24 March 2024 – RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Tam Schilling
It’s currently Sunday morning. I’m sitting at breakfast with my friend, having a coffee, waiting for doors to open for Knotfest 2024. Last year’s Knotfest was great, so the bar is set very high for 2024. Seeing Australian bands like Speed, King Parrot and Windwaker put on equal footing with Pantera, Disturbed, and Lamb of God is so exciting as a fan of the local scene. Today should be an incredible day of live music.
11:20am hits, and King Parrot opened the festivities for the day, we couldn’t have asked for a better start. The band walked out to a Kevin Bloody Wilson song, which I cannot write the name of in this article, before blasting through a tight set of absolute tunes. Set closer ‘Shit on the Liver’ popped the crowd off, as they walked off to a huge reception.
King Parrot – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
Canadian deathcore crew Brand of Sacrifice were out next. I had the pleasure of catching them three times last year on the Coheed and Cambria SS Neverender cruise. So going from seeing them play a dive bar on a boat in the middle of the Carribbean to about 150 people, to a packed out Brisbane Showgrounds was exciting. The set proved incredibly unique though, as lead singer Kyle Anderson couldn’t make the show due to illness, so the rest of the band played an instrumental set that ruled.
Brand of Sacrifice – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
Windwaker took to the stage, and from a distance, it seemed like at first, the crowd wasn’t super into them. But by the time they busted out ‘Dopamine Freestyle’, it was chaos. They definitely built love as the set moved along, and their final two songs, ‘Beautiful’ and ‘SIRENS’, were the songs in the set that really sent the crowd hyper. I’ve caught Windwaker three times since lead singer Liam rejoined the band, and this was definitely his best showing back with the band. Fingers crossed for more opportunities in 2024.
Windwaker – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
A gang called Speed then took to the stage, and Sydney’s best hardcore band tore Brisbane a new one. They had some of the most crazy pits of the day, and overall just ruled. Speed has been a band high on my list of bands to see over the last few years. Knotfest showcasing the local talent in this way is one of my favorite things about these lineups. If you’re a hardcore fan and haven’t caught them live, fix it ASAP.
Speed – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
In what was probably my most hyped band of the day, Welsh reggae metallers Skindred came out to a massive reception. Lead singer Benji Webb came out in this long black trenchcoat, as it poured down with rain, to an EDM remix of the ‘Imperial March’ theme, before running through a solid “festival set”, including ‘Set Fazers’, ‘Rat Race’, ‘That’s My Jam’, and the song that’s dedicated to “EVERY FUCKING BODY”, ‘Nobody’. They even threw in covers of ‘Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen’ and ‘Hot in Herre’ by Nelly. Closing the set off with ‘Warning’ was incredible, as everyone in Brisbane tore off an item of clothing to fling around above their head for the iconic “Newport Helicopter”. Genuinely the most charismatic band of the day, calling us wankers and a certain four letter swear all day that had the crowd in stitches.
Skindred – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
In my opinion, it was a big task to follow up from Skindred, and unfortunately the next band didn’t really do it for me. I’ve been a fan of Escape the Fate since the Ronnie days. And I’ve seen them live with Craig before, but this show just didn’t do it for me at all. I popped for songs like ‘The Flood’, and ‘This War is Ours’. But there wasn’t enough in the set to really hook me in. Shout out to backing vocalist TJ though, who is an absolute gun live.
Escape the Fate – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
This was my first time seeing Thy Art is Murder with new vocalist Tyler Miller. I’ve been a Thy Art is Murder fan for a decade, so I really wanted to give Miller a shot, and I gotta say, I think this dudes vocals are a better fit for the band than McMahons. His tones fit the sound better, and he’s a more charismatic and engaging front man. Seeing some of the new material like ‘Destroyer of Dreams’ and ‘Keres’ was cool, but hearing his takes on classics like ‘Purest Strain of Hate’, ‘Reign of Darkness’, and ‘Puppet Master’ was where he shined brightest. The future is bright and exciting for Thy Art.
Thy Art Is Murder – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
Wage War were a band I only got into last week, after hearing ‘Low’, but live they are an entirely different beast. Lead vocalist Britton Bond was very engaging throughout the set, talking to the crowd and hyping everyone up between songs, as they run through a great set of songs, including the aforementioned ‘Low’, which live is incredible. ‘Death Roll’ was a set highlight, but set closer ‘MAGNETIC’ absolutely ruled. I wish they could have stayed on longer. Fingers crossed they are back soon.
Wage War – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
In the places Escape the Fate let me down, Asking Alexandria did it right. Lead vocalist Danny Worsnop ascended live, which some of the most incredible vocals for the day. Unfortunately, the instrumentations sounded kinda awful from where we were, and were hard to hear. That didn’t seem to matter to the Showgrounds faithful though, as Worsnop lead some beautiful singalongs with the audience. The show came good at the end, with ‘A Prophecy’, ‘The Final Episode’, and ‘Alone in a Room’ closing things out. Danny cracked a joke right before ‘Final Episode’, saying something like “I’ve sang this shit for 17 years it’s your turn” as the entire crowd sung the “Oh My God” opening lyric. Hilarious stuff.
