The men behind Slipknot merch and music don’t have the most polished reputations. Of course, there have been many other famous bands and artists that enjoy gray or even black reputations but this band seems to have had a penchant for controversial situations and decisions that continue to be strongly associated with their name to this very day.

It was in the mid 1990s that the band members first came together. Founding members Shawn Crahan and Paul Gray took the lead. At this time, the band members already exhibited signs of discord that was to mark the rest of their career together. This was perhaps because the group simply had too many members. A total of thirteen people have had slots in the band, with eight currently on the final list. Common sense dictates that the more people you let in, the nastier things can get.

The band’s music was also initially labeled to be too off the mark with samples so complex that they could not even play it on stage. No record label would take the group in so the band decided to self produce its compositions with an initial cost that was reportedly pegged at $40,000.

In 1998, Roadrunner Records decided that the group was good enough to take a risk on and by 1999 a self-titled album, and some promotional goth clothing, was finally out. By the next year, the work was already platinum which was a first for Roadrunner. This quick success was followed in 2001 by Iowa and although this second release was considered great work as well, the band members were already at odds with each other. Their first hiatus was then announced.

The group did not come out until 2004 with Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). In about another year however, the band already took a second break. The year 2006 saw them together again to receive a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. This ushered in a fourth album, All Hope is Gone which came out in 2008. After this, the members took yet again another hiatus. This long time apart was punctuated by the death of Gray in 2010 due to an overdose.

Critics say there seems to be no future for more Slipknot albums. This is more so because even before Gray died, the band was already at the center of many controversies. Perhaps the lightest of these issues focus on the band member’s stage identities and appearances. Each member has his own mask and jumpsuit and performs under a number alias. Members say this is just who they really are but music experts say otherwise, preferring to treat the stage personas as commercial stunts meant to generate more album sales.

More serious controversies have been thrown at the group. Perhaps the most serious of these are the crimes that band fans may have perpetrated under the influence of the group’s songs. In other words, some sources claim that the aggressive songs of Slipknot were so psychologically suggestive that criminal acts were performed because of them. Even so, no legal actions have been taken against the band.

The debate rages on but there is a chance that the influence of Slipknot music has been cut short. With members of the group already on individual pursuits, it’s hard to tell how truly influential the group’s work can become.

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