Dirty Little Rabbits

Dirty Little Rabbits are not what you'd expect a band with a Slipknot guy in it to sound like, even if that Slipknotter is their oldest member, Shawn Crahan, aka "Clown," aka "#6." In Slipknot, he's a percussionist -- which sometimes means banging on garbage cans -- and in Dirty Little Rabbits he drums. A more visible person in the band might be whimsically voiced frontwoman Stella Katsoudas. In fact, these bunnies are not metal, except in the most pop/goth/unicorn-folk sense; propelled as much by organ as guitar, their overall sound falls closer to Evanescence (only more upbeat) or Birthday Massacre (only louder), with lyrics frequently suggesting Alice in Wonderland or Dr. Seuss. Stone Sour, Mindless Self Indulgence and Lacuna Coil have all been tourmates. The fivesome -- also including guitarist Ty Fyhrie, bassist Jeff Karnowski and keyboardist Michael Pfaff -- came together in Iowa in 2007; three years later, Ryan Martin replaced Fyhrie. Dirty Little Rabbits self-released their first EP, Breeding, that year, then followed up with a longer EP, Simon, on art-metal-identified The End Records in 2009, the label that also released the band's self-titled full-length in 2010.