He was the last man in. When guitarist Jim Root joined Slipknot in the first months of 1999, the band were in the final stages of recording the debut album that would define them as the dominant new force in metal. Root’s arrival came so late in the day that he played on just one track, .
The rest of the Slipknot album had been recorded with guitarists Mick Thomson and Josh Brainard prior the latter’s departure from the band. But with Root in the fold, adopting his predecessor’s number 4, the puzzle was complete. This version of the nine-man band turned out to be the definitive Slipknot line-up, featuring on three more albums – 2001’s , 2004’s and 2008’s – that established the ’Knot as a global superpower.
And while there have been various personnel changes since then, the two-guitar axis of Thomson and Root has remained at the core of the band’s skull-throbbing sound. Throughout all these years, Jim has kept on mixing it up guitar-wise – brandishing anything from Jackson Dinkys, Charvels and, of course, his signature , and Jazzmasters en route to creating a crushing tone. But now, as he prepares for a tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of that legendary debut album, he’s been digging out some of the discount he hasn’t played since way back in the day.
As he tells : “I’ve been playing around with some oddball guitars that I don’t normally play, like DKs and Charvels. I brought some old guitars out that are like 16 or 17 years old, and I’ve.