SLIPKNOT Live! - Auburn, WA 8-11-16

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Matt Walsh

Slipknot is back on the road again to finish off the remainder of their rescheduled summer dates, which were postponed due to vocalist Corey Taylor’s unplanned neck surgery. And on Thursday night, August 11th, at the White River Amphitheater their show went off without a hitch.

One of the last stops of rescheduled dates on the masked metal group’s summer tour was a high-octane, high-volume and highly charged celebration that featured the marauders striding, leaping and riding moving platforms around a two-tiered stage with plenty of fire and pyrotechnics. A large backdrop screen with percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan’s innovative montages illuminated above the stage as fans in attendance watched the devilish proceedings.

Slipknot started the night on a top 10 scale, with special effects left, right and center as the group tore through their first song of the night, The Negative One, followed by Disasterpiece and then Eyeless. “Clown” and percussionist Chris Fehn smashed profusely on their drums and beer kegs as their hydraulic lifts brought them upwards and downwards, while DJ Sid Wilson aka, “DJ Starscream” was jumping, dancing and leaping from one part of the stage to the other. Main percussionist Jay Weinberg, delivered on his kit just as expected since running his first tour with the Iowa based outfit. Craig “133”Jones head banged his black mask of nails while conducting samples on his steel metal riser. Guitarists Jim Root on his Fender signature models and Mick Thomson on his newly Jackson endorsed guitars shredded it, on early Slipknot hits such as Left Behind, Wait and Bleed, and Surfacing, while bassist Alessandro Venturella, also known as “Vman” slayed the stage with his Status Graphite bass guitars with brutal yet effortless force.

Slipknot will continue touring over the summer and through the rest of the year to promote their 2014 album .5: The Gray Chapter, dedicated to late bassist Paul Gray. With a summer tour package featuring direct support from Marilyn Manson and Of Mice & Men, the show drew a near-capacity crowd to White River Amphitheater and turned its concrete floors and lawn into a sea of “maggot” infested mosh pits.

These are not bands that are designed to have a calming effect on crowds, least of all Slipknot, whose brutal set was accented by elaborate carnival props, an astounding LED screen backdrop, and rising and rotating platforms. The latter surveyed its 17-year, five-album catalog throughout its 17-song, nearly 100-minute show, with Taylor paying tribute to his “extended” family of fans at the White River Amphitheater — who sang along word for word with Taylor throughout the night.

The group’s performance was ferocious without any letup through some of their latest work — particularly The Devil In I, which displayed indeed, a more intricate dynamic ebb and flow that gave their show a bit of breathing room. But the group of nine’s stock in trade was pulverizing and angry with meaty metal, and the abundance of that included tightly delivered versions of Killpop, Pulse of the Maggots, Before I Forget, the anthem known as Duality and a lengthy fast paced, jump in the air, ending deliverance of the night known as Spit It Out.

As always, between every album cycle and tour that the almighty Slipknot accomplishes, there is what seems to be a long duration of time off that no Slipknot fan can endure patiently due to wanting more and more. Although, a break will be needed for the band to continue on in its future endeavors due to writing new material for a new album and in having conflicting schedules with their individual lives but Taylor assured that the knot will continue on and will be back to the White River Amphitheater sooner rather than later.