REVIEW BY DAVID TAYLOR AND PHOTOS BY PAM WHISENHUNT | Go Venue Magazine
Knotfest Iowareturned to the Des Moines area after a rocky 2021 iteration, this time at a new venue,Water Works Park, whereSlipknotplayed on the Tattoo the Earth tour in 2000. Unlike the one in 2021,Knotfest 2024was a success. There was plenty of water at the water stations around the area, and many food and drink vendors were available for the attendees. My only critique of the experience (I didn’t participate in this one, but watched every time I walked by) was the line for the merchandise tent was pretty long. I don’t know what was going on with that (maybe the credit card readers were slow), but I couldn’t imagine having to wait for thirty or so minutes and miss some live music.
Holy Wars, a four-piece from Los Angeles, was the first band to play. They opened up the main stage. Led byKat Leon, this was a fun start to the day. It’s always hard to get people to show up early at an all-day festival, but people showed up for these guys. They rocked hard and even hadLeongoing up to the barricade to rock out with the crowd. And guitaristNicolas Perezhad a damn good Tom Morello-like sound. Great start to the fest. Check out their EP,Cult Classic.
The genre of hardcore music was represented well on the bill withZulu(Los Angeles),Dose(Des Moines),Spine(Kansas City),Knocked Loose(Kentucky), andDying Wish(Portland, OR). Every one of these bands shouted each other out. It’s so cool thatSlipknotgave all of these bands a large platform to play on. All had amazing sets, but it wasKnocked Loosethat really brought it on the main stage. They playedKnotfest 2021, butKnotfest 2024cemented them as one of the top-tier heaviest bands out there. They managed to get to a large wall of deaths going, as well as a plethora of crowd surfers. You can see whySlipknotloves having these guys on tour. Their music gets your blood pumping forSlipknotin the best way possible. Check out their latest release,You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To.
Other than Slipknot, the Des Moines music scene was represented well. As I mentioned above, they were hardcore act Dose, Swollen Teeth, who are very Slipknot-inspired act, which makes sense because Sid Wilson produces them, andVended, fronted byGriffin Taylor,Corey Taylor’s son andSimon Crahanon drums,Shawn “Clown” Crahan’s son, their self-titled debut album coming out the weekend of Knotfest. Slipknot’s presence looms large on all three acts. They all stood out in the best way. Makes me proud of the Midwest music scene.
It was nice seeingTwin Temple, again, after seeing them open up for Ghost and Volbeat a couple of years ago. Tonally, they were one of two acts (we’ll get to the other one) that felt different from any of the other of bands that were performing on the bill. I always love the satanic imagery in their songs with this 50s/60s rockabilly doo-wop sound. I could see they were a hard sell, but I still dug their vibe.
Some bands on the bill have that legacy vibe to them. Many considerPoison the Wellas one of the most important bands to kickstart the metalcore genre. It was amazing to see these guys be around since the late 90s and still rip it live.Jeffrey Moreirahas a stage presence that is dominating and sincere. I wouldn’t take seeing them for the first time for granted.Hatebreedis another band I would consider a band with a legacy. I’ve seenHatebreedplay clubs, but I have been dying to seeHatebreedon a festival bill, and they did not disappoint.Jamey Jasta, lead vocalist ofHatebreed, considers Slipknot as the band that helped them out the most. So, yeah, it was about time they were on aKnotfest Iowabill, returning to the same place they were on the bill with Slipknot on Tattoo the Earth in 2000. And they had so much fun onstage. They even brought out a giant black beach ball called the “Ball of Death”, a play on the wall of death.Hatebreedcelebrating 30 years on the Knotfest stage felt right. I’m excited for the next ten years! Another legacy band on the bill wasGwar. This was my second time seeing these guys live, and they still brought all their fake blood and celebrities they wanted to kill that they’ve been doing for 40 years. And they sure know how to have fun doing it.
The last act on the main stage before Slipknot went on was the one and onlyTill Lindemann, who you might know fronts the German band Rammstein. If you don’t knowLindemann, he is a very provocative artist that you either understand his vibe or don’t. He had a pretty solid band backing him and never changed the German lyrics to English. There was quite the imagery on the video boards that made some people embarrassed to watch. I hope the kids that were there that saw it are doing ok. In short,Till Lindemannis one of the last rock stars and his presence in heavy music for the last thirty is unlike any other.
Finally, we were ready forSlipknot. They were ready for imminent severe weather, so Till Lindemann had an abbreviated set and Gwar played thirty-five minutes early forSlipknotto play at 8 PM in hopes of avoiding the weather. I could see lightning in the area and was starting to get nervous. They were going to play one of the most important metal albums of all-time, their self-titled debut, in honor of the 25th anniversary. They were playing everything from 1999, nothing after. As soon asSlipknotkicked into “(sic)”, the rain started to come down and, honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better concert atmosphere. It was so damn cool to seeCorey Taylorwearing a similar mask he had during that self-titled era and singing those songs. Glad to seeSid Wilsonrocking out on the turntables after having an incident with fire that had him in the hospital. The whole band was firing on all cylinders. And seeingEloy Casagrandebehind the kit was exceptional, a well-added addition. They ended their main set with “Only One”. Then they walked off-stage. We got an announcement saying severe weather was close by, and we needed to evacuate to shelter. And just like that, the concert ended. It would’ve been nice to get an encore, but I understand the decision. But, they played a solid set, and were not disappointed by them. It is always a joy to seeSlipknotplay in their hometown. I hope they get to do anotherKnotfest Iowa. I could understand why they had to dial it down since the second stage was smaller than the one from 2021. But, I think it was an overall success, weather excluded. Thanks to theKnotfestpublicity team for lending me a VIP pass for the event. I hope Go Venue gets to cover the next one.
Holy Wars
Zulu
Dose
Vended
Spine
Poison The Well
Swollen Teeth
Hatebreed
Twin Temple
Knocked Loose
Dying Wish
Till Lindemann
GWAR
Slipknot
All images © Pam Whisenhunt
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