Slipknot

Slipknot formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1995, and they have never made it easy to look directly at them. Nine members, all masked, all numbered, zero to eight. Two drummers’ worth of low end plus a custom percussion rig means the band can hit you from several angles at once, and for most of their catalog that is exactly what they do. The records are built to overwhelm: aggressive, heavy, loud in a way that feels physical rather than musical.

Corey Taylor is the voice, number eight, the man who screams. Joey Jordison sits behind the main kit as number one. Paul Gray, number two, anchored the low end. Shawn Crahan, the Clown, number six, runs the percussion that gives the band its clattering, metal-on-metal signature. The masks were never a gimmick to them; they were the whole point, a way to make the music the thing you watched instead of the men.

By 2008 they had spent over a decade proving they could flatten a room. What is interesting about Slipknot is not that they are loud. It is the rare moments when they decide not to be, and what happens when nine masked men let the noise drop and let you hear them think.