Noise

Concert review: Slipknot and Marilyn Manson bring the fear factor to T-Mobile Arena

Image
Corey Taylor of Slipknot performs at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. .
Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas News Bureau

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor christened Las Vegas as “the place where this whole journey really started for us” in the middle of his band’s concert Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena. He recalled how Slipknot only wound up signing with Roadrunner Records, which has gone on to release all five of its albums, after scaring away all other suitors at a 1998 showcase on the Strip.

Eighteen years later on the same street, Slipknot maintained the same fright factor as it slashed through a 98-minute horror show on full blast. The nine-piece played almost all of the cuts that made it the most successful metal band of the 2000s, backed by stomach-churning videos featuring unsightly scenes like maggots feasting and surgical prodding.

Additionally, Slipknot brought along perhaps the only mainstream metal artist more capable of inspiring post-show nightmares, Marilyn Manson, which shocked the audience like it was 1996 all over again during its hourlong support set. The sextet put on a greatest-hits-type set, and not only musically. With this tour being the LA act’s first in years through major arenas, the eponymous singer dug into his production trove to recreate some of his darkest theatrics of yesteryear.

Manson lit what presumably was supposed to be the Bible on fire from a lectern during “Antichrist Superstar,” and snorted what presumably was supposed to be cocaine off a table held by his “drug counselor” before “The Dope Show.” He got on stilts for his cover of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and played with a knife attached to his microphone throughout “Irresponsible Hate Anthem” while trashing the stage. He also competed against himself in a game of demonic dominoes, toppling everything from guitarist Twiggy Ramirez’s drinks to, repeatedly, his own mic stand. The antics proved distracting enough to cover up his scratchy vocal performance.

Slipknot sounded better, though percussionists Jay Weinberg, Shawn Crahan and Chris Fehn occasionally overpowered the mix when they bashed their combination of drums, trashcans and kegs in unison. Guitarist Mick Thomson particularly impressed shooting off a series of short solos that suggested Slipknot might be more critically acclaimed if not for its gimmick of always playing behind masks.

But the band has long committed to staging an element of fear, which worked to the band's intended effect for the first half of its set. After that, though, Slipknot seemed to literally scare people away, as an already sparse crowd thinned further. It was a shame, because the band felt at its most inspired during encore numbers “Surfacing” and “Spit It Out." Both were executed perfectly, yet identically to the way they’ve been done for nearly two decades, down to Taylor instructing the crowd to crouch down and jump up during a refrain in the latter song.

Slipknot were consummate professionals. Manson was more of a wild card, and that suited this bill better. There’s nothing scarier than not knowing what’s coming next.

Share
Photo of Case Keefer

Case Keefer

Case Keefer has spent more than a decade covering his passions at Greenspun Media Group. He's written about and supervised ...

Get more Case Keefer
Top of Story