“Halloween is our fucking Christmas,” declared Corey Taylor triumphantly before launching into Before I Forget, his voice dripping with the volatile energy that makes Slipknot so intoxicating.
Frontman Taylor is just months into recovery from undergoing emergency spinal surgery in July, after breaking his back. Only days before the tour, one of the band’s percussionists, Clown – aka Shawn Crahan – pulled out of the trip due to the tragic passing of his father-in-law. With these far less than ideal circumstances in mind, a less than great show was not only completely forgivable, but even somewhat expected.
But, by the time Taylor was singing the chorus of Psychosocial along with the ghoulish choir that was the crowd filling Rod Laver Arena, anxieties about the quality of the show had been put to headbanging ease. If this is Slipknot’s season of giving, then the show was a fitting gift for the fans.
The signature rotating and rising drum kits at either end of the stage were present, one tastefully bearing the missing Clown’s mask on a spike. Chris Fehn took on the task of swapping between the kits, and single-handedly tackling backing vocals with impressive energy.
Although the show was great, it wasn’t perfect. Almost definitely due to his back, Taylor didn’t move around the multi-storey set as much as he has previously. Though the show was dedicated to Crahan, and Fehn did a remarkable job, the Clown’s absence was apparent. The show lacked the extraordinary pyrotechnics of their last show in Australia back at Soundwave 2015, and the members took frequent breaks, which broke up the flow of the set.
But there really was a lot to love. Newer tracks like Custer and The Devil In I were met with equal excitement from the crowd as favourites like Skinticket and favourites Duality and Spit It Out. While frequent imagery of surgery and illness played on the huge screen behind the band, perhaps a nod to Taylor’s spine. Taylor’s incredible five-and-a-half octave vocal range was faultless, and the sound from the band as a whole was tight and roaring.
For an outfit so widely renowned for their high energy stage performances, the aforementioned difficult circumstances were bound to have an effect, but in brilliant Slipknot fashion, they made the bad very, very good.
Words by Claire Varley
Image by Ian Laidlaw
Highlight: The palpable energy from the crowd and band, heightened by the Halloween atmosphere.
Lowlight: The very frequent breaks between songs.
Crowd Favourite: “Everybody jump the fuck up.”
