After Wednesday night’s epic show at The Resch Center, I have a new definition of the word brutal. Slipknot rolled into town and brought the Knotfest Roadshow with them.  Alongside Slipknot was Wage War and In This Moment.

The initial lineup for the Roadshow had Jinjer on the bill. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the band decided it was best to stay in Europe and are currently fundraising to support their country. While I was excited to catch Jinjer live, I respect their choice and will see them whenever they make it stateside in the future. Wage War was added on for the first leg of the tour and they certainly warmed up the crowd. Wage War’s set was song after song of tight, punchy metal and it was pure bliss. There was an extensive amount of headbanging both on stage and in the crowd. Overall, their set was top notch.

In This Moment carried the torch next. Maria Brink and company played the hits along with their fantastic pageantry. Out in the crowd were handfuls of attendees donning their “Whore” dunce caps. ITM were a great segue from Wage War to Slipknot.

Leading into Slipknot’s performance were two classics to truly set the tone. AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” and Billie Jo Spears’ “Get Behind Me Satan and Push.” The latter was off putting but the eeriness and hushed tones that fell over the crowd built tension as we waited for the Slipknot adorned stage curtain to both literally and figuratively drop. It certainly is Slipknot’s tour and they had an epic 20 song setlist that spanned the decades of their career. While I may have become soft as I keep getting older, I have to admit I fanboyed out a bit to all of the songs played off of Iowa and their self-titled album. It brought me back to 8th grade and listening to my discman on the way to and from school each day.

Now we have all aged sometime since then but the band has not missed a beat. Their stage performance was top notch. Left to right, up and down, there were screens everywhere. I am a huge fan of visual art during shows. It gives attendees imagery to help their minds go exploring while absorbing the music and atmosphere. This gives each attendee a unique experience they can look back on and relive. Speaking of attendees, I couldn’t help but notice the ever increasing range of age of concertgoers. It’s a true feat to build such a fanbase that you continue to draw in those who started following you 20+ years ago and attract new younger fans at the same time.

While it may have been cold and rainy outside, Slipknot brought the heat. Literally. There were pyrotechnics throughout a lot of their songs. Fireballs shooting across the stage from one side to the other, giant flames coming straight up and out towards the crowd and, even at times, a torch attached to bassist Alex “V-man” Venturella’s instrument while hanging out at the very top and center of the enormous stage.

 

Corey Taylor made notable mention that not only is Wisconsin one of his favorite states, he promises to be back. I hope to see you there.

Buy Slipknot music and merch here: https://amzn.to/3jqM1Cn

 

Set list:

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

(AC/DC song, on tape)

 

Get Behind Me Satan and Push

(Billie Jo Spears song, on tape)

Disasterpiece

Wait and Bleed

Sulfur

Before I Forget

The Chapeltown Rag

Dead Memories

Unsainted

The Heretic Anthem

Psychosocial

The Devil in I

Solway Firth

All Out Life

Snuff

Vermilion

Duality

Custer

Spit It Out

 

Encore:

(515)

People = Shit

(sic)

Surfacing

‘Til We Die

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY RANDAL HICKS