Slipknot Brings A Quarter-Century of ‘Pain’ on Tour

Inglewood, CA (April 9, 2025)—Horror metal merchants Slipknot have sold 30 million records over the last 25 years, and it’s a reign of turntable terror that began with 1999’s Here Comes the Pain. Looking back to that stalwart album with a throwback set, the band recently completed a 14-date U.S. arena tour that included a sold-out evening at New York’s Madison Square Garden and two nights at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA.

While the tour may have focused on music from the past, the audio system bringing it to the fans was very much of the present. The audio team opted to field a Cohesion P.A. provided by Eighth Day Sound for the journey. System engineer Brian Sankus explained, “On this tour, we had the privilege of going to arenas, amphitheaters and open-air venues, and seeing how Cohesion reacted in those environments was impressive.”

Production Manager Rob Highcroft had recommended the Cohesion PA, having experienced it on a Pentatonix tour in 2023. While Highcroft was impressed with the efficient rigging process and thought the audio “kicked hard,” he suggested Bob Strakele, FOH Engineer, hear it for himself. As it turns out, he liked it too: “Everyone asked me how I feel about the P.A.,” said Strakele. “The low end was extremely tight and controllable, and the guitars and vocals were immediately right there in your face.”

The hang for Slipknot’s arena tour was typically 18 Cohesion CO12 adorning each side of the stage for the main hangs, bolstered by a dozen CO12 on either side hang. A half-dozen Cohesion CP218 II+ flown behind each main hang, as well as 18 CP218 II+ in six ground stacks of three, all in cardioid configuration, provided additional low end.

“We had a lot of subs, but more for coverage,” said Strakele. “Brian and I had an agreement that we were going to get most of the low end from what was in the air. It’s honestly impressive that a 12” goes that low, and you felt that energy. I liked the people in the front row to have a visceral feeling, not an oppressive one. When the guitars were chunking, you felt it on Cohesion.”

A half-dozen Cohesion CF28 sat atop the ground-stacked subwoofers to cover the front section. On either stage corner, two Cohesion CF14 provided lip fill. “Pain” was one of the first tours to implement the CF28 and the CF14, part of the expanded CF Series of fill speakers from Cohesion.

Eighth Day Sound Ties Up Slipknot Tour

“These new front fills [the CDF28s] were just monsters,” said Strakele. “Traditionally, up in that front barricade area, everything sounds thin and weird. With these, you can’t tell when you’re walking from transitional areas. They sound exactly like the PA.”

Traveling to a wide variety of venues across the globe required a PA that also helped the production team. “I like to be efficient, and I was impressed with how efficient it was up and down,” said Highcroft. “This system was super-fast. It’s slick. The show ended, and in 45 minutes, the audio and control were on the truck. It was a cool team effort—you can’t really argue with 45 minutes.”