Face to face with Slipknot

When the multiband caravan of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival rolls into town Friday to lay siege upon the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater, the masked members of Slipknot will be ghoulishly clad, as usual.

Some of their fans, affectionately known as maggots, are likely to add to the strangeness by coming in their favorite Slipknot masks.

What makes a band, and some of its fans, come out in sweltering summer weather in dark jumpsuits and masks to rock? It's all about an angry energy.

That energy has helped to propel Slipknot from a side-stage Ozzfest metal band nine years ago to the headliners for the new tour that has supplanted Ozzie. Slipknot's performance Friday comes amid a flurry of activity for the band, including the Aug. 26 release of its latest album, "All Hope Is Gone."

With every album release comes an update in the uniforms and bizarre masks that are trademarks for Slipknot. Its members, also known simply as numbers, are: Sid Wilson (#0, turntables), Joey Jordison (#1, drums), Paul Gray (#2, bass), Chris Fehn (#3, percussion), James Root (#4, guitar), Craig "133" Jones (#5, samples/media), Shawn "Clown" Crahan (#6, custom percussion), Mick Thomson (#7, guitar) and Corey Taylor (#8, lead vocals).

"There's a little more individuality on this tour," Fehn said, "but everything is still pretty cohesive as far as the Slipknot Army."

The Slipknot masks recall such horror film characters as Hannibal Lecter and Pinhead from "Hellraiser."

The unveiling of the new versions of the masks July 1 brought 8 million hits in 24 hours to the music Web site spinner.com, which had exclusive rights to unveil the get-ups.

Fehn said his bandmates have tweaked their masked images as they have evolved. But Fehn, who likened the music on "All Hope Is Gone" to that of the band's 2001 CD, "Iowa," is taking a different approach.

"Mine's just a version from the first record," Slipknot, 1999. "I just wanted to go old school with it."

Fehn's mask sports a distinctive trademark feature, a rather long nose, which on average extends some 7-1/2 inches. The mask has been likened to the Tengu style as depicted in Far Eastern folklore. The phallic-nosed mask is also said to have been influenced from Italian comedy of the 15th and 18th centuries as well as the head garments worn by European physicians treating patients during the Black Plague. For Fehn, the new CD was perfectly timed to resuscitate his original mask.

"It was remade because the other one pretty much fell apart," he said.

Slipknot masks are created by making a plaster mold of each member's head. The molding process takes a good 30 minutes, an exercise Fehn enjoys.

"It's kind of relaxing sometimes just to be under there and being separated from the world."

Fehn doesn't view his character as an alter ego. These days he sees it as an extension of himself.

"It just happens to be on when I'm performing. It's pretty much a part of me now. I really don't necessarily turn into another person, though it does allow me some forms of expression that you might not do if you weren't wearing anything."

The members of Slipknot have gotten used to surviving heat exhaustion during outdoor summer festivals. Fehn insists the onstage energy and fan euphoria override any sort of stress related to heat. But heat-related fatigue has been a factor on this tour.

"Cory passed out a couple of shows ago," Fehn said. "He hit the deck. He just got up, took it (the mask) off and kept playing."

Other dangers besides heat threaten the band. On the first concert of the tour, July 9, Wilson (the turntablist) broke both his heels when he leapt from the stage. He's been performing in a wheelchair.

That's not out of character for Slipknot. Percussionist "Clown" Crahan has split his head open while banging on metal kegs, and he almost killed himself trying to do a back flip during a show.

The madness just makes fans more enthralled.

Slipknot, after all, is a Grammy Award-winning band (best metal performance, 2005, for "Before I Forget) that has sold millions of albums. The new single, "Psychosocial," released July 18 to whet appetites for the album, has been climbing the Billboard Modern Rock chart since its release and is at No. 27.

The band licensed the sale of Slipknot "Halloween" masks years ago and just this month started selling its own line of clothing.

The Tattered and Torn line, named after a song on the band's debut album in 1996, started selling just this month in Hot Topic stores, including Hampton Roads outlets. Slipknot manager Cory Brennan told Billboard magazine that merchandise is the largest revenue stream for the band, with touring coming in a close second.

Band members love to see the maggots dressed out at concerts.

"It's awesome when they do that," Fehn said. "Mine is sometimes difficult to do, so I've seen some really bad ones, but the fans are getting better at it. I love to see it because it shows they're just into it. It's just like painting your face like Gene Simmons for a KISS concert. It's really cool to see when they take the time and effort to do that."

Jeff Maisey, (757) 222-3934, jmaisey@pilotonline.com