Live Review: Deftones, Karnivool, Voyager

It's a steamy afternoon after a typically intense spring day in Queensland, but luckily the sloping Riverstage grounds are catching the cool, clean breeze now wafting by, catching the smell of hot chips and Dagwood Dog vendors lining the hilltop.

It certainly looks to be giving punters some relief given the range of sub-culture attire going on; jeans and even some long-sleeve tees are not generally a smart move in this part of the world at this time of year, but respect has to be given to that kind of commitment.

Perth band Voyager are quite at home in front of the early crowd before them. Practically veterans of the prog-metal scene after their first epic album in 2004, the five-piece have commanded a stack of festival stages the world over and know how to impress. It's odd then that they're not more well known; with their dreamy soundscapes and precision, this band is really one that deserves more than to fly under the radar.

Fellow Perth prog-rock ambassadors Karnivool pull a devoted following wherever they find themselves. Not often filling the support slot role, the five lads have chosen to eschew new and old from their catalogue, leaning heavily on second album Sound Awake's numerous mammoth tracks. Mauseum sneaks in, as does brand newbie All It Takes, but a 'Vool set without Themata or Roquefort is foreign territory. It's an incredible, note-perfect set nonetheless.

Californian nu-metallers Deftones, however, are on a mission to traverse as many of their eight-album catalogue of hits as they can, and doing so rewards the veteran quintet with a clear seal of approval from the sea of diehards illuminated before them. Diamond Eyes kicks things off, and singer Chino Moreno bounces around with the same infectious energy he's had for the past two decades and sounds better than ever. Digital Bath, Gore, Rocket Skates and Swerve City are clean and tight, but it's Be Quiet & Drive (Far Away) and the thumping Headup that has people racing towards the pit for a spot of crowd surfing.

My Own Summer (Shove It) houses a cuteness overload moment — the all-ages gig has put one lucky young boy in Moreno's sights at the front, and he's pulled up and into the spotlight to help the band thrash it out. How many 10-year-olds can say they've shared a stage with Deftones? Change and Knife Prty round out the set after the frontman shares his gratitude for the crowd before they jet off home to “Trump's America”.

After a brief change into a fresh white tee, Moreno and co return with Hexagram and the furious Engine No.9. It's left a sweaty crowd in its wake, but the satisfaction among the smiling faces while comparing verbal notes on the evening is palpable.