After a year of not touring due to the pandemic, the Knotfest Roadshow is back on.

Slipknot — along with Killswitch Engage, Fever 333 and Code Orange — took over the Germania Amphitheater in Del Valle several miles outside of Austin and filled the air with sounds of pure heavy metal on Oct. 28.

Arriving early in the afternoon, there was already a line full of eager fans outside waiting for gates to open. VIP pass holders were able to enter early, allowing them access to the Slipknot museum, which consisted of old masks and instruments used by the band from previous tours.

As the gates opened at 4 p.m., the excitement of the crowd was apparent as people in front of the line quickly ran to the check in to get into the venue. There was no shortage of exclusive merchandise stands for fans to purchase one-of-a-kind shirts, hats and hoodies. The Germania Amphitheater was the perfect place for the concert: outdoors and with assigned seating, plus plenty of room to wander around to catch the show from different angles.

The first band to take the stage was Code Orange, starting off their set with “Swallowing the Rabbit Whole.” The band sounded great and got the crowd warmed up for later in the night.

Design by Chris Pedone

After Code Orange finished their set, the next performers were Fever 333. The band’s energy connected with the fans in the crowd. They opened up their setlist with “BITE BACK.” The best part of their show was when lead singer Jason Butler rolled himself across the stage on an equipment case while simultaneously singing.

As the sunlight fell and the night sky covered the venue, Killswitch Engage made their way on the stage. By now, the venue was filled with fans from the front of the stage all the way to the back of the lawn. Killswitch’s first song was “Unleashed.” They continued their setlist with other popular songs such as “Rose of Sharyn” and “The End of the Heartache.” Every song got the crowd singing along and cheering. 

The crowd cheered as the stage crew slowly lifted the Slipknot banner that covered the stage, waiting in excitement to see them perform. As the lights dimmed, the crowd was greeted with a pyrotechnic explosion, and the Slipknot banner dropped, revealing the stage in a dark blue fluorescent lighting as they played the intro to their latest album, “Insert Coin.”  

Every band member walked onto the stage taking their positions to start off the show with the song “Unsainted.” As the show progressed, the crowd’s energy increased and the performance became more exciting as they introduced additional pyrotechnics. The most incredible pyrotechnic came from the bass player; He had flames shooting out the end of his guitar during the song “The Devil in I.” The crowd’s interaction with the band was mind blowing. Slipknot closed out their set with an encore of three additional songs, closing out with “Surfacing.”

Rating: 5 goats out of 5