guitar mixed with extreme metal which also showcases the band’s future sound in the vein of Korn but here it’s cruder and presented in a seriously raw manner. “Tattered & Torn” is right out of the Korn playbook with those classic bass lines mixed with the DJ inspired guitar counterpoints only accompanied by those extremely aggressive vocal styles SLIPKNOT is famous for.

The rest of the album continues the bizarre mix that borrowed from all the aforementioned influences in unpredictable ways with a lot of attention paid to not only funk, rap and extreme metal but also includes some disco! I can understand why many do not like this album or this band in general. SLIPKNOT and other nu metal acts were a direct slap in the face to the established 80s metal scene but in reality that style had sort of stagnated and become a parody of itself in many ways so albums like MFKRl, while not perfect were quite interesting in how they were trying to reinvent the metal world by adding all of the styles on board. “Killers Are Quiet” is also quite bizarre as it sounds like a mix of Godflesh and Neubauten Einstürzende and consists of three parts including an (annoying) 4:45 of silence.)

SLIPKNOT may have been heavily inspired by Mr Bungle at this point but did a great job not trying to sound like them.Like most bands, SLIPKNOT was experimenting and trying to find its own voice and ultimately they would follow the Korn route on their self-titled 1999 release. Personally i like this one a lot even if it has some serious flaws. This is truly a bizarre album that will piss off genre purists but will thrill avant-gardists who thrive on uncertainty, constant change and completely unhinged shenanigans that offer few clues as to the next move. Sometimes fun trumps perfection and this is certainly the case of MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. MATE. FEED. KILL. REPEAT. mate. feed. kill. repeat. m…. f…. k…. r….. mtkr…blip. blip. blip. b-l-i-p….

Unitron Slipknot-Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.

'Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.' is the debut studio album by alternative metal band Slipknot. When someone says 'Slipknot', you most likely will think of their self-titled album or 'Iowa' which saw them gain major success. This album sounds very different from any of the following releases, being much more experimental and having a wide variety of musical styles mixed in. This wide range of styles sometimes makes this one strange album.

The song 'Slipknot' opens up the album with droning guitar and mechanical sounds, with bass strums and on/off avant-garde drumming eventually coming in. After that intro, the heavy crunching riffs enter. Once original vocalist Anders Colsefini's guttural vocals come in, it starts to really remind me of Sepultura. His death growls and aggressive screams combine perfectly with the crushing guitar and Joey Jordison's great drumming. Colsefini also plays percussion, adding in tribal drumming that really gives it a unique touch. A sweet guitar solo comes in, before Colsefini gives an amazing raw growl performance giving some of the most menacing death growls I've ever heard. The song transitions into the beautiful acoustic guitar opening of 'Gently'. After the acoustics transition into heavy guitar, Colsefini briefly shows his cleaner vocals which are very menacing mixing in with the haunting bass. Soon, thrash riffs come in with pounding double bass and growls.

The third song 'Do Nothing/Bitchslap' is where this album gets weird, starting out with some really funky bass and crushing riffs before having a strange brief lounge/jazz interlude. Yup, this song is a weird combination of death/thrash metal, funk, and lounge. After that pattern repeats, it turns completely funk with crazy bass grooves and Les Claypool-esque vocals. After that oddity, the thrash riffs come back in with some really powerful drum work. 'Confessions' is another odd song, being a fully-blown funk/disco song. However, Colsefini keeps his guttural vocal tone for the most part, sounding strange with the music. After the awesome meandering eleven-minute epic of 'Killers are Quiet', we hear the experimental droning industrial sound of hidden track 'Dogfish Rising'.

Unlike the rest of Slipknot's discography 'MFKR' features original vocalist Anders Colsefini instead of Corey Taylor. Colsefini had a much rawer vocal style, mostly singing in death growls but also having some clean vocals. His clean vocals are raw as well though, being very menacing as heard briefly in 'Gently'. His guttural vocals remind me a lot of Max Cavalera of Sepultura, mostly in the opening song though. After leaving, he would form the death metal band Painface. The lyrics on this release are also very different from the following albums, taking a lot of inspiration from an card game the members played called 'Rage'. 'Do Nothing/Bitchslap' has lyrics about the government taking away our freedoms.

Overall, it would be interesting to hear where Slipknot would have went if Colsefini stayed lead vocalist in the band. Perhaps they would have continued with this experimental death/thrash style. This is one amazing avant-garde death/thrash metal album and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something weird and unique.

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The Angry Scotsman Slipknot's forgotten, and disowned, debut album

I'm not too surprised, most fans of Slipknot would wonder what the hell was wrong with the band, and the band has since changed their opinion of M.F.K.R. from their debut to a "demo". It's a shame because I was extremely surprised when I first heard this album, in a good way!

Heavy, (often very) guitar and harsh vocals are still abundant, but many of the songs feature very unorthodox, often progressive song structures, with some incorporating jazz, funk, slap bass and even happy tropical sounding stuff with various vocal styles ranging from growls to rapping, clean and strained singing. What??

There are guitar solos and melodic songwriting. Slipknot fanboys usually flood every drummer youtube video with comments about how they suck and Joey Jordison is the man, much to my chagrin. While it's not mind blowing, I was a bit surprised by Joey's drumming on this album. Usually nothing but speed, with a random feel to it, the drumming here is a pretty decent output.

"Slipknot" is an extended with a long noisy intro that builds, until the bulk of the song kicks in with lots of slow heavy riffing and harsh vocals. It's not too bad and middle section features a solo and some nice melodies.

"Gently" has a very nice melodic intro, followed by peaks and valleys of chugging riffs and slow melodies. The song has an unusual structure and a powerful ending. Drums have a tribal sound and his vocals are pretty good all around.

"Do Nothing/Bitchslap" has a slap bass intro, ironic (or maybe not)followed by death metal guitaring, jazzy interludes, a very long funky disco section, good drumming and vocals, and some impressive bass playing.

"Only One" is more a "typical" Slipknot song and while largely heavy pounding metal it still has some varied styles. "Tattered & Torn" is a bassy, noisy song that gradually builds to a powerful, pummeling climax.

"Confessions" is largely devoid of any metal, mainly jazz influenced with warm, clean guitar tones and a rapping/grunge singing style that has great flow. Impressive playing by Jordison and especially Paul Gray on bass, with an impressive guitar solo thrown in and an awesome final minute and a half.

"Some Feel" throws us back to a heavy, alt/nu metal style. Not a bad song, when sprinkled in with an album like this. The album ends with "Killers are Quiet" a 20 minute song (including the hidden song "Dogfish Rising"). Still, an almost 11 minute song from Slipknot? Indeed, and it starts with very quiet and slowly builds and builds before easing back down and launching back into a metal dirge. Though not for too long and the song ends with a pretty lengthy quiet section, featuring pounding tribal drums and sparse bass notes, punctuated with occasional bursts of percussion. Holy sh*t was Slipknot taking a page from the book of Neurosis???

The final/hidden song (whatever you want to call it) "Dogfish Rising" is an industrial rock type song, very experimental, going on for 9 minutes with loud industrial noises, distant and distorted guitar with very unusual, often layered, vocals and surreal lyrics, more like ramblings.

So is this is the same Slipknot we now know? Yes, same band and except for a few differences it's largely the same members! Very unknown album and largely abandoned by the band, this is an intriguing and pretty good debut album. Shame they took the nu metal route instead of staying with this progressive influenced alt metal style, maybe they would've gone on to be the only other band to rival System of a Down as the popular metal band of the 2000's with talent and taste.

Three and a Half Stars