NEWS
Slipknot have announced their first-ever headline show in Mexico City, with support from BABYMETAL.
The gig is due to take place on November 9 at Parque Bicentenario, the day after the metal band’s show at Guadalajara in Mexico.
In addition to BABYMETAL, Swedish group Orbit Culture will also open for Slipknot as they make their headline debut in Mexico City. See more about the gig and how you can buy tickets below.
Next month the masked outfit will embark on their ‘Here Comes The Pain’ 25th anniversary tour in North America, with Knocked Loose and more appearing as special guests at the shows. Find any remaining tickets here.
After that, they’ll be playing two different sets at Knotfest Brazil in October, and doing gigs in Peru, Columbia, Bogota and Mexico in November.
They then return to Europe and the UK toward the end of the year – spending November performing in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and France. They’ll play two consecutive shows at The O2 in London this December.
DECEMBER
14 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
15 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
17 – Manchester, Co-Op Live
18 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena Birmingham
20 – London, O2
21 – London, O2
You can find any remaining tickets to the UK shows here.
These shows are partly in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Slipknot’s self-titled debut album, which was released in 1999.
Slipknot’s founding member and percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan has opened up about his feelings towards the band’s new music – saying he has “a really, really spiritual feeling” about their next release.
Last month Clown revealed that the new music is coming sooner than fans expect. He said: “I can say that there’s gonna be music sooner than you can imagine, delivered to you in a way you can’t imagine.”
Slipknot’s last album was 2022’s ‘The End, So Far,’ which NME gave four stars in a review. It reads: “Aside from the blood, the gore, the theatrics and the noise, there’s clearly always been much more to the band’s ability to shock and surprise – and now it seems their next left turn of an era could be their most daring yet.”
Meanwhile, Mexico City support act BABYMETAL told NME at Download Festival 2024 that they “haven’t changed at all” because of their success.
The Japanese trio – comprised of founding members Su-Metal and Moametal, and new addition Momometal – recently released a new single, ‘Ratatata’, with Electric Callboy. It was their first track to make it onto the US charts.
Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says he is now “free and clear” after facing throat cancer.
The 63 year old musician, who played with the Enter Sandman legends from 1986 through 2001, has shared details of his diagnosis publicly for the first time. He explained that doctors discovered it early, and on May 8, 2025 he “underwent a procedure” to treat the condition.
Speaking on the Let There Be Talk podcast, he said: “They took a bunch of s*** outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of s*** out.
“So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early. And I got my ‘free and clear’ about three weeks ago. So I beat it.”
Jason contributed to several of Metallica’s most iconic releases, including 1988’s ...And Justice For All, their self titled 1991 album, 1996’s Load, the 1997 follow up Reload, and 1998’s Garage Inc.
After going through his cancer experience, the bassist made a point to slow down and actually give himself time to recover instead of constantly pushing forward.
He explained: “I promised myself I was going to rest, and that was the first time I’ve done that in my life.
"I’m usually just on or off. And so I promised myself I was gonna take the gravity off and lay down for the right amount of hours."
The health scare also led Jason to give up smoking weed and drinking alcohol, something he admits he likely would not have done otherwise.
He added: “The great spirit got my attention and said, ‘That’s not good right now, man.’ And so it pulled me off it.
"And so now I’m more clear-headed than I’ve been in my entire adult life. And so there’s blessings within everything. The lemonade I’m making this summer, bro — mm. Sweet. Ooh.”
Jason has previously said that his unexpected departure ultimately helped Metallica continue moving forward, while James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich later admitted they struggled to process his decision at the time.
Lars told Apple Music in 2021: “Jason is the only member of Metallica who has ever left willingly. And that in itself is a statistic.
"And the resentment from James and I was just so… 'You can’t do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave'.
"And then we weren’t equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. So of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense.”
