EUROPE. My extended family. I look forward to seeing you this autumn.

Tickets & VIP Packages on-sale this Friday, 14 July at 9am BST / 10am CET at https://t.co/3ZFuXpRmyn pic.twitter.com/TZdvVpXC7u

— fuck your checkmark (@CoreyTaylorRock) July 11, 2023

Fresh off of Slipknot’s highly successful run of headlining UK and European festival performances, including June’s Download Festival, Corey Taylor has put all of his fans, this side of the Atlantic, on high alert as tickets for his solo project are about to go on sale. Taylor will kick off the tour in Leeds and finish in Tilburg throughout the month of November.

Alongside the news, Taylor has also released new song “Post Traumatic Blues”- an attempt by the singer to describe, through his art, what dealing with PTSD is like. Of the new track, Taylor said the song is “my attempt to describe for people what it’s like to deal with PTSD. Sometimes it’s hard for people to understand the ups and downs, the severity of the cold and numbness, that I wanted to try and build a bridge lyrically between the ones living with the disease and the ones who are trying  to help them.”

Corey Taylor was last in the UK, performing as a solo artist last October playing the London Palladium to kick start his tour in support of his debut album CMFT. The show was a ringing success for the musician-proving the singer has the personality and talent to shine outside of his two gargantuan bands Slipknot and Stone Sour.

With only material spanning one record, Taylor pulled out more than a few surprises last time out, playing the “Spongebob Squarepants Theme Song” (which has now taken on almost legendary status), songs from Stone Sour and even a few Slipknot hits. UK and Europe fans can expect similar excitement when his new tour gets underway.

A performer that exudes confidence with a seemingly innate ability to entertain, Taylor will undoubtedly represent a huge draw for UK and European crowds in November.  The charismatic frontman has never shied away from letting his love affair with the UK be known either. He has often claimed that it was the country where Slipknot first took off-UK fans being the first to really interact positively with what the metal band from Iowa, USA were doing.

It is in this way that a Corey Taylor UK and Europe tour announcement represents a celebration of sorts and the charming singer/songwriter will definitely not want to disappoint his adoring crowd on this side of the pond. Taylor begins his tour in November and tickets go on general sale this Friday. They can be found here.

Corey Taylor UK and Europe Tour:

08/11/2023 – O2 Academy – Leeds
09/11 – Wolves Civic – Wolverhampton
11/11 – Manchester Academy – Manchester
12/11 – O2 Academy – Glasgow
14/11 – Eventim Apollo – London
19/11 – Le Trianon – Paris, France
20/11 – Palladium – Cologne, Germany
22/11 – Verti Music Hall – Berlin, Germany
24/11 – 013 Poppodium – Tilburg, Netherlands

EUROPE 2023 with special guests @Disturbed & @IPrevailBand in Munich, and @Sleep_Token & @nothingmorerock across select dates.

Get Tickets: https://t.co/i1F2QTBud3 pic.twitter.com/WWxw9bCqaa

— Slipknot (@slipknot) May 16, 2023

Taking advantage of the busy summer festival circuit, Iowa metal megastars Slipknot will tour extensively through Europe, including a fair number of festival dates, which is fast becoming an annual event for the band. Drawing what is perhaps some of the largest crowds for outdoor festivals, Slipknot know how to entertain their mass of followers and this summer’s tour will be no different. For UK based audiences, a highly anticipated and mouth watering headlining set at this summer’s Download Festival in Donington Park, Derby, is sure to be one of the tour’s main highlights.

The addition of London based eclectic metal band Sleep Token will come as no surprise to their growing fan base, as the mysterious group look to take their success to even loftier heights. Akin to Slipknot, Sleep Token are a heavy group that is shrouded in mystery, as each member is anonymous, robed and masked.

