You can view all our photos from the Carling Weekend Festival at Leeds, 2002 in the Slipknot photo gallery. A good time was had by all.

IS THE BEST BAND PINK FLOYD? Andy King will be airing a “full and very frank” (so he says) interview with Clown from Slipknot on his TotalRock radio show this Sunday 8th September from 9pm-Midnight GMT. TotalRock can be accessed in the UK and Ireland on Sky Digital channel 885, NTL channel 874 and globally at www.totalrock.com! Tune in! YOU SAY.. Hot off our email we thought we’d share some comments from a few hardcore ‘Knot who took the time to write to us. Thanks for writing in, we love getting mail. “AHHHH I’m loosin my tether with it all!! I have been a BIG MaGGoT of SlipKnot for many years now, every since they broke out. SlipKnot means so much to me, sometimes more to me than anything in this Crazy World. I went through some real bad times in recent years, and whenever it really got to me, I’d put on some SlipKnot very loud and it would all go away. Them Sickening Drum Beats, those Evil Guitar Riffs, the Chaotic SCREAMING and Gut Wrenching Sounds.. It all just made me into a different person, a new person. I’ve tried so hard in these years to get to see SlipKnot as many times live as I could. Those guys mean so much to me, they’ve helped me out, and to give my Thanks to them I had their Tribal ‘S’ symbol Tattooed on my left forearm in full view for every single damn person out there to see. Every time I’ve seen them live, I’ve just let it all go. I’d go into the Mosh PiTs, Head Bang like a Crazy Mother Fucker, so much that I would hurt for days after. No matter what those guys have gone through, just like they were for me, I was there for them. When every people rip shit out of me for liking SlipKnot, I tell them to go fuck them selves coz they dont know how much SlipKnot mean to me. Even as I write this I feel like I’m gunna be pysically sick, thats what those 9, SiC MaGGoTs do to me, and I dont want it to ever go away! Sorry to Ramble on like that, but I had one of them Moments when I just had to let it all go and just go Nuts! Thanks for listenin’.” – Will “Hey, Right sorry but i don’t have anything really interesting to say i’m just ‘on one’ and need to TELL SOMEBODY! I’ve just seen some of the new pictures of SLIPKNOT on your message board and FUCKING HELL!!!!! SID’S new image is AMAZING! And Clown’s variation of his old mask is the fucking best ever! This band mean so much to me. I get giddy and excited when i see a new pic or they wear slightly different boiler suits or one of them has a new mask. I think about them everyday and they’ve changed me as a person and a musician. They’ve opened my eyes to all the bullshit a lot of the other bands have to offer. All the rockstar fucking ego. All the money making ideas. The general dishonesty and complacency of the music scene. If it wasn’t for SLIPKNOT and AMEN i think the metal world as we know it would dissolve into a body-bag of decaying, stale, carnage. THANK SWEET BABY JESUS OF NAZARETH we have SLIPKNOT on OUR side! They really are making waves in the music scene and in peoples lives too. I never leave home without my Slipknot CDs. I think about them 24/7. And it doesn’t interrupt my work or my college or my band, it makes me able to cope with them better AND more importantly EXCELL in them. I’m trying to balance a struggling music career and keep my g/f and it’s hard, but i look to CLOWN who managed to beat an alcohol addiction, run a club, keep his welding job, bring up three kids, keep his wife and remain slightly sane. (And survive numerous car crashes. What a man.) He’s beaten life the hard way and i intend too. I went to see them in Manchester in February and i get teary eyes talking about it now. The hairs are up on the back of my neck as i type…but yeah, i cried, shook, moshed, almost collapsed, and stared right into the CLOWN’S EYES! I was in the middle of the floor in the pit slamming away, and i looked up to see Clown on his drums and he was starring right at me as though he’d picked me out and i could see the colour of his eyes through his mask. We looked at each other for ages then turned away. It was the BEST. I’m gonna die remembering that. THE MUSIC SCENE NEEDS SLIPKNOT. I can’t wait for them to split up cuz in a few years time people are gonna look back and think “i wish they were still going….” cuz it’s undetected genius, withe the ‘power triangle’, samples, beer kegs, welding tools, concepts, ideas, insanity and beauty. It’s the perfect and most honest monstrosity anybody