Live Review: Soundwave Festival

While the lead-up to this year's Soundwave Festival was marred by a series of controversies and cancellations by high profile artists Megadeth, Jason Newsted and more, the wide selection of metal, hardcore and punk acts on display showed why the loss of this festival for Perth was a big one.

Regardless of this, the fans were out early to check out some of the earlier performances including a strong set by triple j Unearthed winners Xenobiotic. Despite the timeslot working against them, the local four-piece managed to get a crowd of early birds together checking out the stages and general layout of the venue.

Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro tore up the main stage with a great pre-lunch performance, augmented by a second guitarist and keyboardist to help beef up songs like Bubbles and Black Chandelier. The band got a huge response from the growing crowd and that certainly seemed to fuel lead singer and guitarist Simon Neil, who jumped off the band's amplifiers and speakers and kept the energy up without missing a note.

Less Than Jake clearly weren't taking any shit from the audience when they started their performance on stage five, evicting an unlucky girl from their set for texting midway through their first song. The band incited the happiest circle pit of the day around a sombrero-clad fan and then a girl was plucked from the audience to grind on and make out with the security guard but ultimately opted for the guitar tech.

While a big crowd of Asking Alexandria fans had assembled at stage three, Californian pop punk five-piece The Story So Far kept them entertained and even managed to cultivate a moshpit at the front of the stage, getting a great response with set highlight, Quicksand.

Mixing heavy metal with hardcore and electronica, British five-piece Asking Alexandria, led by frontman Danny Worsnop and his insanely powerful vocals got the crowd amped up with a blistering rendition of Run Free and ran through a set full of hits from their latest album, From Death To Destiny, and other material to the delight of the large crowd.

Swedish band Graveyard however were the first of many on stage seven to be denied the crowd they deserved, though their bluesy psychedelic sound paired with sexy grungy vocals had the small but faithful crowd moving and grooving in unison.

Similarly Alkaline Trio were stuck at smaller stage five near the main stage and failed to generate a bigger crowd despite their incredibly tight and entertaining performance of older material like Private Eye and My Friend Peter as well as new song, Young Lovers.

Ex-Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora appeared happy and humble during his set; however attempts to enthuse the crowd were futile. It may not have helped that rather than using the show to showcase his own material, he was still stuck playing the Bon Jovi hits as well as a pretty average cover of INXS' Don't Change.

While Gwar probably took home the award for most uncomfortable-looking onstage attire, Upon A Burning Body made a good case as competition, rocking out in full suits and vests despite the 30+ degree weather conditions. Regardless, the band had tonnes of energy and good control over the crowd which led them to get a big circle pit going during Once Upon a Time In Mexico and Sin City.

Californian-Iranian native Nostalghia lit up the stage like an art installation in a very theatrical fashion. On stage with just an electric cello and live drums, audiences seemed a little perplexed by the unfamiliar sounds consisting of distorted samples, synthetic textures and operatic vocals.

Californian hardcore punk band Trash Talk kept the crowd angry and ecstatic on stage six, with passersby slowly getting whipped up into the crowd and forming a circle pit to thrash around with fellow festival goers.

The persistent feedback issue of stage seven reared its ugly head for Louisville's post-hardcore-ish Coliseum. Despite the minor sound issues, approximately 20 people showed up for the tight set which deserved many, many more.

When Pulled Apart By Horses hit the stage, shirtless frontman Tom Hudson jumped up on top of the massive PA speakers by the side of the stage and managed to convince his bassist and guitarist to jump up too, finishing off the end of the set looking out over the buzzing crowd and getting a huge response.

Quite aware of their status as Australian festival favourites, The Living End know how to work it. Performing a rendition of Waltzing Matilda, drinking VB, then proceeding to pull an Australian flag-suit-clad audience member to the stage to drink – you know it – VB, the Aussie icons had the entire crowd singing in unison for classics Roll On and Prisoner Of Society.

As if decapitating Tony Abbott, lynching cops and chainsawing each other weren't enough for the glamcore demons of Gwar, a mesmerised audience couldn't look away as, for the finale, the band was eaten by a dinosaur. It was easy to spot Gwar front-rowers later on. They were the ones covered in fake blood.

Over at the main stage, Placebo pummelled through a list of greatest hits, starting with new songs For What It's Worth and Loud Like Love before giving the audience favourites Every Me And Every You and Meds. While the crowd could have been bigger, the band were tight as ever and the crowd just as warm and receptive to the songs.

There was a dearth of black metal, but Satyricon filled the void admirably - bless their pagan Norwegian souls – as over some bestial riffs an intensely charismatic performance by vocalist Satyr elevated their set into a ritual. Having tried to orchestrate a riot in Brisbane, Thy Art Is Murder was on comparatively good behaviour. A band that could use a few innovations, they did nonetheless introduce us to the concept of the “twerk-le pit”, which we'll let you figure out.

