Slipknot was without comparison the biggest name Copenhell had to offer in 2015, and the fact that they had played in Copenhagen just a few short months earlier didn’t seem to dampen the will of the crowd to see them again. That’s judging by the number of people running around in jump suits and more or less inventive masks, which must have been hell to wear in the warm weather.

“Copenhagen, do you want to go someplace dark and cold with Slipknot right now?”
Corey ‘8’ Taylor (vocals)

Having the headlining spot, Slipknot wasn’t scheduled to hit the stage until half past 10 p.m., at which time I’m guessing it was a little bit more human inside the rubber headwear. That is, until the show actually started, and hell broke loose in the crowd.
Yes, Copenhell was definitely on Slipknot’s side, and even though this was yet another one of those bands that had raised controversy on being announced, people weren’t shying away from showing them love now that they were actually here. For my part, it’s been a long time since I actively followed the band, but since there was such a time in my past I was interested in seeing what they would bring to the table here.

Well, Slipknot brought an extravagant show, that’s for sure! The stage build up was spectacular, with the two special percussion sets filling out each side of the stage, a huge devil’s head in the back, mirrors, and lots of other stuff.
There was no shortage of pyrotechnics going off every now and then either, intensifying and amplifying the experience. Yes, Slipknot truly knows how to give us our money’s worth when it comes to delivering a show!
Sadly, the performance wasn’t up to par with the effects. Heck, it wasn’t really up to anything at all! The fact that Shawn ‘6’ Crahan’s percussion rig didn’t work was unfortunate of course – while Chris ‘3’ Fehn’s went up, down, and all about, Crahan’s just stood there lumbering like something ready for the Smadreland – but this was far from the only reason the performance didn’t work. Taylor moved about a bit, but spent most of his time standing still at the front while singing, as did Mick ‘7’ Thompson. Whether his recent head injury was to blame, the story did not relate.
Slipknot’s new members, Jay Weinberg and Alessandro Venturella, didn’t draw much attention to themselves either, or maybe they weren’t allowed to. Either way, they were stuck in the back, and even though they handled their instruments with ease, they gave an anonymous performance. Whether Venturella gave more in his other band, Krokodil, as they played the Pandæmonium stage the next day I can’t say as I didn’t catch that show. Chances are that he didn’t even play with them though, given the fact that Slipknot had a show scheduled in France the same day.

So, even though the eye-candy was plentiful, Slipknot’s show ended up being a boring affair for me. Fair enough, they played a lot of songs from the era I spent with them, but just showing up and playing isn’t enough. Slipknot hasn’t sold themselves as a shoegazer band in the past, but with this performance they came dangerously close to being one.

Setlist:

XIX
Sarcastrophe
The Heretic Anthem
Psychosocial
The Devil In I
AOV
Vermillion
Wait And Bleed
Killpop
Before I Forget
Duality
Eyeless
Spit it Out
Custer
742617000027
(sic)
People = Shit
Surfacing