Video: Arizona Slipknot Fans Start a Bonfire in the Mosh Pit

Maggots helped contribute to the absolutely wonderful reputations of both metal fans and the state of Arizona when they lit a bunch of chairs on fire in the pit during Slipknot’s show in Phoenix last night (Tuesday, November 2).

It’s not clear when the fire was actually started, but based on fan-filmed videos, it reached its peak while Slipknot were performing “All Out Life,” which they did after singing “Happy Birthday” to guitarist Mick Thomson (who turns 48 today, November 3).

To the crowd’s credit, the show was outdoors — so this doesn’t seem like a borderline-suicidal act the way it did when Bullet for My Valentine fans and Anthrax fans pulled similar stunts at indoor venues in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

To the crowd’s discredit, the bonfire was apparently sufficiently disruptive that the band had to halt the show. This reportedly lead to a bit a time crunch which resulted in the group having to cut two songs — “Duality” and “Spit it Out” — from their setlist. Some concertgoers have also reported fire trucks on the scene.

So yeah, the bonfire looked cool, and it was probably fun to circle pit around it for awhile. Was it sufficiently mind-blowing to warrant not getting to hear two of Slipknot’s biggest hits? I don’t think so, but maybe I’m just an old fuddy-duddy who was raised to believe you don’t set a bunch of chairs on fire in the middle of a concert, or ever, really. I’ll take it up in therapy today.

You can watch the fan-filmed videos of the fire below.

In related news, Slipknot launched a new website this week,  thechapeltownrag.com, which has some audio samples of previously-unreleased music. Rampant speculation is that the group is getting ready to release a new single, possibly as early as this Friday, November 5, when they put on the first Knotfest Los Angeles event.

Can’t make it to Knotfest L.A.? Fret not! The band will livestream their entire headlining set, as well as “select appearances” from other acts on the bill, including Killswitch Engage, Code Orange, Fever 333, Cherry Bombs (featuring Corey Taylor’s wife, Alicia Dove), and Vended (featuring the sons of Corey Taylor and Shawn “Clown” Crahan). Tickets for the livestream are available here for a base price of $15; there are also more expensive packages with various goodies and add-ons, including a hoodie with secret artwork that won’t be unveiled until the day of the show.

[via]