has ever created. I’ve also made some predictions about the next Slipknot cycle which you don’t wanna hear but you’re going to anyway. I think the image will be shiney and silvery like the IOWA CD case. I think they will have metallic masks that reflect the stage lights and can be picked out amongst the smoke. I think the boiler suits will be something special and shiney. I think it’s all gonna be about silver. Anyways, thanks for skimming through it or whatever you did 🙂 It’d be kewl if you could pass this onto the Clown or maybe even the band themselves. Thanks and sorries, ~an obsessive and ‘on one’ Cid P.S. am sending Corey my 17yr old Spiderman eggcup and a Spiderman ring i bought him :D”

The Morning After Belfast. Ah yes, the show last night Aug 27th.. totally kick ass we hear, but of course, as expected. Read on for a review sent in by James McCullough, trusty Roadrunner street teamer. “Holy good fuckin shit what a show. After standing around for about 45 mins the lights went out and the intro of 515 kicked in the whole arena starts screaming and chanting Slipknot, the band slowly took the stage and kicked into People=Shit which sounded just brutal, especially with Chris and Shawn providing some back-up screaming, even the kids in the stands were going nuts. Crowd favourites were probably My Plague during the chorus of which you could barely hear Corey singing due to everyone in the crowd joining in, also for the crowd sang the start of the Wait and Bleed before the band started. Heretic Anthem got the crowd going with the 666 chant with Corey saying Belfast was one the craziest crowds they’ve ever had I’d have to agree with more people screaming, moshing and going mental than any other Slipknot gig I’ve been to before. Sid was one mental guy swinging round Shawn’s (who’s gone back to his old style clown mask) drum riser then jumping off which he had already pissed on and thrown up over. During Spit It Out Corey made everyone sit down and explained how to pass the mental test which consisted off everyone jumping the fuck up when told so and everyone did jump the fuck up. For me the highlights of the night were defiantly the twisted Purity, which is just an incredible song, and New Abortion which being one of my favourite songs I thought sounded extra mind-blowing. To end it all off the Slipknot anthem Surfacing which drove the already exhausted crowd into one final frenzy. In Two Words Fuckin Amazin.” Awesome. Word has it that Belfast got to hear People=Shit, Liberate, Disaster Piece, Purity, My Plague, Eyeless, Spit It Out, Eeyore, Left Behind, Get This, New Abortion, Wait and Bleed, Sic, & Surfacing. So, following on from storming shows at Reading, Leeds, and Glasgow.. Belfast tonight.. what’s next for the Knot? The band are off to Germany for a remaining couple of shows, and then it’s back home to the USA. Craig tells, “just a short run, only a few dates. We’ve just gotten into it again and now it’s time to go home!” You can catch them in Germany at: 29th August – Wiesen Festival 31st August – Off Limits Festival, Georg-Melches Stadium, Essen 1st September – Off Limits Festival, Festwiese, Leipzig

Congratulations! Slipknot have been nominated for an almighty THREE Kerrang! Awards namely: Best Video (for My Plague) – against Tenacious D, Marilyn Manson, Linkin Park, & Foo Fighters. Best Band In The World – against Sum 41, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Linkin Park, & Nickelback. Best International Live Act – against Incubus, System Of A Down, Rammstein, & New Found Glory. The K’s take place at the Hilton Hotel on the prestigious Park Lane in London on Tuesday 27th August and we’re sure a riotous time will be had by all in attendance. The same night the band play Belfast.. we’re sure it’ll be a knock out show. Best of luck guys.. we’ll have a drink or ten in your honour. Interview the ‘Knot. Be sure to check out the Session in Scotland BBC Radio website – for they will be hosting a webchat with our guys very soon. You can send in your questions in advance. PRESS! Be sure to check out the ‘Clown’ issue of Bizarre magazine, out any day now… what a surprise, it has an interview with Clown in it. And the Sept issue of FHM (out in August) has Corey taking their ‘Bloke Test’! RADIO! Tune in to Total Rock, and Music Choice.. both have My Plague on the A playlist! It’s even been picking up some plays on XFM, and Radio 1. What else can we tell you? Check out the downthesun news page… Clown did the artwork for their forthcoming album as well as executive producing it.

