It’s a sad truth that Slipknot don’t really tour any more, aside from the big one-off festival appearances, but for a fraction of the cost you can go and see a tribute band – and you really can’t go wrong with the marvellous Knotslip.
Opening things up at this Halloween gig at Wrexham Central Station was Scars Of Remembrance who made the effort to dress up for their set. Plagued with terrible sound difficulties at the start of their set, with the vocals and certain parts of the drum kit unable to be heard at first, the band just took things in their stride and didn’t let it faze them, soldiering on until everything got fixed and they burst into life. It was a shame that frontman Gaz’s attempts to get a bit of crowd participation didn’t really work (you boring bunch of gig-goers!) but the band played an absolutely fantastic set littered with some absolute tunes – this is definitely a band to watch out for.
It has to be said that Knotslip are one of the best tribute acts in the business right now. They aren’t a band that comes out and plays Slipknot covers. Hell, they aren’t even a band that plays Slipknot covers whilst dressed as Slipknot. In all honesty, they aren’t a tribute band – it’s like they’re channelling the band, with each member really in-tune with their particular Slipknot ‘persona’. Their Clown especially put on such a great performance that it felt like it was the actual Shawn Crahan onstage with them! They have their performance completely nailed and whilst it obviously isn’t the real thing…they’re pretty damn close to it.
Opening with (Sic), they powered through their set and a mosh pit finally got going as the third song of the night, The Blister Exists, filled the venue. The set was a great mixture of new and old, with the band not really favouring a particular album. This is good, because you get some tribute bands that completely ignore certain eras of the band that they’re apparently a tribute for, but Knotslip covered everything.
One of the utmost highlights of the night was Duality, where their two custom percussionists invaded the crowd to perform the part of the track that involved a beer keg being hit (well, it wouldn’t have been a true Slipknot show without one!) and it went absolutely insane, winding up with various members of the audience also given the opportunity to hit the steel keg as well! It was absolutely incredible and it was a great idea, as that isn’t necessarily something that could ever feasibly happen at a Slipknot show.
They wound things up with Spit You Out, where the crowd all crouched down at the appropriate moment before simultaneously “jumping the fuck up” at the appropriate moment, with the room coming alive for one last burst of energy before the band left the stage.
It really was a night to remember and if you haven’t seen this band live yet – then what on earth are you waiting for, because they really are almost as good as the real thing!
9/10
