Pantera will headline the second annual edition of Knotfest Australia. The Texas metal band leads the 2024 lineup, which does not include the festival’s founders, Slipknot. There are, however, plenty of major names in heavy music, including Disturbed, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Mongolian metal band The HU, Asking Alexandria and more.
Knotfest Australia is happening at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse on Thursday, 21st March, Sydney’s Centennial Park on Saturday, 23rd March and Brisbane Showgrounds on Sunday, 24th March. Find all the important details below.
SPEED – ‘One Blood We Bleed’
Pantera’s current lineup revolves around vocalist Phil Anselmo and bass player Rex Brown. Since reuniting in 2022, Anselmo and Brown have been joined on stage by guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Charlie Benante.
The band’s reunion has not been without its moments of controversy. In January 2023, Pantera were removed from Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals and had a show in the Austrian capital Vienna cancelled. The scrubbings related to an incident in 2016 where Anselmo was filmed making a Nazi salute and shouting “white power” at a gig in LA. Despite the frontperson’s troubling history, Pantera have gone on to play more than 50 gigs in 2023, predominantly in North America.
A bunch of Australian acts feature on the Knotfest lineup, including SPEED, Windwaker, King Parrot and Thy Art Is Murder. The latter act has also been swept up in controversy in recent months after vocalist CJ McMahon expressed transphobic views on social media. He has since been ejected from the band.
Knotfest Australia 2024
- Pantera
- Disturbed
- Lamb of God
- Halestorm
- The Hu
- Asking Alexandria
- Wage War
- Escape The Fate
- Thy Art Is Murder
- Skindred
- Speed
- Windwaker
- Brand Of Sacrifice
- King Parrot
Dates & Venues
- Thursday, 21st March – Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne VIC
- Saturday, 23rd March – Centennial Park, Sydney NSW
- Sunday, 24th March – Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane QLD
Tickets on sale 9am local time Thursday, 23rd November via Knotfest. Early bird pre-sale begins 10am local time Tuesday, 21st November. Sign up here.
Further Reading
CJ McMahon Retracts Apology, Is No Longer a Member of Thy Art Is Murder
Pantera Gigs Cancelled In Response To Phil Anselmo’s “White Power” Incident
Knotfest Australia Review – Brutality and Belonging at Knotfest’s Down Under Debut
