ROCK N ROLL EXPERIENCE - Slipknot/Trivium 2/13/09

If you've ever wondered what it's like to do what we do here @ Rock N Roll Experience, if you've ever thought, "wow, it must be so cool to meet rock stars, take pics of bands & do that kinda crazy stuff.", well, I'll admit that is it a blast doing what we do, BUT, it's also alot of work & when things go wrong, they seem to snowball...let me set up things in context for you in regards to this particular concert. Slipknot's toured rolled through the Maryland area on Friday the 13th, 2009 & on the bill were Trivium & Coheed & Cambria....the thing that alot of people attending this show did not realize was that Trivium went on at 7 PM, & I happened to be one of those people, so when I finally got to the venue Trivium were finished & Coheed were taking the stage almost as soon as I got there. I had a slight problem getting my photo pass from the venue, so after a few minutes of confusion, that matter was taken care of, then I had to locate Trivium's tour manager so we could coordinate my scheduled interview with lead guitarist Corey from the band...on top of all that, I saw Black Light Burns the day before & posted my show review along with some quotes from Wes Borland that caused quite a stir in the hard music world, so I was at this show while my inbox was filling up with emails asking me about my review & what Wes had said...that's honestly irrelevant though, because Slipknot & Trivium were the matter at hand, so quite literally, like 5 minutes after my interview ended with Corey from Trivium, I was whisked away to the main stage of the venue where the large red curtain was dropped & Slipknot were getting ready to take the stage...I'll admit it, I was a bundle of nerves this entire night, it always feels like the larger the concert, the larger the headaches & the better chance for things to f**k up! Honestly, I can't complain though, because it all did work out very well & after all my non-stop running, I found myself looking under the blood red curtain literally seconds before Slipknot were to start their set, & I look under the curtain to see lead singer Corey looking directly back at me as he was perched dead center on top of a small step that he stood on to elevate himself throughout the night.

I literally looked at Corey for a few seconds then glanced away, because I felt like I was looking into the eye of the storm, seeing something I shouldn't be, so literally seconds after that moment, the house lights went down, the curtain was raised like an old time movie & the band was there, allowing the mood to build as the bands intro track rolled & the masked members of the band stared at the packed venue...Joey had these weird things on his hands that kinda made him look like a tree or something & after the odd little intro, all hell broke loose as the band ripped into their non-stop, no holds barred, full on metal attack!

Clown's drum contraption was the only one that went really high in the air at this particular show & at one point Clown ran around the venue while the band played, but I'll admit that I missed that spectacle because I was too busy taking pics. If you ever try to photograph SLipknot, let me give you a pointer...there is NO bad angles because you've got a stage full of chaos, lotsa action & I guarantee you EVERYONE taking pics got totally different, really cool shots from each side of the stage! Mick is a big guy offstage, but onstage he's even bigger & when I was backstage he actually wanted by me & I was thinking to myself, wow, he's one guy you don't wanna mess with because he's built like a football player & looks like he could kick your ass without even trying!

Jim Root's guitar playing is what really shines when I see Slipknot...the first record had NO real guitar solo's & over time the band has broadened their horizon's & added guitar solo's randomly & in their live show Jim adds quite a bit musically to the overall sound with his solo's & lead licks!

I was quite honestly glad to see that the band had cut out their DJ solo's that they had on previous arena tours & instead of actual solo's on this tour, the crowd got non-stop songs that covered all of the bands releases & the only thing that was missing from the set list was "Heretic Anthem"..other than that, the band covered all the "hits", all the fan favorites & they delivered a strong, solid, kick ass show that never let up & it is a true testament to the band that they've been doing it for 10 years now & Corey commented that the band would love to do it for another 10 years before the band said their goodnight & the large red curtain dropped.