Asking Alexandria – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
The most unique band of the day though, was Mongolian folk metal band, The Hu. I’ve been a fan of this crew for a few years, but live they are nothing at all what I thought they’d be. From the costumes, to the instruments, to the incredible vocals, these guys were one of the best bands of the day. Lead singer Gala couldn’t stop exclaiming how excited he was to be back in Australia, as they ripped through a huge setlist, including classics like ‘Triangle’, ‘YUT Hövende’, ‘Black Thunder’, and ‘Wolf Totem’. We even got a Metallica cover of ‘Through the Never’, as the show closed off with ‘This Is Mongol’. Ticking this band off the bucket list was something I’ll never forget.
The Hu – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
Unfortunately, Halestorm were on the dinner time slot, so I ran to grab some food, and missed half the set. Unfortunately for me, the set opener with literally all my favourites, including ‘I Miss the Misery’, ‘Love Bites’, ‘I Get Off’, ‘Freak Like Me’, and ‘Mz Hyde’. Legitimately gutted I missed all these tracks, but I’ll probably see them on Tuesday night at the sideshow so I’m not as upset as I could be. The back half of the set was awesome though, as I came back in time for ‘Familiar Taste of Poison’ and ‘Takes My Life’, before drummer Arejay Hale ripped a solid drum solo with comically large drum sticks. Lead singer Lzzy talked about the sideshow they have on Tuesday with Skindred, before bumping through ‘Back From the Dead’, ‘Bombshell’, and ‘The Steeple’.
Halestorm – – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
As the lights dimmed, and the introduction of ‘Memento Mori’ played through the speakers, every knew it was time for some purely unadulterated heavy metal. The set itself was light on material from the latest record, Omens, with ‘Ditch’ being the only song from the record played. But the set was classic after classic. ‘Walk With Me In Hell’ and ‘Hourglass’ were two songs early up, with ‘Ruin’, ‘Now You’ve Got Something to Die For’, and ‘Vigil’ populating the middle of the set. Lead singer Randy Blythe didn’t do much talking, except for right at the end to encourage a colossal circle pit for ‘Laid to Rest’, which ran literally the entire song. ‘Redneck’ was last up, and I gotta admit, seeing a Lamb of God show without Black Label last feels kind of refreshing, but sad at the same time because I wanted to see more carnage.
Lamb of God – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
Closing down the second stage for the day were Chicago alternative metal gods, Disturbed. When the line up first dropped for Knotfest 2024, I thought Disturbed should have been the headliner, and honestly, I still think they should have. The set was 75 minutes of electricity, filled with a catalog of hits, including ‘Stupify’, ‘Ten Thousand Fists’, ‘Prayer’, and their cover of ‘Land of Confusion’ by Genesis.
One of the strongest moments of the set, was naturally, their cover of ‘Sound of Silence’. It showcased the raw vocal power David Draiman is capable of. There was a cool moment when Lzzy Hale from Halestorm came on stage to perform ‘Don’t Tell Me’, before David brought a lady on stage by the name of Tanya, who spoke about her stage four ovarian cancer diagnosis, before flowing beautifully into ‘The Light’. The moment the drums for ‘Down With the Sickness’ hit, everyone whipped out their phones for the wah ah ahs, before Disturbed closed the show out with ‘Inside the Fire’. I thought closing on ‘Inside the Fire’ was an interesting decision at first, but then my heart exploded with happiness when Benji from Skindred came out to sing the song with David.
Disturbed – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
After a brief pause, a retrospective video of Pantera played, with heaps of clips featuring Dimebag and Vinnie, as ‘In Heaven’ by Peter Ivers and David Lynch played, before a massive Pantera banner dropped, with Phil and Rex, flanked by Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante, blasted through a playthrough of ‘A New Leve’l. Only issue, was that the PA system blew out, and for most of the song, we couldn’t hear anything except for the cymbals of the drums. Chants for refunds and mass booing broke out, as the band seemed oblivious to the massive interruption. As the song finished, Phil advised they would fix the issues, and be back after a short break.
Five minutes passed, and Phil returned to the stage, confirming everything was resolved, and launched into ‘Mouth for War’. The set as a whole was a greatest hits sets, with a couple of deep cuts for the faithful that showed up. ‘Becoming’ and ‘I’m Broken’ popped the crowd huge, but one of the most visceral reactions of the day was for ‘Suicide Note Pt II’, which I don’t think anyone expected.
Pantera – Knotfest Brisbane – photos by Tam Schilling
In a moment that even got me a little emotional, there was a beautiful video package for Dimebag and Vinnie again, while Pantera played ‘Floods’. Truly a touching moment for two guys, beloved in the scene. As Phil introduced “the song everyone knows, and people don’t even know it’s a Pantera song”, Wylde hit the opening riff to ‘Walk’. The sing-along was huge, and Phil didn’t even need to encourage the crowd to chant “RE. SPECT. WALK.”. Everyone just did it.
‘Dominion’ and ‘Hollow’ were played to massive reactions, before Cowboys from Hell absolutely tore the place down. Phil spoke for a moment about how cool it was to see people bringing the younger generations to see Pantera, before closing down the festival with ‘Fucking Hostile’, to end a crazy day of live music.
