Dispatches From Des Moines: Knotfest Iowa Commemorates 25 Years of Pain

Dispatches From Des Moines: Knotfest Iowa Commemorates 25 Years of Pain

- By Ramon Gonzales

Revisit the highlights from the band's historic homecoming that included a multi-generational line-up, the arrival of heavy music's emerging class and a finale from Slipknot so powerful, it seemed to bring on the elements.

Photo by @wombatfire

Among the most significant of stops on the 25th anniversary tour for Iowan gamechangers Slipknot on their Here Comes the Pain tour, the homecoming celebration expanded to the festival format for a full day that underscored the band's enduring influence and unrelenting intensity. 

Assembling a multi-generational, mixed-genre roster that spanned the landscape of heavy, Des Moines played host to a two-stage assembly of bands that all underscored just how vast Slipknot's reach has stretched since the band caused a seismic shift in the culture a generation ago. 

While the payoff was undoubtedly Slipknot's triumphant return to the center of their universe, the day offered a progression of crucial takeaways that emphasized just how historic this homecoming was shaping up to be. Apart from the silver anniversary of one of heavy music's most pivotal moments, the thousands of fans on hand were there to witness just how impactful that album was as a succession of artists offered their own contributions to the heavy space - all while paying homage to the masked nine that put Des Moines on the map. 

Knotfest Iowa was a special moment in time - these were some of the most evident takeaways that proved as much. 

CROSSOVER CULTURE

Knocked Loose by @stumuffins

For far too long, gatekeeping and dividing lines among subgenre was too much of a reality in heavy music. That kind of fractured, segmented scene has since become less prevalent and Knotfest Iowa asserted just how dynamic and diverse aggressive art can be. 

The Iowa line-up was bolstered by a healthy representation of hardcore bands throughout the bill. Less about checking off a box, the bill featured several bands that spanned generations. From respected veterans like Hatebreed and Poison the Well, to the new blood of bands like Spine, Iowa's own Dose and LA-powerviolence unit ZULU - it was especially apparent just how integrated hardcore has become in the landscape of metal. 

ZULU by @wombatfire

That reality was likely best emphasized when Louisville's Knocked Loose laid waste to the festival grounds. The band's hardcore DNA, combined with their metallic delivery made for a volatile late afternoon set that sent the Iowan faithful into a full frenzy - melding circle pits and hardcore dancing in what was a magnificent sight to see.  

NEXT GEN HEAVY

When considering the legacy of Slipknot, it's crucial to take into account how the band continues to shape the next generation of heavy music makers. Knotfest Iowa served well in highlighting just how prevalent Slipknot's influence is in showcasing a new, emerging contingent of artists treading the same path the masked nine blazed back in 1999. 

Swollen Teeth by @stumuffins

A staggering combination of sonic diversity and performative dynamism, bands like Dying Wish, Swollen Teeth and Vended submitted some of the most buzzworthy sets on the day. Committed to their craft and charged by the reception of the crowd, heavy music's new class offered testament to the robust health of metal with sets that spoke to their influences while asserting their own place in the space. 

For Vended especially, the Iowan set marked a poignant homecoming of their own, pairing as a release show to commemorate the arrival of the band's long-awaited, self-titled debut album just 24 hours prior. 

Vended by @wombatfire

LADIES LEADING THE CHARGE

An organic element of Knotfest Iowa derived from the vast scope of the line-up resulted in a strong aggregate of powerful females at the at the helm of their respective projects. 

Highlighted standout sets on the day, bands like Holy Wars who were tasked with the tall task of opening the mainstage, were propelled by the commanding lead of Ket Leon on the mic. 

Twin Temple by @stumuffins

Alexandra James of the cult-tinged vintage r&b soaked Twin Temple presented a graceful kind of panache that underscored how dark music could be celebratory in tone and stylish in execution. 

Emma Boster of Portland aggressors Dying Wish ensured not a second of the band's stage time would go to waste. The band would be forced to trim their set due to the imminent threat of inclement weather and somehow still outpaced most of the pack, setting off the second stage with the kind of set that sent the Des Moines fans reeling. 

Dying Wish by @Stumuffins

Superseding any novelty or 'checking of the box' in of being "female-fronted" - each of the mentioned artists delivered the kind of showing that ensured metal's ever-changing landscape of is an indicator of the overall health of the culture. 

