1.) Explain how you first felt about this band slipknot after visiting their rehearsal space and seeing their potential
The band floored me the first time that I heard them play in Anders’ basement. This was way before the masks and coveralls evolved. The band was solid and incredibly tight. The music had some melodic parts at that time. They played Slipknot, Gently, Do Nothing/Bitchslap, Killers Are Quiet, Vizqueen, and Fur for me. Anders himself was wearing a wolf fur loincloth – and nothing else.
I did not pretend to fully understand what the band was about, as we were just getting to know each other, but it was very plain to me that Slipknot (Meld or Pale Ones at that time) was extremely good at what they did, and had the requisite drive to take it all the way.
2.) As producer of the album “Mate Feed Kill Repeat” what was the recoding process like and were their any standout moments?
We cut basic tracks live – all 7 of them, including all 3 drummers, all playing together in the same room! The band advocates the use of extreme violence as a conflict resolution tool, and recording was no exception. The wall next to Clown’s percussion rig acquired a few holes from his fist and drum sticks. Then there were the anatomically correct chalk line body outlines in the parking lot. Also, Joey played drums naked on one track, which he nailed.
3.) Do you feel like yours and the bands ability shown in MFKR will go unoticed?and will you work with the band collectively in the near future?
MKFR was a good first album, but by no means did it demonstrate what the band was capable of. That really did not happen until “Spit It Out”. The rest is history. What is unfortunate, is that because Ross Robinson produced Slipknot’s RoadRunner debut, they think he did “Spit It Out”, which was my work. Ross is very good at what he does and I have nothing bad to say about the man. I’ve never met him. From what I have heard through the band, it is clear that Ross and I ascribe to two very different recordings aesthetics.
4.) Was it just a matter of time before slipknot made it big or was it necessary to bring in Corey?
Sophia John (the band’s former manager and program director at KKDM) and I shopped Slipknot to just over 100 record labels and artist management companies. Much of the negative feedback we received concerned the vocals. Corey changed all that. RoadRunner passed on Slipknot 3 times before they signed Slipknot – Corey was one variable in that equation.
5.) After seeing how the band has evolved over the years what can we expect from the future ?
Slipknot went to the West Coast last week to start recording the next album with Ross. I believe we will see an album that is even bigger than the last.
Thankyou Sean Mcmahon(MFKR Producer)