Slipknot: Slipknot (2LP, 25th anniversary, expanded) [ROADRUNNER]

Why you'll love it

This expanded 25th anniversary 2LP set from Roadrunner gives the debut extra room across four sides. Slipknot is triple platinum in the US, the band's best-selling album, and Metal Hammer readers voted it the best debut of the previous 25 years.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 25th anniversary edition
• Expanded edition
• 140g vinyl

About the album

Nine masked men from Des Moines, Iowa, two percussionists and a DJ: on paper it reads like a dare. In the autumn of 1998 Slipknot drove to Indigo Ranch in Malibu with producer Ross Robinson, who had signed them to his own label before steering them to Roadrunner, and set about bottling the chaos of their live show. All the drums were down within three days.

Robinson wanted it aggressive and raw, and he got it. "(sic)" kicks the door in, "Eyeless" and "Surfacing" are pure percussive mayhem, "Spit It Out" was the demo track that got them noticed in the first place, and "Wait and Bleed" proved Corey Taylor could write a hook as sharp as his scream. It's the one album with original guitarist Josh Brainard; Jim Root appears on a single track before taking over full time on Iowa. The band had just been to see Mike Patton's Fantômas, and you can hear the avant-garde influence in the stops, starts and sheer density.

Revolver readers later voted it the second-greatest nu metal album of all time, and Loudwire placed it seventh in 2025. The anniversary edition came out on September 5, 2025, which, in fairness, is the most politely scheduled thing this band has ever done.

Also at Kops: more Slipknot on vinyl · browse Metal

Listen

On Roadrunner, a reissue of the 1999 album.