KNOTFEST, the destination festival brand curated by SLIPKNOT, returns to Australia in 2025.
The music and counterculture experience will hit the East coast of Australia starting on Friday, February 28 at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, then heads to Brisbane on Sunday, March 2 at Brisbane Showground before wrapping up in Sydney on Saturday, March 8 at Centennial Park.
Headlined by SLIPKNOT, the 2025 festival line-up also includes A DAY TO REMEMBER, BABYMETAL, SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL, POLARIS, WITHIN TEMPTATION, ENTER SHIKARI, HATEBREED, IN HEARTS WAKE, HEALTH, MISS MAY I, VENDED and SUNAMI.
Following their monumental performances launching Australia’s first ever KNOTFEST in 2023, SLIPKNOT will return down under in 2025 to headline proceedings for this not-to-be-missed rock and heavy music festival.
As always, attendees can expect a performance unlike any other, from a band who only get more thrilling, exciting and cathartic as time goes on. Having released a new record in 2022, The End, So Far (crowned at #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart; their fourth consecutive album to do so), SLIPKNOT refuse to rest on past glories and continue to innovate, with fan favourites including as many new songs as older. Between enduring fan-revered singles like Duality, Psychosocial and Wait and Bleed, as well as deeper cuts and newer material over the years, SLIPKNOT’s drive and creativity bleeds through their jaw-dropping live performances.
No strangers to Australian shores, Florida-hailing quartet A DAY TO REMEMBER head to Australia for the first time since 2019 while electrifying purveyors of kawaii metal, BABYMETAL, will bring their kaleidoscopic infusion of J-pop-meets-heavy-metal wizardry. After obliterating Aussie crowds with their debut Australian performance as part of Good Things Festival in 2023, Russian deathcore behemoths SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL led by the formidable frontman, Alex Terrible, bring a ferocious blend of deathcore and blackened metal sonic onslaught that leaves no survivors.
Earning a reputation as one of the most formidable Australian heavy bands of their generation, Sydney’s POLARIS weld a gripping blend of melodic metalcore, electronica, lush post rock and heartfelt lyricism, then pioneers of dark and anthemic music, WITHIN TEMPTATION – who have captivated audiences for over 20 years – will head to Australia for the very first time in 2025. British rockers ENTER SHIKARI exploded onto the scene in 2023 and their 2007 debut album Take to the Skies generated significant chart success and certified Gold status. These guys are a band who wield an exhilarating amalgamation of alt rock, and electronica along with drum and bass, dubstep and beyond.
American heavy metal hardcore icons HATEBREED are set to detonate their monstrous live show down under, celebrating 30 years as a band. Commemorating three decades in existence that has spanned eight studio albums, multiple Billboard 200 appearances and global fanbase, HATEBREED are also primed to salute their seminal sophomore album, 2002’s Perseverance, with Australian audiences. Hailing from Byron Bay, Australian metalcore giants, IN HEARTS WAKE, are fresh off the release of their sixth studio album, Incarnation and national Australian headline tour.
Adding to the brutality is Los Angeles industrial cult-faves HEALTH following their entirely sold out down under headline run earlier this year. An addictive and transcendent force to be reckoned with, HEALTH’s industrial-cum metal wiles lurch under your skin while balancing nihilism and mesmerising textures, witnessed most vividly on their 2023 full length album RAT WARS. Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, VENDED has been pushing the limits of combustible energy and raw aggression since their 2018 inception. Their bold, honest, passionate take on heavy music raises the flag for a new generation. And finally, San Fran bay area hardcore group SUNAMI are a band who formed in 2019. Originally intended as a short-lived joke band however after gaining notoriety for their violent debut live performance, the band continued past their planned time frame with the release of three EP’s and their self-titled debut album in 2023.
KNOTFEST Australia 2025 will see the elevated return of the fan-favourite KNOTFEST MUSEUM. The enhanced museum will unveil iconic items throughout SLIPKNOT’s 25 year defining career, including new activations, photo op, and more that immerse you into SLIPKNOT history/lore. This can’t miss event will bring the globally loved attraction back to Australia. As this event sold out last time, tickets are strictly limited in each city.
Early bird pre-sale tickets are on sale at 11am local time on Monday 21st October here and general public tickets go on sale at 3pm local time on Wednesday 23rd October here. Stay up to date on all things KNOTFEST over at https://knotfest.com/australia/ and by following on socials.
