Gig Review: Knotfest Brisbane 2023

Knotfest 2023 at Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane, March 26 2023

By DAN SOUTHALL

THE craziness that is Knotfest finally made it to Brisbane. After brilliant shows in Sydney and Melbourne, our time had arrived. The queue of doom at the gates is reminiscent of Good Things late last year, with the subtle difference being the first band not having to take the stage for another 50 mins, so there is less panic and less push/pull amongst punters making for a cleaner and faster entrance experience.

With a copy of the set times on our phone we headed straight for stage two where we knew a lot of the early action was going to be, and we weren’t disappointed as Malevolence kicked things off with their brand of metallic hardcore setting the pace early for circle pits and a spontaneous wall of death that made for an early battering. Bad Omens have had a rough run of the festival, cancelling shows due to their vocalist Noah Sebastian having issues. There was none of that today. I am largely unfamiliar with them and their output but Sebastian was largely on form, admitting when he was struggling and facing any coming criticism head on. The issues mainly came from their newer material that has a lot more vocal acrobatics, but their fans were obviously impressed.

Next up was the first ‘must see’ band for myself, my junior associate and our mates – Void Of Vision. A band that never seem to fail, despite the short set time, they kicked everything up another notch above and beyond the chaos that Malevolence had already whipped up. Towards the end of the set their vocalist Jack Bergin announced they would be taking time off after this to write a new record. Exciting times ahead indeed. ensured the pits in front of both stages had no time to rest or recover. Feeding off the frenzied early masses, they showed off the new tricks they have learnt from recent heavy touring in the US. This leads into the hardcore of Knocked Loose, who worked hard to keep the energy up and were fortunate as the hot sun started to peek out from behind clouds. More and more punters were streaming in, subbing out those that were already waning in the heat.

Spiritbox have broken their ‘next big thing’ tag with solid releases and quality live shows. Today they were here to show us how good they are by blowing away the crowd as Courtney LaPlante from the poppiest of cleans to the heaviest death growls in a breath. The pit took it back a gear in awe at this band’s performance, earning them a raft of new fans and easily taking away the best of the day so far.

A quick break to grab a bite and check out some merch meant we got tangled in some out of control queues that made us miss Story of the Year and the majority of the In Flames set. What we could hear and what we actually saw was pretty good.

As we barged our way towards the front of the pit for Amon Amarth, they kicked in to gear in the fashion that only this band can, melodic death metal and Viking tales. We all lapped up the excitement, even managing to hit the ground in the pit twice to ‘row’ with the band. After this I vowed to retire from the pit for a little while, something that we all managed to do for Northlane despite them playing the heaviest set I have encountered from them in some time, consisting mainly of material from their last two releases.

I will openly admit to not being the biggest fan of Trivium, having never really followed their massive career arc nor their releases. I have managed to catch them live more than once and never really been impressed. Tonight, however, there is something different about the band, and energy I have never previously latched onto.  They are on fire and the lure to get back into the pit one more time is too strong as myself and Junior find ourselves drawn back into the violence with a maniacal glee.

Following up a set like Trivium’s was never going to be easy and despite Megadeth’s cred and length of time in the thrash game, tonight Dave and friends just seem flat. Dave Mustaine has never been a big entertainer from the stage, preferring to let his music do the talking. Tonight isn’t much different and this just makes things a little… dare I say boring. It really felt as though something was missing.

Parkway Drive have always had that something special live and tonight is more of the same as they hit the stage hard and fast, playing a wide mix of tracks before disaster struck. As they played the last notes of “Soul Bleach”, all went quiet and Winston McCall announced that for the first time in the band’s career, he had blown his voice. It was obvious he was in distress and that this wasn’t some made up act, and through a crackling voice informed the crowd the band would have a quick on-stage meeting to decide whether to continue.

Soon they did, with McCall declaring he would go on until his voice was completely gone. leading to one of the heaviest sets Parkway Drive has played in sometime. McCall could obviously muster the heaviest growls but the clean and spoken parts were an obvious no-go zone, instead relying on those on the floor to interact – and join in we did! In a touching moment as they gathered to bid farewell, drummer Ben Gordon publicly thanked a visibly affected McCall for pushing through and being the ‘toughest bloke’ he knew. It was another magic moment in the band’s career and something that will be spoken about by those of us that were here for years to come.

Finally, after a tiring day in the rain, heat and Queensland sun, Slipknot arm up to kick some arse one last time. A band that has earned their right to do whatever they want, however they choose, tonight they choose to be the heaviest version of themselves.  They have something to prove to with the stacked bill that came before them, forcing them to let loose in a fashion that only they know how, and stopping only when some goose climbs one of the speaker rigs in the field, creating a halt to proceedings. Once again Slipknot show why they have been the biggest band in metal for over 20 years, bringing a sense of togetherness into their chaotic environment and welcoming everyone into the madness. Thanks for bringing this show to us and inviting us all to experience the insanity.