Times Slipknot Went Too Far

The heavy metal musicians that are Slipknot thrive on scandal and seeing how far they can push the limit before it shoves right back. In doing so, they get away with a lot. In fact, considering the biggest controversies surrounding Slipknot, it's incredible that it continues to headline the largest festivals and shows in the world.

That being said, there are moments when Slipknot has gone overboard that the band members may regret in retrospect and wonder, "What in the holy heck were we thinking then?!" Whether it be through outrageous stage injuries where they pushed their bodies beyond breaking point, or even the time they set their stage manager on fire in an effort to get him to wake up, Slipknot indulges in overindulgence. So, let's head back to the archives to find out the times Slipknot went too far and got buck wild. One thing's for certain, though: There's no such thing as a boring Slipknot story here.

Not only do music venues bring out the people who haven't bathed in three weeks, but they can also turn into hot saunas without the proper ventilation. All that body heat in one place turns up the temperature to a scorching level. For Slipknot, it's even worse, because it plays fast and frenetic music in masks and overalls.

One evening in Dallas, Texas in 2012, the combination of an electric performance and a high temperature resulted in a scary situation, as Slipknot's lead singer Corey Taylor collapsed from heat exhaustion. Speaking to Fuse TV, Taylor said, "I basically blacked out for the last two songs, but I finished the show. I have no memory of the last two songs. I woke up backstage with an oxygen mask on and Chris Fehn taking my shoes off — which is very weird — and my wife making sure I was okay."

Taylor recalled that the venue felt extremely warm that night. For him, he deduced that the temperature — coupled with the fact that the band's show features propane that sucks up all the oxygen around it — was the reason for him passing out on stage.

Whenever someone goes to a Slipknot concert, they mustn't only keep their eyes on the stage but also look to the rafters. Why? Because it isn't outside of the realm of possibility that one of the band members will launch themselves into the crowd. DJ Sid Wilson, in particular, has developed a reputation for being the most likely to stage dive among the nine. During a 2008 show, though, he overdid it and paid the price for his antics.

A few songs into Slipknot's performance, Wilson climbed up high onto a platform and flung himself into the crowd. The landing didn't go as planned, with the DJ breaking both his heels upon impact. To his credit, Wilson found his way back to the stage and completed the set.

Discussing the event with Roadrunner Records, Wilson blamed himself for not taking the proper precautions, such as wearing leg braces and athletic wraps around the ankles. "I had my weight behind me — and not on my toes — and landed on my heels and broke both of them at the same time," he said. To complete the set, the stage crew slid a chair behind his riser so he could sit down in between songs. For the remainder of the tour, his DJ rig was lowered and he performed from the comfort of a wheelchair. Unquestionably, Wilson is one of the musicians who permanently damaged their bodies performing live.

In August 2024, Slipknot's Sid Wilson was hospitalized after a terrifying explosion. As it turns out, the band loves to play with fire on — and off — stage, as evidenced by this unfortunate event. Wilson took to Instagram from a medical facility to inform fans of the incident, whereby he attempted to stoke a bonfire at home and it went horribly wrong. "I had an explosion in my face," he said. "I'm okay, I'm gonna be okay, but I did have some serious burns to my face and my arms."

Wilson received treatment for his burns before he was moved to a different facility for further care. However, the musician seemed to be in good spirits, making jokes about how he was about to lose his long hair and that his lip swelling was cheaper than Botox. Ultimately, though, he let everyone know that he was fine.

The injuries didn't keep Wilson off the road for too long. Taking to social media, Slipknot revealed that its DJ was recuperating at home and would join it for Rocklahoma the following weekend.

In the early days, Corey Taylor and his Iowan posse developed a reputation for being rockers who partied way too hard. While there are a number of infamous stories about the times Slipknot went too far, there's one European tour that even Taylor described as nothing short of "madness."

