With barely a moment to recover after UNIFY Gathering, fans of hardcore gathered at Metro Theatre for Invasion Fest! The festival is a showcase of the best of Australia’s heaviest acts, with some huge international bands too. This year, after wowing with the release of their A Different Shade Of Blue album, Knocked Loose headlined the event.
Our photographer Ivan Souriyavong survived the experience and took photos of every set, aside from Honest Crooks (a guy’s gotta eat)! From the photos alone, the event was high energy and intense, and a coming together of the hardcore community, and enhanced by an inspirational speech by Jimmy Kyle of Chasing Ghosts (more on that at the end of the article).
See Ivan’s photos below in order of appearance, or use the links to jump to the band(s) you want to see!
Life’s Ill | Falcifer | Bloom | Crave Death | Gravemind | Homesick | Diamond Construct | Daybreak | Justice For The Damned | Sleep Talk | Alpha Wolf | Terror | Malevolence | The Red Shore | Jesus Piece | Knocked Loose
Life’s Ill
Falcifer
Bloom
Crave Death
Gravemind
Homesick
Diamond Construct
Daybreak
Justice For The Damned
Sleep Talk
Alpha Wolf
Terror
Malevolence
The Red Shore
Jesus Piece
Knocked Loose
Before Knocked Loose hit the stage, Jimmy Kyle shared his knowledge and experience with the crowd. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing Jimmy’s heart-fueled storytelling before when he supported Wish You Were Here, and know his gift with words to share things that matter in a very real way. At Invasion Fest, he acknowledged traditional ownership of the land the event is on, and gave inspiration for what’s possible in the future when we work together. Inviting and non-judgmental, it was an important share, especially with Australia Day around the corner. (There was a video of the entire speech captured and put to Instagram, but unfortunately the account it was posted by has been made private. Let us know if you come across one that we can share!)
[Photos courtesy of Ivan Souriyavong]