Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. is the first album recorded by American heavy metal band Slipknot, and their only release with original lead vocalist Anders Colsefni. The album was limited to 1,000 copies, with distribution beginning on October 31, 1996. The band sold the last 386 units through ‑ismist Recordings in 1997. The album has become sought after by fans since Slipknot's rise to fame, and original copies have sold for up to $1,000.

Despite originally being deemed Slipknot's debut album, Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. was later considered a demo by the band, who have included the majority of its songs on subsequent releases, albeit usually in radically altered forms. The record was recorded in Des Moines, Iowa over a period of four months and features many musical influences including funk, jazz, and disco which are not apparent in later material. Many of the lyrics and the album's title are inspired by the role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse. According to Allmusic, the songs contain a stronger "emphasis on non-traditional songwriting" and melodic themes than the band's later material.

In late 1995, Slipknot and producer Sean McMahon entered SR Audio, a studio in the band's hometown of Des Moines, Iowa to work on what they intended to be their debut album. Retrospectively, McMahon said that the band was "driven" because they spent the majority of their time in the studio for the four months it took to produce the album. Slipknot self-financed the production, which came to an estimated $40,000. The band expressed how much of a learning process this time was, being the first time they had recorded their music, specifically the challenge of capturing additional percussion elements.

The band aimed for a tribal sound, but encountered problems including minuscule timing errors. However, during this period, Slipknot refined their percussive sound by experimenting with erecting walls to isolate the drums and rearranging parts. In February 1996, during the mixing process, guitarist Donnie Steele decided to leave the band for religious reasons and as a result, Craig Jones joined the band to fill the spot. However, the band realized that they were incorporating too many media samples on their recordings and could not replicate these sounds live. To solve this problem, Jones abandoned his position on guitar and moved to the position of sampler—at that point Mick Thomson stepped in to join as guitarist. Originally, the band had planned to include twelve tracks on the CD, two of which – "Fur" (also known as "Fur Covered In Blood") and "Part of Me" – already appeared on their first demo in 1995. In the end, Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. was released with only eight tracks; the aforementioned "Fur" and "Part of Me", as well as "Vizqueen" and "Rites And Rage". The band threw a release party at The Safari, a club in Des Moines where the band played many of their earliest gigs.

Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. is a mix of genres centered on nu metal and death metal; it is the band's most experimental release and differs significantly from the heavier style for which the band became known. One of the band's initial aims was to mix many genres of music to achieve their own style; an early incarnation of the band was called "Meld" based upon this. However, tracks such as "Slipknot", "Some Feel" and "Only One" feature a heavy metal influence, specifically in the guitars. Tracks such as "Tattered & Torn", "Killers Are Quiet" and "Gently" also include the slow, cerebral angst buildup style that the band retained in some of their more recent work. The album implements elements of jazz and funk, although "Confessions" is the only track on the album led by these styles. "Do Nothing/Bitchslap" could be considered the album's most complex song, combining both of these styles and even elements of disco.

The album title and the majority of the lyrics are references to the role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Vocalist Anders Colsefni and percussionist Shawn Crahan shared a mutual interest in the game, which largely influenced the band. Colsefni said: "The attraction was being able to play a different person", declaring that this was the essence of Slipknot.

The artwork shows a metal cage, made by Shawn Crahan, with drummer Joey Jordison sitting inside of it. This cage was named "Patiently Awaiting the Jigsaw Flesh", as whenever they carried the cage, someone got cut brutally. It was also known as the "Death Cage" and was a part of the stage show during the release party of the album. Willing "victims" sat inside of it while the band played.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

The original pressing of the album was limited to 1000 copies. Since the band's rise to fame in 1999, it has been a sought-after rarity for Slipknot fans. Upon its initial release, the band distributed the album independently, handing them out to fans, radio stations, and record labels. On June 13, 1997, ‑ismist Recordings took over the distribution of the remaining 386 copies of the album. These original pressings have since grown in value considerably. Due to the large amount of interest in the album and the low numbers of originals, there have been many bootlegged versions of the album sold including CD, MP3 and even vinyl.

The barcode of the original CD is the number "742617000027", which later went on to become the name for the opening track of their first official release, Slipknot.

As part of the Nu Metal Mayhem tour with Waylon Reavis, which took place in Australia and New Zealand in October 2023, Anders Colsefni performed the album in its entirety.

A re-recorded version of the album by New Zealand band Kaosis with Anders Colsefni was released on March 15, 2024. However, Colsefni quickly disowned the release, stating that he had not signed off on the final mix, nor any of the release details.

Notes

All credits adapted from the official CD Liner Notes.

Slipknot

• Shawn "Kong" Crahan - percussion, vocals, lyricist, samples, cover photo concept, sleeve concepts and graphics, sleeve layout, picture distortion, cover photo cage
• Anders Colsefni - lead vocals, samples, tribal percussion, lyricist, cover photo concept, sleeve layout, cover photo cage
• Joey Jordison (credited as Nathan Jordinson) - drums, mixing, Slipknot Logo, lyric calligraphy, cover photo concept, cover photo cage
• Paul Gray - bass, backing vocals
• Josh "Gnar" Brainard - rhythm guitar, backing vocals, auxiliary percussion, keyboard on "Do Nothing/Bitchslap", bass on "Dogfish Rising"
• Donnie Steele - lead guitar
• Craig "133 MZ" Jones - sleeve concepts and graphics

Additional Personnel

• Sean McMahon - production, mixing, mastering, recording, engineering (all tracks); vocals on "Dogfish Rising"
• Mike Lawyer - mastering, studio owner
• Frank Plumly - vocals on "Dogfish Rising"; "Killers are Quiet" song title
• Stefan Seskis - cover and CD photography

Works cited

• Arnopp, Jason (2001). Slipknot: Inside the Sickness, Behind the Masks. Ebury. ISBN 0-09-187933-7.
• Crampton, Mark (2001). Barcode Killers: The Slipknot Story in Words and Pictures. Chrome Dreams. ISBN 1-84240-126-2.
• McIver, Joel (2003). Slipknot: Unmasked (again). Omnibus. ISBN 0-7119-9764-0.