It is fair to say that, as with most things Slipknot, this has been a release much anticipated by the band’s mighty fanbase. Unfortunately, what could have been a great release is merely a good one thanks to a number of decisions that are perplexing to say the least. When first announced, ‘Day of the Gusano’, was to be a documentary covering Slipknot’s first show in Mexico City in sixteen years. Filmed in high definition, directed by the band’s demonic mastermind, Shawn Crahan (AKA Clown), and featuring footage from the band’s explosive show at Knotfest 2017, as well as candid interviews, the film promised a look inside one of the world’s greatest metal bands. That version, running nearly two hours in length, made it to the cinemas but, unless you’re prepared to track down the DVD deluxe edition, that’s not the version you’re going to get at home.
Eagle Rock are well known for releasing their products in a near-ridiculous variety of formats and ‘Day of the Gusano’ is no exception. You can buy (deep breath), the CD, the DVD, the DVD-CD combo pack, the triple LP & DVD combo pack and Blu ray. None of these editions, however, feature the documentary and if you want the blu ray, then you’ll have to shell out for the CD separately, for there is no option featuring both.
For the documentary (which was surely the point of the thing in the first place), you need to look to America and this is where things get even stranger. If Amazon.com is to be believed, there is both a CD/2 DVD set and a blu ray/CD set. However, it is not clear if either of these are region encoded and, bizarrely, the blu ray edition seems to feature the documentary only and not the concert. Both are relatively expensive, and the Eagle Rock website makes no mention at all of these editions. It is most odd, especially when you consider this is the same company that gave us the fine book editions of similar films by the Rolling Stones (‘Sweet summer sun’) and Peter Gabriel (‘back to front’). So, unless you are prepared to explore the international market, pay a premium and deal in DVD only, then you’re going to get the concert only, with no extras of any kind. This is parsimonious to say the least and, given the excellent quality of previous Slipknot Audio Visual releases, you’re left wondering how the band could have signed off on so incomplete a project.
So, what do you get? We reviewed the blu ray edition, and the good news is that the home release restores the concert’s original running order (the documentary was rather more scattershot) and offers it up whole (whereas various songs were largely truncated, or removed altogether, from the documentary). Happily, Eagle Rock have foresworn their irritating habit, most egregiously seen with recent Rolling Stones releases, of slicing tracks out of a concert, only to include them as ‘bonus tracks’. There are no such shenanigans here, and we get a thrilling, eighty-eight-minute death ride through Slipknot’s ‘5: the Grey Chapter’ tour, filmed at ‘Knotfest on a spectacular stage. The filming is excellent, and it is noticeable that more attention is paid to members of the band who have been largely ignored in previous efforts. DJ Sid Wilson, for example, is clearly shown adding his own unique elements to the mix, whereas he is often portrayed as a distant figure, his actions a mystery to those outside the band. Crowd shots, spiralling down from above, capture the manic intensity of the pit and wide angles capture the enormity of both the stage and the event itself. Slipknot have long had the appearance of a hellish carnival, and with ‘Knotfest they have made that dream real.
The blu ray edition features the concert in 1080i rather than p which is another perplexing decision, especially when you consider the rapid motion and flashing lights that need to be displayed, not to mention that fact that the US blu ray is advertised as 1080p. However, the picture remains impressive. It is strong and stable throughout and it is only those with larger displays will have cause to truly rue that particular choice. The disc also features two audio options – DTS HD Master Audio and LCPM stereo, both mixes produced by Jim Monti. The 5.1 mix, in all honesty, is somewhat superfluous. Compare it to, say, a Steven Wilson live show and it’s clear that an immersive sound mix was not high on the agenda. Although the instrumentation shows clear separation (indeed, I don’t recall ever hearing a live Slipknot show sound so sharp in this field), rear speaker activity is limited to crowd noise and ambience and the vocals, whilst clear amidst the sonic tumult, feel a trifle muted with treble nowhere near as crisp as you’d like and quieter elements lost to the frenetic riffing. It’s by no means a bad sound, but it’s not the reference quality that you might expect from the band who released the spectacular ‘disasterpieces’. Nonetheless, pump it up load and the neighbours will be over armed with pitchforks in the belief that you’re indulging in a cross between a riot and a satanic orgy in your living room, thanks to impressive use of the sub-woofer and the razor-sharp rendering of the industrial percussive elements so often absent from Slipknot live recordings.
As for the concert itself, here the disc excels. No mere re-tread of previous live offerings, here we get three tracks from the excellent ‘5: the Gray Chapter’, and no fewer than seven tracks not featured on the ‘Live at Download’ release, including a blistering version of ‘Prosthetics’. It is a ferocious show that Slipknot put on and, for eighty-eight glorious minutes, you’re transported into the heart of it all. Feel the adrenalin surge as the band mount the stage, see the adulation of a Mexican crowd deprived of the Slipknot experience for nearly a generation and hear the ferocious power of a band who have transcended the untrammelled rage of their early shows to become a tightly-honed, sonic-killing machine. Given that Slipknot have five albums to choose from, the seventeen-track set list is very much a greatest hits (with the odd rarity thrown in) and there are no weak points on offer. Whilst there are many more tracks that fans would undoubtedly love to hear, the set list is unfeasibly strong, with Cory whipping the crowd into a frenzy and the band displaying a virtuosity that contemptuously sweeps aside the critics without so much as a backward glance. Theatrical, powerful and with a musicality oft-ignored amidst the blood and thunder, this is Slipknot in their element and it is impressive indeed.
If it seems like this review has been somewhat critical, it is important to distinguish here between the concert and the disc. The concert, beautifully shot and edited, is stunning. It shows a great metal band at their furious peak and it offers up a track-listing that will satisfy any maggot. The disc, however, is something of a missed opportunity. With no extras, a bewildering array of editions spread across the international market and the documentary critically absent from the UK, it feels like someone dropped the ball at Eagle Rock and it’s a shame because in other respects this might have been the band’s crowning achievement to date. Unquestionably this is a must-buy for the maggots, but it could undoubtedly have been a much better package.
Concert: 9
Blu Ray edition: 6
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