Who are Slipknot’s fans?

This week, a hellacious circus of horrors has been travelling the length and breadth of the United Kingdom on a mission to bring abject chaos to tens of thousands. Kicking off in Leeds last week, Slipknot's headline tour is a 25-year celebration of the debut album that put the nine masked maniacs on the map and set about changing the course of heavy music forever.

To mark the quarter-century of the Iowan death machine first revving into gear, they're playing it pretty much in full, with all their usual bells and whistles replaced by an unvarnished vision of destruction. It's fucking brilliant.

But who are Slipknot's fans in 2024 and why do they cling so hard to that 1999 initial throw? We headed down to Co-op Live in Manchester to find out…

How long have you been a Slipknot fan?
"Since I was about five or six – my dad took me to the All Hope Is Gone tour when I was like 10. It was the original line-up – Joey [Jordison], Chris [Fehn]. It was a great time, man. I'm excited to see the self-titled album in full as that was a big inspiration to me as a guitar player. Jim [Root] is my favourite guitarist. I'm in a nu-metal band from Liverpool called Inhabit, and Slipknot are a huge influence for us."

How did you get into them?
"My dad always had them on in the house, he'd always have Kerrang! and Scuzz playing, so I grew up with Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica."

Why do you think the self-titled album still resonates today?
"It's timeless, y'know? There's not many bands that can make an album as heavy and as good as that. So many bands nowadays just aren't as good. Slipknot's sound doesn't age."

Which mask is your favourite?
"Jim Root. He's the first that got me into Slipknot. Maybe the Iowa jester with the really big chin."

What other bands are you listening to?
"Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Korn, Snot, all the nu-metal, man."

What are you wearing?
"I've got a John Wayne Gacy T-shirt on, skinny jeans and some 110s."

How long have you been a fan of Slipknot?
"I remember I used to have a little Slipknot messenger bag I'd wear when I was 11 – so a long time! In my school all the emos used to hang around the music blocks, and I think I must have got into them through my friends there – we'd share all the bands we were into at the time."

What other bands are you listening to right now?
"Knocked Loose. My Spotify Wrapped outed me as a 14-year-old girl, though. My Chemical Romance were on there. I don't think I've matured since 14, to be honest."

What's your favourite Slipknot mask?
"I've got to say Joey in Iowa, but all of Joey's I think are perfect. Iowa specifically is my favourite."

What are you wearing today?
"Still wearing the Demonia boots I was wearing when I was 14. I wouldn't wear these out in public, maybe only here. And then a leather skirt and a leather top because this is my gig outfit. Oh, and my bag with the Scream face – it's specifically for gigs only."

How long have you been a Slipknot fan for?
"Since 2010 or 2011, probably when I was about 11 or 12 years old. It was the self-titled album, the one they're playing tonight, that made me a Slipknot fan. Before I Forget was on Guitar Hero, that was the first song I heard, which led me onto their debut album. I was a fan from then on."

Why do you think that album still resonates today?
"It's because it's so raw and dirty and gritty. I think music nowadays is way too polished. You hear these hardcore bands that are around now and modern metal bands, they sound way too clean. This is raw and dirty, it says something. It's fucking horrible, in a great way. That's why I love this album."

What's your favourite Slipknot mask?
"I love Clown's original one with the orange hair. I also love Corey [Taylor]'s dreadlock one from the first album where it looks like it's falling apart."

What other bands are you listening to right now?
"Korn! I saw them recently. Also the Pixies. As we go into the doom and gloom of winter, I need to lift my spirits a bit, so Pixies are the way forward."

What are you wearing?
"A Korn Follow The Leader T-shirt, which I got piss-wet through when I saw them this year. Not only sweat but beer, water, spit, piss and every other bodily fluid – it was all flying that day. And that was before I got to the gig!"

How long have you been a fan of Slipknot?
"A while! I was very into emo as a child, and I think I've gone more into the harder stuff the older I get. I'm gonna go with about 10 years, I think."

Who else are you listening to at the moment?
"Ghost! Big on Ghost, big on System Of A Down. I'm fuming they've announced a joint show with Deftones but only in New York. Just a few dates in America – it's unfair!"

Why do you think the self-titled album is so relevant today?
"I think it's just that 25 years is a big anniversary; they got so many fans from it and when it came out it was different. So many bands have then done what they're doing because of that. So why not? Happy birthday!"

Which is your favourite Slipknot mask?
"All of Clown's masks. I also love the one with the big nose."

What are you wearing today?
"These are some really comfy jeans because I've just come from work. And I wore my skeleton top so I'd look like the cover of one of the albums [.5: The Gray Chapter], and this vintage leather jacket I've had for years with a hot wings sticker on it, which has become embedded into the leather now."

How long have you been a fan of Slipknot?
"Whenever Guitar Hero 3 came out – Before I Forget was on that, so maybe 14 years. That was my first ever time hearing them and the next day I went to HMV and bought Vol. 3. Ever since then I've been hooked."

What other bands are you listening to right now?
"Probably one of the best bands going right now is Knocked Loose. I know they've been TikToked a little bit, but if you look past that, they're probably the best band at the minute. They deserve all the success they're getting and hopefully one day they'll be selling out arenas soon. Also The Dopamines, a skate-punk band, put out a ripper of an album this year."