MY PLAGUE The single My Plague (New Abuse Mix) is out now. The tracklisting is: My Plague (New Abuse Mix) The Heretic Anthem (live) (sic) (live) My Plague (New Abuse Mix) (uncensored video) Did you know? The 2 live tracks were recorded on January 22, 2002 at Hovet in Stockholm, Sweden – and the mixing of these live tracks was done by Joey Jordison, with Matt Sepanic. Earlier today, a CD containing three audio mixes was delivered straight from London to New York…those three audio mixes being “Liberate”, “People=Shit”, and “Left Behind/Eeyore”, as recorded live from Slipknot’s show at the London Arena in early February – the show which will be the basis for the band’s upcoming dvd. Cranking from Dave’s desk at 7:45pm are these three songs. Dave tells, “You gotta admit, fuckin’ first rate.” “It’s just unbelievable, I’m fuckin’ pumped right now. Colin Richardson totally schooled it,” he continues. This leads one to question, “Any overdubs on this live recording?” “No FUCKIN’ overdubs, dude,” Dave snaps back. “100% band with chops that can play. They don’t need overdubs, they nailed every song.” Yes, Dave was present for the London show in which this was recorded. “Get ready, this is gonna raise the bar for all future live recordings.” This is The Production Gospel According to Dave…Phase II is upon us…you have been warned…resistance is futile…Amen. Slipknot dvd coming this autumn. How Very Metal… as part of our Download 2002 campaign we held a prize draw with HMV – the winner would get a personalised Slipknot Iowa gold disc… well, our winner is Joanna Tucker… and today we were sending out Joanna’s prize to her. To our great m/ amusement, the Slipknot gold disc weighs exactly 1.666 kilograms… how very metal. Conspiracy? Perhaps. Make sure you check out 2 new awesome Slipknot wallpapers for Corey and Mick now added to our In The Pit page – thanks going out to the lovely Michaela Livingstone for making them and sending them in! This past Friday (May 3rd), someone sent in an article from the London publication Reuters. The article was in reference to some confusion about another Slipknot group. Sunday (5th), The Fax (Westwood One) wrote about it, too. Yesterday (6th), in an article titled People = Knit: Slipknot Fans Attack Needle-Wielding Ladies, even MTV.com wrote about it… So, what is ‘it’ that we speak of? Let us ask you a question: how many Slipknots out there do you know of? Well, for starters, we have the Slipknot we all know…you know who we’re talking about. But, apparently there is another Slipknot group out there. Based here in Britain. An all female group. Over 1,000 members strong. Please welcome the other Slipknot, The Knitting & Crochet Guild Slipknot. The members of this knitter’s quarterly journal are not to be confused with the 9 guys that brought us “People=Shit”. Some Roadrunner Slipknot fans, searching for info on the web, apparently stumbled across the knitter’s info, sending some not to pleasant message to this British group. Secretary Anne Budworth tells “I don’t know how anyone could confuse us with them. I haven’t ever seen the band knitting.” Agreed, and True. “E-mails have been pretty unpleasant, telling us that we shouldn’t be on the Internet with the word ‘Slipknot,” chair of The Knitting & Crochet Guild Rita Taylor tells. “But we are not going to let it bother us,” she added. That’s right, chin up, ladies. The goal of this Slipknot group is “preserving and nurturing the skills of knitting and crochet.” So, how do you like that? You learn something new every day. Ladies, we wish you the best. Maggots and fans of the ‘other’ Slipknot, all our best goes out to you, too…and we ask you please wish the same to the lovely ladies of the Slipknot knitting & crochet guild.

CARLING WEEKEND CONFIRMED. Slipknot are confirmed to play the Carling Weekend, August Bank Holiday weekend (August 23-26). The band will play at both Reading (Sunday) & Leeds (Friday) sites. Other acts appearing over the weekend include: the Strokes, Pulp, Weezer, White Stripes, Guns N Roses, Incubus, Offspring, Prodigy, Jane’s Addiction, Foo Fighters, Muse, Ash, Sum 41, A, Less Than Jake, NOFX, and Andrew WK, with further special guests to be announced. Tickets are priced 퉌£90 plus booking fee for the weekend, including camping and parking. Day tickets are priced 퉌£39 plus booking fee. For tickets call the NME Ticketline on 0870 1 663 663. Calls are charged at national standard rate. We’ll be bringing you more info as it comes in! The ‘My Plague’ video has been added to Kerrang! TV (no 850) & MTV2 (censored version)! For KTV requests, call 09067 533433. The time is now. We are pleased to share with you the brand new video for My Plague. All live footage seen in this video comes from the show which was recorded at the London Arena back on February 16th…meaning you can also consider this a sneak peek at some of the live footage you will be seeing on the upcoming Slipknot dvd. All other footage that is not of the band or crowd, is from the Resident Evil movie. And of course, the version of “My Plague” which you hear on the video, is also available on the Resident Evil soundtrack, which is in stores now. Enjoy, as this is a video purely for the fans. To view, click HERE. 1st April saw the release of “The Pledge Of Allegiance Tour” CD. During the months of September and October of 2001, some of the mightiest groups of the American rock scene joined forces for the first “Pledge Of Allegiance Tour” (Illinois, USA), which was just the first of a now annual event. The CD contains 3 Slipknot