Slipknot
Slipknot is a heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa, USA, formed in 1995, known for it's attention-grabbing image, large nine-man membership, aggressive music and energetic live shows. Across its history, it's had many lineup changes, currently consisting of vocalist Corey Taylor, guitarists Mick Thompson and Jim Root, bassist Alessandro Venturella, drummer Jay Weinberg, percussionists Michael Pfaff and Shawn "Clown" Crahan, keyboardist Craig Jones and turntabilist Sid Wilson. Former bassist Paul Gray died in 2010 and former drummer Joey Jordison died in 2021.
Muse performed with Slipknot in Metalfest in Spain. Dominic Howard is seen in a Slipknot mask in the 2nd disc of the Hullabaloo DVD. During a European festival Dom was found "losing it" after he got his hands on vocalist Corey Taylor's Slipknot mask.
"Oh, the Slipknot guy threw it to this girl at the side of the stage after they played because he must have wanted to impress her" Matt references to this incident during a Japanese tour of Origins in 2001,
Unfortunately for him she wanted me so we got it. I think Dom got possessed by the spirit of Slipknot when he put it on. He was running around screaming."[1]
For the Will of the People era, Matt in an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, stated that he went to see a Slipknot concert in L.A. along friends and family, and that his son Bing, who is a Slipknot fan, influenced Matt into making heavier sounds for the album.
“It also coincides with my son, Bing, who’s really gotten into like Slipknot and stuff like that, you know. You know, we never pretend to be able to touch those guys, but hearing that stuff blasting on the way to school most mornings, that really kind of got into the album a little bit."
"That was what was refreshing about it. It was nice to actually find something that we weren’t good at, do you know what I mean, and actually try and get really good at. Because metal… it turns out these metal players are absolute geniuses.”[2]
For the Will of the People tour, Muse started playing the main riff of Duality live, usually after Stockholm Syndrome or Map of the Problematique.