Led by a frontman that only goes by the moniker of Vessel and band members who are numbered with Roman numerals, Sleep Token  have made an impact seemingly overnight, as their blend of prog metal, alternative, post-rock and even indie rock has found an appeal to a variety of listeners. Undoubtedly the mystery of who the members are adds to their appeal, much as Slipknot retained an air of mystery and intrigue upon first entering the scene, with Vessel reporting that the band serve the deity Sleep. Speaking to Metal Hammer in their only interview, Vessel stated, “how we got here is as irrelevant as who we are-what matters is the music and the message. We are here to serve Sleep and project His message.”

Sleep Token are well known to carefully uphold and adhere to their anonymity, rarely speaking while on stage performing and only ever giving one single interview to date. Alongside their cultivated image however, is an arsenal of truly catchy, genre-bending music that have seen the band win plaudits from critics and fans alike. With influences that span many musical artists and forms, Sleep Token have been able to carve a niche within the scene for themselves that has seen the group quickly become a band worth talking about.

A European run with Slipknot seems to be the perfect fit for a band that surely counts the former as a key influence. Unfortunately for UK admirers who have tickets to a sold out Download, Sleep Token will not be appearing but you can find tickets for Slipknot’s European tour with Sleep Token here.

Slipknot European tour:

06/07/2023 – Novarock – Nickelsdorf, Austria
08/06/2023 – Rock For People – Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
10/06/2023 – Greenfield – Interlaken, Switzerland
11/06/2023 – Download – Donington Park, Derby
13/06/2023 – Ziggo Dome – Amsterdam, Netherlands*
14/06/2023 – Rockhal – Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg
16/06/2023 – Copenhel – Copenhagen, Denmark
17/06/2023 – Graspop – Dessel, Belgium
18/06/2023 – Hellfest – Clisson, France
20/06/2023 – Barclays Arena – Hamburg, Germany*
21/06/2023 – Mercedes Benz Arena – Berlin, Germany*
23/06/2023 – Download – Hockenheim, Germany
24/06/2023 – Königsplatz – Munich, Germany
25/06/2023 – Knotfest – Bologna, Italy
27/06/2023 – Arena of Nîmes – Nîmes, France*
29/06/2023 – Evil Live – Lisbon, Portugal
30/06/2023 – Resurrection Fest – Viveiro, Spain
* Sleep Token Included

Enigmatic frontman Maynard James Keenan will be joined by his band Puscifier for their electrifying Download debut on the Opus stage on Thursday night. The band has found the time to squeeze in the festival amid their worldwide tour in support of their remix album Existential Reckoning: Re-Wired, which came out in March.

On again off again English alt-rock band Hundred Reasons will also be performing showcasing their new fifth studio album and first album in over 15 years Glorious Sunset. Watch the band’s latest music video for “Replicate” below:

Toronto hardcore band Cancer Bats, Leeds newcomers Static Dress, New York pop punk band State Champs, Newcastle metal band Rituals, and the darlings of rock & roll The Cherry Bombs are some of the much-welcomed additions to the line-up. Casey, Punk Rock Factory, Haken, Snayx, and Redhook have also been crammed into the packed bill.

The festival has also now revealed its stage splits with set times to follow. To see what bands will be playing where visit here.

Download announced the headliners for this year’s festival back in November. America’s biggest heavy metal band Metallica will be playing “TWO completely unique sets on Thursday and Saturday” according to the organisers. Legendary British rockers Bring Me the Horizon will be headlining the festival for the first time on Friday. American metal royalty Slipknot will be headlining the festival for the fourth time and closing out the festival on Sunday.

The festival previously confirmed that bands such as Five Finger Death Punch, Nova Twins, Ghost, Neck Deep, Evanescence, The Distillers, Deaf Havana, Jinjer, Placebo, Mom Jeans, Crawlers, and Architects would be amongst the hundreds of acts performing at the four-day event.

Musing with NME on the secret to the festival’s success, Download boss and booker Andy Copping said, “I think the secret is that you’ve just gotta keep driving to get better. From the very first year, we’ve tried to get better bands, better the layout, better the campsite and better the experience. You can’t rest on your laurels.”