tracks – recorded live and unedited – “People=Shit”, “The Heretic Anthem”, and “New Abortion”. Well although the band have left the country, you won’t have to wait that long to see Sid. Sid (#0) has been confirmed to play the drum & bass arena at Gatecrasher’s Summer Soundsystem festival on June 22 at Turweston Park in Oxfordshire! Sid will be appearing solo as DJ Starscream. Other acts appearing are Groove Armada, the Chemical Brothers and Carl Cox. What does Sid have to say about it? “I’m going to conceal my identity. Maybe I’ll just wear a gangster rag over my mouth ’cause the stuff I wear in the band is so uncomfortable. If I’m mixing I want to be able to hear what I’m doing and not worry about a vein popping out of my head because my mask is too tight!” Exciting times in the world of Slipknot. Their video for “My Plague” is complete. Finished. And just this evening, the man behind The Production Gospel According To Dave went into the US office with a VHS tape. On that videotape is the first two songs from Slipknot’s performance on February 16th at London Arena. The performance which will be the meat of their upcoming dvd. The songs – “People=Shit” and “Liberate”. As told earlier, twenty-seven cameras were used recording this performance. The company putting the dvd together are saying they have “never seen footage like this…” More to come… For an interview with Corey Taylor prior to the London video shoot, click HERE. Make sure you check out our photo collection from the recent Kill The Industry Arena tour around the UK! You can find them in the Slipknot gallery. You have been asking, and yes tis true – a new Slipknot website is on the way. This new site will feature a section called Concepts. What will fill that section? YOUR’s and Slipknot’s artwork, words, whatever…That being said, Slipknot needs YOUR Slipknot art, “crazy shit”, as Clown describes. What else? As Clown tells, “(let’s) take the most intense shit and put it up on our page”. The Slipknot Concepts page is going to be all about YOU, your submissions may end up on the new Slipknot site. Send your art to us at rrguest@roadrunnerrecords.co.uk! The new site is currently being worked on by Craig. Slipknot’s Corey Taylor writes a monthly column for Rock Sound. In his most recent writing, he speaks about inspiration – “What inspires us, what we do to inspire others.” Before going further, we are asking for your inspiration, in the form of Slipknot art, poetry, whatever. Slipknot wants your inspirations on their upcoming website, as there is going to be a section titled CONCEPTS, which will be all about the fans – your art. So, need some help with inspiration for your creations? Take a tip from Corey. From the pen of Corey Taylor, the following comes from Rock Sound (note – for more of Corey’s writings, check out www.Rock-Sound.net): “Hey. it’s me. Gonna talk about inspiration today. What inspires us, what we do to inspire other. Geniuses and fools alike look to a book of fiction called the Bible for inspiration. Others see a young man help an old lady cross the street and they donate half their inheritance to the fucking Salvation Army. The thing about it is, it’s so involuntary. You can’t decide what gives you the courage to run through a mall naked, screamin, “Leather and cotton are corrupt!”. You don’t pick your inspiration. It picks you. A lotta people ask me where I get the ideas for my columns. I try to be polite and helpful, especially for budding writers, so after my three personal bodyguards pick them up off the ground, release them from whatever death grip they learned from tours in ‘Nam, frisk them, perform fuls BCSs (body cavity searches) and run their prints for prior convictions … I spend a lot of time basically talking them out of lawsuits. I also let them in on this, my secret creative engine. I will now, for the first time, unleash on an unsuspecting public, the recipe behind my awesome intellectual prowess, my wellspring of eternal inspiration. I take a shit! Seriously. Almost 90% of my lyrics, columns, poems, screenplays and whatnot started out as an inkling on the shitter. I have more notebooks and pens in my bathroom than toilet paper, which lets you know what I do with the stuff I don’t want to keep (talk about being your own worst critic.) But, by the first grunt, I’m not reaching for the newspaper. Usually, I’ve got an idea. Sometimes it isn’t more than a few lines. Other times I stay in their so long I have to jump in the shower because last night’s dinner just dried up my ass. Am I impressing you yet ? Anyway, i don’t know what it is. Maybe it has to do with flushing the toxins from your body. Maybe it’s about releasing what’s in your soul, as wellas your intestines. Maybe I’m becoming a pretentious fucking sod in my old age, and I’m trying to romanticise the fact that almost everything I wrote on our first album started on a porn store toilet. But, the point is – who gives a flying fuck ? Whatever way works for you, work it, right ? I mean, I’m not constantly shitting, for fuck’s sake. I can obviously to this without including fibre in my diet! “Christ, my deadline’s tomorrow! Honey, where’s the Ex-Lax? I’ve got writer’s block!” Please. I think I’ve got it. It’s that moment in the day when we’re totally alone. And I mean TOTALLY ALONE. C’mon, if you’ve got people hanging out in your john for coffee and gossip, you’ve got some really filthy, nasty habits. Where was I? Oh… shitting. But how inspiring is this ? Picture it: the house is quiet, you just woke up.Just you and your