Some of Evanescence‘s stage equipment was reportedly set on fire last night in Mexico after Slipknot‘s Knotfest Mexico was cancelled before its final two performances.
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The latest edition of the travelling festival took place yesterday (November 30) at Parque Deportivo Oceania in Mexico City. Slipknot were due to headline the festival that also included Evanescence, Behemoth, Godsmack, Bullet For My Valentine and more.
However, Slipknot had to cancel their performance due to a broken barricade and failed attempts to fix it. Evanescence were also forced to cancel their set due to the same issue.
“Because of a broken barricade and failed attempts to fix it, Slipknot were forced to cancel our performance last night,” the band wrote in a joint statement on Twitter. “Safety – especially the safety of our fans and fellow bands – is priority number one. We apologize profusely and hope you all understand. If anything were to happen to any of you, we wouldn’t forgive ourselves. Also, If we could have fixed the barricade correctly, we would have gone on stage. Again, we hope you all understand and we will try to make it up to you as soon as we can.”
#KnotfestMexico pic.twitter.com/Sxo9Ot5pol
— Slipknot (@slipknot) December 1, 2019
Evanescence shared a video on Instagram. “We are heartbroken we didn’t get to play for you tonight, México City,” the band captioned the clip. “Your safety, your life is more important than any show! We love you and we will be back soon, that’s a promise.”
After news of the cancellation got out a few festival-goers stormed the stage and destroyed a variety of equipment, including some that belonged to Evanescence, according to reports.
“People attending the festival proceeded to throw things on stage after the announcement of the cancellation and cause serious damage to Evanescence’s equipment,” a tweet by an Evanescence fan page read.
Evanescence's and Slipknot's sets at #Knotfest Mexico were cancelled last night due to problems with the barricades. People attending the festival proceeded to throw things on stage after the announcement of the cancellation and cause serious damage to Evanescence's equipment.
— Evanescence Crew (@EvanescenceCrew) December 1, 2019
Videos from the festival showed people running onto the stage and dismantling a drum kit and then setting it on fire – reportedly, it belonged to Evanescence drummer Will Hunt. See the clips below.
#Video Asistentes al Knotfest destruyen batería de Evanescence luego de la cancelación del festival.
🎥 Diego Simón. EL UNIVERSAL pic.twitter.com/FfClgKjuQx— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) December 1, 2019
Caos en el #KnotFest https://t.co/sjvkUs5ere
— Adolfo López (@AdolfoLopezMX) December 1, 2019
Adiós a la batería de Evanescence en el #KnotFest, gracias a la pésima organización y seguridad de Live Talent pic.twitter.com/5obb663pLo
— Uziel (@UzielChavz) December 1, 2019
Pésima planeacion por parte de @LiveTalentMx y aún peores asistentes.#knotfest #KnotfestMexico #knotfestMX #KnotFest2019 #KnotfestMexico2019 pic.twitter.com/MfFDwtvdjc
— ElEsePincheWey (@easp10) December 1, 2019
El #KnotFest se está saliendo de control. Ante el retraso de horas de Evanescence y Slipknot por una supuesta barricada rota, los fans ya están destruyendo y quemando objetos en el Parque Deportivo Oceanía. #KnotFestMexico Nadie ha dado ninguna información oficial. pic.twitter.com/I2QGGjnuCR
— Adolfo López (@AdolfoLopezMX) December 1, 2019
One fan in attendance responded to those destroying equipment by writing: “Today when I went to #KnotFest I was expecting a grand, cool festival. Got this instead. This doesn’t represent metalheads nor mexicans. Only fucking morons that can’t behave properly.”
Today when I went to #KnotFest I was expecting a grand, cool festival.
Got this instead. This doesn't represent metalheads nor mexicans. Only fucking morons that can't behave properly. https://t.co/Dn5ak94HtJ
— 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙯𝙯𝙪𝙡 🔞 (@ShazzulFA) December 1, 2019
Slipknot took to Twitter again today to further comment on the cancellation of Knotfest Mexico, stating that they had “hoped to be able to perform today, but regrettably, a situation arose onstage after the cancellation that damaged or destroyed gear that would have been necessary to play.”
#KnotfestMexico pic.twitter.com/pmS2uT2gDV
— Slipknot (@slipknot) December 1, 2019
Meanwhile, Slipknot‘s Jay Weinberg has been named the world’s best heavy metal drummer in a new music poll.
Music Radar, a website for music makers, staged a poll to find out who the best metal drummer is and Weinberg came out on top with almost twice as many votes as the rest of the entrants combined.