Written By: Tyler Roberts
Since the late 90’s, one band from Iowa has grown in popularity unrivaled by few, Slipknot. Slipknot is on yet another leg of their seemingly endless tour cycle for their 5th studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter. On Sunday, with Beartooth and Suicidal Tendencies, Slipknot’s armada of buses rolled into Edmonton, AB, Canada for another face ripping show at Rexall Place
Kicking things off was Beartooth, a 5-piece from Ohio made of ex-Attack Attack! member Caleb Shomo (lead vocals), Taylor Lumley (lead guitar, backing vocals), Brandon Mullins (drums), Kamron Bradbury (rhythm guitar), and Oshie Bichar (bass). Despite a less than full Rexall Place, their energy set the pace for the night. You can find out more on Beartooth at their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BEARTOOTHband or their official website http://www.beartoothband.com.
Next up, one of the most influential thrash bands to come out of the 80s. Suicidal Tendencies took the stage to an audience that was hungry for some old school thrash. Fronted by Mike Muir, Suicidal Tendencies opened with one their biggest songs, “You Can’t Bring Me Down”. It set the tone for the entire set. The hour-long set was tight, loud, hard-hitting and full of circle pits. Closing with “Pledge Your Allegiance”, Suicidal Tendencies’ experience as a group. Not once did they lose the crowd. Not once did they stumble into the next song. It was an hour of “Fuck yeah” old school thrash.
Slipknot. What can be said at this point? They’ve headlined Download Festival, released 5 albums, won a Grammy, oh yeah and they wear masks and matching outfits on stage. In case you’ve lived in a shell since ’99, Slipknot’s live show is a sight to behold. Their latest stage setup looks like if Wes Craven and the circus had a baby. It’s a warped circus that blasts the senses with audio and visuals that are rivaled by few in metal. Their eerie intro “XIX” opens the set as curtains open to reveal the stage. After “XIX”, the band wastes no time and rips into “Sarcastrophe”. Instantly we’re thrown into a sea of music. All 9 members on stage compete for your attention while Corey Taylor’s vocals shred through the arena. Their onstage antics aside, the set list was an amazing mix of old-school stuff featuring songs like “Me Inside” and “Metabollic”, while still mixing in song from The Gray Chapter like “Custer” and “Devil In I”.
Despite the lack of Joey Jordison and Paul Gray, the live show does not miss a beat. It sounds like the 9 guys on stage have been playing together for years beyond what they have been. Jay (drums) and Alex (bass) have grown into their own personas in Slipknot. Fans should be able to agree that although they are not Joey or Paul, they are definitely holding their own in one of the craziest ensembles in metal. These guys are certainly deserving of the chance Slipknot has given them and fans should expect them to be around for a long time to come if they keep these kinds of performances up. Slipknot’s tour continues with Knotfest on October 23-25 before some dates in Russia then the UK in February. Check out these dates at more at Slipknot’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/slipknot?fref=ts or their website http://www.slipknot1.com/.
Set list:
“XIX” (Intro)
“Sarcastrophe”
“The Heretic Anthem”
“Psychosocial”
“Devil In I”
“Me Inside”
“Vermillion”
“Wait and Bleed”
“Prosthetics”
“Before I Forget”
“Eeyore”
“Duality”
“Custer”
“Spit it Out”
“Metabollic”
-Encore-
“(sic)”
“People = Shit”
“Surfacing”
“-Funny-” (Outro)