Unfortunately for those who missed out Download has completely sold out this year. For the first time in the festival’s history, all select day tickets as well as weekend tickets have been snapped up by festival lovers.

Every year the festival runs over the course of a well invested three days. However, this year is a special edition of four days packed up to the brim with industry leading bands within the rock and heavy metal scene. Their roster is looking juicy with a now confirmed 60 acts on the list. The meal prep for the final main dish is in full swing and it’s already starting to smell good.

The appetising line-up announced for this year 2023, will be lead by three unmissable headline acts such as the eminent Metallica, playing for the first time since 2012 at said festival with a fortunate two headlining shows on the Thursday, 8th of June  and Saturday, 10th of June, showcasing two completely different sets with unrepeated setlists. Alongside them, the Sheffield band Bring Me The Horizon will be taking the headline position on the Thursday, 8th June and Slipknot will be taking the main stage on the Sunday, 11th June.

Like every year, the event is held in the hallowed grounds of rock, Donington Park, next to East Midland Airport located in a spot where Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire come to meet, with this years landing on the 8th of June running through to the 11th of June.

The headliners will be accompanied by a number of respected bands such as Evanescence, Parkway Drive, Disturbed, Alexisonfire, Ghost, The Distillers, Architects, I Prevail, The Blackout, Motionless In White, Placebo, Fever 333, Municipal Waste and a great selection more.

It is clear the bands contain a special spot for the festival. This is notable as Slipknot turntablist mentioned: “Download Festival! So many great memories, one of the most amazing crowds to play in front of, always an honour to share the bill with so many amazing bands, and of course, I’ll never miss the opportunity to play my homeland.” 

As well as a heartfelt Metallica stating : “We are next-level honoured to once again come back and partake in the Download shenanigans on the hallowed grounds of Castle Donington, which has an unparalleled place in rock history. On top of that, to be able to share our double show format with two completely unique sets with no repeat songs for the first time ever in the UK is way fuckin’ cool. Bring it on!!”

Tickets are on sale here.

Elsewhere in the charts, The Snuts also hit number three with their second studio album Burn The Empire with Craig David returning to the charts with his eighth studio album, 22 at number seven. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have also scored their fourth top 10 album this week with their fifth record, Cool It Down. It was Slipknot who came out on top with their singles also performing vary well on streaming platforms, one of the most popular songs on the album include “Chapeltown Rag” reaching almost 19 million streams on Spotify as well as “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)” with just under 14 million with its music video reaching 15 million on YouTube, which you can view below.

Speaking about the band’s new album to NME Slipknot’s Corey Taylor said the band’s latest album most closely resembles their third record, ‘Vol. 3: (Subliminal Verses)’. Released back in 2004, that was the album where the band focused on melody, taking their songwriting in new, unexpected directions. “Musically, we’ve never shied away from a challenge,” Taylor said. “It got to the point where you’re like, ‘Where do we go?’ [We said] let’s look back for inspiration instead of trying to look forward, and let’s try to embrace some of the shit that made us wanna do this in the first place.” He then went on to say that the band worried “less about the cohesion of the album and more about the strength of the songs. Each song has its own identity, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be the identity of the album.”

This latest album is available in multiple formats, but for those who purchased it on vinyl or cassette, you may have noticed an error, the wrong title was actually printed on the cover. This was pointed out by fans on the internet who noted that the album cover actually reads The End for Now…, while the correct name can be seen on the sticker on the protective plastic wrap, however if you bought the CDs it would appear to have the correct title on them.

In the description of the video, the young artist expressed her passion for music, and the heavy metal genre in particular. ‘Yes! I am a total metal head! I love how awesome the drumming is in Slipknot!’ the artist wrote in her bio. ‘This is my first attempt at double pedals! Taking my playing to the next level. This song brings my A game Corey Taylor.”

The 10-year old rising star first captured the limelight after uploading a cover on Nirvana’s ‘In Bloom’ earlier this year. The video quickly went viral, and caught the attention of the band’s drummer Dave Grohl, who praised Bushell publicly. The two soon collaborated, with the two taking part in various drum battles, and promising to collaborate after meeting for the first time.

