Last year's Soundwave festival was a hard act to follow but 2009 certainly delivered with what could be described as the most hardcore lineup to hit Perth in years. Five stages, 54 bands and thousands of people made for a killer feast for metal heads and punk rock fans around Western Australia with Nine Inch Nails standing at the helm.

Straight up on stage 3 American punk pop band New Found Glory were ploughing their way steadily through several of their hits including My Friend's Over You, Head On Collision and the hit cover of Kiss Me from their 2007 covers EP. It was a tribute to the lineup having the long running kings of pop-punk on so soon in the day but large crowds proved the boys still command a strong fan base. They also gave the heads up on their new album Not Without A Fight and pushed out new singles Listen To Your Friends and Truck Stop Blues. New Found Glory was a great live act and definitely kicked the day off to a good start despite some shaky vocals. Watch out for these guys because they'll be hitting our shores later on in the year if all goes to plan.

Trekking over to stage 5 for Jack's Mannequin gave the first indication that the festival was in full swing with the main stage moshpits raging. I managed to catch the end of Ace Enders who was keeping the atmosphere chilled out while the bleary-eyed punters got into the right headspace for the hardcore acts to follow. When Jack's Mannequin took to the stage it was hard not to feel Andrew McMahon's passion for music as he threw himself around the stage putting out tunes from his recently released album The Glass Passenger. The wild-eyed musician kept crowds enthralled as he made his way through The Mixed Tape, Spinning, Dark Blue and Holiday From Real.

Emerging underground act Forever The Sickest Kids burst onto the main stage following on from Goldfinger and Madina Lake but sadly felt a little unoriginal. Although their tunes were catchy and well put together, everything from the band's name to singer Jonathon Cook's ‘too cool for school' outfit screamed emo pop culture. But nevertheless the boys have something special going for them. The powerpop band's playful onstage presence lightened the mood in a sea of long-haired, black band shirts-wearing punters. Opening with Woah Oh, moving into Hey Brittany and throwing a cover of Men In Black in for something different, Forever The Sickest Kids added an extra element to the day and were a hell of a lot of fun.

Ok now at this point in the day I pulled up a bit of grass because I wasn't too interested in anyone performing at the time but luckily I sat near stage one because I now have a new favourite band - Anberlin. The alternative rock band hailing from Florida had a great sound - nothing seriously special that I haven't heard before, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. The heavy guitarwork, flawless vocals and headbanging riffs hit all the right notes for an extremely tight and mesmerizing show. Winning the crowd over by shouting out for our homeland, Anberlin rocked Adelaide - a song they'd written in tribute to Australia (apparently a favourite place of theirs to tour).

Considering how long we've waited to get a slice of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, they fell short of my expectations. The hippie-esque Ronnie Winter had brief moments of passion throughout the set, but for the majority I just couldn't connect with what he was trying to put across. At times it felt like he was about to pop a few blood vessels trying to reach notes he clearly wasn't designed to sing. For the most part Red Jumpsuit Apparatus have a decent-sized back catalogue of aurally pleasing material but when put into a live outdoor format they fail to hit the benchmark. Most of the crowd seemed to lose enthusiasm a couple of songs in and I found myself counting down the minutes to the next act.

Dillinger, Dillinger, Dillinger...a band I was introduced to less than a year ago but one I've been looking forward to seeing again ever since. The brutal live act of Dillinger Escape Plan is a thing they've become renowned for - even landing themselves a lawsuit in the US last year. When they performed at Capitol recently I learnt to expect nothing short of pain and genuine concern for people's safety when watching the live act. But this time there seemed to be a profound lack of energy present on the stage (purely by comparison to what I've seen from them before - by all accounts they were the most insane act of the day). But this could have been that the outdoor arena muted what would have been a wall of insane guitar work. They also seemed quite reserved about diving into the crowd (luckily for those in the front) and so their physical presence was a bit of a let down. However the set list provided a good mix of old and new and really the guys can do no wrong in my eyes - Jeff Tuttle always amazes me. In fact they all do, seriously this band needs to be seen to be believed. The level of technicality they reach in their music and the fact that they pull it off flawlessly while hurling themselves around the stage and pushing each other around it amazing. The addition of new drummer Bill Rymer after the departure of Gil Sharone could have been the band's undoing but the guy slotted into the math-core band with unbelievable ease, keeping up with the insanely fast and off-beat drumming. The only fault in the set was probably that the backing falsetto vocals for Black Bubblegum weren't loud enough to make it as exciting as it should be but whatever I loved it anyway.

Ok now the Bloodhound Gang seemed a bit of an odd addition to such a beefy lineup but seriously there is nothing more hardcore than what those boy brought to the stage. Genitals, pelvic thrusts and projectile vomiting made the Bloodhound Gang live show one of the most memorable for the day - which certainly made up for them being "the least talented band on the lineup" according to vocalist Jimmy Pop. They provided a sick bit of fun in a seriously heavy day of music. Although the entire act was a little cringeworthy the crowds well got into well-known hits Fire Water Burn, The Bad Touch and Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo. Highly entertaining dudes.

After alternating the main stages for what seemed like just five minutes but what actually several hours I finally got over to Stage 4 which was home to some of the heaviest acts for the day. Lacuna Coil came on with their heads banging, their hair flying and their guitars shredding with the beautiful Cristina Scabbia's haunting vocals at the forefront. Crowds were treated to the new single Spellbound from their latest album Shallow Life. This was one of the first times the band had performed the song live so it was fairly exciting. A great band to mosh to or just pull up a patch of grass and watch - both of which I did during this great live set.

Just before Alice in Chains came on I caught the end of Billy Talent who was chatting to the crowd about Black Saturday. I must admit it was pretty touching to hear a band from the other side of the planet shouting out for us on our generosity and patriotism. It might sound lame but it made me feel proud to be an Australian. A feeling shared by the crowd who were shouting also out for their country.

Alice in Chains came on shortly after with new vocalist William DuVall proving the rock act is still alive and well. Although some may feel a bit disenchanted hearing memorable tunes coming from the mouth of another, DuVall rocked every bit of the set and had a fairly strong stage presence. From the onset the band created a beautiful scene and the moshers loved every minute of it. The outdoor venue worked well for them and created a killer atmosphere as the sun started setting.

Unfortunately just now I find out I'm stranded at the concert (having had my lift bail on me before the MOST IMPORTANT BAND OF THE DAY) so the first few songs of Nine Inch Nails were spent stressing over that but they certainly provided a great distraction. The light show in itself was enough to get anyone in the near vicinity checking out the main stage or suffering from an epileptic fit (seriously there was an official warning for it). Also the fact that we may never see the legendary band again with their disbandment pending. Flowing seamlessly through heavy industrial numbers through to heartfelt ballads, the mighty Trent Reznor kept us enthralled for the entire hour and 40 minutes. Something I Can Never Have went off the hook and The Hand That Feeds and Head Like a Hole were also highlights for the night. I was fairly disappointed to not hear We're In This Together Now on the setlist (being that it's my favourite Nine Inch Nails song of all time) but you can't have everything. The industrial rockers were a-maz-ing and I have to admit I was so awestruck when they brought Dillinger Escape Plan on for the encore (as stated previously I am a massive fan). I guess now we can only hope that Nine Inch Nails will renew their love for performing for their adoring fans and head back for another round.

- Nikkita Dixon