James Root
| James Root | |
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Root performing with band Stone Sour in 2013.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Donald Root |
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| Born |
October 2, 1971 Las Vegas, Nevada |
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| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | Roadrunner |
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| Website | (External links) |
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James Donald "Jim" Root (born October 2, 1971), also known by his number #4, is an American musician, songwriter and guitarist, best known for being the rhythm guitarist for the American heavy metal band Slipknot, and the former lead guitarist for the American alternative metal band Stone Sour.
Root began performing with the thrash metal band Atomic Opera from Iowa in the early 1990s, not to be confused with the hard rock band Atomic Opera from Houston, Texas. Soon after they split up he went on to perform in bands such as DeadFront and Stone Sour; the latter which he joined in 1995, and returned to along with vocalist Corey Taylor, during its revival in 2002. Prior to joining Slipknot, he worked as a screenprinter, waiter, and busboy.
He joined Slipknot in January 1999, replacing their original guitarist, Josh Brainard, who left the band during the recording of their self-titled album, reportedly after having fulfilled his recording duties. In fact, the only two songs Root recorded during the album's sessions were "Purity" and "Me Inside", the former being featured on the short-lived first pressing of Slipknot as well as the 10th Anniversary Edition, and the latter being its replacement. Despite this, the song has become a staple for most of the band's live performances. Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor invited Root to join the band based on Taylor's past experiences working with him in Stone Sour.
Although filling in the spot of rhythm guitar in 1999, Root is considered to be one of the band's main songwriters and has written lead guitar parts for Slipknot's later albums particularly on All Hope is Gone and .5 The Gray Chapter (from what has been said it seems like he wrote the large majority of the songs). Of Slipknot's nine member lineup which lasted between 1999 to 2010, Root was the last to join the band. Root typically performed lead guitar in Stone Sour, although he sometimes played rhythm. He has spoken of both bands' guitar style as being twin guitar: "In both bands, I fulfill both roles. In Slipknot, Mick [Thomson] has some solos, and in Stone Sour, Josh [Rand] has some solos." During the recording of Stone Sour's Audio Secrecy, he and Rand recorded their parts simultaneously.
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