As we drive west on the Queensway seeing the Corel Centre in the distance, my photographer--and Full Spectrum Ottawa’s website guru--Steve Ladanyi and I converse on what to expect when we arrive at the Senator’s home base of operations. Although Steve has been a fan of the hardcore/metal scene since the early ‘90s, yours truly has been more choosey in his selections of bands from this genre of music since kicking it in the ‘80s with bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica. Slayer has been a common favourite of ours although I enjoy Reign in Blood and Steve prefers Seasons in the Abyss. Megadeth is another common thread between us. With the exception of a few songs, both Steve and I will be entering new territory with these two metal success stories. Both Slipknot and Hatebreed have been increasing their fan base exponentially since the mid ‘90s but have not crossed our radar screens until now.

Our discussion moves on, as we exit on to Palladium Drive, to whether the theatrics of Slipknot, with their now famous orange jumpsuits and grotesque masks, will be stupid or entertaining. Steve mentions his dislike of the orange jumpsuits as it reminds him of those terrorist snuff videos from the Middle East (they all seem to where orange jumpsuits). I agree with him but also point out that band might be quite exciting as there are nine members on stage to pump the crowd up.

We park near gate three and enter the Corel Centre to meet a rep who will give us press and photography passes. With Hatebreed pumping out the aggression in the background, (they are on stage by this time) we receive our tickets from a beautiful blonde who informs us that the photo pass will brought down at 8:30 pm. We leave to check out New Haven’s native sons for a few songs. The east coast hardcore band are pumping up the crowd and Jamie Jasta (vocals) is concentrating on the mosh pit in front of him. Inciting everyone to bend forward and run as fast as they can in a frenzied circle, Jasta shows his affinity for concert violence.

Hatebreed is a four member group with Jasta leading the pack. Along with Sean Martin (guitar), Chris Beattie (bass), and Matt Byrne (drums), Hatebreed formed in 1993. Signing with indie hardcore label Victory Records they released Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire in 1997. With constant touring and the underground success of Satisfaction…, Universal grabbed Hatebreed and the result has been Perseverance (2002) and Rise of Brutality (2003).

We reluctantly leave the guts of the Corel Centre as Hatebreed has impressed us. Their songs are fast and short. They throw off any hint of melody to concentrate on pounding guitar and bass all wrapped up in songs that rarely reach three minutes. We return to the gate so Steve can retrieve the photo pass which will allow him to gain entrance to the front stage area. It seems that this privilege has many restrictions. Even before coming to the concert Steve had to sign a document stating he will not sell any of the photos he takes. He is also limited to photographing the band during the first three songs. We split company and I move to section 118 to take in the show just off to the right of the stage.

The roadies for Hatebreed are removing equipment making way for the main attraction of the night. I look around and observe the crowd. It has thinned immensely as many have left for a cigarette, a piss, or bite to eat. With alcohol selling at $6.50 for a domestic bottle, and many of the crowd being under the age of 19, beer sales are not high. Another interesting phenomenon is the missing aroma of weed at the venue. It seems that with the smoking ban people partake in this age old tradition outdoors. The smell of weed and hash in a smoky indoor stadium has become a thing of the past in cities with a cigarette bylaw it seems.

As I look around, I see that the Corel Centre has been cut in half. A black curtain of a size which could cover a jet airplane has been draped across the middle section of the venue. All sections except the 100’s have also been closed off and the ice has been covered (or removed) with the floor opened up so fans can get close to the stage.


I continue my visual information gathering and watch the crowd slowly return to the guts of the arena. They are all young, in their teens or early twenties. They all, with the rare exception, are wearing t-shirts flogging their favourite bands. These shirts are all invariably black (black is the coolest of colours). If the apparel is any indication, Ottawa’s youth listens to: Slipknot, Hatebreed, Metallica, Slayer, Rob Zombie, Primus, Chimaria, Deftones, Quicksilver, Ozzie, Misfits, Sepultura, Iron Maiden, and Cannibal Corpse.

The Corel Centre continues to fill and I see the first fanatical Slipknot fan. She has painted her face white and is dressed in a faded blue jumpsuit. I scan the crowd more intensely but cannot see anyone else that fits a similar description. I see a plethora of mohawks, tattoos, shaved heads and even Rastafarian dregs, but I do not see any copies of the girl.

