Ever wonder what a band would sound like or how their success would have played out if one of the members never joined? Slipknot's had a few members come and go over the years, but Jim Root has been in the band since their self-titled album came out with the classic lineup that we know today. He did, however, decline joining multiple times.

The guitarist recalls that when he was in his mid-20s, original Knot singer Anders Colsefni called him about replacing original guitarist Donnie Steele. "I said no at that time because I haven't been playing guitar and I knew that those guys were players," Root told WMMR. "My chops were bad, I haven't even touched a guitar in years, so I was just kind of, like, 'Nah, I'm just going to be a regular dildo, work and do all that.'"

Root was also involved in a funk-rock project at the time, so he devoted his focus to that band. He joined Stone Sour in 1996, founded by Corey Taylor, who would replace Colsefni in Slipknot a year later. "I was, like, 'If Slipknot ever called me, I won't join, I don't want to feel like it's handed to me, I got to feel like I worked for it, like something I've achieved.' And sure enough, they did. I never thought they would, so I said no," Root added.

"And then finally, I got to the point where I just realized, my buddy Zack, who borrowed me a guitar, said, 'What, are you stupid? Very few times in life do you get a chance to take a great step forward. Even if you fall flat on your face, you can always come back.' So I called Clown, and the rest is history."

Listen to the full interview here.

Slipknot's Knotfest Roadshow wrapped up just over a week ago, but they'll be back for some festival appearances later this fall before they head to Europe in 2020 with Behemoth. See the dates here.