What's your favourite Slipknot mask?
"Probably Sid [Wilson] – either self-titled or Iowa. But actually maybe Chris' Pinocchio mask, it's the first one I always think of. As a fellow drummer I do love Joey's, but I think Chris is my favourite member."

Why do you think the self-titled album is still so important?
"Because it paved the way for crazy nu-metal music back in the day. Slipknot changed the game in 1999 and it's great how that album has stood the test of time. It was a ripper back then and it's still a ripper now. There's a reason that Slipknot blew up when that album released and it still bangs today."

What are you wearing today?
"I'm just wearing an Iron Maiden Number Of The Beast vest, and a pair of Docs that have lasted me for way too long. Maybe it's time to put them to bed and get a new pair. Oh, and a Dickies chain wallet to represent 1999!"

How long have you been a fan of Slipknot?
"I started getting into them when I was about 12. The self-titled album was the first album I ever bought on CD, so I'm very excited to be here for them to play that! So yeah, I must have been into them for over half of my life – they were the first heavy band I got into."

Who else are you listening to at the moment?
"Kim Dracula! I'm really amazed that they're at Download, so I'm hoping I can possibly go. Falling In Reverse, I know it's a bit controversial but I think Ronnie [Radke] is a great musician even if he might not be the best person. Ashnikko, as well! I like a lot of different people."

Why do you think the self-titled album is still so relevant today?
"It's the first album I ever got – I actually got it second-hand at a car boot sale, but it was the first one that got me into them. I think a lot of their older fans want to hear it because it's a bit heavier on the instruments and less polished than their later music."

Which is your favourite Slipknot mask?
"I love the Clown masks; I really, really like clowns in general. I love Terrifier. Obviously though, Corey's masks are cool – I like the ones with the dreads."

What are you wearing today?
"A little bit basic. Some white New Rocks and a Hello Kitty hoodie. I've got a first album Slipknot T-shirt on underneath. And a bag decorated in clowns!"

How long have you been into Slipknot?
Bobbie-Lei: "Since watching Kerrang! TV in high school, I think!"
Emily: "Kerrang! TV, my dad brought me up with it. I grew up watching Guns N' Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, Red Hot Chili Peppers and casually moved onto the harder things."
Bobbie-Lei: "As you do! This was maybe 10 – 15 years ago."
Emily: "Yeah, 15, I think. We've seen them twice before, both at Download Festival where they were absolutely insane."
Bobbie-Lei: "I'm so hyped for them to play the original album tonight. I can't believe we're going to get to see it."
Emily: "I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime."

Why do you think think this album was so important?
Emily: "I think it was a kickstarter for a lot of other bands."
Bobbie-Lei: "It's really been inspirational to a lot of acts and it's such a good album, it's still relevant now and everyone still loves it."
Emily: "It was so unique at the time, tribal-sounding, and it brought out a lot of different sounds the metal scene hadn't used before."

Which is your favourite mask?
Bobbie-Lei: "Oh, please don't make me choose!"
Emily: "Clown's first-ever mask. Corey's mask from Iowa. And I think Jim's from The Gray Chapter."
Bobbie-Lei: "I mean Jim's in general have always been favourites of mine. I love them all, though. They're all so unique and cool."

What other bands are you listening to right now?
Bobbie-Lei: "Motionless In White."
Emily: "Korn. Bleed From Within."
Bobbie-Lei: "We're going to their headline gig as well as seeing them support tonight."
Emily: "Papa Roach, as well!"

What are you both wearing tonight?
Bobbie-Lei: "These are Appetite For Destruction boots – I love the studs, love the platforms. The height helps at gigs!"
Emily: "My T-shirt is the Wait And Bleed T-shirt because it's an absolutely iconic song. Cargo pants – can't go wrong with them. And then some big-ass alien boots by KILLSTAR!"

How long have you been a Slipknot fan?
"Since the very beginning, to be honest! We used to listen to them back in school, I remember when the first album came out. Everyone I hung out with was a fan and we decided that they were the band we'd follow! It was me and my friends Matt, Mike and Chris. We used to go to so many gigs."

What is it about the first album that makes it hit so hard today?
"Wait And Bleed. It's just a song that sticks in your head. It's never gonna leave. You hear it and it reignites lights. Tonight when they played it, it reignited memories for me that were 20-plus years old. Not much does that in the same way."

What's your favourite mask?
"Probably early Corey – the dreadlocks, there's something about it. He's a mysterious man. Always so interesting then seeing him with Stone Sour. Oh, and maybe the pig."

What other bands are you listening to at the moment?
"Still Fall Out Boy, Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold. These are all bands that have never slipped my mind. Taking Back Sunday. Coheed And Cambria."

What did you wear to the gig tonight?
"A Slipknot T-shirt I bought at the gig. A pair of black, skinny Levi's and some Jordans. Oh, and my big 40th birthday badge as it's my birthday today! We're alive and we're here, and it was probably the best way of spending my birthday – with friends, watching live music and having a really fucking good time."