Slipknot - Sheffield Arena - December 12th 2008
Support: Machine Head

Even before Machine Head take to the stage, it’s obvious from all the ‘Machine Fucking Head’ t-shirts in the crowd that they’re going to go down a storm. And they do, their towering guitar solos, furious riffs and modern metal anthems whipping up countless circle pits.
When iconic frontman Robb Flynn announces the next song will be lifted off their latest album, ‘The Blackening’ the air dutifully fills with fists and devil’s horns, and it seems that Machine Head are on the brink of delivering a great show. But then, things take a turn for the worst, as their guitarist collapses onstage and Machine Head slam the brakes on their set. “We were going to play you loads more great songs,” Flynn says, clearly as crestfallen as the crowd are, and you can’t help but feel sorry for him.
Machine Head shuffle offstage, and the audience seems unable to believe what’s just happened. For roughly half an hour, it feels like nothing could erase the memory of Machine Head’s sharp departure.

Thank God then, for Slipknot. Their set of drum-risers, bucking bronco-style percussion kits and spinning DJ booth is assembled in the time any other band would still be sound checking. Before we know it, Slipknot are taking to the stage. They are, arguably, the one band who carry enough clout to not only make the audience forget they were robbed of half an hour of Machine Head related goodness, but that Machine Head were ever even onstage.

Slipknot live are a force to be reckoned with, tearing around the stage like lunatics running amok in the asylum, clamouring atop the countless runways and moving parts, and head banging so furiously, it’s actually pretty scary. Oddly, it’s not the “proper” musicians who are the stars of tonight’s show, but the members whose job is to hit things and run around a bit. Chris Fehn and Shaun Crahan are, visually, what makes Slipknot so unique. Where else can you see a guy in a gimp mask hitting a metal canister with a baseball bat, over and over again, for one and a half hours? It’s not clever, but it is entertaining.
B But, it isn’t all about the masks and the moving parts: Slipknot have an enviable back catalogue. The highlight is, of course, always going to be angry metal anthem ‘Duality.’ It takes the crowd approximately half a second to recognise the opening notes, and go duly mental. Recent single ‘Psychosocial’ is another highlight, and seems set to be the next Slipknot song to reach alternative-anthem status; while ‘People=Shit’ and ‘Heretic Anthem’ go off like bombs, and it’s difficult to believe they’ve been around for so many years.

Tonight’s steady-burning pandemonium reaches a climax with ‘Spit It Out,’ which sees frontman Corey Taylor instructing everyone in the standing area to sit down. It’s a staggering spectacle, as the rammed standing area suddenly drops to floor level. Gimmicky it may be, but when Taylor gets everyone to jump up in unison, you’d have to be the most miserable person alive not to get caught up in the headrush.

Shortly afterwards, Taylor issues another command, but this time it’s to take two steps back so roadies can fix the front barriers, which the crowd has broken through. It’s easy to forget just how well-loved Slipknot are, but at this point it becomes clear that, even after ten years, they can still inspire crowd hysteria. The one thing that doesn’t fall into place is the setlist. Slipknot seem determined to distance themselves from their commercial success, favouring obscure songs over their biggest hits. This would be understandable if this was an intimate club venue, but this is their arena tour, which is always going to draw a diversity of fans. Not only is there no ‘Vermillion Part One,’ no ‘Wait and Bleed’ or ‘Left Behind,’ but there’s also no ‘Three Nil’ or ‘Pulse of The Maggots,’ arguably Slipknot’s most commercial album-only songs. Also, touring in support of a new album, and then only making room for two of these songs on your setlist (‘Psychosocial’ and ‘Dead Memories’) is a bit of a joke.
This setlist is for diehard fans, but for every hardcore follower, an arena tour is going to draw five non-hardcore fans, who probably exited Sheffield arena complaining that Slipknot didn’t play their favourite songs.

Fortunately, Slipknot more than made up for their unnecessarily awkward setlist by being a multi-faceted, overwhelming visual spectacle.
It’s all too easy to poke fun at Slipknot - they never really escaped the whiff of gimmick, did they? - but it’s impossible to witness their freak show and not be blown away by their energy, enthusiasm and absolute disregard for their own safety. Even after ten years, Slipknot are still having a ball, and that’s perhaps the most remarkable thing about tonight’s performance.


Review by Jessica Thornsby


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