Meanwhile, Slipknot have hinted at a possible album release next year, to follow up their 2019 release ‘We Are Not Your Kind’. However, nothing has been confirmed yet, with Corey Taylor stating that ‘…we all kind of feel like there’s unfinished business, and we wanna finish that out before we do anything.’

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Slipknot (@slipknot)

‘We Are Not Your Kind’ is the band’s sixth studio album, released in 2019, and was the reason behind this year’s tour. There was even a 20-minute short film made in promotion of both the album and tour, directed by percussionist and backing vocalist Shawn Crahan, stage name CLOWN. The album went number 1 in the UK as well as the US, Australia, and more.

Knotfest was created by Slipknot in 2012 and has been held in numerous countries including the United States, Japan, and Mexico. 2020 was to be the festival’s first year in the UK, held at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes on 22nd August. Although the full lineup had not yet been announced, previous years have seen the likes of Deftones, Lamb of God, and Machine Head take to the stage.

Both Knotfest Brasil and Japan have been rescheduled to take place in December 2021 and January 2022 respectively, giving fans a performance to look forward to. At the time of the cancellation, frontman Corey Taylor told NME that future shows will likely be in smaller venues as there may be “a sense of paranoia for a while” around attending large gatherings or events.

Find the full list of tour dates below and purchase tickets here.

JULY 2021
16/07/2021 – Park Live Festival – Moscow, Russia
18/07 – UPark Festival – Kiev, Ukraine
21/07 – Romexpo – Bucharest, Romania
22/-7 – Hills Of Rock – Plovdiv, Bulgaria
24/07 – Release Festival – Athens, Greece
28/07 – Stadhalle – Graz, Austria
29/07 – O2 Arena – Prague, Czech Republic
31/07 – Wacken Open Air – Wacken, Germany
01/08 – Rock Slap – Malmo, Sweden
07/08 – Port Of Turku – Turku, Finland
13/08 – Ergo Arena – Gdansk, Poland
15/08 – Arena – Geneva, Switzerland
19/08 – Cabaret Vert – Charleville Meizieres, France

Slipknot posted on their online platforms to inform fans on Wednesday 13th May, with a statement reading “Unfortunately Slipknot’s summer 2020 touring, including the North American Knotfest Roadshow, Knotfest UK and Knotfest at Sea, will not be happening.” The announcement was expected by ticket-holders given the current circumstances regarding Covid-19.

The post continues, “The band looks forward to performing for its fans again, and will do so when everyone’s safety can be assured.” It finished with information about ticket refunds, for which fans will receive an email from their point of purchase soon.

pic.twitter.com/LqxwAd1hEj

— Slipknot (@slipknot) May 13, 2020

Knotfest was created by Slipknot in 2012 and has been held in numerous countries including the United States, Japan, and Mexico. 2020 was to be the festival’s first year in the UK, held at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes on 22nd August. Although the full lineup had not yet been announced, previous years have seen the likes of Deftones, Lamb of God, and Machine Head take to the stage.

#KnotfestUK is coming to The National Bowl in Milton Keynes for the first time ever on 22 August featuring @Slipknot and more to be announced. Tickets are on-sale NOW: https://t.co/URIo5RXrct pic.twitter.com/XgLTzSYxjY

— Knotfest UK (@knotfestuk) January 16, 2020

‘We Are Not Your Kind’ is the band’s sixth studio album, released in 2019, and was the reason behind this year’s tour. There was even a 20-minute short film made in promotion of both the album and tour, directed by percussionist and backing vocalist Shawn Crahan, stage name CLOWN. The album went number 1 in the UK as well as the US, Australia, and more.

Fortunately, both Knotfest Japan and Knotfest At Sea have been rescheduled for later dates – Japan’s shows will now take place in January 2021, while the latter is yet to be announced. Frontman Corey Taylor discussed the current situation of live music with NME, saying that future shows will likely be in smaller venues as there may be “a sense of paranoia for a while” around attending large gatherings or events.

