Words – Clare
Photos – Mitch

Music, art and culture collide down under for Knotfest Australia 2024. 

Unlike the first-ever Australian Knofest tour in 2023, this Knotfest did Knot have Slipknot headlining, but trust me when I say we were Knot left wanting. With the epically gargantuan lineup, we were all solidly entertained for ten and a half hours straight which included some pretty legendary metal bands including Pantera and Lamb Of God with personal highlights being performances by Speed, Skindred and Disturbed. But of course, a musical festival is not a festival without the stone-cold metalhead weirdos letting their freak flags fly and with Teletubbies and humanoid bananas spotted in the circle pits, the obligatory lobbing of the bog roll and a crowd surfing wheelchair, the mosh pit was definitely the place to be. Melbourne did its part in bringing the sun and clear blue skies, so with limited areas to find shade we felt well looked after by the Crowd Care team who all day were on the ready with sunscreen, water, Chupa Chups and practically anything a festival goer could need.

We decided to start what would be a massive day with a quick visit to the Slipknot Museum which was curated like a classic Baseball Hall of Fame, albeit a pretty demented one, filled with cubbies and glass cases that held retired Slipknot masks and personal effects. It was super freaky seeing all the items up close, so close you could smell ‘em. I watched on as fans took turns holding and playing actual guitars used by Slipknot.

As we approach the stages, Kevin Bloody Wilson’s ‘Absolute Cunt of Day’ is being blasted over the speakers as the dead-set larrikins from our very own King Parrot take the stage to start off our day. ‘Who said it’s too early for heavy metal? I did. I’m tired’ jested band guitarist Slatts. Spraying water over the crowd and blasting cans of VB on stage set the festival up for success as they played a selection of tracks including Disgrace Yourself from 2017’s Ugly Produce and the brand new track Fuck You and The Horse You Rode In On which they introduced by saying ‘Good to see all those King Parrot t-shirts, hope you brought a change as they’ll be covered in spoof after this’.

The next stage over Canadian deathcore Brand Of Sacrifice let the Gotta Catch ‘Em All Pokémon Theme Song prelude their entrance to the delight of the alternative audience members. Some of us after catching this set the night before were especially excited to see this band in broad daylight which accentuated the already impressive appearance of the vocalist Kyle Anderson who although had been losing his voice, gave a stellar performance of Demon King, Lifeblood, Exodus and Eclipse.

Windwaker offered us high energy, vocalist Liam Guinane dynamically bounded around the stage fluidly moving between rap, growls and melodic cleans, while the guitarist sported a bright neon orange guitar. They played singles like Superstitious Fantasy before playing new tracks from their latest EP Enter The Wall.

I was particularly excited for Speed, a five-piece hardcore punk band from Western Sydney, from what I heard they really go off and I was not disappointed. This was an extremely lively set filled with high-energy two-stepping by the band members as they continually switched roles and went ham on their instruments. All the while the lead vocalist donned a generous smile showing us all that they are doing what they love with the friends they love. They played a new track for the first time live for the Melbourne crowd.

Up next was the genre-bending Welsh band Skindred who expertly fuses metal with reggae. The wildly entertaining set began with a remix of The Imperial March from Star Wars and continued with a costume change, an acapella version of Don’t Stop Me Now, tracks That’s My Jam, Gimme That Boom, and of course the crowd executing the Newport Helicopter.

Las Vegas rock band Escape the Fate passionately performed their songs Forgive Me, H8 MY SELF, Gorgeous Nightmare and One for the Money while igniting a circle pit and dedicating tracks to anyone in the crowd who has felt low and to the bananas, lead vocalist Craig Mabbitt exclaiming ‘There are so many fucking bananas today!’.

After a quick Vengaboys break, with We Like to Party break blasting over the speakers, infusing the crowd with a giddy energy boost, we got blasted with the unrelenting shattering riffs and thunderous drumming of Thy Art Is Murder. Their return to Australia after their European tour debuted their new recruit, vocalist Tyler Miller formerly from Aversions Crown whose brutal vocals seamlessly meshed with the band’s signature style. Of course, they made sure to play Holy War from their third studio album, an all-time fan favourite.

Florida metalcore standouts Wage War took the stage performing the tracks Gravity, The River and Circle The Drain and their newest track Magnetic which vocalist Briton Bond quipped was so new they released it ’15 minutes ago’. The anthemic single Magnetic is their first offering since the full-length album Manic was released in 2021.

Asking Alexandria’s set consisted of Alone Again from their 2021 album release See What’s on the Inside, Dark Void from Where Do We Go From Here released just last year, Alone In A Room from their self-titled album and the very emotion fuelled acoustic track Someone Somewhere from the 2011 album Reckless & Relentless.

The day was heading into the late afternoon and as I started settling into the grass to rest my legs, the most hauntingly beautiful instrumentals played framing a spiritually charged Mongolian guttural singing. This was the Hunnu Rock of Ulaanbaatar Mongolia’s heavy metal band THE HU. Along with the touring members of the band their presence was majestic, their instruments adorned with horse hair tails and wooden horse head embellishments. The set was heavy and cathartic including the track This Is Mongol and a cover of Metallica’s Through the Never.

Halestorm was made for a festival-sized crowd with Lizzy Hale, a force to be reckoned with, alongside her absolute machine of a brother Arejay on drums. They showcased an array of tracks as the sun started to descend in the sky including Familiar Taste of Poison and Bombshell. It was a truly epic set that made the audience and the rock gods very happy.

Getting back to some brutal heaviness, Lamb Of God graced the stage, ‘It’s been 7 long years since I’ve said these words… How are you doing Melbourne?’ Said Vocalist Randy Blyth. ‘We came here to do one thing, cause fucking chaos and fuck this place up’. The fans followed suit and partook in some solid moshing alongside the onslaught of chunky breakdowns and terrifying death growls. The set ended in a massive circle pit for the well-known track Redneck.

Disturbed brought their A game and surprisingly gave us one of the most intensely entertaining sets of the day. They powered through a mix of old and new tracks including Hey You, Ten Thousand Fists, Bad Man, Land of Confusion and The Game until the band disappeared into the wings. Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence could be heard from the piano until the entire band rejoined to perform a full acoustic cover of the song receiving much love from the crowd. Then as Don’t Tell Me began Lzzy Hale suddenly appeared in a surprise duet with vocalist David Draiman. During The Light, the entire festival raised lighters and torches and of course, the set wasn’t completed until the band slayed Down with the Sickness.

Joining original members Rex Brown and Phil Anselmo were Charlie Benante best known for being the drummer for Anthrax and Zakk Wylde who is known for Black Label Society, so we knew this new iteration of Pantera was going to blow us all away. Anselmo looked at the fans and clearly stated ‘Every song, everything we do up here is for Dimebag and Vinnie’. This was a touching tribute along with Wylde’s guitar being a nod to Dimebag Darrell and looking onto his vest he wore patches the likeness of both fallen members. Highlights of the set were definitely Strength Beyond Strength, This Love, Cowboys From Hell and Walk where they were joined by members of King Parrot who had become close friends of Anselmo, which was apparent as the vocalist wore a sleeveless King Parrot tee for the headlining performance.

The hoards of sun-kissed, sore and oh-so-satisfied patrons exited Flemington Racecourse, taking with them memories from an action-packed day of heavy metal, throwing up their fists and horns, and most importantly hanging out with their people. I think we’ll all be chomping at the bit for next year’s 25th anniversary of Slipknot Knotfest. See ya there!

Big Thanks to the KNOTFEST Crew and a special thanks to Dallas Does PR for arranging media access.

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