Slipknot review: A nostalgia-soaked masterclass from the metal icons

Since emerging on the scene in 1999, Slipknot has gone onto win a Grammy Award, headlined major festivals, earned platinum-selling records, and have become one of the most influential metal acts of all time. The experimentalism of Sid Wilson, Corey Taylor’s intense and growly vocal melodies, the rapid-fire drum patterns, the sound of dissonant guitars, Clown’s frenetic energy whilst beating beer kegs, the extensive use of sampling and the iconic red boiler suits and unique masks have helped the band’s timeless appeal. However, this tour has seen them take a trip back in time.

Nostalgia was the undoubted key theme of the evening and one that the band went all-in with. On stage, the band opted to scale back some of the production values that they’d become synonymous with. On stage there was just a banner with the band’s logo above them, the instruments and an elevated platform that housed Eloy Casgrande’s drum kit, Wilson’s turntables and samplers., leaving full focus on the musical performance.

Early in the evening, frontman Corey Taylor confidently announced that in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their self-titled album no tracks that were released post-1999 would be performed, and barked “Welcome back to 1999” to the audience, which was met with an emphatic response.

Despite tracks such as ‘Snuff’, ‘Before I Forget’ and ‘Duality’ missing out, the set did not suffer from a lack of hits. Metal anthems such as the hard-hitting ‘(Sic)’ with its powerful guitar riffs and gorgeous basslines, the explosive ‘Eyeless’ with its prominent scratch and Taylor’s intense screams and the catchy nu-metal classic ‘Wait and Bleed’ is littered with twists and turns that help get the night off to a frenetic start and make for a fun watch in a live setting.

As does the excellence of Wilson on the turntables. Wilson helped showcase the band’s love of theatrics by performing an unsettling ‘Tattered and Torn’ soundscape following the abrasive thrash metal hit ‘Eeyore’. Later in the evening, Wilson took centre stage for an equally unsettling ‘Frail Limb Nursery’ before an eruption of energy and pace with a rendition of the punchy ‘Purity’ that serves as a full blown assault on the ears.

The chaotic pace of Slipknot was relentless throughout the 80-minute set, but despite the lack of respite, the crowd kept up. Mosh pits consumed the standing section, pints of beer flew, fans partook in acts of crowd-surfing, heads banged to the beat and the sound of guitars screeching reverberated around the Co-Op Live.

As the first portion of the set came to a close, the rap-infused ‘No Life’, the dark and disturbing ‘Prosthetics’ is hypnotising and unsettling thanks to Taylor’s brilliant vocals and ‘Only One’ showcases Casgrande’s prowess as a drummer with an epic drum solo all offer a nice selection of songs before the finale.

Returning to the stage for the encore, Taylor joked that he couldn’t see out of his mask, but “It looked cool” and gave an impression of the Family Guy gag when Peter Griffin gets injured. A performance of ‘Spit It Out’ laced with scratching and stomping guitars follows before a rendition of “your new national anthem” in ‘Surfacing’ laced with the sound of striking guitars and ferocious drum beats and an extended version of ‘Scissors’ closes out the evening.