The signing will be taking place from 6-8 PM on Thursday evening (January 23) at GuitarGuitar. The address is 104 Hagley Rd, Birmingham, B16 8LT.

More recently, the band announced they’d be signing bottles of their own brand ‘Iowa Whiskey’ at a London Pop-Up shop over this weekend, ‘Iowa Whiskey’, as seen below.

.@SlipknotWhiskey Pop-Up Store will take place next weekend in London. Limited stock of the whiskey will be at the pop-up, available until sold out.

SAT 25 JAN // 12-6pm
*Members of Slipknot will be present 12-3pm to sign bottles of No. 9 Whiskey.

SUN 26 JAN // 12-5pm pic.twitter.com/dOWVHE06Nh

— Slipknot (@slipknot) January 20, 2020

On January 14, Slipknot launched their 2020 UK and European Arena Tour at Dublin’s 3Arena. Check out the band’s full schedule below:

14/1/20 – 3Arena, Dublin.
16/1 – Manchester Arena, Manchester.
17/1 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle.
18/1 –  The SSE Hydro, Glasgow.
20/1 – FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield.
21/1 –  Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham.
22/1 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff.
24/1 – Birmingham Arena, Birmingham.
25/1 – The O2 Arena, London.

Slipknot recently announced ticket details for their first UK run of Knotfest in August. The event was launched eight years ago and will be finally coming to the UK for a Milton Keynes show on August 22.

The gig will be hosted in the town’s National Bowl. Further acts will be announced soon. Tickets go on sale at 10 am on Thursday, January 16.

A pre-sale of tickets are set to go live the day before (January 15). Fans can sign up for these tickets through Live Nation here. Since it’s conception in 2012, Knotfest has expanded into Mexico, France, Japan, Colombia and now the UK.

In an interview with NME last year, Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan discussed plans for Knotfest to come to the UK.

He said: “It definitely will happen but it has to be the right thing,” 

Crahan further added: “Right now we do a lot of festivals with a lot of great people and you’ve got to find a time and a zone and it’s got to be right.”

The gig is set to be hosted in the town’s National Bowl. Further acts supporting the band will be announced at a future date. Tickets go on sale at 10 am on Thursday, January 16.

A pre-sale of tickets will go live the day before (January 15). Fans can sign up for these tickets through Live Nation here. Since it’s conception in 2012, Knotfest has expanded into Mexico, France, Japan, Colombia and now the UK.

The first ever #KnotfestUK is coming to The National Bowl in Milton Keynes on 22 August. Line-up, on-site activities + ticketing info coming soon. Outside The 9 Fan Club pre-sale begins 19 December.

Join OT9: https://t.co/2G4kIH928D
More info: https://t.co/dUiG7jAbrupic.twitter.com/fVYamDEQVT

— Knotfest UK (@knotfestuk) December 11, 2019

Last year, Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan discussed plans for Knotfest to come to the UK with NME.

He said: “It definitely will happen but it has to be the right thing,” 

He further said: “Right now we do a lot of festivals with a lot of great people and you’ve got to find a time and a zone and it’s got to be right.”

On January 14, Slipknot kicked off their 2020 UK and European Arena Tour at the 3Arena in Dublin. Check out their full schedule below:

14/1/20 – 3Arena, Dublin.
16/1 – Manchester Arena, Manchester.
17/1 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle.
18/1 –  The SSE Hydro, Glasgow.
20/1 – FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield.
21/1 –  Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham.
22/1 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff.
24/1 – Birmingham Arena, Birmingham.
25/1 – The O2 Arena, London.

Frontman Corey Taylor said: “It feels good to be coming back for an extensive tour of Europe and the UK,” 

“No matter how many times we come there, it always feels like we can never get enough, nor play ALL the cities we want to.  But one thing’s for certain: the audiences are ALWAYS some of the best in the world.”

Slipknot released their critically acclaimed sixth studio album, ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ back in August 2019.