SLIPKNOT Percussionist: 'This Band Is Timeless'

SLIPKNOT percussionist Chris Fehn (a.k.a. "No. 3") recently told the Edmonton Sun that not a day goes by that he and his bandmates don't rue the day they donned disguises for their live performance.

"Yeah, it sucks," he said in a phone interview, though he was quick to add that it's also "cool." Performing as monsters — think pinhead meets "The Silence of the Lambs" — is actually very "liberating," Fehn said. The musicians can do things they might not normally do if they were, well, normal.

"Now it's such a part of us that we kind of forget it's on," he said. "We don't know it any other way."

Although some of SLIPKNOT's music is scarier and more violent than anything MARILYN MANSON ever came up with, it has never got even a fraction of the flack. Why? Didn't take on the Christians, that's why.

Fehn explained, "We never pitched that whole religious angle. That's not what we're into. We're more into real emotions and the realness of everyday life. We're not a political or religious band. Who knows what all that crap's about anyway? Everything's so crooked now, it's like, whatever. We leave that to other bands. Not that we don't have a personal interest in it, but as far as our music goes, it's not something we play into."

Overall, SLIPKNOT's new material suggests this band isn't just a one-trick nu-metal monster. Fehn said he expects everyone in his band to be playing music well into his 60s.

"This band is timeless," he said. "There are no heroes in the world right now, unless you got to see METALLICA or something like that, and I think we fit that role. We're something kids can grab hold of and still enjoy when they're in their 40s. I've liked METALLICA since I was 11 years old. Twenty years later, I'm touring with them and I'm still watching every show. I just love it. I think we're that next band."

Even with masks?

"This band is just non-stop. We've got so much talent and so many variables in this band that it could last forever."