Slipknot’s Knotfest Plans Pulse of the Maggots Fest to Spotlight Rising Bands

Slipknot’s annual Knotfest will shine a light on rising hard-rock and metal bands at a virtual festival this fall that they’ve dubbed Pulse of the Maggots Fest. The title comes from “Pulse of the Maggots,” a song off Slipknot’s 2004 album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). The free event, which will raise money for MusiCares, will kick off on Knotfest.com at noon PST on November 13th.

The fest will feature three digital stages — the MusiCares Stage, the Rock Against Racism Stage, and the ESP Stage — that will showcase 20 artists. The featured groups include Hacktivist, October Ends, Prxjek, Cerberus, Orbit Culture, Tallah, Demotional, Vended, Scarlet, Year of the Knife, Introtyl, Wargasm, Diamond Construct, Vctms, Death Blooms, Death Tour, Thrown Into Exile, Once Awake, 156 Silence, and I Revolt. Two of the site’s hosts, Beez and Ryan J. Downey, will preside over the proceedings, which will also feature as-yet-unannounced special guests.

Knotfest is preparing a special Pulse of the Maggots fest T-shirt. A portion of proceeds from sales of the shirt will benefit MusiCares, which provides aid to working musicians.

In other Slipknot news, frontman Corey Taylor released his debut solo album, CMFT, last month. One of the songs, “Culture Head,” condemns police brutality, but mostly it was a lighter affair. “[I wanted to make] all-out rock & roll … [with a] major-chords, big-chorus party vibe,” Taylor said of the record in an interview with Slipknot’s Clown. “I felt like I didn’t have that in my life.” The album features appearances by Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie.