Image: Slipknot Tour 25th Anniversary [Instagram]
Slipknot released their debut album in 1999 and will be celebrating the anniversary next year. A nostalgic look back at their beginnings and all tour dates for 2024 can be found here.
To celebrate the 25th birthday of their first record, Slipknot, the group from Des Moines, Iowa, announced a European tour on social media and their website yesterday. Slipknot will be hitting the stage again in exactly one year in December, so you can toast to their beginnings with them. The first album is the foundation of their entire discography and made waves in the metal community. Many fans have known them since this first record or even longer. So let's take a look back and remember!
Slipknot - Back to the Roots
Since 1995, the year of their formation, Slipknot has stood for an unprecedented, aggressive sound. By now, the vocals are mainly associated with Corey Taylor, but at the beginning they had a different singer. Their first recordings were called the Basement Sessions, but were still made under the band name The Pale Ones in bassist Paul Gray's basement. The then frontman Anders Colsefni ultimately only stayed until 1997 and made way for Corey. Before the debut album, a demo album was released: Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. It was a limited release, but still had a big impact on the band. They were signed to Roadrunner Records and finally released their first studio album Slipknot in 1999. The raw, brutal sound of the album paired with their impressive live shows, including masks and overalls, quickly earned them a reputation in the metal scene. Although not everyone could get on board with this sound, Slipknot already created a huge fan base in the early days.
If you've ever wondered where the band's name actually comes from, here's the answer: They wrote a song about the so-called slip knot, a stopper knot. After that they changed their band name to Slipknot.
Since the early days, there have been some changes to Slipknot's lineup. Founding member Paul Gray tragically passed away in 2010 and is honored by his bandmates in their fifth studio album .5: The Gray Chapter. Since 2014 Alex Venturella has played bass in the group. Popular drummer Joey Jordison was part of the band until 2013, when Jay Weinberg took over on drums later that same year. Even his place has recently become vacant again, but a successor has not yet been named by Slipknot. Even Chris Fehn (percussion) and Craig Jones (sampling) had to leave. From the lineup of the first album only Corey Taylor, Shawn Crahan (percussion, background vocals), James Root (guitar), Mick Thomson (lead guitar) and Sid Wilson (DJ) remain. The only remaining founding member is Shawn Crahan.
But Slipknot continue to make music and honor us with new tour dates. And it's very likely that we'll hear a lot of tracks from the debut album on the upcoming tour! What are you most looking forward to? Songs like "(Sic)", "Eyeless" and "Surfacing" have already been ingrained in all fans' minds for years. It's time to listen to the album over and over again until the tour finally starts next year!
All tour dates for Europe 2024
Of course Slipknot won't be traveling through Europe alone on this "Here comes the pain" tour; they will be joined by Scottish band Bleed From Within who released their new album Shrine in 2022. Take a listen if you don't know them yet; they have been active since 2005 and are a perfect match for Metalcore and Death Metal fans!
Here's an overview of the dates:
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05 Dec - Amsterdam, NL: Ziggo Dome
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06 Dec - Dortmund, DE: Westfalenhalle
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08 Dec - Stuttgart, DE: Schleyerhalle
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09 Dec - Leipzig, DE: Quarterback Immobilien Arena
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11 Dec - Zurich, CH: Hallenstadion
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12 Dec - Paris, FR: Accorhotel Arena
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14 Dec - Leeds, UK: First Direct Arena
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15 Dec - Glasgow, UK: Ovo Hydro
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17 Dec - Manchester, UK: Co-op Live Arena
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18 Dec - Birmingham, UK: Utilita Arena
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20 Dec - London, UK: O2 Arena
