By JACOB FRIDLUND
Staff Writer
Over three Knotfest Australia stops this past weekend, close to 100,000 mosh-starved maniacs convened to raise their horns, voices, and subsequently hell. The first 30,000 took to the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on Friday (March 24), kicking things off on a high note with a riotous chasm of windmilling arms and belting cheers for English hardcore band Malevolence. As far as openers go, they proved to be a safe bet, doling out an adrenalized surge of overdriven riffs and soul-rattling blast beats that, while fun and fierce in equal measure, fell a little on the basic side.
Initially meant to follow them were unexpected TikTok sensation Bad Omens, who, thanks to recent hits like ‘Just Pretend’ and ‘Like A Villain’, quickly became one of the most anticipated acts on the bill. But the band was forced to drop out just over an hour before they were scheduled to play, with singer Noah Sebastian suffering vocal strain that had already affected their Sydney show earlier this week.