Now I’m not saying music is a religious experience, but I met Jesus in the mosh pit

We crested the hill to be met with thousands of beautiful, sparkling creatures all in various states of ecstasy and anticipation for the real fun to begin. The lines for the merch tents and the museum were already hundreds and hundreds of people long and stayed that way for the duration. Luckily the lines for the bars were not.

As I immersed myself fully into the crowd it was like a coming home, to that place teeming with unconditional love, acceptance and unity. There is nothing quite like the experience of a metal festival of this calibre.

Malevolence was the first band to hit the stage. They've been around for a while but have really found their sound. Josh Baines and Konan Hall's dual guitar attack roared throughout the crowd while Alex Taylor's vocal style was brutal and powerful. Great melodies and massive riffs made for a great start to the festival.

Then the notorious Bad Omen hit the stage, their current touring schedule has been extremely difficult, especially for a singer who has the vocal range and dynamics that defy anything else. It sounded phenomenal despite his voice loss earlier in the week. Bad Omens were perfect, a solid heavy machine with driving riffs and killer bass. The band seemingly immediately caught on with an enthusiastic audience and many of their fans showed up early to watch their set and were delighted considering their performance could have been missed due to illness. As the electro infused heavy riffs blasted; layered with clean vocals even your mum would love shimmering out of frontman Noah Sebastian’s throat as the smash hit “just pretend” began, the crowd was gearing up for a day of the best music, food, and sideshows that Sydney had ever seen. Knotfest was finally upon us!

Invigorated from the first few acts the crowd started swelling with later arrivals caused by shitty rail and public transport nightmares

The inflatable subway sandwich hitting people in the face and being subjected to perverted acts as the punters hip thrusted it back into the air to claim it’s next victim

Void Of Vision were the first Australian band to hit the stage and what an incredible representive. It was great to see a mix of international musicians and local legends such as Void Of Vision. Can we just say that Jack Bergin’s entire outfit, and THAT SKIRT was to die for! They were greeted by a huge mosh pit and the first death wall of the day was erected. A superb set.

The inflatable subway sandwich hitting people in the face and being subjected to perverted acts as the punters hip thrusted it back into the air to claim it’s next victim

Alpha Wolf, a Tasmanian metalcore band. I love watching bands having fun on stage. Singer Lochie Keogh's smiles and the actions of the guitarists, they were having a good time. Given the number of people in front of them, this is not surprising. With another huge mosh pit and constant surfers in the crowd I have no idea how the crowd is going to keep their energy up throughout the day. Another killer set.

The crowd grew even larger as American hardcore band Knocked Loose began their set. Even a minor mic error couldn't stop it as Bryan Garris' clean vocals sliced through their insane heavy riffs and monstrous folds, unleashing even more round pits and a wall of death.

Famous guest stars started arriving. Tinky winky and his friends moshing with all the girls and boys and some cool cats from Naruto judging our best running flare, I also saw Jesus. The crowd parted slightly and there he stood in all of his costume store glory. He smiled, waved and blessed us with the sickest of all days.

Bands like Spiritbox need to be seen live and it is definitely one of those bands that stays with you forever. Spiritbox could quiet easily be a headliner at any of the next big festivals on the cards. I think the hype surrounding this band is real. Courtney LaPlante's, you cannot help but fall in love with his powerful front woman with her commanding and amazing melodic voice and her demonic growls absolutely tickle every inch of your body while she effortlessly controls the stage with her mesmerizing one-liners and her big stomps all over the stage whilst looking angelic but oh so formidable.

Next up is legendary melodic death metal band In Flames and they sounded absolutely phenomenal. Swedish melodic death metal icons In Flames played a set that made the wild crowd grow even wilder. More recent songs like “The Great Deceiver” and “State of Slow Decay” have visibly agitated some audiences. That restlessness was replaced by head-smashing joy in 1999's 'Behind Space' and 'Only For The Weak'. After three decades in a career, In Flames remains world class. There are only so many fans who will never forget their roots.

HERE COME THE VIKINGS!!!! Amon Amarth is still a fan favorite.Audiences love him with his powerful riffs, endless double kick and Johan Hegg's unique roar. Featuring all the spoils of war, a setting with Viking ships, Thor's hammer and Viking props where much of the crowd has come ashore and rowed! Amon amarth was a sermon in Viking history and mythology and as always, felt more like a holy ritual, especially as the sky opened up and the rain soothed the enflamed and battle ready crowd like a gift from freyr! The clouds started to look very menacing throughout the set and as they ended the set with the incredible twilight and that is when the sky opened up.

The torrential downpour did not stop (Monika’s camera was unfortunately damaged in the downpour) and everyone in the crowd and surrounds waiting for Northlane were drenched. This is the first time I've had a chance to see them live since having a couple of their songs rolling around my playlist. After Monika shot the show we all ran for cover, got some food and a beverage to keep us going through the day.

Fortunately, the rain has slowed for the legendary Trivium. It was interesting to see Trivium tear it apart. Crowds of spectators danced and sang with fists raised in the air. Matt Heafy took the opposite stance at In Flames and pitting Sydney against the Melbourne and Brisbane crowds demanded more energy and who was the best. They responded with a giant circular hole.Trivium has had a veritable comeback since joining the service of drummer Alex Bent, the last two albums of becoming a phenomenon. Amidst the shadows and bones and Your Hateful Heart looks absolutely overwhelming next to In Waves favorites and the Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr finale getting the biggest round pit of the day. Trivium is absolutely amazing.