The dirty grease-ball funk of Clutch went down a storm with mid-afternoon drinks. The band laboured valiantly despite “Mother Nature being a merciless lighting director,” as vocalist Neil Fallon put it. Another outfit that could've used more shade were the new project of Deftones' singer Chino Moreno, †††, a darkly sensual and surprisingly electronic act by Soundwave standards.

Under the big top at stage four, Trivium surrounded themselves with dark lighting and plenty of smoke, creating a creepy atmosphere in which they thrashed through Dying In Your Arms and Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr and got a huge response from the packed venue as well as drinkers in the over 18 area just outside.

Punk veterans Pennywise proudly displayed a backdrop indicating their 25 years together, evidently not having the time to update it since it's actually been 26 years now. Acknowledging their drunken fans at the back of the crowd, the band instigated a small but persistent moshpit in the beer garden that peaked with anarchist anthem Fuck Authority.

A Day To Remember's Jeremy McKinnon and the band owned the main stage, with the lead singer giving it his all to whip up the crowd including jumping into a bubble and rolling out across the crowd during It's Complicated and other tracks.

While a little more in the deathcore category than just rock, Suicide Silence did a similarly good job in getting the crowd riled up and ready to have their faces melted by frenetic versions of Genocide and Disengage.

Across the park, Baroness illuminated their epic technical chops, but seemed to lack intensity at times. As for Korn, there were plenty of hits and lead growler Jonathan Davis seemed as disturbed as ever, but somehow they failed to connect with the audience. This was no problem though for '70s veterans Stiff Little Fingers, whose insurrectionist punk-pop appears as relevant as ever in today's political climate. Alas, The Dillinger Escape Plan by their usual Herculean standards looked tired.

A short 20-minute set didn't deter legions of loyal fans flocking for local metal favourites Make Them Suffer. A tiny flick of the wrist and the crowd was spiralling, yelling back lyrics to the band that killed their first performance for the year.

An incredible set from Alice in Chains is a strong indicator that the Seattle natives have made it back in the face of all adversity. New frontman William DuVall strutted about onstage with confidence, making his mark belting out classics like Them Bones, Rooster and Check My Brain while still paying homage to the band's past members.

Festival favourites Jimmy Eat World were on fire on the main stage, with a huge crowd singing along to favourites Always Be and I Will Steal You Back as well as of course their biggest hit, The Middle, which made an appearance towards the end of their fantastic set. Lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins was as likeable as ever, keeping the crowd entertained with banter between songs and delivering each with a huge wealth of power and energy.

Highly entertaining and energetic The Bosshoss evidently didn't need the crowd they were lacking. The musicians slew stage seven with beer-fuelled extended solos, a choreographed mariachi horn section and a country rendition of Korn's Word Up: an underappreciated Soundwave highlight.

Gojira possibly took the award for sheer heaviness, as their bludgeoning assault riffs and explosive drumming pitilessly punched holes in eardrums. I Killed The Prom Queen came close, with blood-curdling vocals and punishing metalcore to boot. But for sheer prog mayhem, no one could challenge Mastodon, whose music-melting time signatures all but defied physics, as bassist Troy Sanders proved how much of a commanding frontman he has become.

From the look of the crowds, it appeared most of Joondalup had swarmed to the main stage to catch Green Day play through a massive three-hour set. If that seems like a long time to pogo, the band clearly agreed, arriving onstage nearly half an hour late. To play to such a magnitude, a sense of theatre is needed, and the band had that in spades. The second half of their set was manic, yet manicured, as if a bunch of kids had got into dad's homebrew – the non-alcoholic stuff. Merchandise was propelled into the audience and punters were dragged onstage; one was even given a guitar and a selfie op with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. Ballads like Boulevard Of Broken Dreams and Wake Me Up When September Ends had crowds rhythmically swaying mobile phones in lieu of lighters, which was a fun and playful performance amidst a festival that in the past has been renowned for anything but. 

For those not so inclined for the three-hour Green Day marathon, there were plenty of dark, dangerous rock'n'roll acts still thrashing around the other main stages. Eagles Of Death Metal swaggered about over at stage five, getting the crowd bopping with favourites I Want You So Hard and Wanna Be in LA. Finnish rockers HIM were up later on the same stage, gathering a strong crowd of fans with songs from their latest album, Tears On Tape, as well as plenty of older favourites off Dark Light and more.

Headlining stage three for the end of the night were American rockers Avenge Sevenfold. The band had a huge crowd packing out the stage along with faces pressed up against the over 18s area fence. The band's guitarists Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates locked in on the track, Nightmare, and worked up a great dynamic alongside frontman M Shadows. Whichever stage punters were at, by 10pm the bands had finished up and the night was over, bringing an end to a great day of local and international music and the final performance of the Soundwave festival, which will no doubt leave a huge hole in the Perth music scene for years to come.