Slipknot and Marilyn Manson performed together to a packed house on July 10, 2016 at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA.
The show was opened by Of Mice & Men, who will release their fourth studio album “Cold World” in September. Lead by singer, Austin Carlile, the crowd amassed with the intro to “Public Service Announcement” and continued to grow as they progressed on with “The Flood”. OM&M continued to liven up the Sunday night crowd with “Glass Hearts”, ”Bones Exposed”, “You Make Me Sick”, and ‘Never Giving Up”, from their most recent album, Restoring Force and the subsequent release of its deluxe edition Restoring Force: Full Circle. The highlight of their set was the performance of their latest single, “Pain”. The opening drums thumping like the beat of a racing heart drew the fists into the air as they fixated on a stage of blood red. After the eerie screech of the intro began, the eager crowd drew in closer to Carlile, who was centered in the front of the stage. “Pain”, an intricate mix of spoken words and emphatic screams, demonstrates the multifaceted perception of pain. With each line, it allows the artist and listener to outwardly express their frustrations with pain. This song is a fitting addition to the set, as it is foreshadowing of the acts to follow. Lastly, “The Depths” was an appropriate closing song that further energized the crowd, “Now I want you to jump, now I want you to sing. Now I want you to scream with me.”
The stage was wrapped in a black veil at the start Manson’s set, intermittently illuminated by a pulsing red light. Cell phone screens speckled the audience like flickering candles. Then, a clock bell started to toll and a silhouette appeared from behind the dark veil. The crowd erupted as Manson introduced himself with “Angel with Scabbed Wings” and followed with “Disposable Teens”. He fed into the crowd’s depiction of him as he led into “No Reflection” by stating, “I have no idea how insane I am because I have no reflection”. He continued on with other singles, including “mOBSCENE” and “Deep Six” before performing well-known songs “The Dope Show” and “Sweet Dreams”. The crowd erupted with “This Is The Real Shit” and the first real mosh pit of the night formed in response to the fervor. For “Antichrist Svperstar”, a dark pulpit with the bolt emblem was then constructed on stage as Manson stepped out, burning Bible in hand, and ascended onto the platform. He lured the crowd in to a chant, fists pounding in unison, as he began the song. The set concluded with “The Beautiful People” and he made his way through the crowd to the back of the floor where he took over the sound booth before disappearing.
“Be Prepared for Hell” was piped into the arena as flames erupted into a scene of mannequins burning in a bleak forest was played. Front Man, Corey Taylor then appeared on stage, igniting the crowd into a frenzy of screams. They began “The Negative One” and a mosh pit had formed by the end of the song. The crowd continued to let loose with “Disasterpiece”, “Before I Forget” and “Dead Memories”. Taylor delivered a powerful performance, despite being physically restrained by his recent injury. He even acknowledged his limitations and made a promise to the crowd, “Next time we come back, I promise I won’t have a broken fucking neck.” Their set also included singles “Killpop” and “The Devil in I” from their chart-topping album, 5: The Gray Chapter. Slipknot captivated the audience with their elaborate stage presence. The drum sets were on hydraulic risers that rotated in the air, the guitarists and bassist constantly shifted around stage, and the video clips that illuminated the backdrop were disturbing but mesmerizing. The set was closed with “(sic)” but the crowd wasn’t finished yet. They roared loudly for several minutes before Slipknot came back out on stage for a 3- song encore, which included “Surfacing”, “Duality” and “Spit It Out”.
Slipknot, with Marilyn Manson and Of Mice & Men are half way through their U.S. summer tour, which will wrap up late next month in Austin, TX. Be sure to check out one of their shows, for they compliment each other well and result in an exceptional performance.
via MOSH PIT REPORT
