Críticas

Mon 27 Oct – All Hope Is Gone World Tour
I woke up about an hour ago with some strange burning sensations in my stomach, a couple of aches and bruises that weren’t there before (although strangely nothing wrong with my neck) and slightly deadened ears. Ahh, I thought to myself. Slipknot have been in Australia again...

Ever one to work the crowd, Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn pointed out early on their set that it was, somewhat strangely, a Monday night, “but who wants to drink vodka with me?!” The inside of Rod Laver Arena wasn’t too full – I guess most were saving themselves for the main event – but as I told a few friends that rocked up later on, anyone that didn’t see Machine Head missed out big-time! The traditional “Machine fucking Head!” chants were ringing out the entire set, as the metal veterans tore their way through a slew of new and old material alike – opening with the epic “Clenching the Fists of Dissent” from most recent effort “The Blackening” and closing with the immortal “Davidian”, to which the crowd reacted very enthusiastically. Meanwhile, at the centre of it all was the ever-charismatic Flynn, throwing around alcohol and demanding circle pits and headbanging in just about every song – where I was standing, in the back mosh, most people were very willing to oblige. And unlike some recent gigs I’ve been to, where the sole objective of these things seems to be a sanctioned excuse for beating the crap out of someone, there was a lot more of a traditional vibe to these circle pits, with anything beyond push-and-shove and elbows in the sides was frowned upon. Kudos to the crowd for that. At times, the sound suffered a little, usually at the expense of Flynn who often had to repeat his banter twice just to evoke a response! But it was an excellent set; it’s interesting to see a band like that, who have been enormously influential in heavy music, play opener to a relative newcomer like Slipknot. But still, the world works in mysterious ways.
SETLIST:
Clenching the Fists of Dissent
Imperium
Beautiful Mourning
Aesthetics of Hate
Old
Halo
Davidian
(cheers arrell)

Chants of “Sliiii...pknot!” were rewarded just after 9:30pm, when the curtains drew back to reveal the ever-amazing Joey Jordison warming up with Wolverine-esque claws attached to his hands. The whole band soon made their way onstage, and with that familiar ear-piercing squeal intro courtesy of Mick Thomson, the entire floor shook as Iowa’s nutty nine burst into “Surfacing”. It really didn’t feel like nearly four years since I last saw this band. In fact, I felt like I was 16 again! The band followed it up with my all-time favourite, “The Blister Exists”, and it too went down a treat with the crowd, as percussionists Chris and Clown marched across the stage with snares strapped to their chests to perform that godly percussion solo. The memories were coming back – I was one of those who had the privilege of roaring in the affirmative when Corey Taylor mentioned, “The last time we were here was on the Big Day Out tour... WHO FUCKING SAW US ON THAT TOUR?!” That’s an experience I’ve never forgotten. But tonight, the spectacle was far greater. Pyrotechnic launchers up the back, Clown’s incredible scissor-lift rotating percussion kit... I’d describe it better, but being in back mosh, I didn’t have the most fantastic view. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how the system worked – being up the front of the back, the view may have been a bit distant, but it was also relatively unimpeded, something which I’ll certainly take over stretching over the back of people’s heads any day. The ever-vocal Corey Taylor was in fine form, with more than a few choice swear words and quite a lot of apparent love for Melbourne evident in his banter. He even paused the show to bring out the gold and platinum certificates for “All Hope is Gone” and “Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses” respectively, and congratulated us for making “All Hope is Gone” number 1. Naturally, the crowd enjoyed this! The fans certainly behaved like they’d been waiting a long time for this – fists in air, feet bouncing up and down, and joining in vocally, to just about every song. Just about every song. It must be said that, however amazing their performance was, the setlist, as some others have certainly remarked, was a little unorthodox. Though throats became hoarse thanks to belting out the likes of “Duality”, “Before I Forget” and “Spit it Out”, the same cannot be said for the mostly indifferent reaction to surprise inclusions such as “Prosthetics” and “Only One” from the first album. Also somewhat surprisingly, there were only two songs included from “All Hope is Gone” – “Dead Memories” and “Psychosocial” played back to back. Maybe their older stuff gets the crowd a bit more enthused, but it is the tour for “All Hope is Gone”, yes? I’m sure most fans wouldn’t have minded a bit if they had’ve included songs like “Gematria (The Killing Name)” and the title track. At this point in the review, I guess I’m complaining a little too much – after all, not too many shows feature a finale with a rotating upside-down drum kit. And I guess I have to give the band credit for having the courage in not bowing to the pressures of just bashing out the same anthems over and over to appease the fans. But on the other hand, we WANT to see the same anthems over and over. I wasn’t the only one screaming out for “Eyeless”. “Wait and Bleed” was also left out, although I’ve never really liked that all that much personally and I can see how any band with a song that big would be fucking sick of it. Anyway... after “Only One” closed the main set, the band didn’t fuck around with their encore, blasting out “People=Shit” and “(Sic)” to ensure that the Melbournian/Victorian Maggot population didn’t leave Rod Laver Arena unsatisfied. You can say what you like about Slipknot’s slightly watered-down take on heavy metal, and I’ll certainly be the last to deny that they’re somewhat a cartoonish and immature unit, but their stagecraft is magnificent. A top notch performance!
SETLIST:
Intro/Surfacing
The Blister Exists
Get This
Before I Forget
Liberate
Disasterpiece
Dead Memories
Psychosocial
The Heretic Anthem
Prosthetics
Spit it Out
Duality
Only One
----Encore----
(515)/People=Shit
(Sic)

