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KNOTFEST
@ RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane
26th March 2023
Live Review

(Slipknot, Parkway Drive, Megadeth, Trivium, Northlane, Amon Amarth, In Flames, Story Of The Year, Spiritbox, Knocked Loose, Alpha Wolf, Void Of Vision, Malevolence)

Review and Photos by Tamcam Images (Tam Schilling)

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SLIPKNOT // Photo – Tamcam Images

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The day has finally arrived for a music festival which many Australians had only ever dreamed of attending. The Heavy Metal Music Festival Knotfest which was started in America in 2012 by the one and only Slipknot had finally arrived in Brisbane for the first time.

Driving through the streets of Bowen Hills on my arrival at 945am the line was already wrapped around to the Bowen Hills Bridge. It was a damn lovely sight to see all the black clothes and costumes lined the streets eagerly awaiting to get in & set their sights on some of their favorite metal bands.

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SLIPKNOT // Photo – Tamcam Images

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The gates finally opened at 1115 with fans ducking under the rising gate eager to get into the proper lines inside so they could get their position on the barrier for the day. I personally had three friends who spent nine hours holding their prime position on the barrier eagerly awaiting their favorite band Slipknot, who wasn’t due to take the stage until 850 pm & kudos to them as it was a hot one! I was in a position where I was able to help them throughout the day delivering them food and water each time I entered the photo pit to keep them going as I know how it can be holding that barrier position in high anticipation to be as close to your favorite band as you can get! Good job guys, I know it was worth it!

As the fans enter the RNA Showgrounds, it wouldn’t be a music festival without a downpour of rain! The rain bought a welcoming shower of relief from the heat for a brief moment for most people who had been waiting in line for quite some time to get in.

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MALEVOLENCE // Photo – Tamcam Images

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KNOCKED LOOSE // Photo – Tamcam Images

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First to grace our stages today was Malevolence who started the day off encouraging a circle pit straight up where of course the crowd obeyed to their request. On the next stage was Bad Omens where singer and frontman Noah Sebastian apologized to the crowd for his voice as he has been having voice issues here in Australia, however from his performance today I couldn’t even tell his voice was troubling him.

On with the day we had bands such as Void of Vision, Alpha Wolf & Knocked Loose who all completely smashed their sets!

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VOID OF VISION // Photo – Tamcam Images

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SPIRITBOX // Photo – Tamcam Images

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Next onto the stage was a band Spiritbox which I had heard so much hype about and to be honest, I had not listened to this band before so I was intrigued to see what the hype was about. A Canadian metal band consisting of a husband & wife duo. A female fronted metal band is always a good tick in my eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed their set and can see why I had heard so much about them! Thanks for bringing a new band into my world!

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STORY OF THE YEAR // Photo – Tamcam Images

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IN FLAMES // Photo – Tamcam Images

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Next to hit the stages were Story of The Year, In Flames and then we finally had the Swedish melodic death metal band, Amon Amarth hit the stage which is a band I personally was looking forward to seeing. Amon Amarth are known for their high energy and in particular a part in their set where they get the crowd to row, row, row your boat. This was definitely a sight to see! It’s still sweltering hot outside, but the Amon Amarth fans were all eagerly awaiting this part in the set. When you stand there & witness an entire metal crowd sitting on the grass rowing, it really is spectacular to witness this happen.

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AMON AMARTH // Photo – Tamcam Images

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NORTHLANE // Photo – Tamcam Images

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TRIVIUM // Photo – Tamcam Images

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Next to grace our stages are Australian Heavy Metal Band Northlane who ripped up the stage with one of the guitarists crowd surfing whilst playing to finish off their set! Next up was Trivium followed by a band I was eager to see, Megadeth. Now, I haven’t seen Megadeth since Dave Mustaine was diagnosed with Throat cancer back in 2019. I was eager to see how Dave’s voice held up after the ordeal he has been through, I mean, lets face it, cancer is a bitch. Dave Mustaine stood in front of thousands of fans and proudly said “I have kicked cancer’s arse”. I am pleased to say, as a longtime fan of Megadeth’s, Dave Mustaine’s voice seems to not have been affected by this. Megadeth finished off their set with “Holy Wars”.

