SICK NEW WORLD Showcases Generations of Heavy Music Artistry – Knotfest

Following a brief reset from 2025, Sick New World has successfully re-staked it’s claim as one of heavy music’s most important annual events.

Compiling a diverse bill that emphasized the nuance of the genre, the subcategories that make metal, hardcore and punk so far reaching were all well represented. From the nu-metal pioneers that helped usher in a pivotal era when heavy music transformed the mainstream, to cult champions that decades in continue to assert their relevance, to innovative progressives that are taking aggressive music to new heights, Sick New World was a proper celebration of all things heavy.

Anchored by a headlining set from the bigger-than-ever System of A Down, the band’s comprehensive closing ceremony played out with a succession of greatest hits spanning one of metal music’ most enduring catalogs. The stadium-sized gamechangers laid down a setlist that lit up Las Vegas in a way that suggested this could be their headlining tradition every year.

Not to be outdone by a highlight set from KORN, the nu-metal pioneers submitted some of the culture’s most important anthems all while debuting new music with the first-ever performance of their new single, “Reward the Scars.” The band also managed to spruce up a classic, performing “Proud” for the first time since 2011 and the first time with guitarist Brian Head Welch since 1999. Opening with “Blind” is the kind of stuff that still manages to stir goosebumps – impressive for a band that has been at it for more than three decades.

Among the UK’s best and brightest, Bring Me the Horizon continue to color outside the lines of conventional heavy music. Sourcing essentials from the POST HUMAN era as well as mandatory cuts from Sempiternal and That’s the Spirit, the live spectacle of BMTH was on full display even if the band had to keep it concise for the festival format.

Evanescence delivered a powerful performance that included the band’s anthemic hits and the live debut of their latest single, “Who Will You Follow.” Punk renegades AFI dazzled with a set that ran the gamut from their All Hallows Eve EP to their most recent triumph in Silver Bleeds the black Sun….

Among the biggest takeaways from the run of show for Sick New World was the generational bridge building that seemed to play out in real time. The pop for contemporaries like Knocked Loose segued to legacy sets from the likes of Coal Chamber and Marilyn Manson. Cult heroes like sludge metal vets Acid Bath not only co-existed but seemed to compliment hip hop icons like Cypress Hill.

From the mayhem of Mastodon, to the spacey air of FAILURE to the bulldozing barrage of the split set from Terror and Pain of Truth – Sick New World’s full spectrum of heavy proved spectacular. The almost eccentric curation of the festival line-up dared to pool artists together that on paper might line align, but live, proved a powerful reminder of the range and diversity of heavy culture.

Check the comprehensive gallery of images from the festival from photographer, Maurice Nunez.