APRIL 17th, 2022
KNOTFEST ROADSHOW 2022

Review/Photo Gallery By: Char Tupper
http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/knotfest-roadshow-2022/

Time for the final date of the first leg of the Knotfest Roadshow 2022, and to close off the night here in Vancouver at Rogers Arena, it was about to get wild. It was an overall fun experience to see Slipknot again, as well as In This Moment. This was the first time seeing American band, Wage War, who took the slot of Jinjer, who sadly due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Jinjer stayed behind to help support their country in need, as well as keep themselves safe during this unpredictable war with Russia. Both Slipknot and In This Moment dedicated moments to Jinjer, even having the crowd cheer so loud, that their energy and voices could be heard by Jinjer, which I thought was a sweet gesture by the bands. We, at MetalTitans, wish Jinjer not only safety for them and their loved ones, but sending support their way, and check out their page to see ways you can help support the cause.  This evening was filled with a unique variety of bands, which is always a fun way to showcase other metal genres within one event.

Wage War opened up the night, and I will admit, they were very hard to see at first as the lighting for the first half of their set was very dark. Combination of dark red and no lights, a bad combination for not only the photographer (aka me!), but also the fans, as if they can't see you, it makes simply "listening" kind of boring or bland to experience at a concert in my opinion. That being said, performance and sound wise, the band was spot on and very precise, definitely had the metalcore sound perfected. Forming in 2010 in Florida, USA, and releasing their first record in 2015, the band is relatively new to the metal scene, and Im sure the arena tour experience was a huge boost for their career as a metalcore band. Currently touring in support of their 2021 release, Im sure the band is happy to promote their latest record, in arena volume, which most smaller bands, don't get an opportunity to do being newer to the industry. They put on a great show, my only complaint would be to turn the lights on throughout the entire set, not just the last couple of songs, the audience likes to visually see you as well as hear you.

The next band, In This Moment, I have seen and photographed before, and they are really theatrical with their performances, which is why it was a bit of a heart break to hear no photography for these guys, as tonight was no exception to that tradition. That being said, it was nice to visually see their performance with my own eyes, not from behind a lens and camera, and In This Moment truly captured the essence of the band in their live performance tonight. The arena really filled up a lot more for these guys, and it had been awhile since the last time they were here, infact, it was back in 2018 at the Abbotsford arena, and I think it is safe to say, thats a long time. They performed various tracks like "The In-Between", "Sick Like Me", and "Big Bad Wolf", and of course ending with their classic song, "Whore" with Maria on a giant platform and the "whore" dunce cap on in a white gown. Overall performance was executed extremely well, and the audience loved every minute of it. Don't miss a chance to catch In This Moment live, Im not a die-hard fan, but it is entertaining, I can tell you that.

Time for the Knotfest experience we have all been waiting for, the one and only, legendary American metal band, Slipknot. Time for the circle pit to go wild and chaotic, enjoy your beer, cheer, and for me, it was going back to high school growing up with Slipknot in my walkman (yeah, you read that right! ha!) in my head cruising the hallways. One of the very first metal bands I got into in my teen years, and how they have helped me grow into the metal head I am now, and I can honestly say, the industry has grown the band as well. I saw them for the first time on Ozzfest 2004, and how the band has drastically changed in those years (in a good way). Their stage show is now legendary, with large balls of fire shooting up into the air and all around the stage, vibrant lights, and fireworks. Not to mention, the elaborate stage setup with walkways, large percussion displays that stand over Corey and the others while they play. Their sound was phenomenal tonight, honestly I saw them in 2019, and maybe something soundboard wise or audio wise was off, but they didn't sound 100% like themselves, flash forward to tonight, and wow, concert experience was night and day. The band gave 110% tonight, and they were all on point and crystal clear with their instruments and Corey sounded spot on vocally, never had a moment of "exhausted" in his tone. Slipknot played a large variety of songs, including a song Corey mentioned he waited 13 years to play, "Snuff", but also various classic ones like "People = Shit", "Wait and Bleed", their new release, "The Chapeltown Rag", it was refreshing to see a variety of new songs not played in years, as well as their standbys that the fans are always waiting for (including myself). Like I mentioned earlier, this band has grown since 1995, with their dark tone sound, they have become a household name in the ways of extreme music. Let me tell you, these guys put on one hell of a show and it is worth taking the time to go see them. Don't miss the Knotfest Roadshow when it comes to your neck of the woods.


JINJER LINK: http://jinjer-metal.com/ <--- Order here to help donate $$ to the Ukraine