Slipknot just played Gematria (The Killing Name) live for the first time ever

Slipknot just kicked off the Aussie run of their Knotfest shows in the most mind-blowing way possible: they put Gematria (The Killing Name) into the setlist for the first time ever.

At the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on Friday, February 28, the Iowa metal kings delighted and absolutely shocked maggots only three songs into their set by dropping the 2008 All Hope Is Gone gem, which fans have historically never expected to hear live.

As reported by Loudwire, frontman Corey Taylor said a few years back that Gematria had been “created and recorded” in a particular way that meant that “some of the guys in the band are like, ‘Fuck that, we’ll never play it.’”

He told All Things Music podcast in May 2023 that it wasn’t for “sentimental” reasons, but it was because of “resentment. But for me, man, it’s such a fucking burner that I just love that song. I can listen to that shit all fucking day. It just comes screaming out of no-fucking-where. But it’ll never happen. Unless the Pope ends up opening up for Slipknot someday, that shit will never happen.”

Well, now it has. Can they keep it in all future setlists as well, please? Check out fan-shot footage below:

Unsurprisingly, people online were just as flabbergasted as us…

Now, check out some legendary old live footage of Mick Thomson performing it in the studio:

See what else the band played:

Slipknot Knotfest Melbourne 2025 setlist

1. (sic)
2. People = Shit
3. Gematria (The Killing Name)
4. Wait And Bleed
5. No Life
6. Yen
7. Tattered & Torn (Sid remix)
8. The Devil In I
9. The Heretic Anthem
10. Psychosocial
11. Unsainted
12. Duality

Encore:

13. Spit It Out
14. Surfacing
15. Scissors

Read this next:

• Slipknot: Paul Gray’s 10 best songs
• The live shows that defined Slipknot, as told by Corey and Clown
• “Thoroughly unpleasant and truly unforgettable”: Our original 1999 review of Slipknot’s debut album