Words by: Geoffro O’Leary
Photos by: Sarah Gilpin
We arrived early along with an already massive line up running down the road to The Tivoli, with punters sporting a number of Snot, Nailbomb and Soulfly tees. The merch line-up was nearly as long, but moving quick enough to keep the fast building crowd happy. After securing a Nailbomb long sleeve from the amazing merch lady, Jo we head to the bar and then a spot next to the PA mixing desk. A great view and a great spot for sound quality.
Snot opened the show, sounding huge from the start with a big rep to Lynn Strait (original vocalist). There were no if’s or buts – Snot were here to put on a show and that’s exact what they did. Starting the set with there self titled track, Snot, the boys got the whole crowd moshing instantly. The line up consisted of OG band members John Fahenstock (bass), Mike Doling (guitar) and relatively original member from ’98, Jaime Miller (drums), they were also joined by Mike Deleon from Phil Anselmo and The Illegals on lead guitar.
There was a lot of talk around Andy Knapp (current frontman) and the massive shoes he had to fill after Lyn Strait’s passing, but he absolutely nailed his spot in the band and the vocals were absolutely on point. There is talk of a new album, and if the talk is true, I’m psyched.
The Cavelera name is huge in the metal world and Max Cavalera has personally contributed to a massive amount of music, bands, side projects and guest appearances over a 40 plus year career in Heavy Metal. No doubt the Cavalera name is absolute royalty in the industry and Nailbomb are a massive part of that legacy. They stormed the stage with Igor Cavalera Jnr taking on a big part of the vocals and guitar.
That would be only the start of the Cavalera family appearances that are involved this evening… Max was joined by, Jackie Cruz from Go Ahead and Die on bass, Adam Jarvis from Pig Destroyer on drums, Alex Cha from Pig Destroyer on samples, and guitarist Travis Stone on lead guitar duties and also from Pig Destroyer. And, of course, Max on vocals and guitar parts!
Nailbomb played all the classics and did a great job winding the crowd up with a bit of ‘Oi Oi Oi Aussie Aussie Aussie‘ in 24 HourBullshit. The crowd absolutely lost it when the intro to Cockroaches came on over the PA. I was all about it, nostalgia and massive grins for days.
Gotta love a band that says fuck authority and fuck racism – Nailbomb does it in bucketloads! At this point I gotta give a shoutout to The Tivoli (venue in Brisbane). I love this place and have seen a tonne of bands here. The full veranda, the massive bar, what a venue. Big shoutout to the production as well, lights sound and vibe, on point.
Now there’s a lengthy wait for Soulfly to hit the stage and the anticipation is building nicely. The
lengthy noise/soundscape intro is setting the scene beautifully. Soulfly soon hit the stage and the crowd goes nuts. The room is absolutely heaving and the band rips into classics like Soulfly, Bleed, Eye for an Eye, Back To The Primitive and Prophecy and the crowd laps it up. At this point I have to mention Zyon Cavalera… As I was standing with a group of good mates enjoying a Froffy and banging my head, there was some consistency in which we all would stop head banging and look at each other with WTF looks on our faces. This kid had chops in bucketloads. Super slick, hard hitting and in the pocket like he was born for it. And let’s face it, when ya have uncle Igor steering ya down the right roads, you’re going to be great, and great he was! Cavalera number 3 into the fold.
Texas Mike was absolutely shredding that poor guitar to bits and you could tell he was having a fat time. Mike and that amazing moustache on his top lip were on point. Jase Prior was also destroying a bass guitar on the other side of the stage, again doing his job like an absolute pro. The boys were on and I feel like you can tell when a band is there to have good time, and when a band is there to do a job. And Soulfly did both, well.
Now, Max Cavalera is 56 years young and while he is not Jumping The Fuck Up like he used to, he is doing extremely well. This is his 4th set in 3 days and there is nothing wrong with that right hand, he played on point the whole time. I was especially impressed with the 4th Cavalera, Richie, who got up for guest vocals in Bleed and nailed Fred Durst’s parts very well, putting his own spin on the classic, and owning the stage like he wrote the vocal parts himself.
Soulfly killed it! I gotta give a shoutout to the Froth and Fury camp for making this whole thing happen. Well done.
9 outta 10 night!
GALLERY
