Biography
Ross Robinson emerged among the standout hard rock producers of the late 1990s. He first played thrash metal guitar in a group alongside the musician who would later serve as Machine Head drummer Dave McClain, absorbing studio techniques while the band tracked its demos. Those sessions prepared him for an initial engineering credit as assistant on W.A.S.P.’s ambitious 1993 concept album The Crimson Idol. His next step forged a partnership with the rising alt-metal act Korn that produced the band’s self-titled 1994 debut and the 1996 follow-up Life Is Peachy, placing both Robinson and the quintet at the forefront of 1990s metal.
Robinson then helmed the debut from the rap-metal outfit Korn had begun mentoring, Limp Bizkit, resulting in the 1997 release Three Dollar Bill Y’All. That album instantly elevated Limp Bizkit and helped trigger the broader rap-metal wave of the period. Demand for his services grew, leading him to produce Machine Head, Sepultura’s landmark Roots, Soulfly, Amen, Cold, Glassjaw, At the Drive In, and Vanilla Ice’s rap-metal makeover Hard to Swallow. He also discovered the previously unknown masked eight-man band Slipknot and oversaw its two major early releases, the self-titled 1999 debut and Iowa in 2001. Robinson additionally directs his own imprint, I Am Recordings, distributed through Roadrunner and Virgin.
Robinson then helmed the debut from the rap-metal outfit Korn had begun mentoring, Limp Bizkit, resulting in the 1997 release Three Dollar Bill Y’All. That album instantly elevated Limp Bizkit and helped trigger the broader rap-metal wave of the period. Demand for his services grew, leading him to produce Machine Head, Sepultura’s landmark Roots, Soulfly, Amen, Cold, Glassjaw, At the Drive In, and Vanilla Ice’s rap-metal makeover Hard to Swallow. He also discovered the previously unknown masked eight-man band Slipknot and oversaw its two major early releases, the self-titled 1999 debut and Iowa in 2001. Robinson additionally directs his own imprint, I Am Recordings, distributed through Roadrunner and Virgin.
Singles