Cyclone Alfred would not be the only chaos and destruction caused across Australia’s east coast last week, with the country’s biggest immersive metal festival from abroad, KNOTFEST, returning to our eroding shores for the third consecutive year. Melbourne shut down summer, February 28th at Flemington Racecourse for the first instalment of the 2025 Ultimate Heavy Metal event.

As the tropical winds brewed an incoming deluge east of the Sunshine State, a heavy storm of its own device gathered at Brisbane Showgrounds on March 2nd, narrowly escaping cancellation ahead of the current natural disaster.

The festival’s founding fathers, SLIPKNOT, feared no disaster, natural or manmade, as they traversed the unpredictable to headline the worldwide phenomenon of their own curation. Joining this year’s knot and tying some of the heavies of international and local artists to the touring bill, Miss May I, Health, Vended, Within Temptation and Enter Shikari. Polaris were building their own wall, which would rival some of the most aggressive intercontinental counterparts touring, Slaughter to Prevail and the leaders of the maggot society, SLIPKNOT, turning the key down and under for one of the heaviest touring events we will see this year.

Far enough from the eye of the tropical storm, Centennial Park closed out the 2025 KNOTFEST edition in Sydney to a plethora of courageous metalheads, thirsty for a more consistent avenue to let their metal hair down. Scaling down in 2025 to two main stages, patrons were again privy to the SLIPKNOT Museum of the band’s artifacts, including masks, bats, stage equipment and the biggest showcase of jumpsuits by far to make the trip down under. The museum was once again interactive, with photo opportunities with set designs and a small selection of infamous guitars.

Last-minute addition Drain was posted to the bill during the week following the cancellation of New Bloom Festival due to the extreme weather events. The hardcore punk band hailing from Santa Cruz swapped Pacific Ocean coastlines and festivals to welcome patrons into Sydney’s Parklands, thanking the presiding festival “for saving the day.”

Following mid-week sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney, San Jose punk metalcore artists Sunami wielded their punk metalcore onto the building crowd below. Frontman Jose Alfonso admittedly loves “flipping people off” with tracks like “Gate Crasher,” “Y.A.B,” and “Contempt of Cop.”

From KNOTFEST’s home state of Iowa and the products of Heavy Metal royalty, Vended performed an unhinged set to an amassing Sydney audience, despite the absence of drummer Simon Crahan citing a family emergency. Formed in 2018, Griffin Taylor and Simon paved their own way in the metal scene apart from the road built by their renowned fathers. Gearing the crowd with “Aussie, Aussie Aussie,” and a demand from the crowd to “show us your double kick,” Vended launched into heavy nu-metal tracks, ‘Am I the only one’, ‘The Far Side’ and ‘Where the Honesty Lies’.

Formed in 2007 in Troy, Ohio, Miss May I, who released their first signed album Apologies Are For the Weak whilst members were still in High School, brought a melodic ambience to the hyped crowd, blending harmonies with deep growls of Into ‘Oblivion’, ‘Under Fire’, ‘Forgive and Forget’ and ‘Shadows Inside’.

Los Angeles Industrial noise rock band Health merged electrifying instrumentation and energetic electronics through tracks ‘Crack Metal’ and, ‘Hateful’. Health is an experimental amalgamation of dirty industrial metal cojoined with haunting monotone vocals.

Byron Bay locals In Hearts Wake blessed gratitude to escaping the heart of Alfred and for gracing the stages of KNOTFEST Sydney Stage 1. Greeted by a swelling crowd of equally grateful fans, bringing their own whirlwind to the mosh pit as pit circles formed in frenzy below. Despite some audio issues with collabs from fellow patriot Jamie Hails of Polaris and bassist Ryan Neff from Miss May I, Sydney got down and heavy to ‘Tyrant’, ‘Gen Doom’ and ‘Orphan’.

Currently, amidst a World Tour to celebrate their 30th Anniversary, Hardcore punk metal pioneers Hatebreed had only 2 rules for KNOTFEST.

“Rule number one of KNOTFEST, everyone wakes up tomorrow with no voice left.”

