Original SLIPKNOT Vocalist ANDERS COLSEFNI Releases New Version Of 'Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.'

Original SLIPKNOT singer Anders Colsefni has recorded an updated version of "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.", the album that set band on its trajectory from underground clubs in Iowa to the biggest stages on the planet.

In a statement released to BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Anders says: "This record is dedicated to [late SLIPKNOT members] Joey [Jordison] and Paul [Gray], my eternal brothers. This project completes their legacy for the original Crowz. This important part of their heritage can now be heard by the Maggot generation of the 'KNOT family. I miss them both deeply every day and I hope that this tribute to them honors their memory and our ever-lasting friendship. Long live the 'KNOT."

On Halloween 1996, 600 copies of "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." were released into the wild. The record has been a thing of myth for 25 years, with countless bootlegs surfacing but the album never officially appearing on streaming platforms.

Before there were Maggots, there were Crowz and the Crowz have been waiting patiently for half their lives for this record to be re-released and now that moment has arrived. This record is the holy grail for the original SLIPKNOT fans.

In October 2023, Colsefni partnered with New Zealand band KAOSIS to hit the road in Australia and New Zealand in a breakneck two-week tour dubbed "Numetal Mayhem". KAOSIS doubled as lead support and Anders's backing band, playing the "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." album in full. This record had not been played live since 1996. It was on this tour that it was decided that the world needed to hear this record on streaming platforms. The re-recording of "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." began immediately after the tour finished.

KAOSIS recorded, produced, and mixed the project in Aotearoa (New Zealand). Anders completed the vocals in Iowa with his son Junior. The recording remains faithful to the original but includes some new arrangements.

Colsefni left SLIPKNOT after the release of "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." to focus on his band PAINFACE. PAINFACE is reissuing its back catalog and releasing a new EP this year.

KAOSIS and Anders will tour Europe this summer.

Due on all the streaming platforms on Friday, March 15, "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." is distributed by Blood Blast Records and Rail Records.

In a 2023 podcast interview with KAOSIS frontman Xen, Colsefni was asked if he would be open to recording a new song with his former band if he was approached about it. He responded: "Yeah, absolutely. If they contacted me and wanted me to do something, yeah, why not?"

Asked to name his favorite SLIPKNOT song since he exited the group, Anders said: "To be honest with you, I'm gonna say 'Wait And Bleed', the very first one that hit right after I left. And it's the one that I would have thought that I would have hated the most, just because of my circumstances. But that song, when I heard it, I'm, like, 'That's it. I couldn't have done that like that. So kudos to you, guys.' So 'Wait And Bleed'."

A short time after the "Numetal Mayhem" tour announcement, SLIPKNOT's longtime singer Corey Taylor took to his Twitter to share a Kerrang! article about the trek, and he wrote in an accompanying message: "Really wish I could be there to see these shows, but I know @anderscolsefni is going to crush them."

Colsefni later released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in which he vowed to perform the "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." material with the "same level of aggression and volatility" as he did when the songs were first written while acknowledging that he has grown as a singer and performer since his early days with SLIPKNOT.

Anders said: "As many of you are aware, I am not big on social media or talking in the press but with the growing amount of interest in my forthcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand, I feel it is time to issue a statement.

"My performances as part of this tour are dedicated to my fallen brothers, [late SLIPKNOT members] Joey [Jordison, drums] and Paul [Gray, bass]. I miss you both dearly. I will be drawing on you both to deliver these songs to our fans with the same level of aggression and volatility that we did together 27 years ago.

"I'd like to acknowledge the vast outpouring of support from my fans all over the world. It has been extremely touching to know how much faith you have had in me for all these years. I will do you all proud.

"I will endeavor to keep the set as authentic to the emotions and sentiments of which they are written but I will deliver them as I am now, not the kid I once was. Since these songs were written almost three decades ago, I have had many great opportunities in various bands to hone my vocal abilities, and stagecraft and to grow as a person.

"In response to Corey's well wishes I'd like to say 'Thank you'. It may come as a surprise to many maggots, but it is actually Corey who I have maintained an ongoing friendship since my departure from the band. There has only ever been a kinship between us. I consider Corey a true brother and he has always had my back, and I his.

"Thank you all again for your adoration and support and I look forward to delivering Australasia 'Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.' for the first time ever. Long live the KNOT."

Colsefni, Gray, Jordison and Shawn "Clown" Crahan first performed under the name SLIPKNOT in April 1996 at the Safari Club in Des Moines. Not long after, Mick Thomson and Craig Jones joined the band and the trajectory of modern metal was changed forever.

SLIPKNOT erupted on the local metal scene and by October 1996 they delivered "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.". This LP became the foundation of what is now SLIPKNOT's twenty-eight-year legacy.

Back in 2019, Colsefni said that he had no interest in rejoining SLIPKNOT.

The prospect of Anders returning to SLIPKNOT was broached by Taylor after a fan suggested on Twitter that SLIPKNOT bring back Anders as the replacement for the then-recently departed percussionist Chris Fehn. Corey replied: "Fuck I would LOVE that."

On March 23, 2019, Colsefni shot down the possibility of a renewed collaboration with his former bandmates, writing on his Facebook page: "I'm going to take away the uncomfortable conversations that SLIPKNOT might have regarding myself and reported band vacancy by saying: I will NOT be rejoining SLIPKNOT.

"It is certainly not for any animosity I have. I simply don't know those guys anymore. I generally give those I don't know the benefit of the doubt.

"I've spent the last 27 years (through each and every band) working concrete construction to support my family but still allow time for my 'real job.'

"After many years of failed bands, failed marriages, and plenty of others, I've settled into an occupation that I can retire from. I'm gonna need the bennies — my body is going to shit!

"As much as I had dreamed of rejoining my creation (shut up — I know it's a different band now!),it is not enough of a dream anymore to risk being homeless when the tour is over!"

Colsefni, one of the founding members of SLIPKNOT alongside percussionist Shawn "The Clown" Crahan, contributed lead vocals to "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.". A short time after leaving the band the following year, Anders went on to form PAINFACE, which later evolved into ON A PALE HORSE.

In a 2011 interview with Dose Of Metal, Colsefni was asked about the reasons for his departure from SLIPKNOT. He explained: "Corey was a much better singer than I, so they brought Corey in to 50/50 the vocals with me (with him being the actual frontman) while I also continued with the drums and percussion. Corey would do the clean singing and I was to add the screaming and yelling. I tried for two months, but after the shock of all this, I couldn't 'feel it' anymore. I just felt like an idiot flopping around onstage with a ridiculous outfit, acting like a caveman. Depression. So, I shaved my eyebrows off before my last show, and announced I was done after we played 'Heartache And A Pair of Scissors' for the closing tune."

Asked what he thinks about his former bandmates labeling "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." just a demo, he said "If the band did not get a record deal, 'Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.' would have been their first official release. Since they had progressed musically since 'Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.' (or steadied the craziness a bit) and got a nice contract advance, they chose the right thing and started fresh. Every album I've ever been on has technically been a 'demo,' so it doesn't bother me a bit. Even the full-length ones. 'Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.' has become somewhat legendary, even with its flaws, so it was one hell of a demo."

Jordinson died "peacefully in his sleep" in July 2021 of an unspecified cause. He was 46 years old.

SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.

Gray was found dead in May 2010 after overdosing on drugs in a hotel room in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, where he and SLIPKNOT were based.