Aside from 70's and 80's legends Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Metallica, you'll be hard-pressed to find a metal band that is popular enough to headline a 20,000 capacity venue by themselves. Slipknot is one of the few contemporary bands that's capable of achieving that feat . The Iowa-bred group brought their "Summer's Last Stand" tour- which also features genre heavy-hitters Lamb of God, Bullet for My Valentine and Motionless in White- to the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts last night and the results were predictably chaotic and exhilarating.
By the time I got into the Xfinity Center, Motionless in White had already played. I really don't like their music, so I was hardly devastated that I missed their set. The second support act, Bullet for My Valentine, took the stage about 15 minutes after I arrived. I haven't actively listened to them in about five or six years and the last album I heard by them (2010's Fever) was pretty underwhelming. That being said, they're still a formidable live band. Frontman Matt Tuck still sounds sharp even after his numerous vocal surgeries and it's extremely fun watching their lead guitarist Michael Paget effortlessly rip through blistering solo after blistering solo. I probably won't start listening to their studio material again (especially since the material they played from their upcoming record Venom sounded pretty bland), but their live show was surprisingly enjoyable.
Direct support act Lamb of God started up about 20 minutes later. Just like the four prior times I'd seen them, they were absolutely killer. As a live act, they are the epitome of consistency, putting on high-energy, musically-tight performances every time they hit the stage. The setlist was pretty par for the course for them, as they played a number of longtime fan favorites such as "Now You've Got Something to Die For", "Laid to Rest" and "Redneck", and the two singles from their excellent new record VII: Sturm Und Drang. The lone surprise in their set was the presence of As the Palaces Burn closer "Vigil" as the first song of their encore. I'd been dying to hear them perform "Vigil" since the first time I saw them in April 2009 and it was well worth the wait as it was every bit as badass as I had hoped it would be. While Lamb of God was impressive, their live show stdoesn't translate very well to a huge stage. The deep, pummeling grooves are tailor-made for a club setting and a lot of their music's power gets lost in huge, seated amphitheaters. Despite the less-than-ideal setting, Lamb of God put on a great show as always. I have a feeling they're going to eviscerate everything in their path when they return to the club circuit on their next headliner this fall/winter.
After a half hour-or-so change over, the lights went down and Van Halen's "Runnin' With the Devil" played over the PA , signifying the start of Slipknot's set. The band opened with "XIX", the moody prelude to "Sacastrophe", which leads off their new album .5: The Gray Chapter . Once "XIX" transitioned into "Sarcastrophe, the curtain dropped and revealed their elaborate stage setup which featured a series of ramps, a ton of fire and a large backdrop featuring a giant Satan with glowing eyes. The entire venue proceeded to launch into a full-on frenzy that only grew stronger as the night went on. No many how times (this was my third) you see Slipknot, the spectacle they bring to the stage never ceases to impress. Their nine-member deep lineup give them a uniquely massive stage presence and they never fail to sound better and better the further along they get into the set. While the entire band deserves praise for making Slipknot shows such an amazing experience, the catalyst for the high quality of their performance is vocalist Corey Taylor. Taylor constantly engages the audience and leads the heavy metal circus that is Slipknot with bravado and unrivaled intensity. However, Taylor's most impressive feat is how he's still able to sing and scream so well at age 41. While a lot of the guys he came up with (Marliyn Manson, David Draiman of Disturbed,) in the scene have seen their vocals greatly deteriorate from their heyday in the late 90's/early 2000's, Taylor sounds still just as good as he did during the band's early years. Slipknot also deserves a lot of props for crafting a damn near perfect setlist. They managed to work in a great balance of new material ("AOV", "Killpop", "Custer") and old favorites ("Spit it Out", "Duality", "People=Shit" without leaning too hard on either. Some people have complained that this setlist is too similar to the one they played on their co-headliner with Korn last November/December, but since I missed that tour, I had no serious qualms with it. Slipknot's music may be filled with over-the-top angst and their songwriting is often far from complex, but they are a truly special live act who is amongst the best bands I've ever seen perform.
Side Notes:
-Can Bullet for My Valentine please play another song from The Poison besides "Tears Don't Fall"? I swear to god once Fever came out they permanently retired every other song from that record from their live sets.
-Seeing a Lamb of God set that doesn't end with "Black Label" is very strange.
-"Eyeless" being the only single from Slipknot's 1999 self-titled debut to not appear in their set was a serious bummer. For my money, it's the best track on that record.
-The infamous "Jump the Fuck Up" tradition Slipknot has during the buildup of the "Fuck me, I'm all out of enemies" section of "Spit it Out" is super corny, but it's still fun as hell and never fails to get crowd ridiculously hyped.
-This was without question the loudest of the 10+ shows I've seen at the Xfinity Center.
-Most of the crowd appeared to be around my age (early-to-mid 20's), which is shockingly old for a Slipknot and Lamb of God concert. I guess the kids aren't really into Slipknot or Lamb of God anymore.
Scores:
Bullet for My Valentine 7.5/10
Lamb of God 8.5/10
Slipknot 9.5/10
Setlists:
Bullet for My Valentine:
No Way Out
Your Betrayal
Raising Hell
Scream, Aim, Fire
You Want a Battle? (Here's a War)
The Last Fight
Tears Don't Fall
Waking the Demon
Lamb of God:
Walk with Me in Hell
Now You've Got Something to Die For
Still Echoes
512
Ghost Walking
Ruin
Hourglass
Encore:
Vigil
Laid to Rest
Redneck
Slipknot:
XIX
Sarcastrophe
The Heretic Anthem
Psychosocial
The Devil in I
AOV
Vermillion
Wait and Bleed
Killpop
Before I Forget
Sulfur
Duality
Disasterpiece
Spit It Out
Custer
Encore:
(sic)
People=Shit
Surfacing
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