Bryan Garris - Knocked Loose 'Knotfest Will Be One For The Books'

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Mar 12, 2023

7 min read

I think we’re all very excited for Australia’s very first Knotfest in a couple of weeks, and it’s going to be a massive day filled with massive bands. One of the bands we’ve been waiting to see for a couple of years now is Knocked Loose. They released their stellar EP A Tear In The Fabric of Life in 2021 and this will be the first time Australians will be able to see them perform it live at the festival and sideshows.

We caught up with vocalist Bryan Garris to quiz him on his favourite Slipknot song, what it’s like experiencing festivals as a band member not a punter, and which songs off their EP they’re excited to play live.

You're coming to Australia as part of the absolutely insane Knotfest line-up. You must be absolutely stoked. What was it like sitting on this huge announcement? Anyone you were dying to tell?

Bryan: Oh, there were definitely a lot of people we wanted to tell, you know, we’ve got a lot of friends down there that were very excited to see us again. In general, Australia's one of our favourite places to be, so we're very excited to come back for the first time since the very beginning of 2020, right before everything kind of shut down, and on such a huge festival! It's a major plus to be a part of such a massive line-up and the first Knotfest to go to Australia. It’s going to be a lot of fun. One for the books for sure.

It's a stacked line-up and I'm going to have to take some painkillers that day to save my neck. But who are you looking forward to watching from side stage?

I definitely gotta go with Malevolence. We’re really good friends with those guys, we've known them for a long time and it's always such a pleasure seeing them - but I've never seen them in that kind of atmosphere, like a giant outdoor festival. So, it's going to be really cool to see how it translates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc_pSK9BgrI

Do you ever get in the mosh at a festival anymore? Or playing a festival has a different vibe and it’s hard to get out and enjoy yourself?

I do try to make it a point to watch as many bands as I can, no matter what kind of festival we're playing, but I'm never really moshing anymore. Every time I mosh I get hurt, so I kind of just retired.

It's a triumphant return to the country after COVID, and we'll finally be able to hear some tracks from your 2021 EP, A Tear In The Fabric of Life. Which songs are you excited to debut to Australia and why?

Definitely ‘God Knows’, that's one of our favourites from the EP and just from touring it in the States and in Europe, we've noticed that that's probably the one that goes over the best when it comes to all the EP songs. So, I'm really excited to see it down there and to see how it goes over in such a massive festival setting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be1YhAgMwSI

What's one thing you can't wait to do while you're back in Australia?

I feel like every single time I've come to Australia, it's been the summer. So, we’re always jumping off of rocks and going swimming and doing all that kind of stuff. I don't know if that's the kind of thing we'll be getting into in March, but I know that we've got our friend DMing us who was actually our tour manager the first time we ever came out there. So, he knows all the good jump spots and the best stuff to do, he helps you get the most out of it. If it’s hot enough outside – that’s what we’ll be doing!

What Slipknot song should we have on repeat before the festival in March?

Oh, that's a good one. I gotta go with ‘Left Behind’, it's one of my favourites. We played Knotfest with them last time, and I don't think that they played it, so that would be awesome to see if they broke that one out.

Interview by Ebony Story @ebonyrose.s

Get prepared for the inaugural Knotfest invasion by checking out our New Shit and Throwback Guide here