Live Review: Soundwave Festival

Kicking off at 11am this may have been the first Amon Amarth gig in history where neither band nor audience were drunk. Making the most of their early slot the rampaging Swedes delivered in spades with the fist-pumping fury of Twilight Of The Thunder God and Cry Of The Blackbirds particularly satisfying.

On wax Biffy Clyro are lightweights – purveyors of insipid indie-rock. Live they proved the first surprise of the day. The shirtless Scots swaggered around the stage with real energy – their perseverance turning dull material into a good time. There you go: always listen without prejudice.

Over on the punk stage snotty pop punkers The Story So Far were delighting their fans with some pretty damn enjoyable (if generic) tunes. Kids moshed, the lead singer talked some shit, fun was had – and you can't ask for anything more than that.

Graveyard were the first in a run of sterling acts to grace stage seven (definitely the red-headed stepchild of Soundwave stages). The retro-worshipping Swedes delivered a flawless set where Sabbath met Pentagram and a smoking version of Slow Motion Countdown proved a religious experience.

Approximately thirty people saw the set of the day. Thirty people! Louisville power trio Coliseum were phenomenal. Their sound is hard to pigeonhole (hardcore meets The Stooges meets a more sinister version of Torche perhaps?) but they tore the roof off with the feral strains of Fuzzbang, the entrancing Blind In One Eye and the deranged Black Magic Punks. That no one was there to witness the display is shameful. After that set the boys deserved to indulge in some Led Zeppelin-style debauchery – but rumour had it they were made to fetch Motionless In White's lunch order. There's no justice in the world.  

Placebo are born showmen but this time around Brian Molko and crew kept the antics to a minimum and instead contented themselves with ploughing through a set of the new (Loud Like Love) and the old (Special K, Every You Every Me). It was a decent showing but one suspects that the band was saving themselves for their headlining Sidewave.

Still on the main stage and A Day To Remember brought the showmanship Placebo couldn't be bothered with. It's easy to see why this band is so huge. The hooks were big, the choruses were dumb, the breakdowns were executed perfectly – and frontman Jeremy McKinnon jumped in a big clear blow-up ball and crowdsurfed. Festival fun at its finest.

Talking about bands built for festivals and Pennywise top the list. The California punk OGs were in fine form. Despite the dreaded 'festival sound gremlins' causing Fletcher Dragge's guitar to drift out of the mix, tunes like Perfect People, Peaceful Day and Same Old Story remain as vital now as the day they were written. Another festival – another Pennywise triumph.

Baroness is no longer the same band that tore apart the Annandale Hotel a couple of years back. Members have gone and the Yellow & Green LP ushered in a much gentler vibe. Some in the crowd clearly missed the old Baroness – and poor sound coupled with zealous sound checking from the stage next door did nothing to help. Still Baroness was great – the likes of March To The Sea and A Horse Called Golgotha pleased and the band played with a joyous zest.

Korn on the other hand were decidedly pedestrian. From the dated 'culture jamming' backdrop through to the uninspired set choices this was nothing more than a group of middle-aged men going through the motions. Sadly we're on the cusp of a fully blown nu-metal revival – and no doubt Korn will be held up as the 'hip again' elder statesmen of the movement. Guys, you've got nothing to be angsty about – give it up.

The Music was worried that seeing Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats live might take away some of the eerie mystique of their LPs. We needn't have worried – Rise Above's pin-up boys jammed away like it was 1971 with their psychedelic assault eliciting well deserved cheers from the small but faithful crowd.

At this point anyone who thinks Green Day is still a punk band needs to have his or her head read. If you were looking for danger or unpredictability in their performance you were in the wrong place. But that's OK because over three hours the quartet delivered a master class in completely contrived yet pretty damn incredible entertainment. This was an immaculately planned exercise – from the pre-set Bee Gees opening, through the multiple 'drag a punter onstage' routines and the strategically placed cover songs (Iron Man segueing into Rock'n'Roll was awesome) right up to the final encore where Good Riddance had everyone's girlfriend/wife smiling or crying – you couldn't fault the delivery. All the hits that you (and, let's face it, your parents) know and love were wheeled out, from the now ancient Longview (wankers unite!) right up until Know Your Enemy and selections from the relatively recent Uno, Dos, Tre brace of LPs. The band sounded great, Billie Joe Armstrong didn't miss a note and nostalgia reigned supreme. People will be talking about this set for a long time to come.   

Mark Hebblewhite

Despite playing to a largely empty main arena, ska-punk veterans The Porkers entertained via proudly outdated pop culture references and self-deprecating humour. Oh, and a few songs too.

