Slipknot sharing their stage with a man accused of wrongdoing by more than a dozen women represents a fundamental contradiction of everything heavy metal claims to stand for, even as he maintains his innocence.
My first heavy metal festival remains vivid in memory. Download 2012, age 15, watching Metallica perform their landmark Black album in full to mark its 30th anniversary, and discovering Trivium for the first time. Yet the music itself was secondary to something more profound: the overwhelming sense of belonging. Beyond that field, my long hair and love of distorted guitars drew ridicule; within it, I found thousands of people who looked and sounded like me. The experience felt transformative, and I left feeling genuinely empowered by the community I'd encountered.
This sense of refuge is not unique to my experience. Interviews with figures ranging from Metallica's James Hetfield to Judas Priest's Rob Halford—himself a gay icon—consistently emphasise how heavy music has traditionally championed the outsider and the marginalised. The genre's foundational mythology rests on this promise: a space where the rejected find acceptance.
This week, that mythology faced a serious test. Marilyn Manson was confirmed as support for Slipknot in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium in July 2027. The booking proceeded despite allegations of physical, emotional and psychological abuse levelled by more than a dozen women, with a trial scheduled for November 2027. Manson denies the accusations, and no criminal charges have been filed. According to reports published on September 30, the announcement drew significant backlash from fans criticising his inclusion. If metal is genuinely meant to uplift the downtrodden, then placing a man accused of such conduct on one of Europe's largest stages feels like a betrayal of the genre's stated values.
Manson, whose real name is Brian Hugh Warner, stepped away from public life following the allegations but returned in 2024 with a new record deal and a series of high-profile tour bookings. He is far from alone in this trajectory. Chris Brown, convicted in 2009 of assaulting a former partner, continues to perform at major venues. Kanye West, now known as Ye, made a series of antisemitic statements in 2022 yet maintains a touring presence. The pattern extends across genres and decades, but metal appears particularly willing to accommodate such figures.
The Wembley bill extends beyond Manson. According to reporting on the full lineup, Lorna Shore and Hatebreed will also support Slipknot, with Manson and Hatebreed scheduled to join the band for South American dates as part of what is being billed as the "(sic)est Stadium Tour". Bring Me The Horizon will support North American dates, alongside rotating guest acts.
A Pattern of Rehabilitation
Metal's apparent leniency with controversial figures extends well beyond Manson. Three months before the Slipknot announcement, Pantera supported Metallica at London Stadium, a 62,500-capacity venue. In 2016, Pantera singer Phil Anselmo faced widespread condemnation for raising his hand in a gesture widely interpreted as a Nazi salute at a charity concert. He issued an apology, but in 2017 released a podcast in which he dismissed some critics as "phonies". Neither incident prevented the band's celebrated reunion in 2022. Nuclear Blast Records, the same label that signed Manson in 2024, will release a new album by Anselmo's other group, Down, in November.
As I Lay Dying presents another instructive case. The band disbanded in 2014 after its primary constant member, singer Tim Lambesis, was convicted of attempting to hire someone to murder his ex-wife. He served time and was released. In 2024, all band members except Lambesis departed, and footage subsequently circulated online showing him flipping a table at which another ex-wife was seated. The band's latest single, Polarized, accumulated 560,000 YouTube views within two weeks regardless of this history.
Those figures pale beside Falling in Reverse, a US metalcore band whose track Joseph has become one of metal's hottest songs, amassing 20 million YouTube views in two weeks. The song features guest appearances from Slipknot's Corey Taylor and System of a Down's Serj Tankian. This success arrived despite—or perhaps because of—frontman Ronnie Radke's history of transphobic social media comments and his deliberate incorporation of controversy into his public image. The cover of the band's 2024 album Popular Monster displays his mugshot from a 2012 arrest for domestic assault; the charge was dismissed in court in 2014.
Where Is the Pushback?
The most consistent opposition to these artists has come from disappointed fans on social media. The Slipknot and Manson announcement generated sufficient online criticism that major media outlets reported on fan reaction. Yet in previous instances, these voices have been overwhelmed by commercial success. Manson's UK tour in February 2025 sold out completely. Other established acts have actively participated in rehabilitation efforts. Five Finger Death Punch attempted to construct a narrative of Manson's redemption ahead of their summer 2024 tour together, with guitarist Zoltan Bathory arguing it was acceptable because Manson is now "clean and sober". Lamb of God toured with Pantera in 2023 and 2024; singer Randy Blythe apparently saw no contradiction in doing so, then in 2025 criticised Elon Musk as a "fucking asshole" for making a gesture similar to Anselmo's.
The Hollow Promise
Heavy metal has never truly been the non-judgmental sanctuary I experienced at 15. The genre has long suffered from severe underrepresentation of women, and hate has established itself in certain underground scenes, notably Nationalist Socialist Black Metal. Yet in 2026, with some of metal's most prominent artists facing accusations of serious harm against vulnerable people, only to return as commercially successful as before—sometimes more so—the genre feels fractured and exclusionary in ways that contradict its stated mission. The messaging of inclusivity rings hollow.
For someone encountering metal for the first time today, the experience would likely be different. Attending a festival where Falling in Reverse or similar acts performed to thousands of fans, then researching their histories, would present a stark contradiction between the genre's self-image and its actual values. That disconnect might well prevent a return visit. The paradise of acceptance that once defined metal's appeal has been compromised by the industry's willingness to prioritise commercial viability over the safety and dignity of the communities the genre claims to serve.
What Happens Next
According to official sources, general ticket sales for the Wembley show are scheduled to open at 10am BST on Friday, October 2, 2026. The trial regarding allegations against Manson is set for November 2027, occurring after the July performance.