It's finally time for the Megadeth some of the Gods of metal. With a catalog any band would love to have, Megadeth throws in Hanger 18 as the opening song to just warm the crowd up! What can be said about Megadeth that has never been talked about before, the legendary Dave Mustaine also opened up to the crowd telling them his story of beating cancer as inspiration for the song new We'll be Back, it was such a great moment that the crowd gave him a well-deserved standing ovation.

Parkway Drive were up next and they did not disappoint. A bunch of people in cloaks stepped out with flaming torches in hand as they slowly walked forwards with the band in tow to a loud roar from the crow to greet them to stage. Parkway celebrates its 20th anniversary and has worked hard to become the international leader it is today. Kicking it off with Glitch and Prey and then Carrion completely dominating. The audience is dancing to the heartbeat of yearning and loving every second, cheering after each verse. In Karma, Winston jumped into the crowd of and stood on the shoulders of his followers to perform, an incredible sight, dear reader, believe it or not, he ordered "Get me back to the stage. !" and continued gliding through the crowd before the welcoming embrace of security despite being taken away on a journey in the wrong direction. Parkway is famous for making stages explode and they didn't disappoint bringing sparks onto the stage with huge flames which almost dried us all out as some of us were still damp, on the top of the stage and even from the tent the sound could be felt from hundreds of meters away they even set off fireworks on stage to end it all. Parkway then slowed down to bring an incredible-sounding string quartet onto the stage, while the introduction of shadow boxing and the sad Darker Still sounded incredible with Winston prompting the audience to light the entire area. The main set ended with the explosive bottom feeder, the crowd belting out a chorus of guitars while Winston relentlessly stamped his feet from either side of the stage. It pays tribute to the historic moment the Knotfest comes to Australia and how a group of Byron Bay children can come this far, a beautiful and genuine feeling. Closing with crushed and wild eyes Winston gave us a message to take care of each other and it was a very healthy time to pick up friends who are emotionally and physically depressed. Parkway Drive impressed me.They really put their all into every song during their set and what a performance it was, huge well deserved standing ovation as they left the stage in a puff of smoke, another fantastic set.

It's finally time for Slipknot. After throwing Disasterpiece to start the set, the tired and sodden crowd came alive. I couldn't believe they were following the legendary Wait and Bleed, people went nuts including me. Corey and the Slipknot boys sounded powerful and intense, and Corey's screams and melodic vocals sounded louder than ever. The set design included landings for Clown and Michael Pfaff lit up like Christmas trees, Craig and Jay in the background on a platform built with lights and screens underneath, everything looked so cool especially with the fire beams going up.Corey took time off after All Out Life to help a fan by shutting down the entire show and asking for security and paramedics to be there and for help if they could. He said security is there to ensure our safety and well-being and working against them is very good news for the Slipknot pit which can be a dangerous place. Then he reminded us how long it was before they came back and when Corey said seven years I couldn't believe it was that long. Before I Forget is a true Slipknot classic that sings and plays great. Armed with material from two albums released off our shores in their absence, The Dying Song seamlessly entered the set. Corey then admitted to being mortal and growing old and needing help singing Dead Memories when, when the crowd disagreed, we took the opportunity to blow our voices to the floor.Corey seemed even more appealing as a leader if you could ask who had and hadn't seen Slipknot before. For both me and him, there was a surprising number of people seeing Slipknot for the first time, which boded well for their legacy. The next track brought us all together as a family, the devastating Heretic Anthem, Jay Weinberg's wild kicks that drove the pit crazy. Psychosocial with this riff is my favorite and seeing live is always life changing, especially at this volume. Corey then says there's only one song left as he tells us we'll know when we hear it.
Duality brings the biggest chant of the day when Clown swings a flaming baseball bat over a barrel overhead to call out the jingle and crowd everyone loves every second of it. It wasn't her last song, however, as Corey tricked us with a crushing Custer and another to end the main set with another classic Spit it Out. Now those who know Slipknot know the tradition of Spit it Out, and Knotfest Sydney was no different. When it came time to "take off now," they did. The crowd in front of the band was huge, the venue was invisible, the whole festival came together to see their heroes and it's no exaggeration to say that everyone from the railings in front of the stage to the food trucks behind them lied on the floor.When everyone jumped at the same time it was crazy, you just have to see it to believe it. Slipknot then played with the iconic people=shit and traditional surfacing again, and the audience used what energy they had left to move the pit once more. Just when I thought Slipknot was going to have a hard time standing out because there were so many great sets throughout the day, they not only stood out, they totally crushed it.
Slipknot have obviously been headlining for a long time, but the breadth of what they've achieved in their career and at this festival is mind-blowing. Layout, facilities, food, bar, security, doctors, sound and audio quality, seating and shading, additional entertainment (even if you didn't have much time to see it), staging and line-up, the change was always active time and nobody came too late, just every detail of this festival was polished and perfect.One last thing I want to mention before closing this review, I want to thank the audience for not only being jaded and different but having a great time. The dresses and costumes, the makeup and hair, the general atmosphere, everything was outstanding.

Casualties of moshing - RIP to the guy’s leg that was broken and the handful of people that overdid it. As always the metal kids did a perfect job of caring and looking after people in the pit

All photos taken by Monika Oberscheven-Smith. All images remain the property of Monika Oberscheven-Smith.

Not to be used without permission.