SLIPKNOT Is Teasing Something With Mysterious New Billboard

SLIPKNOT has reportedly placed a cryptic new billboard in Indio, California teasing an event related to the 25th anniversary of the band's debut album.

A photo of the billboard, which was erected near the site of this month's Coachella and last October's Power Trip festivals, was shared by the band's fans on Reddit. It contains the SLIPKNOT logo, plus the phrases "ONE NIGHT ONLY" and "LONG MAY YOU DIE". Also included is the URL youcantkillme.com, which points to an old-school-style web site launched last year that contains a list of SLIPKNOT's upcoming tour dates, as well as details of the band's 1999 "Slipknot" album. There is also a full biography related to the same LP.

"Slipknot" arrived in 1999 via Roadrunner Records and was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA). Although it is considered by many to be SLIPKNOT's official debut, it was preceded by the independently released "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." in 1996, an effort which was recorded prior to singer Corey Taylor's addition to the band.

Back in 2011, readers of the British metal magazine Metal Hammer voted "Slipknot" the best debut of the past 25 years. Over 16,000 fans voted in Metal Hammer's special 25th-anniversary poll, with "Slipknot" managing to grab almost a third of all votes cast, beating off competition from the likes of GUNS N' ROSES, KORN, MACHINE HEAD and PANTERA.

The special-edition CD/DVD reissue of SLIPKNOT's self-titled debut album came out in September 2009. The set commemorated the tenth anniversary of the LP and featured 25 tracks, including the original album as well as rare demos, remixes, rare B-sides and more.

Last December, SLIPKNOT co-founder and percussionist M. Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) was asked by Kerrang! magazine if he and his bandmates are planning to perform their entire debut album on tour in 2024 to celebrate the LP's 25th anniversary. He responded: "Are you joking right now? You're talking about the anniversary of one of the greatest metal albums to ever release in the thought process known as reality, and you think this 54-year-old man who just told you 'I'm going out the way I came in', you think for one moment that this album isn't going to be played in its entirety in front of, like, a hundred people, 200 people, 300 people, 50,000 people.

"I'm not going to live forever, man," he continued. "Neither is everybody else. Things are changing very quickly. I ain't got no more time to fuck around. That is the vehicle of my soul, and the remembrance, the memories, the heartache of lost brothers and even sisters — all these people that are gone and we're still doing it.

"Yeah, we're going to play that album from beginning to end," Clown confirmed. "But I sure as hell am not going to just succumb to the corporate world and give all those people what they want. They're going to get it. But you know what we're going to get? We're going to have fun, too. So that means small shows and you won't know until you hear it. And if you heard it, you're already too late and you're not going to see it. So you better open up your soul, because then you'll feel it and you won't have to hear it, because I'm being very serious."

SLIPKNOT has yet to reveal the identity of its new drummer after parting ways with Jay Weinberg last November.

Fans have speculated that Weinberg's replacement is none other than former SEPULTURA member Eloy Casagrande, who abruptly left that band in early February, just days before the start of the Brazilian/American outfit's farewell tour.

The new SLIPKNOT drummer will make his live debut with the band on April 27 at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.