Back in April, former Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah teased a potential headline tour from veteran metal outfit Slipknot, who’d previously trekked Down Under when they headlined last year’s instalment of his flagship festival.
Maddah was vague about specifics, simply asking his loyal Twitter followers, “Are you maggots ready?” but insisted we would not see a leg of the band’s famous Knotfest music festival making its way to Australia.
Whilst some greeted the news with scepticism (after all, the band were only just here), it seems Maddah was spot on about a Slipknot something or other happening in Australia soon. Clues have started popping up around Australia.
As many on social media have noted, black and white posters featuring the members of Slipknot have been spotted in Melbourne and Sydney, with the posters warning passers-by to ‘Prepare For Hell’, which can only mean one thing.
Speaking to Music Feeds back in 2014, guitarist Jim Root expressed a desire to return to Australia for a headline tour after the band complete their Soundwave run, particularly in light of the fact that Perth did not get a Soundwave leg last year.
“Obviously, we’ve got a couple years at least of touring ahead of us so I’m sure the powers that be are putting their heads together to figure out how we can make it cost effective to be down in Australia and do a proper headlining tour on our own,” he said.
“Fuck, I would love to do that. I mean, we haven’t been able to do a headlining tour down there in quite some time. Probably, shit, since the first record cycle, you know? So every other time we come down there it’s always a festival. I’d like to do both, that would be ideal.”
Of course, this whole thing could be to promote a special edition of the band’s last album, .5: The Gray Chapter, or a tour DVD, or something else altogether, but we’re still holding out for some imminent Slipknot Aussie tour dates.