I unfortunately missed the opening slot from Melbourne’s awesome Sydonia. I heard mixed reviews to their pretty experimental take on alternative metal.

And why the fuck didn't either band use the video screens?

Mon 27 Oct – All Hope Is Gone World Tour

Geez, the Metal genre really is a young man's game these days. Seeing Judas Priest a couple of months back - I was amazed at the lackluster energy on offer as mainman Rob Halford strolled around the stage like a tired old man. He looked like I do when I get out of bed each morning and stumble to the fridge in a 'Tony Soprano' like shuffle to get some breakfast. Tonight was the absolute opposite of that as the nine members of Slipknot took charge of the Rod Laver Arena stage like men possessed - or with a ton of gnashing red ants in their collective pants! Barely pausing for breath, their was just so much hyperactivity on deck that it was hard just focussing on the one band member.

Of course, the crowd lapped it all up. Australia has always been a major market for Slipknot and testament to the band's popularity in Australia, Corey Taylor briefly paused the gig to show off a couple of Gold & Platinum awards for 'All Hope Is Gone' - (which debuted at Number 1 on the Australian charts) as well as for the previous 'Vol 3' opus. In this era of illegal downloads and such, and for such an extreme band that would get absolutely zero airplay on the quagmire that is Australian Radio - this is quite an achievement.

Unfortunately, with the trappings of the masks and all the theatrics, Slipknot appear to be a very underrated band. I always looked at them with fondness and marveled at their originality and catchy-as-hell musical brutality. I mean, what other Metal act features 9 members - two of them percussionists (and boy does that add to the sound in the live arena or what?) and a DJ?

Four amazing albums into their career, the band has an absolute treasure trove of material to choose from and that is exactly what they did at tonight's show. Quite honestly, there was never a dull moment be it musical or visual and seeing 9 maniacal band members totally and utterly dominate the stage with ferocity, theatricality and outright presence was a joy to watch. Levitating drums, pyro, bombs, insane clowns beating on metal kegs, violence, ferocity a DJ strutting the stage with a friggn walking stick as he's still recovering from breaking his ankles at the band's first show of the tour(!!!) This was truly a classic gig and I'm glad to say I have finally gotten to see Slipknot live!

And kudos to openers Machine Head who delivered one of the loudest sets I've ever heard since the glory days of Lemmy and Motorhead. Rob Flynn would have to be one of the most charismatic and dynamic frontmen in Metal today. The sheer energy and outright gusto he delivered was something to behold. Machine Head were simply magnificent with pure adrenalin and energy dripping from the Arena ceiling.

Full review and pics at my blog: Dogmatic