As I was saying earlier in this review, I had the opportunity to interview Corey from Trivium after they finished their set...this interview was done last minute, after their set & Corey even commented that it was something he never does, an interview after the show, BUT, he was very nice & understood the complications of the day & did the interview regardless, so here's my chat with Corey from Trivium:

Rock N Roll Experience: Trivium has a really big fan base here in Maryland

Corey: Yeah, we've played in Towson at that place 3 or 4 times so yeah, in this region, Maryland, Philly, New York...it's a great market & there are alot of metal heads in this region so it's a blast playing here & alot of people come out every time we come through here so I am looking forward to the show the next time we come through & seeing alot of new faces & alot of people who found out about us through this (playing the Slipknot tour)...Rock Star Mayhem Fest, we'll be there, but there will be a f**k load of people at that anyways so it's hard to gauge that.

Rock N Roll Experience: I always thought Trivium & Bullet For My Valentine would be a great package tour.

Corey: We've been trying to get them to do a tour together, we've known them for a while & we've been constantly telling them, dude, are you gonna f**king tour together or what? They've yet to step up to the challenge or something, it's like, I don't know, we should do a tour together & they are like, "Yeah, that would be cool!" & then f**kin it never happens! We've been trying because they are cool guys & we've known them for years & we get along with them & we always thought it would be a great thing to tour together anywhere, but I don't know they don't....

Rock N Roll Experience: I'll say what it is..they are a bit for "rockstars" than Trivium are..they kinda live that way a little more, do you know what I mean?

Corey: Like the other "activities"? Uhmmm, yeah, I guess, I can throw down with the best of them, I don't f**kin go draggin' whores on the bus every night to f**k, we have some female fans here & there...we don't really like go out & get chicks just to like fuck 'em in the back or something, ya know? We've had some fun times where there's chicks & there's music playing & they'll start dancing & whatever...just a good atmosphere & good times & stuff, but I've partied with those guys (Bullet for my Valentine) & I think it would be a fun tour if we got together, if they would f**king accept the challenge.

Rock N Roll Experience: You're wearing a Metallica shirt, so I'll ask you, what did you think of Death Magnetic?

Corey: I think it's really good...the first time I heard it I was like, yeah, it's pretty good, but it kinda took me like 2 listens to really get it & now it's probably the best record that they've done since the Black album..some people will say "Justice", but I really like the Black album so...there's some really kick ass...the only thing I really didn't like was the way it sounds, but it's better than "St. Anger" ....I think there's some really kick ass songs, I really dig it, I am glad they went that direction, it's nice to hear them play some old school thrash again & they can still do it, so it's good to hear...I wish I could see the tour..we've been out on tour while they are out on tour. Hopefully on the next leg of their tour they will invite us out to open...I'd love to do the circular stage action & run around in circles.

Rock N Roll Experience: As far as Mayhem Fest 2009 goes, what are you looking forward to the most with that tour?

Corey: I always love Summer tours because the amount of bands, the heat sucks, but on the bus as long as your generator doesn't break down & you've got A/C on the bus! I remember when we did Ozzfest that it was such a blast...Mayhem is kinda like the new standard since Ozzfest isn't around, so as far as really pushing our new record it's really good because the Summer tour there is so many different bands, so many people that come together for the thing & hopefully we'll just play for alot of people & at those festivals there's always so much to do & plus we're friends with alot of the bands on the bill, so it's going to be a good time & hanging out .

Rock N Roll Experience: Which band are you looking forward to seeing more on Mayhem Fest, Marilyn Manson or Slayer?

Corey: We just got off tour with Slayer...we toured with them in Europe for 2 months so I've seen Slayer alot & hopefully when they do this tour they do a different set because I saw them alot over in Europe so if they play some different songs & I think they might have a new album out by then, so if they do I will look forward to hearing some new stuff...I never really was the biggest Manson fan, but I'll definitely check it out because he has a cool show.

Rock N Roll Experience: So what do you think of the Limp Bizkit reunion?

Corey: I f**king hated them back then & I probably still hate them now.

I'd like to thank Corey for taking a few minutes to chat with me, I'd like to thank the cooler than thou Trivium tour manager who took such great care of things & I'd also like to thank Amy @ Roadrunner Records for being so kind & helping me with this piece!