2021 is a landmark year for Slipknot. Besides preparing for world domination on their upcoming tour across the globe, including several iterations of Knotfest and the Knotfest Roadshow and their first shows since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year also marks a solid two decades since the release of their monumental second album - Iowa.
Still considered by many fans to be one of if not the band's greatest work, Iowa has left an enormous impact on the world of heavy music and continues to resonate with new listeners to this day. What's unquestionable is the sheer power and intensity of it, something that can't be faked and still manages to surprise on repeat listens. That brutality has inspired more than one generation of metal artists, including Orlando natives Trivium, who have also made a name for themselves combining various styles of metal.
In a recent interview with Knotfest, Trivium frontman Matt Heafy noted that Iowa was "one of the most aggressive, angry, pissed off, hateful things I've ever heard in my life." It's a sentiment that most can probably relate to. Heafy continued, "I remember being 13 years old, I had just joined Trivium and was hiding my headphones underneath my hair and listening to Slipknot all day during class."
Heafy wasn't alone in his love for the band, as his bandmates were equally as inspired by the ferocity of Slipknot. Heafy shared that "The first show we ever played ever as Trivium, we opened up with (sic) by Slipknot. The very first Trivium show ever. I was into all the classic metal bands that get you into it and I started getting into extreme metal and I got into Slipknot. Just to see them mix things in such a unique way... It was amazing."
He went on to add "They're a groundbreaking, life-changing band. I hope they are all very happy of the legacy they built because better them than... I'm so happy it's Slipknot. I'm so happy it's Slipknot. You know, one of the biggest bands on the planet because they deserve it. There's no one like them. They've always been amazing people to us and we love that band."
When asked if he had any favorite tracks off of Iowa, Matt responded with "The whole thing. And I'm lucky enough to have been able to see the whole thing live at the last Knotfest we played with them. So I think I'm allowed to say the whole thing because I got to see the whole thing live." Lucky dog.
Latest Stories on Knotfest.com
