Slipknot partied like it’s 1999 with Knocked Loose at Madison Square Garden

“I’ve been waiting to say this all day,” Corey Taylor said to a sold-out crowd at the world’s most famous arena last night. “Coming to you live from Madison Square fucking Garden!” It wasn’t the veteran metal band’s first time playing the iconic arena and it probably won’t be the last, but the thrill of playing MSG never gets old, and Slipknot selling out the Garden on August 12, 2024 had a different significance than it might’ve had in the past. At this show, they were celebrating the 25th anniversary of their 1999 self-titled debut album, and as they revealed on stage at the first show of this tour, they aren’t playing any songs written after 1999 on this run. Slipknot were still far from becoming an arena band in ‘99, and playing only those songs for a crowd this massive is something they only could’ve dreamt of when they album first came out. As they made very clear on stage, none of this is lost on them at all.

When they announced the tour, Clown promised that there would be an intimacy to this tour, and it was indeed a more stripped-back affair than a typical Slipknot tour. It’s still Slipknot, so there’s still nine people decked out in masks and costumes, including two DJs and two percussionists who bang on trash cans, but for Slipknot’s standards, the stage setup felt closer to a regular rock or metal band compared to Slipknot’s usual theatrics. (This was also Slipknot’s first tour with former Sepultura drummer Eloy Casagrande, and he had no trouble filling the gigantic shoes he needed to fill.)

Playing just about every song on the self-titled plus bonus tracks from the era meant no huge hits outside of “Wait and Bleed”—a lot of album anniversary tours include encores with hits from other eras, but Slipknot bucked against that. I’ve seen some complaints about the setlist online, but if you ask me, it’s pretty fucking cool. This was a Slipknot set unlike any other Slipknot set you’ll see these days. It was a real treat to see them break out a slew of deep cuts from ‘99, including some songs that hadn’t been played since 2000 before this tour, and the band was an absolute force from start to finish. Slipknot is a next-level live band and there wasn’t a single moment when they weren’t firing on all cylinders.

To me, the most surreal part of Slipknot celebrating a quarter-century of their debut album is just how fresh and urgent these songs still sound. The album is basically classic rock, but it still sounds edgy and rebellious by today’s standards. At some point along the way, Slipknot became the metal gods that bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden became before them, and even though not a single song in this set was written less than 25 years ago, you could tell that Slipknot are still pushing forward. It wasn’t a show that required me to revel in nostalgia. It was a show that made me excited to see what Slipknot does next.

Right before Slipknot, the crowd was treated to an opening set by Knocked Loose and they’re a perfect opener for a show that has Slipknot focusing on the heavier, rawer material of their first album. Knocked Loose make death metal-infused metalcore that’s dark and evil but also seriously catchy, and they had no trouble filling the massive arena with the brooding gut-punch of a Knocked Loose show. It’s not unusual to see even great bands struggle to command the crowd when opening a show of this size, but Knocked Loose made it look easy. They had GA moshing the entire time, they made sure even the people in the nosebleeds were getting in on the crowd participation, and they incited some singalongs that made it obvious that there were plenty of Knocked Loose fans in the house. With their great new album You Won’t Go Before Your Supposed To dominating heavy music this year, it felt as much like a Knocked Loose show when they were playing as it felt like a Slipknot show when the headliners took the stage.

Orbit Culture opened the show and they fit right in too. They were loud and heavy as fuck and got a handful of the early birds moshing and headbanging and throwing up devil horns. Great show from start to finish.

Pictures of the show are coming very soon. Meanwhile, check out Slipknot’s setlist and a couple videos below.

Slipknot @ Madison Square Garden – 8/12/24 Setlist (via)
742617000027 (with Grady Twins clip)*
(sic)
Eyeless
Wait and Bleed
Get This
Eeyore
Tattered & Torn (Sid Wilson remix)*
Me Inside
Liberate
Frail Limb Nursery*
Purity
Prosthetics
No Life
Only One

Encore:
Mudslide*
Spit It Out
Surfacing
Scissors

* – played by DJ