26 January 2026 – The Tivoli, Brisbane – words and pictures by Bec Harbour
After an oppressively hot day in Brisbane, punters lined up down the block were looking forward to the air-conditioning at the Tivoli – we were all there for Soulfly, Nailbomb and Snot – what a triple-header!
Max Cavelera needs no introduction to the metal community. His legacy spans a few decades now and he shows no sign of slowing down with Soulfly, Cavelera Conspiracy and the odd side foray into other things like Nailbomb and Killer Be Killed.
People were there early to see Snot, a Californian nu-metal band with a lot of punk overtones. With the passing of their lead singer Lyn Strait, the band went on hiatus until 2008 with a brief reunion in the middle and have re-emerged in 2014 and recruited new singer Andy Knapp in 2025.
Snot – Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
The energy was immediate with the band moving around the stage and Knapp at one point jumping into the barrier and communing with the audience. The set moved fast and they went through their classics such as ‘Snot’ (the song) ‘Stoopid’, ‘Joy Ride’ and ‘The Box’. They finished up their set with ‘Absent’, and I feel a few people in the crowd might have been very glad that they came early.
With the front row on the barrier full of Nailbomb shirts, it was very clear that a lot of people were there for them. They came out to a roar from the crowd, in addition to Max, his son Igor Cavalera Jr was on guitars and vocals held up the Cavalera legacy on stage, with a good chunk of Pig Destroyer making up the numbers and Jackie Cruz (Go Ahead and Die) on bass. No Alex Newport, he is probably busy producing some of the worlds amazing heavy music somewhere.
Nailbomb – Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
They kicked off with ‘Wasting Away’, followed up with ‘Vai Toma No Chu’ and ’24 Hour Bullshit’. The crowd was a swirling maelstrom and you could see the glee on Max’s face as he watched the front row hanging on for dear life with the mosh going on behind them. They moved into ‘Guerillas’, ‘Blind and Lost’ and ‘Sum of Your Achievements’.
Nailbomb – Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
‘Cockroaches’ seemed to be a particular hit with the crowd as well as ‘World of Shit’ and ‘Religious Cancer’. We were on the downhill slide of the set and the crowd was sweaty (Tiv’s aircon was not coping) and Nailbomb finished up on ‘Shit Pinata’ and ‘Sick Life’. In a world that seems to be regressing into intolerance, we need protest bands like Nailbomb to loudly get the message across that this is not OK.
With a nice break to get some fresh air outside and grab a drink, we were ready for Soulfly. Fresh off the release of their latest album Chama, the crowd is ready for their second dose of Max Cavelera’s brilliance tonight. They kick off with an intro of ‘Indigenous Inquisition’ followed up with ‘Storm the Gates’ with the crowd going nuts and it doesn’t take long for the crowd surfers to be up and coming over the barrier.
Soulfly – Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
Max lets the music do the talking (not sure this crowd would have listened at this point they were so into the groove) and the band keep the momentum going behind him. We get ‘No Hope=No Fear’, ‘Seek n Strike’ and ‘Prophecy’ in quick momentum. The air was hot and heavy in the Tiv tonight and so was the music.
We moved onto ‘Fire’, Bumbklaat’ and ‘No Pain=No Power’, then into ‘Back to The Primitive’ and the crowd was ebbing and flowing around the sound, soaking up the classics. Then it was time for ‘Chama’ the title song from the latest album – people were soaking up the new song live, and boy did it go hard live!
Soulfly – Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
We were on the home stretch now with ‘Favela/Dystopia’ and ‘Tribe’ then ‘Nihilist’ (which in this heat we all might have become) and ‘Bleed’ with a guest vocal from another Cavalera, Richie – it’s definitely a family business! Then ‘Pain’ and a finish up with a lot of jumping around – chanting “jumpthefuckup” and they sure did before ‘Eye for an Eye’ closed the night. Soulfly have a rightly deserved legacy and the Cavalera family are all cementing their place in heavy music and its creation.
