On this day in 1999, Slipknot unleashed their self-titled album on the world and undeniably changed the face of heavy music forever.
At the time, there was nothing quite like it. Sonically on record, aesthetically in presentation & viscerally on stage – the band were their own unique 9-headed beast.
With the stamp of approval from nu-metal production messiah Ross Robinson & the marketing machine of Roadrunner Records in full force, success seemed inevitable. The album was just too good to fail.
That said, the real rocket ship that launched ‘The 9’ into the orbit of the metal zeitgeist was Ozzfest in 1999.
This was THE place to be if you loved aggressive music. Tens of thousands of impressionable teens looking for the next big thing in heavy music were there with eyes wide and wallets open.
And Slipknot just leveled the place, show after show after show. Word of mouth spread like wildfire and in no time the band ascended the thrown.
Corey Taylor himself confirmed to Rolling Stone in a 2016 interview that this Ozzfest was indeed the career game changer that metal history lore has made it out to be, stating:
“You have to go back to 1999, our first major tour. Ozzfest gave us an incredible opportunity and we were able to really jumpstart our career from there … The great thing about being a part of that Ozzfest was that you were immediately a part of a family.” He went on to say: “When Ozzy hugged me for the first time, it was like being blessed. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
In celebration of this landmark album today, take a few minutes to watch their very first Ozzfest ’99 set, captured on May 27th, 1999 at the Coral Sky Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, Florida.
And if you’re curious to see how we rate the album within the context of the band’s full discography, you’re in luck.
We just went down the rabbit hole of ranking every Slipknot album form worst to best. Enjoy below.
And obviously, you should crank this one up to 11 today: