The Slipknot vs. Mushroomhead feud has completely subsided in recent years, but back in 1999 it was still going strong. For evidence, look no further than a recently-resurfaced Slipknot show filmed in Cleveland from 1999.
Mushroomhead fans in the crowd started heckling Slipknot and throwing objects at them before vocalist Corey Taylor eventually had a enough. Right before Slipknot played "(sic)", Taylor yelled "Step up, pussy! Step up, bitch!" before percussionist M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan dove into the crowd to fight some of the fans.
Clown got pulled by security and Taylor addressed the hecklers once more. "I knew you guys would fucking show up, man. Do you guys want to see a fight or do you want to see a fucking show, man?" said Taylor, later adding: "All petty fucking bullshit aside, are you ready to have a good fucking time tonight? Because over my fucking dead body will I have anybody ruin this fucking night for anybody here!"
Despite the confrontation and Taylor's words, the animosity between the Mushroomhead fans and Slipknot doesn't quite subside through the whole show.
Taylor explained the feud in a 2012 Q&A with fans, saying his problem was always with Mushroomhead fans and not the band themselves.
"My problem has never been with that band, my problem was with their fans at the time," said Taylor. "The first time we played Cleveland, their fans came down, mind you we didn't fucking say shit, their fans came down and threw everything but rocks at us. They hit Paul [Gray, bassist] in the face with a padlock the size of my fist; this is while we’re onstage."
And yes – there was an altercation after the show. "When we got done playing, we took all of our shit off and went into the audience. There were a lot of them, but there was all nine of us, there was Machine Head, and all of our friends from a band called Amen – and let's just say we fucking handled it right there."