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MEGADETH // Photo – Tamcam Images

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MEGADETH // Photo – Tamcam Images

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PARKWAY DRIVE // Photo – Tamcam Images

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On the next stage are Australian metalcore favorites from Byron Bay, Parkway Drive. If you have seen Parkway Drive before you know that their set is full of pyrotechnics and this was no different. Literally starting off their set with a bang. Parkway Drive got 5 songs into their set with “Soul Bleach” where at the end of it singer, Winston delivers to the crowd “I don’t know if you heard that, but my voice blew out, we are going to have to have a chat about this” as he walks off stage. Winston returns to the stage a few moments later to deliver to the eagerly awaiting crowd “We’ve had a chat & I’m going to keep going with this set until I can no longer talk”. Despite having voice issues, the whole band absolutely nailed it tonight. They did not let this issue slow them down. Parkway Drive, despite Winston’s voice blowing out, delivered a brilliant set tonight. Kudos to Winston for pushing through with the set and I hope he has not done too much damage to his voice from this.

Finally, the time has arrived, as I watch the crowd that were at the Parkway Drive stage all try to push towards the stage where everyone is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the one and only Slipknot. Slipknot to me, takes me back to my youth where I spent many hours/days headbanging in the lounge room with my brother watching Slipknot film clips. Slipknot means so much more to me than just another band. Sadly my brother is no longer with us, so this makes seeing Slipknot live again, about so much more for me. The emotions running through my body as I await Slipknot to hit the stage were crazy.

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SLIPKNOT // Photo – Tamcam Images

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Slipknot hit the stage opening with “Disasterpiece’ then straight into a fan favorite “Wait and Bleed”. Slipknot are in fine form tonight and just two songs in, I remembered just how many memories I had with just these two songs alone as I am sure many fans in the crowd had the same feeling. Smashing through their set tonight Slipknot delivered all the fan favorites as Corey Taylor welcomes all the new fans into the Slipknot family “If you are here tonight, you are now all a part of our family”. Slipknot has everything from pyro, to flaming baseball bats, to the sound of bashing beer kegs and lets not forget about their masks! Their stage set up is huge with two levels. Having a band with nine members you would need a big stage set up! Seeing Slipknot again live, reminded me just of how good these guys are.

I don’t think I have ever attended a Slipknot concert where the set hasn’t been paused for some reason or another and tonight was no different, right after “The Heretic Anthem” the concert was paused due to a crowd member climbing a tall tower in line with the sound desks so he could have the prime viewing position, I am sure the view from up there was worth it! The crowd cheering this guy down, Corey hits the stage with “You motherfuckers are out of control, now if anyone climbs that tower again we all know what is going to happen!”.

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SLIPKNOT // Photo – Tamcam Images

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Slipknot have been around for 28 years, with Corey Taylor telling the crowd “we are getting old”. Slipknot are the real deal, an inspiration for many other metal bands coming through. Still performing a high energy, killer set 28 years later and this is why they deserve their own festival! One of my favorite parts of Slipknot’s set was Corey Taylor saying “Just 1 more song” after each song for like 5 songs. Slipknot finished off their set with fan favorites “Spit it Out”, “People = Shit” and “Surfacing”.

The first Brisbane Knotfest was a day to remember. We all could have done without the sweltering heat, but none of the fans seemed to care. In true metal head form, everyone was looking out for each other and making sure everyone was ok. Huge thanks to the lovely lady inside the barrier carrying everyone cups of water continuously for hours, she was a life saver for many and she always looked happy to be doing it!

Every single band on the bill today was very appreciative to Slipknot for bringing them along to their festival. You can tell all the bands on the line up today are very inspired by Slipknot.

Thanks to Destroy All Lines for bringing this festival to Australia. Like many other metal head fans, I sure hope Knotfest becomes a regular music festival in Australia. Slipknot, you are welcome back in Australia anytime you want along with all your friends. After all, we are all Slipknot Family now.

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SLIPKNOT // Photo – Tamcam Images

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Check out TAMCAM IMAGES full gallery of this event HERE

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Follow SLIPKNOT
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SLIPKNOT // Photo – Tamcam Images

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Press Release 18th February 2023 (below) HERE

KNOTFEST AUSTRALIA

Brisbane joins Melbourne as
SOLD OUT!

Limited tickets
left for SYDNEY

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AMNPLIFY – DB