Swiss deathcore sensations Paleface Swiss dropped a massive Halloween surprise by opening their Halloween show by playing three Slipknot covers – while dressed as Slipknot.
The band, who were headlining Core Fest at the EWS Arena in Göppingen, teased the crowd by using the Iowa band’s 742617000027 as their intro music, before the curtain dropped and the band appeared clad in red boiler suits and OG Slipknot masks. The five-piece then launched into the ’Knot’s 1999 classic [sic], followed by People = Shit and Psychosocial.
The performance saw frontman Marc ‘Zelli’ Zellweger wearing Corey Taylor’s original mask, complete with dreadlocks, while guitarist Yannick Lehmann wore Mick Thomson steel-plate mask, bassist Tommy Lee sported late Slipknot four-stringer Paul Grey’s famous pig mask, and drummer Luigi Paraventi was dressed as the much-missed Joey Jordison.
It’s not the first time Paleface Swiss have covered People = Shit, playing it at gigs in Mexico City and Dallas earlier in October.
Speaking to Metal Hammer in 2025, Zelli credited Slipknot with helping him channel and calm his teenage angst. “I'm not good at talking about emotions,” he admits. “I was walking through the streets of Switzerland listening to this really aggressive music, and I felt better. I’m not as angry as I could be because of the music. It took away all the anger that I had.”
He added that he had fanboyed out when Paleface Swiss appeared at the same festival as Slipknot in 2025
“I was right next to Clown’s green room, and he was like, ‘Excuse me, can I enter my room?’” said Zelli. “I would never be brave enough to say, ‘What’s up?’”
Watch footage of Paleface Swiss covering Slipknot at their Halloween gig below.