bowels. You look around for your paper or notebook, romance novel, whatever you’re gonna get into for the next ten minutes. Maybe you grab your coffee, or cigarette. You get comfy and get down to business. And then it hits you@ this might be the only time you really have to yourself today. When you walk out that door, not only are you leaving a rancid reminder, but also a tranquility that’s hard to muster anywhere else. Life is gonna wrap its arms around you until you go to bed that night. School. Work. Kids. Friends. Dates. EVERYTHING. Not a moments’ peace, except for right now. And then it happens… PLOP! “Aaaaahhhh….” Okay, that was out of bounds. I admit it. Tell you what : if you pretend you didn’t read it, I’ll pretend I didn’t write it. Deal ? I know people who have lived their lives without that four syllable word, and I got to tell you, they are some of the most morose walking corpses I’ve ever met. Sometimes when we go out for coffee, I have to reach over and check them for a pulse. Maybe that’s why I’m going on at length about it. “

The Youngest Fan? We just got an email from the lovely Kirsten Daniells… “I *had* to share this with you! Murderdolls “Dead in Hollywood” just came ion Kerrang TV & my 2 year old daughter just came in to me & said “Mummy – Derderdolls on a TeeVee!!” How fucking cool is *THAT*!!!!!” Cute for sure. We’re sure she takes after her mother. Thanks for the line! Q: HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN YOU FIT IN AN INSTORE? A: NOT ENOUGH. Despite the band signing at the Virgin Megastore in London for a frantic 2 hours, still more people showed up than possible to cram in. We hear people arrived to start queueing from breakfast time… and by 4pm, 2 hours before the scheduled start time, the queue stretched downstairs and upstairs in the store, and outside, and around the building! We’ve received emails since from people who travelled from as far north as Sunderland! The band managed to meet approximately 800 fans in the 2 hours, signing everything from guitars (real and miniature!), bodies, and bongs, to mutilated barbie dolls, homemade costumes, and the usual album sleeves and posters! They were only sorry they didn’t get to meet everyone who wanted to meet them. We hear from those in the know at the store that up to 2000 more people were turned away! We’ll have some photos of the instore shenanigans up here later this week. GLAMTASTICALLY YOURS Not wanting to leave the instore til they had met all those who had escaped the queue cut-off and signed things for the store staff, meant the band ended up grabbing some dinner in the car on the way to the Highbury Garage for their sold-out show that night! The usual London traffic ensured the band finally made it to their dressing room only a little before 9pm… with them taking the stage at around 9:45pm for another glamtastic show! The airless Garage was hotter than hell, the ceiling rained sweat, bodies heaved from the front to the back to the sides, and the relentless pace didn’t slow for a second as the band ripped through most of the Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls album. Joey crowdsurfed with his guitar all the way from the stage to the mixing desk and back to the stage. Several of you have emailed in about Wednesday 13 pausing to brush his teeth, and the possibility of Eric being (Motley Crue-fame) Nikki Sixx’s evil twin! The show closed with a mightily triumphant Dead In Hollywood, and with Joey giving the crowd heartfelt thanks for their support. After the show, the band were found out the back of the venue, signing autographs, and hanging out with all those who cared to join in. Eric was spotted clutching a rapidly evaporating bottle of absinthe, given to the band by a fan at the instore earlier in the day, ‘looking for trouble’! 12am came and went, 1am came and went and the fun continued… The band return in November on the Papa Roach tour and tickets are on sale now. WHAT’S INSTORE TODAY? Sept 13th.. Friday the 13th in fact. The Murderdolls are in London today, playing a sold out show at the Highbury Garage tonight. Before that, they will be making an instore appearance at the Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly Circus from 6pm. And before even that, the band have a full day of interviews and photo shoots. Who with? Keep an eye on the following media for the results of today will surely be forthcoming…. Bizarre, Skin Deep, and Big Cheese magazines… Radio 1 for the Rock Show…. XFM for the Rock Show (airing tomorrow) … and on TV, BBC Newsround. Earlier this week, the band have had 2 guests from Kerrang! magazine travelling with them for 2 days for a future ‘On The Road’ feature piece for the magazine. Not only that watch out for all the following: Magazines – Metal Hammer, Terrorizer, Atom Tan, Total Guitar, Doom Alive, Designer, Big Buzz, Incite, View From The ‘Pit Radio – YWCR, BCB Bradford. RIPPED ‘N’ STRIPPED Bemused by our title? Fear not, for all will become clear. Last night, Sept 10, Murderdolls played a show in Manchester. What have we heard about it? Facts? Well, a few technical problems at the start.. but nothing too major… we won’t bore you with the details. Rumours? Here’s the scoop from an insider who shall remain nameless… “I heard one of the band climbed up the stack, dived into the audience and ended up half naked having had all his clothes ripped by the kids! Also heard there have been Motley Crue style after show shenanigans going down…” Birmingham tonight. Who knows what tales tomorrow will bring.