Answering fan questions for The Guardian, Taylor recalled an incident from 2001 that featured fellow metal band American Head Charge. As the singer explained, the groups were on a ferry ride when the partying got out of hand. For some reason, American Head Charge's guitarist decided to peel off all his clothes and head to the top of the ferry, where he tried to attract the attention of other ferries passing by. Expectedly, this drew the ire of the ship's crew, who attempted to get him to come down and put on his clothes again.

Not about to be outdone by their peers, Slipknot also turned up the antics a notch. "That was also the ferry ride where we set our stage manager on fire in the bar," Taylor said. "He passed out so we just set his legs on fire. He wouldn't wake up so we put [it] out, but the damage was done."

Watching a Slipknot show, it's pure chaos. The bandmates chase each other around on stage and often let their performances tiptoe between wild and dangerous. In the case of percussionist Michael Pfaff, more commonly known to fans as "Tortilla Man," he might not be one of the founding members, but he learned how to fit right in with everyone else's shenanigans.

In an interview with German publication Rock Antenne (via Metal Hammer), Corey Taylor praised the intensity and energy that Pfaff brought to the stage as Slipknot toured the 2019 album, "We Are Not Your Kind." Taylor recounted a story about how Pfaff almost broke Jay Weinberg's drum kit by doing the most Slipknot thing ever. He said, "[Pfaff's] got a giant scar right in the middle of his forehead now because he smashed his head into the drums and cut it open."

Taylor added how Pfaff's head bled profusely afterward to the point where he had to get his mask removed, so that the medical team could treat the wound and stop the blood from pouring out. "It looks like a coin slot: 'Somebody put a quarter in the new guy, we've got to start the show!'" Taylor joked.

In 2016, news broke that Slipknot's Corey Taylor underwent emergency spinal surgery. Naturally, fans wondered if something had happened to the front man to force him to take such unexpected and drastic action. As it turns out, he had been walking around with what was effectively a broken neck for years, but after he felt a side of his body weaken, he knew something was very wrong and needed swift attention.

Speaking to BBC Radio 6 Music (via Blabbermouth), Taylor explained how he believes the injury to have originated during an Ozzfest performance with Slipknot. "The only thing that I can figure out where it came from [is] I fell offstage in '99 and landed on my head — fell five feet [and] landed on top of my head," he said. "And they think what happened is it compacted my C5 and [C6]. And because I was 25 and indestructible, I was just, like, 'Whoo! Okay, I can move everything. I can still sing. Here we go!' and just continued on."

Taylor added how the injury only worsened over the years because of how intense it is performing with Slipknot on stage. He claimed it was "to the point where the bone was growing into [his] spine," so a surgery was required to sort out the issue.

Slipknot's eponymous 1999 album burned up the charts, and nearly burned down a studio, too. In the late '90s, the band recorded its Roadrunner Records debut at the Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California, with renowned heavy metal producer Ross Robinson. The process of making the album was intense, especially considering Robinson's propensity to push his artists to creative and physical limits.

As former drummer Joey Jordison told Revolver, he worked alongside Robinson in mixing the album and decided to sleep over at the studio one evening. Then disaster struck. "I knocked one of the pillows off that I was sleeping on and it fell onto the space heater," Jordison said. "Next thing I know, I'm smelling something and I jumped up. I almost burned Indigo Ranch completely down. The whole thing was filled with smoke and flames."

Fortunately, Jordison and Robinson had fire extinguishers at hand, so they were able to stop the fire from spreading or getting out of control. However, as Jordison revealed, even with all the windows open, it took about a week to get the burning stench out of the building.

When it comes to the fiercest feuds in heavy metal, there's no love lost between Slipknot and Mushroomhead. There's been beef for the longest time between the bands, with even Mushroomhead's ex-singer Jeffrey Hatrix alluding that Slipknot stole the masked gimmick from his former group. Yet, mudslinging through the media is nothing new, and a lot of artists love to talk trash to drum up drama to drive more interest in what they're doing.

