It's been a tough six years for Slipknot after losing bassist Paul Gray to substance abuse and giving sticksman Joey Jordison the boot. Left without two of their most powerful songwriting forces, their future looked bleak.
But out of the turmoil came a new album, .5: The Gray Chapter, and with that came the 'Prepare for Hell' tour, as well as a new attitude towards their craft. Slipknot 2.0, if you will.
This fresh outlook seems to have transcended: as the opening notes of 'XIX' ring out through the Forum, it's plain to see that their army of fans have remained loyal but with renewed passion.
In a live setting, their new material shines. The likes of 'Custer' and 'Sarcastrophe' are delivered with urgency and conviction. However, of these mere snippets of their new record, it's 'The Devil In I' that steals the limelight with its brash yet melodic chorus, and pristine guitar work from Mick Thompson and Jim Root.
Of course, they offer up older songs too. Taking things back to the release of Iowa, tracks such as 'The Heretic Anthem' and 'My Plague' unleash a whole world of carnage that is probably what Slipknot are notorious for as percussionists Chris Fehn and Clown violently goad each other (the latter menacingly swirling around on a revolving drum kit, hoisted in the air). This is the Slipknot that fans know and love.
It's a shame however that vocalist Corey Taylor isn't as on point as he fluffs lines in songs he's been playing day in day out for almost a decade. But the crowd don't care and, if anything, they're the ones keeping him right during the band's roof-raising renditions of 'Duality' and 'Psychosocial'.
Rounding off the evening with 'Surfacing' (and raising a big middle finger to the world in the process), it's only fair to say that after all of the loss this band have experienced, they're still the kings of modern day metal.
Slipknot
Forum Copenhagen; February 12
