10 Rock Bands That Almost Killed Each Other In The Studio
Metallica and The Beatles' greatest hits nearly never happened after these fights turned ugly.
Making an album should always feel like a labor of love for the musicians involved. Though it can be a bit difficult capturing the final take of your songs, it should never diminish the idea of creating the best piece of musical art that you can. At the same time, getting the results doesn't always mean you're on the best of terms by the end.
Across every style of rock music, people have gone into the studio and left very different people. Whether it was the gruelling task of getting it down on tape or the external drama creeping onto the studio floor, these artists really had their work cut out for them when putting these things together. In the process, fists would fly, words would be exchanged, and occasionally instruments would be broken in the process.
What's even more troubling is having the producer in the middle of things, who either acts as the moderator of the madness or adds to it in order to get just the right magic they want onto the final mix. It paid off in the long run though, with most of these culminating in the best work these acts have ever made. It's not for the faint of heart, but nothing in rock and roll really is.
10. Vol. III The Subliminal Verses - Slipknot
After the early '00s, Slipknot seemed to have done the impossible. By not compromising their sound and getting even heavier with age, they blew their competition out of the water and were catapulted to the kings of the metal scene almost overnight. However, going through the touring and album lifestyle is bound to take its toll sooner or later.
Coming off of the audible beating of Iowa, Vol. III shows Slipknot at one of the most fractured points in their career. While the Iowa tour itself wasn't really a walk in the park, their decision to lock themselves away in the Houdini mansion was a headtrip, with members getting loaded on drugs when trying to come up with new material. It also didn't help that Rick Rubin's involvement was a bit lax for Corey Taylor's taste, saying that Rubin hardly ever showed up for the real nitty gritty details.
However, the experimentation in the studio ended up paying off, with Taylor getting sober during the process and coming through with some of the 9's most recognizable hooks on songs like Duality and Vermilion. This was even the album that earned these masked freakshows a Grammy for the single Before I Forget. At a time when band morale was at an all-time low, the fact that Slipknot hunkered down and brought everything to the table on Vol. III is what helped them to survive going forward.