“Rule number two: leave with a smile on your face.”

Moshpit revellers moved in agreeance to tracks such as ‘I Will be Heard’, ‘Honor Never Dies’, ‘Empty Promises’ and ‘Smash Your Enemies’.

Alternative rock heavyweight favourites Enter Shikari packed Centennial Park with energy and humour to an anticipating crowd. Marrying old punk and new with a metal underlay with an explosive and political delivery of ‘Arguing with Thermometers’, Enter Shikari has surely arrived down under, leaving ‘A Kiss for the Whole World’.

The first female frontwoman of the tour, Sharon del Adel from Within Temptation, captured balance between beauty and darkness in a passionate performance and a change of pace that curators can only have measured. Crossing Gothic Metal and symphonies with power ballads, the multiple Rock Goddess of the Year award winner held it all with ‘Bleed Out’, ‘Paradise (What About Us?)’, ‘Don’t Pray For Me’, and ‘Supernova’.

Sydney lambs, as their Melbourne and Brisbane predecessors were toward Slaughter to Prevail. Like a theme park ride, pit circles and all-encompassing mosh pits threw crowd surfers over the rail toward security just to run back and do it again. Like Moses parted the red sea, Alex The Terrible commanded a divide between friends and fans as Sydney ticketholders battled neighbouring states for the biggest Wall of Death at KNOTFEST 2025. Russian Metal proved before the KNOTFEST debut of Slaughter to Prevail that they are Hard as Fuck! Alex may be terrible, but he also takes an obvious care for his mosh pit- pausing multiple shows across the Festival series to ensure the health and safety of his following.

From heavy to heavy, Australia’s own Polaris matched pace at the abattoir in arguably one of the highlight performances of Knotfest 2025. In a multisensory exclaimer in their home country, Polaris are no stranger to a crazy time. As the sun started to fade on a grey week, Polaris brought a Nightmare of heaving metal and darkness to a thirsty entourage, unleashing guns of black streamers toward a crowd at full blast. Jamie Hails is a fitting hype man for his crowd engagement and leadership. From a brutal moshpit to the winding of circles, Polaris went wall to wall for some of the wildest combat this land has ever seen.

A plethora of Baby Metal T-shirts adorned the Parklands from late morning as the manufactured Japanese female-fronted conception that is Baby Metal both coloured and confused us all. Either you love them or hate them, but when they grace the stage, you can’t help but watch and wonder. There is no denying how brilliant or undoubtedly heavy the root music is for the collation of sound, with oriental elements then coupling of pop vibes and transcending languages in lyrics. Baby Metal danced to the beat of a remarkably talented band behind them on stage, and I was left wondering who they were.

A Day to Remember will always be remembered at KNOTFEST 2025 as a headliner in their own right, packing an auditory and multi-sensory experience onto an enormous and eager crowd that spanned the darkened Centennial grounds. With an impressive setlist ‘All I Want’, ‘I’m Made of Wax’, ‘Larry’, ‘What are You Made Of ? Lebron’, ‘Rescue Me’, ‘Make it Make Sense’, ‘Paranoia’ and an Acoustic version of ‘If It Means a Lot to You’.

Anxious anticipation filled the gradual onomatopoeia as KNOTFEST curators and Metal Monarchy dropped onto Sydney for an awaited appearance. Back on the world’s downside, only two short years since the 2023 KNOTFEST Australia launch, SLIPKNOT established their roots deep for metal fans in Australia long before they commanded their own space. With an equally extraordinarily deep, comprehensive sound and pulverising stage performance, SLIPKNOT has delivered another amazing KNOTFEST Australia tour that leaves me wondering two things

Is KNOTFEST alone in the deliverance of Heavy Metal Music Festivals in Australia?

Is it enough?

Thank you to KNOTFEST Australia, KNOTFEST, Destroy All Lines, TEG Live, and Dallas Does PR for having us along

Review by Pieta Clarke

Photo gallery https://musicfestivalsaustralia.com/new-blog/knotfest2025gallery