SLIPKNOT Wants To 'Bring Surrealism' To Halloween Experience With Iowa Haunted House Partnership

SLIPKNOT percussionist and co-founder Shawn "Clown" Crahan spoke to Andy Hall of the Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3 about the band's partnership with the Des Moines haunted attraction Slaughterhouse. The 10,000 square-foot haunt will feature memorabilia from the group, meet-and-greet events, around 40 to 50 actors who will bring the band's "iconology, lore and culture" to life, and even an opportunity to go through the Slaughterhouse with a SLIPKNOT member.

Said Crahan: "I don't believe in ego, but just us being here is a testament. I think most people think, 'Oh, Clown lives in town. Why would he this or that?' That's the whole point — I like to have fun; I like to experience. I love it when people wanna throw me down the wormhole. So I know what we can bring to it is we can bring an acknowledgement to the rest of the world that during these weeks, during this month, for this label called Halloween, you can come here and we'll be here and we'll just have a day. So I think we can bring surrealism, because I think most fans just come and go, 'What? I don't understand.' They're not used to that. They're used to sitting in line at an arena — they're used to that experience — and those experiences are great, but they become the only experiences."

He continued: "You do what I do, and you get tired of rolling up to the same venues, dealing with the same things. There's so many different venues and philosophies in venues and the way that kids roll, you get used to that, and you're, like, 'Wow! We're gonna play Detroit. They're gonna act this way.' We're gonna go to L.A. and they're gonna act this way.' 'We're gonna go to Connecticut. They're gonna act this way.' These become the rock and roll experience that you create — you're, like, 'Oh, yeah! I'm gonna go see METALLICA tomorrow and SLIPKNOT tomorrow.' But these sorts of things are… They're not gonna understand until they come and then the surrealism hits. And they can't put it together — it's a haunted house, but there's hard rock bands here, but it's both from here. So we're gonna do a good job opening up a mindset, because I really do preach a lot about not living in the curbs — in between the curbs. The curbs are… you know, you're living in your imagination, driving down the street, and you just start getting that good thought, and them, all of a sudden, you hit the curb. And it reminds you that you're in reality and you need to get back in your lane and pay attention. I've gotta get out of these curbs, man. I'm gonna be 50 pretty soon, and I'm gonna go out, like, opposite. I don't wanna get slower, just because I am."

Crahan talked about the collaboration with the Slaughterhouse at a news conference on Thursday (September 13) inside the attraction, which first opened in 2010. He said: "It's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be scary. And it's going to be heavy metal. Art at its most extreme."

Crahan added: "It's all about the fans. It's all about a special experience, making it one-on-one, almost. It really is going to be a moment in our history, in their history. And our history in Des Moines."

The haunted attraction will be open from October 5 through October 28, with VIP packages available for the weekend of October 18 through October 21. General admission tickets cost $20, with $30 skip-the-line passes also available.

SLIPKNOT is slated to begin work on a new album early next year.