However, there was a time when the heat between Mushroomhead and Slipknot turned physical at a concert. When Slipknot traveled to Cleveland, Ohio — Mushroomhead's hometown — for a gig, it was fully aware that there could be trouble awaiting it, as ex-bassist Paul Gray told Revolver. "There were about 20 kids in the crowd that were Mushroomhead fans that were whipping batteries at us," Gray said. "Me and Jim [Root] jumped offstage and took our masks off and started swinging at people at the end of one song."

After the brief altercation, Slipknot returned to the stage and finished its set. However, it wasn't about to live and let live in this scenario, so the band members went looking for the culprits again and got into a major brawl. According to Gray, the police Maced and arrested a member of Slipknot because of the skirmish.

Sibling rivalries often result in minor squabbles, but in March 2015, it went to a whole new level in the case of Slipknot's Mick Thomson and his younger brother Andrew. According to the police report shared with Des Moines Register, the Thomson brothers were suspected to have been intoxicated before an argument broke out in Mick's home in the early hours of the morning. The dispute escalated and took a violent turn after the brothers left the house and started fighting outside, both wielding knives.

Concerned neighbors called the authorities, who arrived and arrested both brothers; however, they were first taken to a medical facility to receive treatment for their minor injuries. Reportedly, Mick was stabbed in the back of his head during his tussle with Andrew. Both brothers faced "disorderly conduct by fighting" charges, but they decided to not file any charges against each other in the end.

There's no disputing that the mask gimmick makes Slipknot easily recognizable. However, what no one gives too much thought to is what it must be like wearing those things on stage for an hour or even longer. Forget about the fact it gets sweaty and restricts oxygen flow for a second and think about this: What if something happens and they need to take it off quickly? Well, Slipknot appears to have given serious thought to this, too, since their newer masks are far more practical and easier to get on and off.

In the early days, though, they had to make do with what they had and endure. In fact, Corey Taylor revealed to Revolver some stomach-churning details about what he did while wearing his mask. "There were a lot of times when it was so hot and I'd been raging so hard that I'd throw up in my mask and have to eat the puke because there was nowhere to spit it," he said.

Now, if that isn't enough to make someone barf, Taylor elaborated further about another problem he encountered. "I broke my mouth so many times coming up too hard on the mic. I went from having to swallow blood to puking and having to swallow that."

Undoubtedly, one of the weirdest things that Slipknot has ever done is to carry around a dead bird in a jar and bring it along to the shows. At first, it sounded like an unbelievable internet urban legend that was made up by mischievous fans on forums — like the one about Marilyn Manson having a rib removed so he could perform a certain act of self-gratification on himself — but the band claimed it's 100% true.

In a discussion with Spin, Sid Wilson explained how it was Shawn "Clown" Crahan who decided to lug around this dead bird in a jar. The reasoning behind it was that the group would open the jar to get a sniff of death, and this would put them in the right frame of mind to perform. However, when they got a whiff of this poor dead bird, they would often throw up.

That isn't even the worst of it. Wilson explained how a group of fans asked them to put the jar down on stage, so that they, too, could smell the dead bird. When Slipknot did so, the fans started to eat the bird's carcass.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Slipknot possesses a passionate and rabid fanbase. Dubbed the Maggots, these supporters hang onto every bit of news about the band and never pass up the opportunity to meet their idols. For Shawn Crahan, there was one encounter with a fan that even he was taken aback by.

Speaking to Spin, Crahan didn't disclose where and when the incident happened — in an attempt to keep the fan's identity secret — but disclosed how he received the most disturbing gift imaginable. "She gave me a human femur bone that she had written 'People = S***' on it," Crahan said. "It wasn't a normal clean, bleached bone. It was brown and dirty and she had clearly gotten it from a grave."

Crahan explained how he sat with the girl to find out more about her and why she had chosen to give him this gift. According to him, it was because she was into the music and the "thought process" behind it, so this is how she decided to show her appreciation.

Want to find out more about the heavy metal band? Check out what the members of Slipknot look like without their masks.