WELCOME TO GLASGOW, IT’S RAINING: September 9th, Glasgow. The first ever UK show for the Murderdolls. And how was it? We grabbed a few minutes on the phone with Acey to get the lowdown. RR: Hey Acey, how’s it going? Whatcha up to? Acey: Freebasing sitting on a toilet seat doing a line off a hooker… [Acey cuts off mid sentence.. gurgling sounds come down the phone.. laughter follows…] RR: Now THAT’S a good quote. Acey: [laughs] Go right ahead! RR: So how was Glasgow? Acey: The show was just totally off the hook! You know, every show we play just gets crazier and crazier. At one point we thought the crowd was gonna break through the barricade! Usually when we play shows, we kick the crowd’s ass. Last night, they kicked ours! RR: What did everyone get to hear? Acey: We played most of the set we’ve been doing in the US for the last few shows, [see setlist photo below] but we cut Hit & Rape coz Eric wasn’t here. RR: Yes, we heard Alex from Anti-Product is filling in for 2 shows. How’d he do? Acey: He’s not Eric, but for a last minute replacement he did damn good! He was perfect. He’s only had like a day and a half to work on the songs! RR: And now Manchester tonight. Looking forward to it? Acey: Oh yeah! When we told people that last night was off the hook, they were like ‘wait til tonight’! RR: You met some Murderdolls street & e-teamers last night too, yes? Acey: They were all totally cool. Helping us out for free?! We’re always happy to meet them. I hope we can do it on the Papa Roach tour too. RR: For sure. I heard from a couple of them today already in fact about what an awesome time they had [see review below]. Anything else you’re looking forward to this week? Acey: Playing in London and doing the instore at Virgin. Hopefully we can meet a bunch of the people who can’t get into the show! [the London show sold out faaast] RR: Ya know, we’re gonna put something up on the site every day this week about each show so I’ll be talking to you tomorrow dude! Have an awesome show.

One of our teamers, Stewart, wrote in today to tell us about the Murderdolls Glasgow show. It sounds so awesome we’re jealous we were here in London.. thanks for the line Stewart! “Hi Roadrunner I would like to thank you for setting me up with the greatest night of my life. I arrived at the the venue at around 6:15 so I phoned the point man and in 5 minutes me and the other teamers were in the lobby out of the rain (which was pissin down), so we got our stuff ready for the Murderdolls to sign and in minutes there they where in the same room breathing the same air as me. Joey came straight over to me probably because I was holding a drumstick and said in these exact words “Oh a drumstick cool do you want me to sign it?” and I’m like fuck yeah. Then I got every member to sign my album booklet and then we just mingled with the band just hangin out and talkin. And then Wednesday13 said that we were the best dressed group of fans he’d ever met especially the kid in the KISS shirt and guess who that kid was? It was ME. Then came the show itself seeing as we got in early we were at the very front. Anti-product the support band came on at about 10 to eight. And they were nothin like I thought they would be I’d been hearing that they were shit with a capital S but they kick fuckin ass and they were pretty funny especially when they got the crowd to sing along to a Maria Carie song but then broke into a kick as brutal ballad the frontman kept on jumpin into the crowd . About 40 minutes after they came off the one and only MURDERDOLLS came on and the crowd surged and went psycho and after the first song they had won over the whole crowd. Every song was play excellently and during the 6 or 7 song Joey (my new personal friend) lept off of an amp into the crowd beneath him with his guitar still strapped around neck. Nearer the end of the set I went to see what the pit was like and the guys in there were going bloody crazy. Moshpit to the left crowdsurfer to the right a fuckin maniacs at the front and back. I was having the time of my life. When the band left the stage I was heart broken but as soon as the crowd started chantin JOEY!JOEY!JOEY! They burst back onto the stage with a kick ass rendition of DEAD IN HOLLYWOOD. All in all I think everyone in the building that night went away only to come back to see them at the SCEE and then leave before Papa Roach (a pitifully inferior band compared to the Murderdolls) come on so that the memory of the Dolls will stay fresh in their minds. That said I want to thank you once more for providing me with a signed Joey Jordison drumstick, an album cover signed by all members who were present that night and last but definitely not least the night of my life I can safely say that if I were to die tomorrow I wouldn’t care.” Stewart Stevenson

The final show: Birmingham. Also the biggest instore of all: the band spend more than 3.5 hours signing over 3000 autographs. Corey says afterwards, “I’m really tired, but I’m really happy we got everyone”. Some female fans are so overwhelmed at getting to meet the band, they collapse into tears when they finally say hello, and get comforted with a hug from Joey. The NME have been following 3 fans around all day for an upcoming A Day In The Life Of A Slipknot Fan feature. Right before the band take the stage they pose for photos for Metal Hammer, and a group shot with In Flames – one of Mick’s favourite bands (so much so in fact, that when they took the stage in London, Mick legged it to the side of the stage so he didn’t miss any of their set). The show is amazing, “the best fucking show on this tour”, says Corey and backstage later Joey tells us