Hammersmith Apollo 10/10/04

Billed as the Unholy Alliance Tour, October saw two of heavy metals hardest and heaviest bands join forces to storm Europe. Or possibly beat it into some form of sonic submission. It's not entirely clear, but both bands have a huge and fanatical following that is ready, and able, to assist them in their endeavours. To be honest, I'm not a fan of either band, or of heavy metal in general, but SLG's friend Ed, the wonderful Ed, can be very persuasive, and certainly Slipknot have generated a lot of press and interest, so what was there to lose?

Also included on the bill are Hatebreed and Mastodon. I'd like to be able to tell you what either of them sounded like, but Ed and I were in the pub, considering whether body armour or earplugs were likely to be more sensible apparel for the forthcoming headline acts.

Slayer have been around for a few years - 20 in fact, meaning they were formed before a good proportion of tonight's audience were born. However, they have been a huge influence on virtually every heavy metal band since their ground breaking Show No Mercy was released in 1983. The combination of guitars that went up to 12, bone crunch-rhythms and Satanic lyrics was soon dubbed 'thrash' metal and nothing afterwards was quite the same. By the time we find our seats they are just about to appear and the entire audience is waving index and little fingers in the air in the time honoured tradition of devil worshippers and Phones 4 u customers everywhere.

Regular readers (all two of you) know that I would normally indulge in a reasonably detailed analysis of the bands set and point out particular highlights. I can't do this for Slayer (or come to that Slipknot), as I'm not at all familiar with their material and wasn't actually able to catch any tunes at all. At one point I did catch the words 'I am the Behemoth', and even sang along, but other than that, I have NO idea of what these guys were on about. I can say that they were hugely entertaining - the entire band appear to have attended the Blackadder heroic stance school, with a particular mention for vocalist and bassist Tom Araya, whose stance is nothing short of epically heroic. His head banging was also impressive, and the contrast between his long hair and guitarist Kerry Kings baldness being particularly striking. By contrast rhythm guitarist Jeff Hanneman contents himself with simply being.

Drummer Paul Bostaph is the lynchpin of the band, powering proceedings from behind a drum kit that renders him all but invisible. He is both incredibly loud and amazingly impressive, thrashing his kit into submission for over an hour. I also particularly enjoyed the lights triggered inside the drums when they were struck. It's a simple idea, and is very effective in the context of the show.

In common with all metal bands, Slayer have a particular bond with their audience, and even an outsider like myself was curiously touched by his comment as they left the stage that 'We thank you for our good fortune.'

After an amazingly quick set change, Slipknot take the stage to what seems like mass hysteria from the assembled maggots ¹, not to mention another outbreak of Phones 4 U advertising. Their audience, it is clear, adores them.

I wanted to like Slipknot, I really did. I understand what they are trying to do, and even applaud it. Their trademark masks and black jumpsuits restore a sense of showmanship that has been sorely lacking in rock music for sometime.

There are good points. Drummer Joey Jordison and percussionists Chris Fehn and Shawn Crahan are capable of making a hell of a racket, and the show opens with a very impressive piece of three way drummer between them, with Fehn and Crahan drilling out a military tattoo, Jordison hammering out a more traditional rock beat behind them.

For me, sadly, it was pretty much all downhill from there. Unlike Slayer, not only was I unable to tell what any individual song was called, I was pretty much unable to tell where one song ended and another began. Bassist Paul Gray and guitarists Mick Thompson and Jim Root in particularly disappeared into a sound mix that was both bass heavy and sounded like it was coming from somewhere underwater. Corey Taylor's vocals were one long scream of hate, lacking definition and modulation. DJ Sid Wilson appears to serve little or no purpose whatsoever, except to rampage around the stage and tip over various parts of the percussion kits. Missing ² is Craig Johnston, who, according to the bands website is responsible for loops and media. This may or may not explain Sid Wilson's appearing redundancy as the pair presumably work closely together.

All in all, I can't help feeling that its a shame. Slipknot, like many bands of their type, are clearly far from stupid. Their lyrics are dark and twisted, perfect for the generation that they represent, a mixture of anger, fear and resentment that boils into hate. The one song I am sure that they did play was 'Wait and Bleed' from their eponymous debut album, with a jolly sing along chorus;

I've felt the hate rise up in me...
Kneel down and clear the stone of leaves...
I wander over where you can't see...
Inside my shell, I wait and bleed...³

To be honest, Slipknot are never going to be my cup of tea, for any number of reasons. However, I can only admire their energy and self-belief, and the fact that they clearly represent something that their fans care and believe in. To describe any of the audience in Hammersmith as apathetic, non-caring or any of the other terms that are often used to describe today's youth is to miss the point. If the church or politicians could engage even a tenth as successfully with their audience as Slipknot do with theirs, the world would be a better and happier place.

Rockin' Around the Clock
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