As we awaited the circus of the nine-masked men that make up Slipknot, the thundering bassline of David Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes' fittingly powered around the Alexandra Palace; a stout reminder that the theatrical tendencies and uniqueness of Bowie hasn't died with him, but lives on in the remnants of others.
I'm not sure this type of gig is what the Victorians had in mind for such an astounding venue, and as Corey Taylor said himself: "This could be the classiest venue we've ever played. I don't know if they'll ever have us back after what we do tonight."
Bounding on stage and opening with The Negative One, the venue shook with anticipation and excitement. A whole crowd moving and headbanging is an astonishing thing to see, as all the fans, affectionately nicknamed 'maggots', became one big family.
A carnival of chaos commenced throughout the show, and the demonic sounds of the band echoed around the historic hall. Crashing through their set list which included songs from Iowa, Slipknot and their latest album The Gray Chapter:5, there was not one minute where the crowd stood still.
The effortless energy and the passion of the band is clear to see. Sid Wilson spent most of the show running around dancing and jumping off the back platform, Corey Taylor weaved in between the hydraulic risers on which the drummers were span, and the various other members moving, headbanging and holding their middle fingers up to the crowd.
The showmanship of the band is astounding, and even though they couldn't do all they can at a festival environment or at Wembley in terms of pyrotechnics and demonic backdrops, the screens behind them featured an array of biological nature images, along with clips that seem to have been drawn straight out of a horror film.
Psychosocial, Wait and Bleed, Duality and The Devil In I had everyone singing at the top of their lungs. The set list also featured Metabolic which, before Tuesday night, had never been played in London before.
Storming back on stage for the encore, and closing on crowd favourite Spit It Out, the whole crowd bowed down to the metal hell-raisers (until, of course, Corey screamed "JUMP THE FUCK UP!" and an eruption of bodies jumped into the air.) Even those who had never seen Slipknot live before, knew exactly what was coming when Spit It Out began.
A show that combines adrenaline with music that is drawn from the most feral, deepest and darkest corners of the Earth, which is then turned into something enjoyable, is an almighty rush to anyone who is a part of it.
History was made in one of London's most historical venues, and every maggot that was in the crowd had a night they will never forget.
Let's just hope Corey Taylor stays true to his word when he says that as long as we have the love and support for the band, then they will always be there.
Set List:
The Negative One
Disasterpiece
Eyeless
Skeptic
I Am Hated
Killpop
Dead Memories
Everything Ends
Psychosocial
Wait and Bleed
Duality
The Devil In I
Metabolic
(sic)
Encore:
Surfacing
Left Behind
Spit It Out
Official Site - http://www.slipknot1.com/
