INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA -
Slipknot, the masked stalwarts of metal who have sold thirty million records worldwide, returned to the stage in 2024–5 on “Here Comes the Pain.” Produced by Live Nation, and supported by a Cohesion PA, the tour paid homage to Slipknot’s certified double-platinum self-titled album, celebrating 25 years since its release. Fourteen US dates included a fully packed opening show in Indiana, a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden, and packed arenas across every corner of the country.
For Slipknot’s steadfast fans, affectionately dubbed “Maggots” by the band, “Here Comes the Pain” promised the same intensity of their 1999 debut album and featured a throwback set from their earliest recordings. Due to incredible demand, the tour added a second night at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California; both performances were sellouts.
The audio team emphasized extending Slipknot’s relentless energy to every seat. “We definitely wanted unified coverage from front to back. On this tour, we had the privilege of going to arenas, amphitheaters and open-air venues, and seeing how Cohesion reacted in those environments was impressive,” said System Engineer Brian Sankus during a moment of relative calm before the second Intuit Dome performance.
“Everyone asked me how I feel about the PA,” said Bob Strakele, FOH Engineer for Slipknot. “The low end was extremely tight and controllable, and the guitars and vocals were immediately right there in your face.”
Production Manager Rob Highcroft had recommended the Cohesion PA, having experienced it on a Pentatonix tour in 2023. While Highcroft was impressed with the efficient rigging process and thought the audio “kicked hard,” he suggested Strakele hear it for himself.
Strakele approved, stating, “Once we gave a listen, we said, ‘Whoa—this will work.’ For this band, it was more appropriate. It’s not just sound. You feel a punch through the speaker.”
Eighth Day Sound, a Clair Global brand, deployed the PA, which consisted of eighteen Cohesion CO12 left-right for the main hangs and another dozen CO12 on either side hang.
The six Cohesion CP218 II+ flown behind each main hang, as well as the eighteen CP218 II+ in six ground stacks of three, all in cardioid configuration, provided additional low end.
“We had a lot of subs, but more for coverage,” said Strakele. “Brian and I had an agreement that we were going to get most of the low end from what was in the air. It’s honestly impressive that a 12” goes that low, and you felt that energy. I liked the people in the front row to have a visceral feeling, not an oppressive one. When the guitars were chunking, you felt it on Cohesion.”
Six Cohesion CF28 sat atop the ground-stacked subwoofers to cover the front section. On either stage corner, two Cohesion CF14 provided lip fill. “Pain” was one of the first tours to implement the CF28 and the CF14, part of the expanded CF Series of fill speakers from Cohesion.
“These new front fills were just monsters,” said Strakele, motioning to the CF28 on stage where, a few hours later, Slipknot thrilled thousands of fans with a mix of classic hits and rarely performed songs. “Traditionally, up in that front barricade area, everything sounds thin and weird. With these, you can’t tell when you’re walking from transitional areas. They sound exactly like the PA.”
“The whole system as one is very…cohesive,” laughed Sankus.
Traveling to a wide variety of venues across the globe required a PA that also helped the production team. “I like to be efficient, and I was impressed with how efficient it was up and down,” said Highcroft. “This system was super-fast. It’s slick. The show ended, and in 45 minutes, the audio and control were on the truck. It was a cool team effort—you can’t really argue with 45 minutes.”
“The whole PA fit in one truck. Having that audio truck off the dock in a tremendously fast amount of time—that was huge,” said Strakele. “We had the subs with the CFs on top, and we pulled the cable and strapped it: seven minutes.”
“Here Comes the Pain” launched in August 2024 in America’s heartland, then ventured to South America and Europe. Slipknot visited Australia and New Zealand in March 2025, and Cohesion was the selected PA for those dates.
“The band was firing on all cylinders, rocking as hard as they can,” said Highcroft. “The audio was as important as anything, and the PA was booming and doing what we needed it to do.”
“This system was killer,” summarized Strakele. “It made things easier for me where the guitars and vocals live. I’m a mid-range guy. Heavy metal tends not to have mid-range in the guitars, and it can be a conundrum of pushing the guitars too loud to hear them, but you still don’t hear them. With this system, I didn’t have that problem. This PA is a keeper.”
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