how he “didn’t want to come off the stage at all”. The set ends with ‘Surfacing’ and several thousand velvet seat cushions flying through the air as all the fans with seating tickets rip them from their chairs and hurl them into the standing crowd. The standing crowd in turn take aim at the stage and eachother so before long, there are piles of cushions everywhere you look, with Clown and Jim even fashioning new hats from them. The band are clearly delighted, and Joey stashes one inside their wardrobe crate, so he can take it home to Iowa. Backstage after the show, the Roadrunner teamers wait anxiously in American Head Charge’s dressing room to meet the band. Not only do they meet Slipknot, the One Minute Silence guys pop in to say hi, and Slipknot’s Jim even obliges a phone call request to a fan not at the show, before telling us with a grin how much he is looking forward to being at home again, so he can “go ride motorbikes and break a fuckin’ arm”. Corey tells all the teamers how much the band appreciate their help and efforts before collapsing in a tired heap in a corner with a large Jack ‘n’ Coke. Sid hangs out with family who have come to see the show, and Craig wanders the corridors anonymous, taking in everything going on around him. Clown is mostly absent, having taken a worried looking NME journalist off on his own for a tour around the stage. Everyone is sorry the tour is over, but looking forward to going home to Iowa – the band drive down to London overnight, and catch a flight back to the US the following morning. What’s next? Corey has plans to develop his Super Ego side project, and Sid may well be back over here as DJ Starscream before too long. As Slipknot, one thing’s for sure, whatever they do next, it certainly won’t be dull. Next stop, Cardiff. Time for another instore. Loaded magazine follow the band around all day, writing and taking photos for an upcoming 3-page feature. The band squeeze in interviews for BBC Wales Pop Factory TV show, The Chart Show, and the Evening Session radio show. Approximately 2500 people are queuing for autographs, so many that the whole street is blocked. The band sign for nearly 3 hours straight, while fans outside the shop shout “let us in” at the store staff, and some even try to climb on the bus shelters and shop roof for a better view. Towards the end of the instore, the band are given a doll by a fan, which to her amusement (don’t worry, she wasn’t upset), they smash to bits on the table, destroying the table as well in the process. And that was all before the show began. Now if you’ve never been to Brighton, you won’t know that the venue is actually a sports hall. And hence, easily half the size of the other venues on this tour. With the band using the full arena production in a much smaller space, it was always bound to be a full-on show. If you were a sneaky fan and lurked out the back you might have even caught a glimpse of the band, for the buses were parked on the street. The morning of the 18th was spent doing interviews for MTV: for Brand:New, News Europe, Daily Edition, My Life Story, and 5 Best Albums shows. Pre-stage time, the band are hanging out in their dressing rooms. Having been introduced to a sound/action based game called ‘Bop It’ (note: you can buy it from Argos, approx 퉌£20) by Marilyn Manson, while on the Ozzfest tour, it’s been travelling round the UK with them. Joey bounces out of the dressing room in mid-play, while minutes later Corey appears, complete with voice-changing robotic megaphone in hand and proceeds to shout down it into the face of their larger than life don’t-mess-with security dude, who isn’t fazed in the slightest. You get the impression he’s well used to it. Bored with the megaphone, Corey indulges in some nearby ‘lift-diving’ scaring the wits out of anyone who walks down the corridor at the wrong moment. The show, of course, is another blinder, with Paul afterwards apologising for not chatting longer to the Roadrunner teamers backstage, for he put so much into the show he feels physically ill now and needs to go lie down on the bus to recuperate. Corey & Co. continue to chat with the teamers, shouting bizarre answerphone messages upon request, signing anything put in front of them, even posing for photos. Though affable, the band members are not easy to read. At one point, Corey leans in close and bellows at me, and it’s only when I catch the twinkle in his eyes I realise he’s not serious. I pull a face at him, to the shock of nearby teamers, and he immediately cracks a grin and pulls a face back. He has a shouting match with another RR rep at the show, but again it’s all in jest. I sense he finds amusement seeing how people will react. The pranks continue on leaving the show – the band’s tour manager is making every effort to get everyone on the bus, and still lots of fans are hanging out, hoping to say hi. A rather non-descript guy walks past the bus, virtually ignored by everyone, until the tour manager shouts at him (with a big smile), “Clown! Hey Clown, get on the bus, now!” It’s not Clown of course, but it was bloody funny from where we were standing as a few people took off after him. The joys of anonymity. The day before Brighton was a day off for the band. We can tell you that Sid took the opportunity to catch up with family in Oxford, and Jim took a shopping trip to Camden, London. If you were out drinking in Oxford that Sunday night, you may well have queued at the bar with a few members of the ‘Knot out for some liquid refreshment! We arrived at the London Arena mid afternoon on Saturday to find that all the oil from Joey’s riser had leaked out… effectively, rendering it