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KNOTFEST
@ Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane,
24th March 2024
(Live Review)

Review and photos by Matt Young (@mattyoungpics)

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PANTERA / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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KNOTFEST is back on our shores again, hitting Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane with a stellar line up of Heavy Music. Headlined by the tribute version of Pantera, the KNOTFEST line up also includes Disturbed, Lamb Of God, Halestorm, The Hu, Asking Alexandria, Wage War, Thy Art Is Murder, Escape The Fate, Wage War, Skindrerd plus a handful of local acts thrown in too. We went & checked out the Brisbane show.

Gloomy skies & persistent drizzle was the order of the day unfortunately in Brisbane. I’m sure the weather kept some punters away, but many braved the elements for a day of quality music. We started our day with UK rockers, Skindred.

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SKINDRED / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Skindred are always a fun set to watch. Lead singer Benji Webbe is consistently on point & his interaction with the crowd is part of the bands charm. They packed a lot of punch into their 30min set.

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ESCAPE THE FATE / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Up next, Escape The Fate. Hailing from the U.S of A, these guys are no strangers to playing to Australian audiences. Bringing to the stage their brand of modern Sunset Strip rock n roll, the boys gave the crowd a high tempo, energetic set.

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THY ART IS MURDER / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Home grown act, Thy Art Is Murder were next on the bill. With new singer Tyler Miller (Aversions Crown) now fronting the band, these guys really upped the ante somewhat. Banging out some bruising Deathcore, the crowd ate up what they were offering.

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WAGE WAR / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Wage War took to the stage & proceeded to destroy. Pummelling the ever-growing crowd with their brand of Metalcore, Wage War tore Brisbane a new one for sure.

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ASKING ALEXANDRIA / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Up next, Asking Alexandria. Having never seen these guys live, I was curious to see what they would bring to the table. In short, they brought plenty. They performed a solid 45min set of bangers.

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THE HU / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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The Hu are a unique group. A Mongolian Folk Metal Band. Playing traditional Mongolian instruments mixed with metal guitars & drums, these guys were definitely a hit with the crowd. I think people appreciate something different these days. Something outside the box. The energetic set went down a treat.

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HALESTORM / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Halestorm are also no strangers to Australian audiences. Fronted by the always fantastic Lizzy Hale, Halestorm always bring their “A” Game. With little brother Arejay Hale on drums, Joe Hottinger on lead guitar & Josh Smith on bass, the band once again delivered. Lizzy Hale is the real deal. Her vocals & stage presence were so good. Bravo.

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LAMB OF GOD / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Richmond Virginia’s finest, Lamb Of God, took to the stage right on 6:15pm and proceeded to destroy the Brisbane Showground with an hour long set of Metal music. Front man Randy Blythe commands the stage. The twin guitar attack of Mark Morton & Willie Adler, pummelling drums from Art Cruz plus killer low end from John Campbell, all sound huge on the big outdoor stage. Hearing Lamb Of God through a big PA is a thing of beauty. Killer set.

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DISTURBED / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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American rockers, Disturbed were up next. Led by enigmatic vocalist, David Draiman, the band casually took to the stage & launched into a scorching 75min set of Metal. With Don Donegan (guitar), Mike Wengren (drums) and John Moyer (bass) onboard, Disturbed delivered the goods. Crowd favourite Down With The Sickness, as well as covers of The Sound Of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel) & Land Of Confusion (Genesis) went down well. Guest vocals of Lizzy Hale & Benji Webbe on a couple of tracks too. Great Set.

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PANTERA / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Now it was time for headliner, Pantera. I suspect the majority of the crowd were here to see them. The band are currently touring the world on a lap of 90’s Metal nostalgia. Honouring the late, great Abbott brothers, (Vinnie Paul & Dimebag Darrell) Pantera now have Zakk Wylde & Charlie Benante filling the large shoes of Vinnie & Dime. While you can’t re-create what these guys did in the 90’s when they were young men, this new “more mature” version of the band none the less, put on a great show. Phil Anselmo doesn’t move around the stage like he once did, but his vocals were pretty good considering. The rest of the band, original member Rex Brown on bass, Zakk & Charlie were tight. Real tight. Playing a selection of bangers from their back catalogue, Pantera were good. It was great to hear those songs played live again. Highlights for me were A New Level, Becoming, I’m Broken, Floods & set closer Fucking Hostile. I doubt we’ll see the band back in this country again. I suspect they’ll do their lap of honour & park it for good, so seeing them live again was great for an old timer like me.

And that was a wrap for KNOTFEST 2024, Brisbane.

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PANTERA / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Check out Matt Young’s (@mattyoungpics) full gallery of this event HERE

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PANTERA / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Follow KNOTFEST
https://knotfest.com/australia/
Twitter – Instagram – Facebook

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PANTERA / Photo – @mattyoungpics

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Press Release 11th March 2024 (below) HERE

A Special
KNOTFEST AUSTRALIA
Announcement

SLIPKNOT
bring their
ANNIVERSARY TOUR
to headline
KNOTFEST AUSTRALIA 2025

2024 ticketholders will receive
exclusive access to the
first release of tickets

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AMNPLIFY – DB