A sound of machine gun fire comes out of the speakers on stage. I see the full set up with Joey Jordison's (a.k.a. #1) drum set in the middle back of the stage. DJ Sid Wilson’s (a.k.a. #0) gear is to the right and Craig Jones’ (a.k.a. #5) to the left. Chris Fehn (a.k.a. #3) and Sean Crahan’s (a.k.a. #6) drum kits are front stage with the former’s on the left and the latter’s on the right. This gives plenty of room for guitarist Mick Thompson (a.k.a. #7), guitarist James Root (a.k.a. #4), bassist Paul Grey (a.k.a. #2) and singer Corey Taylor (a.k.a. #8) to move around on center stage.

Suddenly the lights grow dim and the 4000 fans (approximately) are quick to applaud any hint of the band appearing on stage. Lighters are pulled from pockets and are lit making the stands look like an oversized church prayer room. The nine revolving spotlights at various places up front begin their movement and Slipknot hits the stage. The crowd goes nuts. The band is all wearing black jumpsuits and masks. The numbers identifying each member are there on their left shoulders. Taylor looks like a modern version of Leatherface (with a shock of red hair added) from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Jones adds to the horror film atmosphere by donning a pseudo Pinhead (from Hellraiser) mask. The spikes are thicker but the effect is the same.

The show is all aggression and energy. They play a set of songs from their new album (Vol. III: The Subliminal Verses) and some older stuff (from Iowa and before). Taylor is a master showman. He yells at the crowd between songs. The symbiotic relationship is akin to a dominatrix and her victim. The crowd does as it’s told and is rewarded with pounding music and guttural screams. At one point Taylor cajoles all 4000 participants onto their haunches and at the exact moment of his choice has them jump high in the air. The effect is colossal and meshes the crowd into one screaming and bounce mass.

The movement on stage is frenetic. Crahan and Fehn’s job, when not pounding on their drums, is to pump up the mob even more. The run around stage jump up on their drum kits and headbang to mass enthusiasm. At one point Crahan’s drum kit almost falls off stage with the frenzied activity. Speaking of Crahan, he is the upperclassman of the group (he wears a tie), he grabbed your humble narrator’s attention when he appeared on stage with a baseball bat. Using it to increase the power of a drum beat by imitating a Mcguire-like homerun swing against a beer keg attached to the side of his drum kit, Crahan gets my vote for the angriest man on stage.

Although Taylor is the obvious leader of this 9 member nu-metal band, he is not the main attraction. He does lead with his angry vocals, but at its heart, Slipknot is a throwback to the genesis of musical creation. They have a DJ, they use a bass and electric guitar, but the center of this band is their drums. They remind you of African tribesmen pounding on primitive drums dancing to the thumping beat created by their homemade instruments. Slipknot pounds out this type of music. They grab and hold you with their assaulting repetition. The mosh pit created by Hatebreed almost disappears as the drum beat does not inspire individual movement. You join everyone else in head banging and fist-pumping. You move in simple gestures. Anything more complicated than this throws you out of synch.

Taylor, after every few songs, leaves the stage. His effort to keep his voice as low and primitive as possible takes a toll on his vocal chords. He grabs bottled water and returns. After a swig he throws the bottle into the crowd giving the recipient a nice refreshment. He repeats this ritual all through the night keeping the fans close to the stage, who are packed-in like sardines, cool and attentive. Even with the accolades Taylor gives the crowd, such as being the quickest group to understand and complete the earlier jump sequence or being the most enthusiastic fans he has seen on the band’s present tour, it is the simple gesture of throwing out water to hot and thirsty fans that gives me the most respect for the lead singer.

Although I have read some bad press on Slipknot, the type of music they play is always open to criticism (see Limp Bizkit), and with the masks and jumpsuits you can see how they could be tagged as all show no substance, I would have to disagree with this assessment. The show is choreographed well. All 9 members perform their parts successfully. When a member needs to go off stage to retrieve a drum or baseball bat, he does it in a timely manner without any interruption to the music. The group members are all over the stage jumping around and head banging in unison, but they never miss returning to their instruments in time to play their part in the music. Since a live show doesn’t only include a fan’s use of his ears, a band must give the audience something to watch if they wish to have a great stage presence. Slipknot realizes this and plays not only a great musical set but also gives a great visual performance.

It comes to the end of the show and Taylor gets everyone to lift up their hands. He screams out, “Get your middle fingers in the fuckin’ air.” After the crowd has readily obliged, the music kicks in and Taylor gives his best performance of the night singing “Surfacing” off the band’s 1999 self-titled album. The band then leaves the stage only to return for a quick encore. After the song finishes, Jordison, Crahan, and Fehn throw their drumsticks into the crowd and the band leaves the stage to massive applause.