Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.

Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.
Demo album by Slipknot
Released	October 31, 1996 (1996-10-31)
Recorded	1995 (1995)–1996 (1996) at SR Audio, Des Moines, Iowa
Genre	Alternative metal, funk metal, groove metal
Length	51:06
Label	-ismist
Producer	Slipknot, Sean McMahon
Slipknot chronology
Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996) Slipknot (1999)

Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. is the first album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released originally on October 31, 1996, it was limited to production of 1,000 copies. The band originally self-distributed some of these copies, but went on to release the remaining units through -ismist Recordings in 1997. Due to its limited release, the album has become much sought by fans since Slipknot's rise in fame.

Despite considering it their first album upon released, the band now considers Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. to be a demo and have evolved and released the majority of the songs on future releases, albeit usually in radically altered forms. It was recorded in Des Moines, Iowa, over a period of seven months. The music of the album contains many influences including funk, jazz, and disco which weren't as apparent in later material. Many of the lyrics and the album's title are derived from the role playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse. The songs contain an "emphasis on non-traditional songwriting" and melodic themes more than subsequent releases.^[1] Some songs, such as "Gently" and "Killers Are Quiet" were re-recorded for the album Iowa, with Killers Are Quiet being renamed as the title track and containing different lyrics. "Only One" and "Slipknot" were also re-recorded for their self-titled debut album, with "Slipknot" renamed as "(sic)".

Recording and production

In late 1995 Slipknot and producer Sean McMahon entered SR Audio, a studio in the band's home town of Des Moines, Iowa to work on what they intended to be their debut album.^[2] Retrospectively McMahon said that the band was "driven" because they spent the majority of their time in the studio for the seven months it took to produce the album.^[2] Slipknot self-financed the production, which came to an estimated $40,000.^[2] The band expressed how much of a learning process this time was with it being the first time they had recorded their music, specifically the additional percussion elements were challenging to capture.^[3] The band were aiming for a tribal sound but encountered problems including minuscule timing errors and during this period they refined their percussive sound, they experimented with erecting walls to isolate the drums and re-arranging parts.^[3] In February 1996 during the mixing process, guitarist Donnie Steele decided to leave the band for religious reasons, as a result Craig Jones joined the band to fill the spot.^[4] However the band realized that they were incorporating too many samples on their recordings and could not produce these sounds live. In order to solve this problem Jones moved to full time sampler and Mick Thomson joined as a guitarist.^[5] Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. was released on October 31, 1996 with a release party at The Safari, a local club where the band played a lot of their earliest gigs.^[6]

Musical and lyrical themes

The musical style of Slipknot is constantly contested due to the genres their music covers, however Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. is the band's most experimental release and is significantly different from the heavy style the band became known for.^[7] One of the band's initial aims was to mix many genres of music to achieve their own style; an early incarnation of the band was called "Meld" based upon this.^[7] However there are still familiarities in the sound of which Slipknot became known for. Tracks such as "Slipknot", "Some Feel" and "Only One" feature a dominantly heavy metal influence, specifically in that of the guitars.^[8] Tracks such as "Tattered & Torn", "Killers Are Quiet" and "Gently" also include the slow, cerebral angst build up style that the band also retained in some of their more recent work.^[8] The album implements elements of jazz and funk, although "Confessions" is the only track on the album dominantly led by these styles.^[8] "Do Nothing/Bitch Slap" is the album's most complex song, combining both of these dominant styles as well as implementing areas of disco.^[8] The album title and the majority of the lyrics are references to the role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse.^[9] Vocalist Anders Colsefini and percussionist Shawn Crahan shared a mutual interest in the game which was a large influence on the band, Colsefini said: "The attraction was being able to play a different person", declaring that this was the essence of Slipknot.^[9]

Legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]

The original pressing of the album was limited to 1,000 copies and since the band's rise to fame in 1999 it has been a sought after rarity for Slipknot fans.^[11] Upon its initial release the band distributed the album independently, handing them out to fans, radio stations, and record labels.^[11] On June 13, 1997, -ismist Recordings took over the distribution of the remaining copies of the album.^[11] These original pressings have since grown in value. One MFKR CD was sold for $990.50. This is the highest a copy has been seen to sell for at this point in time, which can be attributed to the fact that it was sealed and signed by Anders Colsefni and Shawn M. Crahan. Due to the large amount of interest in the album and the low numbers of originals there have been many bootlegged versions of the album sold including CD, MP3 and even vinyl.^[12] Reportedly, as of 2003, no member of the band owns a copy of Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.^[13]

There is often deliberation whether Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. is a demo or actually the band's debut album. The band currently strictly consider it to be a demo due to the drastic change in sound and major changes in the line-up before the band's self-titled debut. The band would also rework the majority of the songs on later albums. An example of this is evidenced by the band's third studio album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), which by title implies that it is their third album despite actually being the fourth record released by the band. However, at the time of the album's release the band intended Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. to be their debut album.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Slipknot. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Slipknot"	6:55
2.	"Gently"	5:16
3.	"Do Nothing/Bitchslap"	4:19
4.	"Only One"	2:33
5.	"Tattered & Torn"	2:35
6.	"Confessions"	5:05
7.	"Some Feel"	3:36
8.	"Killers Are Quiet" (contains hidden track "Dogfish Rising")	20:42
Total length:		51:06

Personnel

Slipknot Anders Colsefni – vocals, custom percussion Donnie Steele – guitars Josh Brainard – guitars, backing vocals Paul Gray – bass, backing vocals Joey Jordison – drums Shawn Crahan – custom percussion, backing vocals Mick Thomson – guitars (credited but did not actually perform on the album) Craig Jones – samples (credited but did not actually perform on the album)

Production personnel Sean McMahon – production, engineering, mixing, mastering Mike Lawyer – mastering Stefan Seskis – photography

References

1. ^ Jason Birchmeier. "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/album/mate-feed-kill-repeat-r524656. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Arnopp 2001, pp. 45–47
3. ^ ^{a b} Arnopp 2001, pp. 48–49
4. ^ Arnopp 2001, pp. 50–51
5. ^ Arnopp 2001, p. 57
6. ^ Arnopp 2001, p. 62
7. ^ ^{a b} Mciver 2003, pp. 16–17
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Mciver 2003, pp. 23–25
9. ^ ^{a b} Mciver 2003, pp. 15–16
10. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r524656/review. Retrieved 2011-05-08. 
11. ^ ^{a b c} Crampton, Mark (2001). Barcode Killers: The Slipknot Story in Words and Pictures. Chrome Dreams. pp. 20–26. ISBN 1842401262 
12. ^ "MFKR Real or Fake?". MFKR.com. http://www.matefeedkillrepeat.com/main/realorfake/realorfake.html. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
13. ^ Buckley, Peter; Jonathan Buckley (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock: the definitive guide to more than 1200 artists and bands. Rough Guides. pp. 954. ISBN 1843531054. http://books.google.com/?id=haEfq-nKqjgC&pg=RA1-PA3-IA261&dq=Joey+Jordison. 

Collector's Information

• http://www.matefeedkillrepeat.com/main/main.html - website detailing differences between fake and geniune copies of the album, owner's list, and known sale prices for the genuine CD

Literature

• Arnopp, Jason (2001). Slipknot: Inside the Sickness, Behind the Masks. Ebury. ISBN 0091879337 
• McIver, Joel (2003). Slipknot: Unmasked (again). Omnibus. ISBN 0711997640