Prod. No.:
TSHIRT_0907 Officially Licensed Slipknot Merchandise
Slipknot 012345678-M T-Shirt
With plenty of material ready, the band began recording in a local studio, SR Audio with Sean McMahon.
In February 1996, guitarist Steele left the band due to his Christian beliefs; though the other band members were prepared to allow him to stay, Steele decided to leave. His replacement, Craig Jones, arrived during the mixing stages of this new project.
On April 4, Slipknot played their first public performance at Des Moines reggae club the Safari, where they played most of their early gigs. Their second gig at the Safari was alongside Stone Sour.
The band began to realize again that there was need for a change, as they were adding samples to their recordings but could not produce these sounds live. Subsequently, Jones moved to full-time sampler and Mick Thomson was brought in to fill the space on guitar.
After conflict over the mixing and mastering, the band self released their first album Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. on Halloween, October 31, 1996.