It’s a Friday night in Las Vegas and Slipknot is playing with Cypress Hill – doesn’t that sound like a great time? Of course it does.
I arrived at the venue near the end of Ho99o9’s set but they are a great band and live act. Don’t miss them. I saw them warm up Mr. Bungle (w/ Scott Ian and Dave Lombardo) and they killed it. Once they left the stage set-up began for Cypress Hill.
While Cypress isn’t really a heavy metal act, they draw a large metalhead fanbase because of their stoner tendencies. Their DJ opened their set by cutting up a bunch of metal records – Metallica and Sabbath to name some examples. When their set started they had a live drummer which is not common for rap groups in 2022.
The band plowed through a set of classic songs and left me realizing what a legacy Cypress Hill has created. They are without a doubt one of the most established hip hop groups in the history of music. At one point B-Real stopped and told the crowd that the guys in Slipknot were family and that they had talked about doing this tour years ago but the guys in Slipknot were the ones who made it happen.
After an impressive set the arena went dark and Slipknot’s banner dropped. The countdown to the main event had begun. Cypress Hill had a huge crowd during their set but at this point the arena really began to fill up. People poured into the seats as the music blared… the GA section slowly grew more and more dense as people packed in, trying to get as close to the stage as they could.
AC/DC’s for those about to rock played followed by “Get Behind Me Satan and Push” and then the curtain dropped and the band tore directly into one of my all time favorite Slipknot tracks: Disasterpiece.
The band then jumped right into Wait and Bleed before playing a couple of their newer tracks, “All Out Life”, “Sulfur” and “Before I Forget”.
At this point Cory paused for a moment and spoke about releasing a new album. He hinted that within the next few weeks you’d be hearing something new from the band and that before the year is over there will likely be a full Slipknot LP out. The band then launched into “The Chapeltown Rag” a single they released earlier this year.
The new song sounded great and Slipknot is not getting any softer. Relatively new drummer Jay Weinberg tore it up all night and the band sounds as tight as ever.
During one memorable point of the show, Cory Taylor asked the crowd how many people were Slipknot veterans who had seen them before. The applause was loud but when he asked how many were seeing the band for their first time the response was surprisingly even louder. So in addition to the band retaining their extreme sound they continue to expand their following. It was a truly diverse crowd especially as far as age range goes.
For me peak of the show was when they played “The Heretic Anthem”
Cory introduced the song by letting the crowd know that everyone there was family. He explained that Slipknot doesn’t give a fuck about what race you are, what religion you practice, who you love or any of that bullshit. Anyone who does have a problem with any of that is definitely not a part of the Slipknot family… the energy reached a tipping point and the audience shouted “IF YOU’RE 555 THEN I’M 666” in unison.
This energy continued until the band played the song “Snuff” which was definitely a gigantic shift in the mood. People did the modern equivalent of “holding your lighter up” by turning on their phone flashlights. It was a fantastic contrast and proof that this band isn’t all noise. They can slow it down and do something melodic when they feel like it.
The band closed out the set with “Spit it Out” which is always a crowd pleaser. Then the lights went off and quite a few people began to file out… but the die hards chanted “ONE MORE SONG… ONE MORE SONG” and eventually the lights flickered back on and the band returned to the stage to perform a barn burning rendition of “People = Shit” followed by the classic “Surfacing.”
A fantastic vibe, stellar performances and a perfect Friday night in Las Vegas. I can’t wait to see the band again when they tour in support of their upcoming record. If you haven’t seen them yet get out there to a show.
If you created a list of bands who are helping to carry the thrash metal torch that was lit by legends like Slayer, Anthrax, Metallica, Pantera, etc. – Slipknot would most definitely be somewhere at the top of it.
Slipknot – MGM Grand Arena Set List (Friday, June 17th 2022)
Disasterpiece
Wait and Bleed
All Out Life
Sulfur
Before I Forget
The Chapeltown Rag
Dead Memories
Unsainted
The Heretic Anthem
Psychosocial
The Devil in I
Snuff
Vermilion
Duality
Spit It Out
ENCORE
People = Shit
Surfacing
