ah, c'mon, it's all hype, rumour and image. Slipknot's fan-base is mainly younger teens who worship them and will latch on to anything even remotely rebellious to annoy their parents with (and I mean no disrespect, every generation does this), and they will basically believe anything about their idols if it adds to their mystique. Slipknot are an amazing live experience, no-one can say otherwise, but musically, it's all pretty basic stuff. Why do they have the reputation for being so extreme? There are 100 bands heavier than them, the younger fans just haven't discovered them yet. It's Joey the drummer who makes Slipknot what they are, and it'll be interesting to see what happens now that the masks are off and the band (and, more importantly, their fans) are growing up....