Slipknot's 'Day of the Gusano' Doc: 6 Standout Moments | Revolver

Slipknot's 'Day of the Gusano' Doc: 6 Standout Moments

From band's tourist adventures to one maggot's handmade gift

Slipknot recently unleashed Day of the Gusano, a fiery new documentary reliving their first-ever concert in Mexico, via Blu-ray, DVD and audio formats — the film had previously been released to theaters for a one-day screening event in September. Directed by the band's Shawn "Clown" Crahan, the movie was shot during the band's headlining set at Knotfest on December 5th in Toluca, a scenic town outside of Mexico City. With over 90 minutes of jarring performances, intense pre-show rehearsals, exclusive interviews and emotional fan profiles, don't be surprised if you feel a bit overwhelmed: Just like the band who made it, the documentary traffics in sensory overload. With that in mind, here are six of Day of the Gusano's most memorable moments.

Slipknot on Vacation!
Slipknot's trip to Mexico technically qualified as a work trip, but hey, a vacation is a vacation, and Day of the Gusano makes sure to include footage from Crahan's (unmasked) sightseeing sojourns with guitarist Jim Root and drummer Jay Weinberg. The bandmates explore the pre-Hispanic city of Teotihuacan, known for its majestic pyramids (atop which they partake in an ancient prayer ceremony), shop for sombreros and ponchos and mull over ornate, overpriced skull souvenirs. Wandering through a parking lot at one point, Crahan comes across several locals spiraling down a 98-foot pole, performing a dazzling acrobatic dance known as the Danza de los Voladores. "It's nice to use the money of rock & roll to expand your brain," he murmurs, awestruck. 

From Maggot With Love
Over 40,000 maggots (that's Slipknot-ese for "fans") turned out for the band's grand debut in Mexico. Given the group's outspoken reverence for their devotees (not to mention how the overwhelming majority of diehards had waited years, even decades, for the Iowans' nightmarish carnival to hit their homeland), the documentary's heavy emphasis on fandom doesn't comes as a big surprise. Day of the Gusano shines a spotlight on four lucky maggots, who detail their passion at length, and in the case of the digital edition of the film, sans subtitles (hope you brushed up on your Spanish!). Later, they join the band for a heartwarming meet-and-greet; one fan gives Taylor a handmade mask, who wears it with pride. "It's a heavy responsibility," the frontman says wistfully of his mission to do right by the maggots, choking back tears, "and I'm just so grateful."

Blink-and-You'll-Miss-It Antics
A word of caution to the easily overwhelmed: Day of the Gusano's camera work is, in a word, dizzying. Crahan's head-spinning, ADD-addled approach to cinematography flips the bird to concert-film convention, toggling between drone-captured overhead shots, handicam close-ups, rapid audience pans, sudden zooms and jump cuts as if he possesses the attention span of a squirrel. The resulting footage might be challenging to watch at times, but at least it makes for a fun game of Slipknot "I Spy." Keep an eye peeled for Sid Wilson's sick dance moves, Chris Fehn's exaggerated pouts and Crahan's sexual innuendos (hint: They involve sliding a drumstick in and out of his kettle drum).

More International Knotfests?
Knotfest's rapid ascent within the contemporary festival ecosystem — not just in North America, but the world writ large — becomes all the more remarkable when you consider the gathering's young age; Slipknot had already thrown four Knotfests (including one in Japan) by the time they took their throw down to Mexico, just three years after the inaugural installment. In other words, the band may just getting started — as Crahan hints during one notable moment in the film.

"Everybody asked me why it took so long to get to Mexico — but this is our seventh Knotfest," remarks Crahan on his tour of the festival grounds. (Knotfest Mexico was technically the sixth, but whatever.) "But England hasn't gotten Knotfest. South America, no Knotfest. Russia ... blah, blah, blah." Could this mean more international Knotfests are in the works? Only time will tell, for sure.

40,000 Maggots Jump the Fuck Up
No proper Slipknot set would be complete without "Spit it Out," the psuedo-rap-metal smash off 1999's eponymous debut. The pugnacious track's mosh-friendly bridge — typically ushered in with a screamed "JUMP THE FUCK UP!" from Taylor — has long since been exploited by the band as a reliable pit-starter, and arguably, the climax of their set as a whole. So ironclad is the connection between Slipknot's live show and its frontman's foul-mouthed instruction, a YouTube search for the aforementioned phrase produces nearly 34,000 results.

Having waited an eternity for their own "Spit it Out" experience, the Knotfest Mexico crowd (whose ranks, it should be pointed out, outnumbered even the YouTube "Spit it Out" trove mentioned above) threw an accordingly fearsome tantrum when the raucous highlight finally arrived. The maggots' celebratory energy was so fierce, it nearly brought down the drone capturing it all: Watch the stampede closely, and you'll see the camera wobble, presumably from vibrational overload.

An Explosive Finale
To cap off their historic night in Toluca, Taylor, Crahan and Co. charged through yet another Slipknot cut, the punishing fan favorite "Surfacing." Rather than wind down Knotfest Mexico by bowing and voicing their appreciation, the band added one last, squealing chorus to the din, enough fireworks to make Katy Perry blush, followed by a profanity-laced farewell: "Good fucking night!" Good fucking night, indeed.