Having had the absolute honour of working with Slipknot, the nine masked maniacs from Des Moines, Iowa, for the past 25 years, I was the first to put my hand up to review The Knot as they sold out two nights at the legendary The O2 arena London.
Slipknot
The O2 – 20 December 2024
Words: Sara Harding
Photography: Ryan Hildrew
Before I get into the live review of tonight’s gig, I wanted to share some of my Metal memories of years on the road filming with Clown, Corey, et al.
My first interview with the band was for Kerrang! TV was frikkin’ scary. Imagine nine mahoosive, masked-up creatures walking towards you. I have to say it was pretty intimidating (but shhhhhhhh don’t tell anyone they were as lovely as a basket of baby puppies) and mighty fine on the eyes, sans masks.
We spent a lot of time on the road touring the USA on the Mayhem tour and daily we would have a laugh whether it was Bon Jovi karaoke with Corey, a daily update with Clown about the weather, nearly getting decapitated as Sid whizzed us around in his buggy and trying to ‘out Metal’ Seven in every photo.
Slipknot are hands down my favourite live act to get into the mosh pit for, with Metal chops like no other. I once took a famous jazz drummer to a Slipknot gig, and he was blown away, saying, “This was musically more difficult and complex” than any concert he had performed at.
The nonet that are Slipknot are celebrating their 25th anniversary on this tour and are performing all the anthems, the rarities and deep cuts from the 1999 self-titled debut album that launched them into the rock stratosphere. As we head to the hallowed O2, we maggots are all super excited to hear these songs dusted off and blasted out. Surfacing is my all-time favourite song from Slipknot.
As the house lights dim, the eerily brilliant, super soft, creepy Dream Weaver plays out, luring us all into a full sense of chillness. Then it’s crash bang into full-on Knot action with (sic), a Metal whirlwind of mayhem and tight musicianship.
With a nod to the old-school costumes of the ’90s, the classic red boiler suits are back, bedecked with barcodes, with many of the masks reminding me of my Metal happy daze of filming with the dudes back in the day.
Frontman Corey Taylor is red-eyed and dreaded up as he faces the thousands of fans going mental. 
The pulse of the maggots has begun already as heads bang, hair swings, the mosh gets manic. Even we (older, ahem) music journalists are up out of our seats, joining in the Metal mayhem.
The stellar setlist continues with Eyeless, and witnessing the spectacle of thousands of fans pulsing and living in this moment is truly a goosebump moment.
We are back in the chaos of 1999. What is amazing to see is old-school fans mashing it up with the new generation of Slipknot lovers, with young kids air drumming, others in awe of the amazing production and, of course, the moshpit madness.
Clown, aka Shawn Crahan, says, “The band are in a great place, and they probably have multiple albums of new material in the works.”
This makes me very happy, as with personnel changes and the loss of Joey Jordison and Paul Gray, the band still continues to evolve. Crahan adds that new drummer Eloy Casagrande’s presence is making the dynamic “very fun.”
These are true words, as we can clearly see Clown and Co. enjoying themselves on this world stage. Casagrande – holy shit, what do I say about this drummer that has not been said before? Pure precision and double drum beats delivering a pulsing Heavy Metal heartbeat to each and every one of the songs.
Get This and Eeyore are next in line from the album, and once again, they are just pure magic. As always, I love watching Clown. His character is just so engaging, plus he is such a tour de force in banging his drums, entertaining, and delivering forceful BV’s as he covers the stage with his unique performance. 
The backline and baseness are boneshaking, as are the sheer riffage of Jim Root and Seven. With the extra layers of sheer Metal from Allessandro Venturrella and Michael Pfaff, they are all a tour de force of musicianship like no others.
Sid, AKA number zero, is maxing his DJing up to 11 as he plays Tattered & Torn. He is given the time to shine in this set, scratching and injecting beats and top horror sound effects that echo around this vast, sold-out arena. His turntable skills are sublime. With legendary girlfriend Kelly Osbourne and baby Sid in tow, it is a real family affair for Wilson.
Then it’s time for Corey to shhhhhhhh us all. He gets the house lights turned on and takes it all in as we cheer and scream.
“Slipknot are home,” he screams, clearly overwhelmed. “For once, I’m speechless. We came from this first album, and now, 25 years later, here we are. We are grateful, and we love each and every one of you.
“When we released this first Slipknot album, no one took us in like this city, London. That’s why we are home. We played this at the London Astoria back in 1999.”
I was at that gig with MTV, and it is still one of my all-time favourite shows. What a way to re-live it here and now. Very emotional. 
The band crack on with Me Inside and Liberate with more DJing from Sid with Frail Limb Nursery.
Purity and Prosthetics have The O2 roof shaking. Then the nonet deliver No Life and Only One, fast, furious and frantic but always polished. For me Corey Taylor could sing anything and make it his own. His vocals are simply stunning, screamy, soft and sublime.
Then it is encore time with our Sid getting turntabling with Mudslide. Then, for me, it is the three big ones. Spit It Out has the fans literally levitating in sheer enjoyment, and when Surfacing kicks in, we all lose our shit. 
This band continue to evolve with promises of new albums, and as I look around at every fan here at this arena, I am so glad for all the maggots that Slipknot have listened and continue to perform for us.
Slipknot play out with Scissors. They have truly spoiled us tonight with the anthems, the old school and the deep cuts, and it was truly a night to remember, just like the first time we witnessed them at the Astoria in 1999.
Just like Corey, I am speechless for once. I have lost my voice.
The sheer love for this band spills out onto our long tube journeys home, and the absolutely buzzing shout-outs by all the fans on their socials is a testament to this band.
Please come back to your home from home again, Slipknot. You are always welcome.
This review is dedicated to the late, great Michelle Kerr, who worked tirelessly with Slipknot from the early Roadrunner days to Cosa Nostra and was a huge champion of the band. Michelle looked after us journalists and TV crews with huge professionalism, and the nonet and all of us adored her.
