I will knot be pigeonholed by the type of music I like

As expected, the masked nine-piece band thrashed at their instruments with all of the ferocity of whichever weather bomb is currently ravaging their native US. I was basking in the eternal sunshine of musical adoration.

Birmingham is the home of heavy metal, with bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest hailing from its clanging, industrial heart. I'm a convert myself – I wasn't brought up on a metal diet but I discovered it in my teens and my love for it has matured and grown as I have.

The band, known for their gnarly masks and songs like People = Sh*t and The Heretic Anthem have always been the subject of controversy. Like many bands of their genre, the vocal style is pretty harsh if you're not accustomed to it.

Vocalist Corey Taylor actually has a beautiful singing voice, but that's not how Slipknot roll (there are side projects for that). Instead they scream lyrics in your face like venom, touching upon all number of subjects like any good band would, including love, strength, power and political frustration.

It shocks me a bit that now, 16 years on since the release of their self-titled album, the band are still stirring up a fuss. Before the show, I had a scout on the internet for reviews. I wanted to see how they were faring now, nine years since I last saw them.

Bizarrely, the first article I came across wasn't about Slipknot as much as it was about their fans. The journalist (a writer, the same as me) writes about music and has a column (hey, so do I!) and went along to a show (wow, this is uncanny) to see the band I've held dear for more than a decade.

What, asks the journalist for one of the biggest news outlets in the country, is their appeal? Is it perhaps their ability to thrust out some of the most exhilarating and Grammy award-winning sounds, from the riffs of guitarist Mick Thomson to the undoubtedly impressive drums of Jay Weinberg (formerly of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band)?

Nope, that 'occasional glimpse of musicality' was forgotten, and their 'Spinal Tap Satanism' was instead referred to.

I found it so strange that he could miss the point so entirely. He said that at the show he felt 'surrounded by people who don't look like me or dress like me'.

Who? Me?

This journalist and I have a pretty clear thing in common. We both like music and do a very similar job for eight hours a day. I've never made a sacrifice to Satan and I assume he hasn't either.

He didn't get it, he admitted, and for that he felt alienated.

To me, there's not a great deal to get. You watch and you listen. You don't have to like it. But just like a taste, a smell or a texture, you either dig Slipknot or you don't. And it certainly says nothing about the listener. Don't generalise.

So if you'll excuse me, I'm off to look at pictures of cute puppies on the internet.

Proper metal, me!