Daft Punk

Real identity: Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel deHomem-Christo.

Who are they: The biggest electronic music act from the 1990s is still going strong. The two-time Grammy winner has managed to give dwindling sale of CDs and vinyl a boost with the album Random Access Memories.

Alter ego: They always wear helmets and there are few pictures of them without it. In an interview with t2 they had said: “Looking like robots is not like looking like an idol. One doesn’t look like a human being but more like a mirror –– the energy people emanate is bounced off the stage… and in the process everybody has a good time together… the focus is not on us. The visors are very, very tinted. We can hear the clamour but we hardly have any visual memory of the tours, apart from looking at our controllers.”

 

Deadmau5

Real identity: Joel Thomas Zimmerman.

Who is he: The progressive-house music producer from Canada laces his speeches with the F-word more often than Quentin Tarantino. The five-time Grammy nominee doesn’t like calling his music EDM. “Now it’s more commercial than f***. We can all do our own thing now, but there’s still a lot of hangers-on to the whole EDM community. Oh God, I hate that f***ing word,” he told Vibe last year. By the way, the “mouse” will be touring India in March… but sorry Calcutta!

Alter ego: He doesn’t mind getting his pictures clicked without his mau5head, which is a Mickey Mouse mask that puts the Disney character to shame. The mask has a lot to do with his name. While changing the video card on his computer he found a dead mouse and thus his name (pronounced ‘dead mouse’).

 

Alice Cooper

Other identity: The Godfather of Shock Rock!

Who is he: The 65-year-old has had his share of alcoholism, drugs and rock ’n’ roll! Unlike most singers, he still doesn’t wear earplugs while performing. His onstage theatrics have included chopping up of baby dolls and, according to The Rolling Stone, simulating executions. All this laced with explicit lyrics.

Alter ego: He doesn’t wear masks, but what good is an Alice Cooper stage show without him wearing some makeup?! Sometimes he is spotted with a snake around his neck.

 

The Knife

Real identity: Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer.

Who are they: The electronic duo from Stockholm have been around since 1999 but they are in the news for their latest album, Shaking The Habitual, which clocks in at 96 minutes with 13 songs. The conceptual album is complicated but is a sonic pleasure.

Alter ego: Using Venetian masks they make their music reflect complex issues. Karin recently said: “It’s always fun to try out different roles… I would say that we’re always playing a role. Even guys with guitars who sing about their emotions, they are playing a role of a person who does that.”

Buckethead

Real identity: Brian Patrick Carroll.

Who is he: The “official” story on his website says he lived in a chicken coop where the “chickens took good care of him and they liked him so much they scratched his face off”. Besides being the lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses from 2000 to 2004, he has had a successful career. Last year he, in fact, released 31 albums (and four more
this year)!

Alter ego: When he was asked by MTV News about his mask he said: “There is no mask.” And in his “official” story, the bucket that he wears on his head finds a mention: “One night, after he got to be this tall, somebody threw a bucket of fried chicken into the coop. Try as he might, Buckethead couldn’t put the chicken back together again. So he put the bucket on his head, picked up his guitar and ran to the cemetery.” Kooky!

 

Slipknot

Real identity: Shawn Crahan, Craig Jones, Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor, Sid Wilson, Chris Fehn and Jim Root.

Who are they: The metal heavyweights became popular after their self-titled debut album in 1999 and since then there has been no looking back. Their 2008 album All Hope Is Gone made its debut at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Alter ego: According to Corey Taylor, “When you put that mask on you go places you would never imagine…. The mask was a way to visualise everything I was feeling in heart and my gut –– all that pain I was holding on to.”

 

Pussy Riot

Real identity: Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and several others with secret identities.

Who are they: The punk-rock group is in the news because they are pissed off with Vladimir Putin and Kremlin’s policy towards the LGBT community. In March 2012, Maria and Nadezhda were arrested and “accused of hooliganism”. And then Yekaterina was arrested. While Yekaterina was released on a suspended sentence in October 2012, the other two won their freedom only last December.

Alter ego: They wear colourful balaclava masks.

 

Marilyn Manson

Real identity: Brian Hugh Warner.

Who is he: Walking in the footsteps of Alice Cooper, he became famous for his fight against censorship. His band, formed in 1989, has been in the eye of several storms, most notably after the Columbine High School massacre. Killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were accused (though mistakenly) of being influenced by the band’s music.

Alter ego: It’s said that he wanted to make himself look exceptional and not “insignificant”. And that’s how all the make-up came into the picture. His favourite item in his make-up bag is a black eyeliner.

 

KISS

Real identity: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer (current line-up).

Who are they: In short, a legendary American act without which no Top 10 list of hard rock bands would be complete. Though the line-up has changed, the guys are still touring and recording. Favourite album? Tough one. But do listen to Love Gun (1977), Animalize (1984), Psycho Circus (1998) and Sonic Boom (2009).

Alter ego: They have always experimented with make-up, some of which are inspired by comic-book-style characters.