An unknown quantity high-energy UK outfit Hacktivist and their Frankenstein's musical monster fused djent, hip hop and nu-metal. The novelty gradually wore thin, but were an appropriate soundtrack for punters unleashing their first mosh of the day.

Metalcore mob August Burns Red's fare was littered with huge hooks and beatdowns with more muscle than The Expendables cast. A uniformly positive reaction was afforded the Americans, despite the oft-formulaic approach.

Australians evidently adore Five Finger Death Punch and their enthusiastic, chest-beating bravado, aided by the American metallers' extensive experience at working crowds. Despite clichéd stage banter and contrived radio-friendly songs, the likes of Hard To See were greeted gleefully by those both inside and outside of the surging, sweltering pit.

Back at the main stage, axeman Richie Sambora and band – most notably highly impressive guitar goddess Orianthi – did their utmost (without much success) to coax a response from an audience who didn't appear terribly interested, covering INXS, Hendrix and inevitably, Bon Jovi, suggesting this was ultimately the wrong festival for them.

Acknowledging their late replacement status, rock heroes The Living End are custom-built for such environments, the sing-along factor being raised several notches throughout Second Solution, Roll On, Prisoner of Society, et cetera. You couldn't have removed the grins on punters' faces with a sand-blaster.

Gwar doused the gathered masses in fake blood, cranked out numerous heavy metal anthems, decapitated Tony Abbott and serenaded with an acoustic ballad. OK, one of those is a lie. A real destination band and consummate crowd-pleasers, the aeons-old space aliens dedicated Metal Metal Land to late guitarist Flattus Maximus.

Indoors, Filter returned after more than a decade's absence, and main-man Richard Patrick apparently forgot to age in the interim. An uneven mix hindered the crunchy, industrial hard rockers, and altering obvious crowd favourite Take A Picture's arrangement may have been slightly ill-advised. Otherwise it was a solid exhibition, inevitable closer Hey Man, Nice Shot sending many away content.

While Patrick and company battled technical issues in Brisbane, Sydney deathcore heavy-hitters Thy Art Is Murder experienced their own dramas. A healthy turn-out was likely enhanced by those whose interest was piqued by the previous day's events. Clearly on their best behaviour, growler CJ McMahon cussed out those fighting, but couldn't curb the par-for-the-course pit violence.

Alice In Chains was destined to self-destruct; not to rebuild, return and eventually thrive again. That's precisely what's happened to the Seattleites though, and this triumphant set of melodic hard-rock reinforced how they've beaten staggering odds to succeed with a new incarnation. Co-vocalist/guitarist William DuVall is infinitely more confident nowadays, purposefully stalking the stage, the ideal foil for mainstay Jerry Cantrell. That guitar tone and trademark tight-as-a-duck's-arse harmonies were the foundations. New cuts a la Stone slotted effortlessly alongside a cavalcade of classics (Them Bones, Man In The Box, Would?) and dedicating Nutshell to now deceased members was a classy touch.

Sludgy metal all-stars Down may have irked some by running substantially over time, and still slightly unhinged frontman Phil Anselmo's profanity-laced chatter grated even further on others. However, the faithful couldn't get enough, and even such elements couldn't detract significantly from their sonic gut-punch. Sabbath worship hasn't always been trendy throughout their lengthy career, but they clearly gave less of a shit than The Big Lebowski. Lifer, Witchtripper and stoner anthem Bury Me In Smoke proved again that the power of the riff compels thee.

Even in stripped-back festival format and not performing in darkness, horror king Rob Zombie is a pure entertainer, and the dedicated following adored him for it. Revving up the already converted was a simple task; the same can be said for casual fans who sought '90s hard-rock nostalgia. Never renowned for astounding live vocals, his voice visibly wore as the hour progressed, and although repetitious, passé nature of cuts such as Sick Bubblegum became even more apparent live, said folks cared little. White Zombie favourites, Living Dead Girl and scratchy Dragula were obvious touchstones.

Devil You Know (featuring former and current members of Killswitch Engage, Devolved, All Shall Perish and Bleeding Through) was a tricky proposition, having played few shows and yet to release their debut LP. A poor mix aside, the metal crew are still gelling as a combination.

Wrapping up stage four were Mastodon, the Atlanta maestros' dexterous prog-metal resonating as strongly as ever. Divinations, Megalodon and Blood And Thunder (featuring Clutch's Neil Fallon) were among stand-outs of another typically visceral display. Given this was the second occasion they had played the festival supporting latest disc The Hunter though, fresh material next time around would be a welcome prospect. Overall, it was a satisfying conclusion to the type of wide-reaching day of heavy music Soundwave annually affords us.

Brendan Crabb