SLIPKNOT TAKE AUDIENCES DOWN ROUTE ‘666’ WITH INTERNATIONAL TOUR DATES SET TO KICK OFF JANUARY 20

SLIPKNOT TAKE AUDIENCES DOWN ROUTE ‘666’
WITH INTERNATIONAL TOUR DATES SET TO KICK OFF JANUARY 20

‘IOWA’ CERTIFIED PLATINUM

The worldwide phenomenon that is SLIPKNOT will launch a major headlining overseas tour which runs from January 20-March 24. Kicking off in Helsinki and wrapping in Tokyo, the trek will encompass arenas in 12 countries, including indoor bullrings in Madrid and San Sebastian. Testifying to their worldwide success, their newly platinum-certified IOWA album debuted impressively in the U.K. at #1 and at #4 in Germany and #5 in Italy.

Following the overseas shows, SLIPKNOT will return to the U.S. for a full-on headlining tour that will make up for shows that were cancelled. As previously reported, the wife of percussionist SHAWN (#6) CRAHAN had to undergo surgery at the Mayo Clinic for Crohn’s Disease. Since her difficult recuperation is expected to take six weeks, CLOWN will remain at home in Iowa to care for his wife and three young children during that time.

Anticipation for SLIPKNOT‘s 2002 shows outside America is huge given the band’s volcanic performances on the historic Pledge of Allegiance Tour (September 21-November 2) where fans witnessed SLIPKNOT‘s most elaborate and startling stage presentation to date. Creating a densely layered wall of sound encompassing three percussionists, SLIPKNOT ignited audiences with a gravity-defying drum solo, non-stop pyrotechnics, hydraulic lifts, state-of-the-art lighting and side-of-the-stage marquees emblazoned with the flashing numbers ‘666.’ In describing the SLIPKNOT visual experience on the Pledge of Allegiance Tour, James Sullivan of the San Francisco Chronicle observed: “As drummer Joey Jordison flailed at snares and double-timed the kick drums, the kit rose, slowly tipped forward 90 degrees, then swiveled like a pinwheel” (October 1, 2001). Responding to SLIPKNOT‘s brutally honest songs about taking control of your own life like “Heretic Anthem,” “Disasterpiece” and “Gently,” crowds at recent shows erupted furiously, with Tony Hicks of the Contra Costa Times noting that the general admission floor at the Compaq Arena in San Jose “featured a pit so big it resembled a swirling hurricane on an arena-sized weather map” (October 1, 2001).

Throughout the live show, SLIPKNOT–DJ SID WILSON, drummer JOEY JORDISON, bassist PAUL GRAY, percussionist CHRIS FEHN, guitarist JAMES ROOT, sampler CRAIG JONES, percussionist CRAHAN, guitarist MICK THOMSON and lead singer COREY TAYLOR (also known as 012345678, respectively)–merge songs from their three million-selling self-titled Roadrunner debut album with highlights from the new IOWA, which entered the Billboard Top 200 album chart at #3. The cover of the album depicts a defiant image of a goat. As percussionist SHAWN CRAHAN (#6) explains in Rolling Stone’s cover story on SLIPKNOT: “Goats are set in their ways, they’re stubborn. There’s two types of people: sheep and goats. It’s a wake-up call. We’re not here to follow. We’re here to break the monotony and the rules of efficiency. An artist’s job is to be out of their mind to help the evolution of the species” (October 11, 2001). In the Alternative Press November cover story, lead vocalist COREY TAYLOR elaborates: “”For every LA, for every New York, there are 10,000 little small towns where kids don’t get shit, and that’s what I represent. I represent that pent-up, emasculated fuckin’ rage…I’m the voice of those kids who don’t have a voice…There’s a lot of anger, but at the same time I’m trying to tell all of these kids that it’s all right…They sit in these little fuckin’ towns, and they’re completely fuckin’ persecuted for everything. The way they look, the way they dress, the music they listen to, everything. I went through it myself…”

In the Rolling Stone cover issue, David Fricke weighs in with a four-star rave review of IOWA:

“Iowa is not just the first great record of the nu-metal era–it’s better than that. In fact, Slipknot’s second album may be the only platter of its day and subgenre that, in five or ten years, we call ‘classic,’ with the same awed breath we reserve for Black Sabbath’s early monsters, Metallica’s Master of Puppets and Rage Against the Machine…the quality of ruthlessness and sustained physical exertion here is breathtaking: the impossible velocity of Joey Jordison’s kick-drum gallop and snare rolls in ‘People = Shit’ and ‘Disasterpiece’; the way DJ Sid Wilson and programmer Craig Jones multiply the stiletto-lick and power-chord math of Mick Thomson and Jim Root like a pair of extra guitars; the pagan-kettledrum terror and thick-riff groans of ‘Skin Ticket’…With IOWA, Slipknot go to the head of the slag heap, the new kings of extreme. They may wear clown masks, but they’re no bozos.”

Catch the KNOT in the following markets:

Contacts:
Mitch Schneider/Kristine Ashton/Maggie Wang at MSO (818-380-0400 or kashton@msopr.com and mwang@msopr.com)
Maria Gonzales at Roadrunner Records (310-858-2676 or gonzales@roadrunnerrecords.com)

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