Slipknot’s “515” Meaning

“515” is the title of a song by one of America’s most iconic metal bands Slipknot. The song’s title (515) is derived from the area code of the American city of Des Moines. Now Des Moines is the capital of the State of Iowa. And interestingly enough, Des Moines is where Slipknot comes from. So it is therefore safe to say that Slipknot is paying tribute to their home state via this song.

That said, the lyrics of “515” contain only just a single word – “death”. The narrator (Sid Wilson) repeats the word “death” multiple times throughout the song. Actually “death” is repeated approximately 10 times throughout this track. And that’s all. No other word is heard in this song. Only “death”!

What Slipknot has said about “515”

When asked about the true meaning of “515”, Corey Taylor (who is the band’s lead singer) it deals with the “psychotic rage” nestling in “our minds”. According to him, when we find ourselves pushed to the point where we can’t take it any longer, that psychotic rage eventually lets itself loose in its entirety. A very scary thing if you asked us!

“515” is rife with Sid Wilson’s Sadness

During the recording of this song and its album (Iowa), Slipnot’s Sid Willson’s grandfather got severely ill and passed away. The sadness Sid felt can literally be heard in this song and its lyrics. It is said that while the narrator screams “death, death, death”, you can actually hear sobbing – Sid’s sobbing. But is that really true? We took a careful listen and actually heard what sounds like someone sobbing.

Sid later confirmed this in an interview. Here are Sid’s words in relation to the screaming and sobbing that run throughout this dark track:

Sid revealed the above to LoudWire magazine during a 2011 interview with them. Based on Sid’s remarks, it therefore comes to us as no surprise why the word “death” is screamed multiple times throughout.

Who wrote “515”?

One word: Slipknot. The writing credits are therefore as follows:

• Sid Wilson
• Jim Root
• Shawn Crahan
• Corey Taylor
• Craig Jones
• Joey Jordison
• Mick Thomson
• Paul Gray
• Chris Fehn

When did Slipknot release this song?

It was released on 28th August, 2001 along with the band’s second studio album, which they titled Iowa. It should be noted that Slipknot named this album after the State of Iowa (which happens to be their home state).