Being the Sound Engineer for Slipknot Before They Were Famous
Imagine it’s the turn of this century. You’re the in-house sound engineer for whatever venue. You arrive at work one day to do a routine sound check for the band performing that evening. And gradually, you realize that said band wears costumes and has nine members, one of whom “plays” a beer keg, and one of whom, as far as you can tell, doesn’t actually do anything at all.
No one would blame you if you thought this was the stupidest fucking thing ever. No one would blame you if you assumed the band would “never make it anywhere.”
And yet, the band would be — of course — Slipknot, who are, of course, MASSIVELY successful today.
This is the premise of a droll new video from Raised by Owls, a self-described “daft extreme metal band from the UK” who exist “to cause a mild disturbance and then apologize shortly afterwards.” (Vince actually covered them a couple of years ago, although I completely forgot about that). Although I never knew any sound dudes who had such an experience, I do remember a friend being confounded by Slipknot upon seeing them on the Ozzfest second stage in 1999, right after their eponymous debut came out. So not only is this video funny — it’s not especially far-fetched.
Incidentally, I’ve listened to some Raised by Owls now, and they are themselves quite good! You can check out their Slipknot video below, and an original tune by the band below that. You can check out more on their Facebook and Bandcamp pages.
Slipknot, meanwhile, are currently touring the U.K. and Europe. Remaining dates on that trek are as follows:
Jan 24 – Birmingham, United Kingdom – Birmingham Arena [Tickets]
Jan 25 – London, United Kingdom – The O2 [Tickets]
Jan 28 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome [Tickets]
Jan 29 – Frankfurt, Germany – Festhalle [Tickets]
Jan 30 – Paris, France – AccorHotels Arena [Tickets]
Feb 01 – Luxembourg, Luxembourg – Rockhal [Tickets]
Feb 02 – Lyon, France – Halle Tony Garnier [Tickets]
Feb 04 – Budapest, Hungary – Sportarena [Tickets]
Feb 06 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena [Tickets]
Feb 08 – Stuttgart, Germany – Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle [Tickets]
Feb 09 – Munich, Germany – Olympiahalle [Tickets]
Feb 11 – Milan, Italy – Mediolanum Forum [Tickets]
Feb 12 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion [Tickets]
Feb 14 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle [Tickets]
Feb 16 – Hamburg, Germany – Barclaycard Arena [Tickets]
Feb 17 – Berlin, Germany – Mercedes-Benz Arena [Tickets]
Feb 18 – Dortmund, Germany – Westfalenhalle [Tickets]
Feb 20 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena [Tickets]
Feb 21 – Stockholm, Sweden – Ericsson Globe [Tickets]
Feb 22 – Oslo, Norway – Telenor Arena [Tickets]
Feb 24 – Helsinki, Finland – Hartwall Arena [Tickets]
Mar 20 – Tokyo, Japan – Knotfest Japan* [Tickets]
Mar 21 – Tokyo, Japan – Knotfest Japan* [Tickets]
Mar 24 – Singapore – Singapore Rockfest* [Tickets]
Mar 27 – Jakarta, Indonesia Hammersonic Festival* [Tickets]
Mar 29 – Manila, Philippines – Amoranto Stadium [Tickets]
May 16 – Columbus, OH — Sonic Temple Festival* [Tickets]
Aug 01 – Wacken, Germany – Wacken Open Air* [Tickets]
Aug 10 – Barcelona, Spain – Knotfest at Sea* [Tickets]
Aug 22 – Milton Keynes, United Kingdom – Knotfest UK* [Tickets]
*festival date
