Live Review: Slipknot, Lamb Of God, In Hearts Wake

It's hard to take In Hearts Wake seriously when they're dressed as the Australian cricket team, bat and all (yes, Jake Taylor admits this was his band's dress-up inspo). But still, they continue to impress and landing on this bill speaks volumes. This promising Byron Bay metalcore outfit are a shining jewel in our crown and do us proud once again tonight. 

A circle pit forms in the darkness to welcome Lamb Of God and they're off to a screaming start with Walk With Me In Hell. We'd probably walk anywhere with Randy Blythe, his dreads make amazing helicopters. "Happy Halloween, muthafuckers!"

They're beautifully brutal, largely due to Chris Adler's heel-toe double bass (drum) technique. That pulsating lower end! 

Lamb Of God are called back for an encore and Blacken The Cursed Sun causes mosh mayhem. You know that tar-like substance in Under The Skin that Scarlett Johansson lures unsuspecting blokes into? That's how dense Lamb Of God's sound is. It's like they play in quadruple time - ridiculous. Blythe, sporting camo cargo shorts, goads us: "What, did they give you guys a Valium before the show or something?" He then takes a look around. "I can see from your outfits and facial hair that some of you are here to see Slipknot!" Before teasing, "'Cause it's Halloween, they're gonna dress in their street clothes."

During Laid To Rest, it looks like there must be a trampoline hidden in one of those rostra Blythe gets so much air in his jumps. A "giant circle pit" is summonsed by Blythe for Redneck and that's exactly what occurs. Their bassist John Campbell looks like Father Time while keeping perfectly metronomic time. 

A dude wanders along the front row of the first tier of seats eyeing off the GA section, hands a punter a beer ("That's for you") and then jumps over the railing, lands and flees into the crowd. A security guard notices, attempts to make chase but then stumbles on the stairs before returning to his post, shaking his head. 

Slipknot successfully freak us out on Halloween with footage of a mannequin totem pole burning outdoors in the snow. Sometimes these mannequin faces look human. Is it only us that saw that? And there's rotating drum kits bookending the stage that rise up and down into the bargain. Okay, now there's footage of dry ice burning through what appear to be private parts, which is a little alarming. Then the drum contraptions become cherry pickers, rising up in unison. Of course the neck of Alessandro Venturella's bass lights up. "I've been waiting to say this all fucking week, Happy Halloween Melbourne," frontman Corey Taylor admits. 

Respects are paid to Shawn "Clown" Crahan in his absence and Taylor conjures our applause as a communal outpouring of love before dedicating the next song to his bandmate who sadly needed to return home due to a family emergency. Clown's percussion setup remains stage left, complete with his signature clown mask and flowers as a tribute to his recently deceased father-in-law. It's kinda weird that these kits are synchronised as we watch the empty station rise, spin and fall. Although these book-ending cherry-picker percussion setups are undeniably cool, and very helpful with visibility for the vertically challenged in GA, Clown's empty contraption does obstruct the view of Sid Wilson, Slipknot's DJ/dancer; his moves are pretty impressive up on stage when he's not required behind the decks.

"Halloween is Slipknot's fuckin' Christmas!" Taylor announces and in comes their Grammy Award-winning Before I Forget. There's too much surgery on the screens for the squeamish, though: this is your official warning. If you struggle watching American Horror Story, don't go there! Then some newish shit, Killpop, edges its way in, dropping in on our wave with a vibe-killing "She loves me" chorus. "Some of you have been with us since the very beginning... Does any one of you have a record called fucking Iowa?" Taylor barks, before acknowledging this is the first time the band's spent Halloween outside of the US.

From up on the stage-right percussion riser, Chris Fehn's gimp mask with the zipper mouth and long nose protrusion calls to mind Mr Squiggle. Jay Weinberg's drumming precision leading into Skin Ticket ("Come see my cage") smokes collective noodles. Taylor winds up on top of an onstage cage. Slipknot then take us back to 1999 with Wait And Bleed. "These are all their old songs when they sounded way better," a nearby bloke observes, delightedly.

It's 10.59pm and we score an extra encore, complete with visuals of slimey skin, innards or perhaps a caterpillar being operated on. GA punters buck and sway; all is right in the world this Halloween when Duality kicks in. We swear we spy visuals of maggots crawling in shit - major gross-out factor! Spit It Out closes Slipknot's one-and-a-half-hour set with a final rumbling statement. What a way to spend Halloween! All treats no tricks.