RESPECT FOR THE VETS

Though a big part of Knotfest Iowa was rooted in its showcase of heavy music's new blood, the bill also assembled an aggregate of battle-proven OGs that have long been fixtures in the space. Headliners in their own right, the roster of savvy veterans presented live entries that affirmed their rank as enduring contemporaries with a catalog of proven classics. 

Poison the Well by @stumuffins

Florida post-hardcore journeymen Poison the Well ignited the fans with a set that included beloved slobberknockers like "Crystal Lake", "Artist's Rendering of Me" and the essential, "Nerdy". (Evidence of the generational bridge being built in real time, Vended bassist Jeremiah Pugh was vibing hard AF to PtW's set while mixing it up with fans during his own band's meet and greet on the field.)

The Scumdogs of the Universe showed out with a blood-soaked set that saw the band survey their catalog of work that spans more than three decades. Packed-full of bloodily fluids, intergalactic vulgarity and extraterrestrial pageantry, GWAR underscored how heavy music could still be so much fucking fun. 

GWAR by @stumuffins

Submitting another standout set on the day, metallic hardcore triple OGs Hatebreed proved to be true ambassadors for the culture with their time onstage. In addition to their performance that featured a succession of hard-hitting anthems, the venerated Jamey Jasta emphasized his positions of heavy music's everyman - championing the new blood of the festival and paying homage to Slipknot in a way that was gracious, generous and genuine. 

Plus, getting to end your set with the absolute anthem of "I Will Be Heard" is the kind of knockout punch most bands could only wish to achieve.   

Hatebreed by @stumuffins

LINDEMANN THE PROVOCATEUR 

Likely regarded as the wildcard of the Knotfest Iowa line-up, Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann proved ever the provocateur with a masterful set in Des Moines. Backed by an all-star assembly of players in bassist Danny Lohner of Nine Inch Nails, Constance Day on keyboards and drummer Joe Letz of Combichrist, Lindemann's solo endeavor proved effective in connecting with fans faithful to Rammstein's brand of well-orchestrated industrial-forged charge. 
From the bright red motif of the stage, to Lindemann's bombastic baritone voice, there was a different kind of energy that took over the grounds during Till's time - one that had the audience fixed on what was happening onstage and on the accompanying screens. 
Till Lindemann by @wombatfire
Sparing some of the most explicit details, Lindemann's paired visuals that accompanied songs like "Fat" and "Golden Showers" were especially incendiary - such that there might have been some offended among the fans. Delicate sensibilities aside, Lindemann's set asserted a sense of audacity that makes such outsider art so compelling. Harkening to a time when rock music was often dangerous in its explictness - Lindemann asserted he still knows how to press people's buttons. 
 

HERE COMES THE RAIN

Slipknot by @wombatfire
Towards the latter portion of the day, the threat of inclement weather would become more than probable. In fact, organizers were forced to reconfigure the run of show as a pivot to ensure every band had their time onstage and fans got to experience the unfiltered fury 1999-era Slipknot.  
As the final notes of Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver" blared over the PA, signaling Slipknot was just seconds away from taking the stage, the hue of ominous light illuminated the band's iconic logo also lit the Des Monies night sky enough to see that the foreboding dark clouds that rolled in in such a timely manner - we now spilling over. 
Slipknot by @wombatfire
The Iowan skyline began to shower the captivated fans at the very same time Slipknot took the stage to perform their seminal debut record...
... In full. 
At home. 
In Iowa. 
Returning to the center of their universe, the place that gave rise to just a cultural juggernaut, Slipknot certainly had no control over the elements - but it didn't feel that way.
Slipknot by @wombatfire
The opening succession of "(sic)", "Eyeless", "Wait and Bleed" and "Get This" prompted pure elation across the entirety of the field. Voices on high and hands in the air, Slipknot's live ritual became that much more poignant, as the lights would occasionally illuminate the sea of humanity that was now reveling in the rain - screaming in unison as loud as they possible could,
"Don't belong / Don't exist / Don't give a shit / Don't ever judge me!"
Epic is among the most abused words with it comes to descriptors - in this case - it isn't a superlative, it's an understatement.
Slipknot by @wombatfire
 
 
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