Staying (sic): Inside The Mind Of Slipknot's Chris Fehn
Tuesday, 27 January 2015
Written by Alec Chillingworth
Somewhere in the bowels of Nottingham’s Capital FM arena, Chris Fehn and I are introduced. Lovely, jovial, friendly Chris. He lounges on a sofa and casually rests his arm on the back. They must have sent in the wrong guy.
Fehn is also known as #3 and is one third of Slipknot's powerhouse percussion unit. He can usually be found leaping from risers while clad in a boilersuit, whacking oil drums with a baseball bat and jacking off the Pinocchio nose attached to his iconic mask. He is one of the band's figureheads and, having picked up tools for the first time in 1998, is closing in on two decades at the coalface.
“Slipknot's not an easy band to be in,” he grins, aware of how ridiculous the statement seems. “First of all, we wear masks and rubber hoods. Things are uncomfortable, hot and physically draining. Without the pure love I have for the music, lyrics and everything that goes into it, I just wouldn't do it. Music has always been the most important thing in my life. That stays the same if we're playing to one person or 100,000 people.”
You can delete that 'all he does is whack a beer keg for two hours' Facebook comment, as Fehn is the real deal. He topped 40 a couple of years ago and still flings himself around with something approaching youthful abandon - purely to entertain the people of Nottingham on this occasion. But, he is a man with enough self-awareness to know how wild, and taxing, his job is.
“Physically and mentally, it's not what people think it is,” he sighs. “We're older now, so all those days where I'd wash everything away with alcohol and drugs are gone. I can be dead fucking tired and at my absolute worst, but when that sampling starts and I hear the audience, it's unavoidable. That's my favourite part of the day.”
Slipknot are the biggest, most enduring contemporary metal act out there, and they show no signs of slowing down. The tragic death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010 and the exit of sticksman Joey Jordison three years later failed to halt the 18-legged machine’s momentum and Fehn sees no way that their march could be replicated by another band. Slipknot are Slipknot.
“Nobody can do what we've done. It's an anomaly,” Fehn adds. “Back in the day we got all these people saying 'Oh, they're just like KISS' and stuff like that. We're obviously not trying to be KISS, and Slipknot is part of its own generation. I don't think it can ever be recreated in a different way.”
Seeing Slipknot completely level the Capital FM Arena later in the evening really hammers his point home. They are a cultural phenomenon and, in a sane world, perhaps should never have achieved such outrageous levels of success. Back in 1999, when their debut record came out swinging, picturing Slipknot as chart mainstays was pretty much as far-fetched as you could get. But for Fehn, the glass ceiling was well and truly smashed when they were asked to headline Download Festival in 2009.
“That was a huge leap in what we mean to the world,” he admits. “Download is the festival, and to be asked to headline that is an achievement bigger than a Grammy or any other awards. Europeans really like music, and the fact that they stayed there all day – we were the last band of the day, so they could have just fucked off if they didn't like us – and were into it just gives me a great sense of pride and accomplishment.”
Slipknot have not stopped growing since then and their latest album, '.5: The Gray Chapter', cemented that fact, shoving aside any apprehensions about their potency post-Jordison. It’s a record rammed with tunes that beg to be played live and has actually forced several staples from the setlist. In Nottingham, Wait And Bleed, Left Behind and Eyeless are all politely told to piss off, with Opium Of The People – which is insane, thanks for asking - among the songs given a spin in their place. Fehn still has eyes for one golden oldie, though, and it’s the haunting last track on album one.
“Scissors,” he says. “It's not a jam session but it kinda turns into that sometimes. Corey [Taylor, vocals] just goes off and it's hypnotising. It's great and it just puts me in a whole different place. We used to end the show with it and dude, I don't even know what to say, but that's the song.”
When discussing it, his eyes light up as if I've just dropped a 50p coin into a slot in his head. That passion has taken him a long way, from the isolated landscapes of Des Moines - as described in the band's bleak, uncompromisingly heavy 'Iowa' record - and he has seen his share of shitholes.
So have the opening band for this tour, King 810. They have received an ungodly amount of flak from internet dwellers due to their focus on the harsh environs of Flint, Michigan, their hometown. Scan the web for a minute and you’ll find them dismissed as try-hards and wannabes. They are a polarising force in the 2015 metal scene, but one that Fehn - no stranger to allegations of gimmickry himself - can get behind.
“We were listening to it on the way to the studio. That Killem All track? That's my favourite, dude,” he says, talking of the punishing opening track to 'Memoirs Of A Murderer'. “They're the real deal. Where they come from is rough – really rough – and they're a part of that. They're real people with real issues that need to be heard, and they let people know there's a lotta shit going on and a lot of hard times in this world. They're bringing a lot of things to light that people don't want to see, and I commend them for that.”
Slipknot know a thing or two about primal, feral outbursts of anger, fuelled by despair or helplessness. But, ultimately, their music is uplifting. It's provided the soundtrack to millions of lives but they, somewhat troublingly, remain a terrifying beast for those who shelter in the conservative mainstream.
Last month, several major UK news outlets chose to take a reductive, opportunist focus on Slipknot following an inquest into the death of James Lock, a Swansea teenager who tragically took his own life last year.
“I never heard about that kid until now,” Fehn says. “My condolences go out to his family and I pray for them, and hopefully they can get the help they need and get through it. It's terrible.
“It's kinda like bleeping out the word 'fuck' or 'shit' in a song. You know the swear word's coming up and it just goes 'shiiiiieeee'. You know how they fuck with it. It's a control thing, and to blame any band for that is some form of control. Maybe they're trying to control society by saying certain things are bad, but there are so many things in this world that have caused so much more death and destruction than music. It's not even comparable.”
As the unbeatable triple whammy of (sic), People = Shit and Surfacing draws things to a close in Nottingham, Fehn can be seen, still masked, throwing bouquets of flowers into the audience. It is a quirk, but it makes people smile. Never second guess Slipknot and never assume they're out of ideas, because you will likely end up being wrong.
If you’re going through some stuff and need to talk, remember that Samaritans is available 24/7, 365 for confidential support. You can call 08457 90 90 90 in the UK, send an email to jo@samaritans.org or look up a branch close to you here.
Slipknot Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue January 27 2015 - BIRMINGHAM Barclaycard Arena
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