Every band has its rivalries, but Slipknot have spent the majority of their lifespan dogged by an association with a band that they actually get on well with personally: Cleveland, Ohio metallers Mushroomhead. The two bands share little in common musically, with Slipknot's influences coming primarily from 1980s and 1980s thrash, death and rap metal and Mushroomhead's sound being primarily indebted to the sounds of Faith No More, Type O Negative and industrial metal. However, they do both wear masks and both began in the mid-1990s. In fact, both bands initially featured a member that wore a pig mask (Pig Benis in Mushroomhead, Paul Gray in Slipknot). The two bands themselves are believed to be friends, but Maggots know that there has been significant rivalry between the fanbases of both acts. While Maggots have accused Mushroomhead of ripping off Slipknot, Mushroomhead fans frequently do the same in response. These arguments reached a head in the early 2000s when Mushroomhead signed a major deal with Universal and gained public exposure. Slipknot fans, seeing Mushroomhead as the new kids on the block, accused them of ripping them off. Mushroomhead fans replied by claiming that their band came first. Things may have died down somewhat since, but this is an issue that will always haunt both bands and their fans.
