Slipknot and Marilyn Manson are set to hit the road together later this year on a tour that will include a June 17 stop at the MGM Grand Garden. If there’s a more perfect pairing out there this summer, you’d be hard-pressed to find it.

Shawn Crahan

Slipknot and Marilyn Manson are set to hit the road together later this year on a tour that will include a June 17 stop at the MGM Grand Garden. If there’s a more perfect pairing out there this summer, you’d be hard-pressed to find it.

The built-in dynamics of bringing two blockbuster acts together on one bill means fans can count on getting the most bang for their hard-earned buck, and that’s exactly the point. “Anytime you put a tour together,” Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor says, “you want to find the best package with the most impact,” and this one certainly fits that bill.

“You know Manson’s going to come for it,” Taylor points out. “And that just makes us want to go even harder, even further and really just put something together incredible. You want that healthy competition and that camaraderie. You’re rooting for everybody to have a great show because you know when everybody does, everyone wins.

“There’s the fan in me that wants to make sure that everyone looks at this whole show and is like, ‘You know what, I had fun; I had an amazing time from the second that the intro started for the first band until the outro music for the last band.’ That, to me, is an experience. Those are the shows that I remember.” The “War of the Gargantuas” tour back in 1996, featuring Pantera, White Zombie and the Deftones, made that kind of lasting impression on Taylor.

“That tour, man, I must have saw that like three times, and it was so good every time I saw it,” he recalls. “It was right around the time when ‘Trendkill’ came out. Zombie had just released … I want to say it was ‘I Am Hell,’ which was on the ‘Escape from L.A.’ soundtrack, I think; I might be wrong on that. But I remember those guys playing a lot of that stuff and just being blown away by just how good that package was.”

“Every night was wild parties, drinking, gambling,” Deftones frontman Chino Moreno said a few years ago when Red Bull asked him about his most memorable live experiences. “Good times. I’m not sure if those kind of tours even exist anymore.”

They do, actually. As a matter of fact, Korn and Rob Zombie are co-headlining another eagerly anticipated tour that’s set to visit Las Vegas later this year. And a few years ago, Zombie shared a bill with Manson on the “Twins of Evil” tour. And while musically that partnership also made a lot of sense back then, this double bill seems even more fitting. Both bands make music that speaks directly to the shared sense of alienation experienced by fans who often feel like outcasts.

“Not only outcasts but just almost voiceless,” Taylor says. “We, for whatever reason, our two bands kind of filled that void. It wasn’t necessarily about the shock. It was about the content as well. We wanted to make sure that something we were creating was forceful and yet had something you could dip into later and go, ‘Huh. That feels like something I would’ve said. That feels like something I can believe in.’ I think that’s why our two acts really work well together.”

Slipknot and Manson first became friendly on the Ozzfest tour in 2001. The two have crossed paths plenty since then, says Taylor, who reserves a great amount respect for his tourmate. “It’s always cool to watch him live because you never know what you’re going to get,” Taylor says. “You never know how his show is because he’s constantly changing it. He’s constantly trying to find that next show, that next vibe, whatever fits with the album that he’s made. We’re kind of the same way. I think that’s one of the reasons why we have so much respect for each other.”

Actually, the two outspoken frontmen have much more in common than that, as Taylor himself notes. “I think the thing I love about him the most is just how honest he is. He’s never shied away from speaking his mind, and that’s something I definitely respect, and I definitely can relate to. Even in the face of today’s media, where things can be taken out of context or something can be taken the wrong way. It’s never stopped him from speaking his mind and making sure that people understand where he’s trying to come from, even if it’s not a popular opinion. It’s his opinion, and that’s all that matters.”

The two sound like kindred spirits, so you can see why Taylor is excited for the upcoming tour. Turns out, there’s also another reason he’s amped. There’s talk that Manson will be performing one of his classic albums on this tour. Which album? Well, we won’t spoil the surprise, but let’s just say Taylor considers it Manson’s best work.

“To me, it’s one of the best albums, period,” he declares. “That album, top to bottom, is so f——— cool and so good, from the musicality to the production to the melodies to the lyrics to the imagery. It’s so evocative. To this day, I still listen to it, and it’s one of those albums that I put on from the first track to the last.”

Tickets for the June 17 show at the MGM Grand featuring Slipknot and Marilyn Manson with Of Mice and Men go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. Pre-sale tickets will be available to fan club members starting at noon Tuesday, and Citi cardholders can purchase tickets through Citi’s Private Pass program at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

— Read more from Dave Herrera at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at dherrera@reviewjournal.com or follow @rjmusicdh on Twitter.