broken. A frantic couple of hours were spent finding someone to come out at short notice and fix it before the show began! They did a good job, for Joey’s drum solo went off without a hitch, and many were heard at the end of the night proclaiming it a real highlight, and wondering how he managed to keep playing while facing the floor, the ceiling, and spinning round! Despite security stopping Sid from jumping from the balcony, he wasn’t deterred from jumping from the speakers and crowd-surfing. During the Spit It Out mosh, Sid had nearly all the clothes from his back torn off, and he returned to the stage with his boilersuit barely hanging on him! Clown came onstage complete with a severed pigs head which he duly held up high and paraded with before throwing it out into the crowd. We hear the fan who caught it proudly held onto it for the whole set and took it home after – whether it was to be dinner, or the new family pet, we do not know. We can also now elaborate on the “foam stuff” mentioned earlier this week. Several foam/snow machines were set up around the stage and used to create a winter wonderland during the performance of ‘Gently’ – dare we say it looked really quite beautiful. More than 25 cameras were in place in London to record every spectacular moment of the whole show for the band’s first DVD release and footage for the video for the next single, My Plague. Manchester. This show report comes direct from Slipknot fan Jordan Fitzsimmons who went to the show and emailed us about it! “Joey’s drum solo was incredible and Slipknot’s opening with People=Shit was out of this world. There was a standing ovation and everyone went crazy. I particually enjoyed Disasterpiece, Surfacing, (Sic) and Eyeless. I was really glad to hear them play Purity too. The fire works in songs like the Heretic Anthem were crazy. I nearly fell out of my seat with shock. And the jumpdafuckup part during Spit It Out was cool. I was ready to jump fucking high and thats what I bloody did. The performance of Wait And Bleed was crazy because you could hardly hear Corey (8) because everyone in the arena was singing and going crazy. When Corey first started singing Wait And Bleed Iheard this girl behind me go, “YES!” The concert was brutal and I can’t wait until they release their sicness on England again.” And so, the first Slipknot show (Glasgow) of the UK tour is done. Michelle, the band’s UK press officer, tells that everyone “went bananas” and it was ” just reaction, reaction, reaction for the whole show. There was no lull.” Both Chris and Clown have new custom kits this trip. Michelle reckons one of her highlights was Joey’s solo. Yes, Joey does a solo as part of the set, and so does Sid. Have you heard about all the pyros yet? “It’s fuckin’ amazing, it just looks like Hades”, reports Michelle, talking about stage with the ‘fire pots’ used to shoot 20′ flames into the air during Heretic Anthem. “The heat, oh my god, if you are in the front row, you’re gonna get your eyebrows singed!” The band have also brought with them massive ‘666’ signs which flash red. And if you see the crew onstage cover their ears at any point, copy them. The ‘flash bombs’ the band set off duing the set are so loud they’ll make your ears hurt. What else is instore? “Foam stuff” tells one e-teamer at the show – “at one point it looked like it was snowing onstage.” Last night the set list consisted of: (515), People = Shit, Liberate, Left Behind, Eeyore, Disaster Piece, Purity, Gently, Sid’s Solo, Eyeless, Joey’s Solo, My Plague, New Abortion, Heretic Anthem, Spit It Out, Wait And Bleed, (Sic), & Surfacing! The band take the stage at approx 9:30pm. Tonight (Feb 14) marks the start of Slipknot’s UK tour run – 6 shows in 7 nights. Earlier today the band hung out with 3,000 fans at an in store in Glasgow, the first of three during this UK tour leg. How have things been going during the three prior weeks in Europe? Corey, whilst playing dice and gambling backstage before their show in Belgium on the 12th, relays the following: “things are going good…We had 2 nights in Paris – amazing, broke out some different shit for them. Visited Jim Morrison’s grave (Corey, Jim and Clown), paid our respects and left a Slipknot hat for him. Currently an afternoon in Brussels…there’s about to be a fight (laughing)…all the pressure coming together, it’s fuckin evil – tensions mounted, aggressions to be spilled…it’s all good, 6 shows left in 9 nine more days.” As this is being written, the man behind The Production Gospel According To Dave is in the Greater Philly airport, awaiting a flight to London. Reason? If you remember, in a mere 2 days on Saturday (16th), the show at the London Arena will be shot for an upcoming Slipknot dvd project and for an upcoming video for “My Plague”. A note to all you London cats – be fucking sic. One final note, in case you are unaware, Slipknot will be doing two more in store appearance whilst in the UK: Tuesday, 19th at Virgin Megastore in Cardiff, and Wednesday, 20th at Virgin Megastore in Birmingham. During these in store appearances, the first 1,000 fan in attendance will be given a raffle ticket, one ticket which will be picked for the holder to personally meet up with the band and get an international football shirt signed by all nine members – all details below. It’s true. The band have arrived in the UK and are currently in Glasgow for their show today on Valentines Day! Also, if you are in Glasgow, get yourself down to the Virgin Megastore for midday for the band are doing a signing session! We hear that as of the midday start, more than 3000 people have shown up already… that’s a lot of autographs to sign.