Slipknot made an emotional return to live performance on Friday – and the empty costume and bass of Paul Gray was with them on stage.

He died of an accidental overdose in May last year, plunging the metal outfit into a temporary hiatus and long-term personal anguish, which several of the eight surviving members have said is still difficult to deal with.

But the band took another step in their own recovery at the Greece edition of the travelling Sonisphere festival, when they hit the stage sporting red jumpsuits and their older-era masks.

Frontman Corey Taylor told the crowd: “Tonight is a very emotional show for us. But it is not a negative day – it’s a positive day, a day for celebration. WIll you celebrate with us today?”

Later he added: “This is very hard for us, but he would have wanted us to come out with you all and celebrate his life.”

He invited the audience to join in with classic track Duality, saying: “Will you all help me sing a song for my brother? Sing so loud he can hear us – because he is here with us tonight. Can you feel it?”

The 25,000 capacity audience supported the band all the way through their 14-song set, with former member Donnie Steel playing Gray’s bass parts from offstage.

Setlist: Intro; (Sic); Eyeless; Wait and Bleed; The Blister Exists; Liberate; Before I Forget; Pulse of the Maggots; Disasterpiece; Psychosocial; Heretic Anthem; Duality; Spit It Out; People = Shit; Surfacing.