Slipknot talk pyro perils

Slipknot percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan has spoken about the perils of performing on stage.

Loudwire caught up with the musician in Detroit, where he gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what goes into putting on a live show – including living with the dangers of Slipknot’s pyrotechnics.

He says: “I have fallen on this stage, I’ve been lit up, I’ve been taken out – stitches, pulled groins and people have torn their ACL.”

And he reports the only way he and his bandmates can limit potential pitfalls is by being fully aware of their surroundings.

He advises: “Watch where you’re going, play your part, do your job, love every minute of it and try to find some deep inner core that can let you mingle with all this death.”

But he adds: “It’s awesome – I’m 46 years old and I get to set things on fire. It’s like Alice In Wonderland and that’s why we do it. It feels good.”

Slipknot bassist Alex ‘Vman’ Venturella had a health scare earlier this week after he collapsed at a concert in Connecticut. He was rushed to hospital and was later released after being diagnosed with severe dehydration.

Their Summer’s Last Stand US tour continues in Toronto tomorrow night (August 8).

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.