Knotfest Australia 2023
I haven’t made a list in forever but I had a blast at this festival and wanted to share my simple impressions of each band from the day, in order of viewing. Most of its just going to be “these guys rocked” but w/e. |
| 1 |  | Malevolence
Malicious Intent
These guys opened the day. It was a decent performance but I had no strong feelings about them afterwards. |
| 2 |  | Bad Omens
The Death of Peace of Mind
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed their set. Vocalist had a rough couple nights before our show but he killed it, I wouldn’t have known any better without prior knowledge of some missed gigs. |
| 3 |  | Void of Vision
Hyperdaze
I enjoyed these guys. Frontman looked like Uncle Fester which was interesting. Either the road took its toll or the mixing could’ve been better because my man’s screams were coming out pretty choked, but it was a solid performance with good energy. |
| 4 |  | Alpha Wolf
A Quiet Place to Die
I was expecting more I think based on local reputation. They were pretty solid and they worked up the pit but trailed the acts they were following imo. |
| 5 |  | Knocked Loose
A Different Shade of Blue
These guys had a crazy energy and were super fun to watch. I don’t know how much I’d jam them on my own time but I really enjoyed their set. |
| 6 |  | In Flames
Foregone
It was a nice change of pace to see these guys later in the day and they were really good, everything sounded great and other than that they complained about the heat a lot (can confirm it was warm). |
| 7 |  | Amon Amarth
The Great Heathen Army
The stage set-up for these guys consisted of two giant viking figures against a battleground backdrop so that was cool. Super solid set and their encouragement for the crowd to row along was pretty interesting. |
| 8 |  | Northlane
Obsidian
I could take or leave these guys to be honest. Nothing technically wrong with their performance or anything i just don’t really enjoy what they do. |
| 9 |  | Trivium
In the Court of the Dragon
I really liked how involved these guys seemed and they pulled out a very slick performance. |
| 10 |  | Megadeth
The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!
Dave Mustaine stole the show honestly. Megadeth were easily the highlight up to this point in the night. Bit of a wild card on the roster given their company, but they absolutely killed it and they’ve still got it. |
| 11 |  | Parkway Drive
Darker Still
I’m not a huge Parkway fan but they put on a SHOW man and I respect the hell out of them for that. Tons of energy just oozing out which basically was unmatched until the next act. They also had a bunch of pyrotechnics and Winston blew his voice out but still sounded incredible. Can’t pick a fault with them although I’m unlikely to bump their stuff. |
| 12 |  | Slipknot
The End, So Far
I guess it would be too obvious to say these guys were the highlight but they absolutely were. There’s a lot of far younger bands on this list but the higher up the set list and the later in the night, somehow the more energy was brought to the table and the crowd was nuts. The stage set-up was multi-tiered and looked phenomenal. Corey is a great showman and controlled the crowd with seasoned ease. All round it was an excellent end to a great festival. |
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