See Corey Taylor's Intense First Show with Slipknot in 1997

See Corey Taylor's Intense First Show With Slipknot in 1997

Sparks fly at the group's performance at the Safari Club in Des Moines

On August 24th in 1997, Corey Taylor performed his first show with Slipknot at the Safari Club in Des Moines, Iowa. The band had already been building up steam locally with the release of their debut, Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., which was released on Halloween in 1996. But in a live video captured on August 24th, 1997, featuring Taylor taking over lead vocals for the first time, the group already appears to have been ready to take things to the next level. Check it out via YouTube above.

The performance is pretty bonkers, featuring an emcee in a ski mask, someone tossing out stuffed animals and a spray of sparks that begins once the band starts playing. And from there the band rips into three minutes of explosive energy and pummeling rhythms, as Taylor growls through his mop of hair and X-ed out eyes. Though the clip is pretty lo-fi, it's still easy to see the intensity and dynamic stage presence the group had even in their early days. 

With this live lineup, Taylor joins Joey Jordison, Paul Gray, Shawn M. "Clown" Crahan, Craig Jones and Mick Thomson, plus ex-members Donnie Steele (bass), Josh "Gnar" Brainard (guitar) and Greg "Cuddles" Welts (percussion). The clip is taken from a longer, 45-minute video of their complete 1997 show. Watch Corey Taylor's first Slipknot show in the full performance below.