When it comes to the realms of rock music there aren’t many bands that fall on further sides of the spectrum than Slipknot and the Foo Fighters.
Whilst Slipknot have opted for sinister soundscapes, down-tuned riffage and Halloween character personas, the Foo Fighters have managed to maintain the image that their rock’s most likable and mum-friendly participants.
With both band’s rising to the top of music’s ranks during the late 90s to huge commercial success, despite differing appeals, you’d think the two acts would have it a little easier when it came to crossing-over audiences.
Speaking on the “Underground To Mainstream: What Are Metal and Hip-Hop Doing Right (And Where Does It Go From Here?)” panel event, Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan, revealed why he believes the band should never share a bill with the Foo Fighters.
Longtime festival producer Danny Wimmer floated the idea that his band share the stage with the stadium rock icons, with Clown responding, “The answer is no, because my kids don’t want me to do that.”
He added that the band would run the risk of marginalizing their existing audience for the sake of gaining “new fans”, who he believes might not fit the mold of what the Slipknot community is built on.
“I don’t need the new fan, I need the fan that has anxiety, parents are getting divorced, social problems, gender problems—I need them to come to the ultimate show. And they’re going to get that at Knotfest.”
He also described how their existing fans “might not come” to a show if they were to play with the Foo Fighters, and their fans would rather see them play alongside Nine Inch Nails.
Considering Corey Taylor’s affiliation with Stone Sour and Slipknot’s recent foray into increasingly hard rock and alt-metal territory, we’re sure plenty of Slipknot fans would enjoy singing along to ‘Everlong’, but hey, if you’re 555 you must be sick, sick, sick of that.
