The rain has held off all day, we’ve weedled our way into the middle of the black sea of metal-tees – beer in hand, and it’s time for the first headliner of Download Festival 2018 – Avenged Sevenfold. Heading out onto the Donington stage for the first time in 2006, A7X have been firm favourites at the festival, returning in 2011 and then 2014 to headline, but this is something else entirely.
The stage is set with a raft of giant screens depicting stone murals and front-man Shadows appears in his now signature garb of a red and black plaid shirt and an Axl-style bandana strapped around his head, yelling something or other about Jesus, as the band scream straight into the entirely apt ‘The Stage’. ‘Afterlife’ is heralded by a bombardment of pyrotechnics in the form of massive flame cannons, which serve to singe the whiskers off anyone in the front five rows, and to the surprise of many around us – they’re absolutely nailing it. I suppose the problem with A7X has always been their willingness to explore so many different styles of rock and metal, from prog to hardcore and everything in-between. They’re not ‘that’ polarising band that you either love or hate, they’re just somewhere in the middle, where a song or two might chime with what you like. As such, it can be hard to accept their set as anything other than a mash-up of whatever they feel like that day, but honestly, today it’s more like an expert tour through metal as a genre.
Vengeance and Synyster are back to back, playing intricate harmonies and it’s clear that from a sheer musical perspective, they deserve their top of the bill spot here at Download. Yelling “It’s our favourite goddamn place in the world to play” is always guaranteed a roar from the crowd in the UK, whether it’s true or not, but the sheer force and power of ‘Hail to the King’ rings the sentiment true, and here’s where it gets interesting. Taking more than a small cue from metal legends Iron Maiden I’m sure, a giant zombified king is ushered in from the back of the stage to ‘crawl’ above the band and inexplicably, to sing along. This kind of production is usually the reserve of giants like Maiden or Viking Power-metal bands who just really believe in their storyline, but hey, maybe that’s what the current festival scene is lacking? The 90’s and noughties saw a phase of rock and metal where any kind of gimmick or even loud clothing was considered tacky and unprofessional, leaving a hole in big-scale shows which covered the entertainment factor, as well as musical prowess. Are we due a proper resurgence of pantomime metal? I’m not sure it’s a bad thing, it keeps things interesting in a long set at the end of a busy day of bands, and who doesn’t love an enormous skeletal king having a sing-song anyway?
With a sobering video tribute to former drummer James “The Rev” Sullivan who died in 2009, they head into ‘So Far Away’, followed by the massive ‘Nightmare’. Yelling out “…we’re taking it back to the beginning, none of that shit we’ve been playing all year, this one’s just for you” the band roll into a track from their second album – ‘Eternal Rest’. Just when you thought it couldn’t get weirder, yet another giant installation is floated out above them on stage… a humungous skeletal space-suited spectre, as grim as it is spectacular, and the screens change to dark starry skies as the night truly sets in over Donington Park as the band hit the ahem, high notes of ‘Higher’.
A cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ is dedicated to celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, who was reported to have committed suicide in the early hours of the morning, and Shadows implores anyone who is struggling – to seek help; “…we lost Anthony Bourdain today. It may seem silly but he’s a guy that showed us all different cultures and different people… that we’re all equal… so reach out, we all feel the same way”.
Bringing things back to a safer, louder space ‘Shepherd of Fire’ inevitably sees the stage… well… on fire. Pretty much all of it in fact. You’ve got to wonder what their total carbon footprint is for this entire set. Joking “We’re gonna have some fun… all the people who hate us have gone back to their tents”, A7X finish up with ‘A little piece of Heaven’ a delightful song about murder and necrophilia, and then ‘Unholy Confessions’. No really, and the entire crowd is singing along as if it were as normal as a school assembly hymn. I mean, metal has always been known for hitting up risqué topics but there’s something undeniably jolly and therefore unnerving about this. If there’s one thing you can say about Avenged Sevenfold, it’s that they’re not afraid to go there. Well, anywhere really. Tonight was a triumph of their absolute willingness to do whatever the fuck they want. Bravo I say.
Download Festival,the world’s premier rock event, has announced some of the biggest rock acts in the world including Marilyn Manson, Parkway Drive, Rise Against, BODY COUNT ft. ICE T and more. The three-day festival takes place 8-10 June 2018 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire. Tickets are on sale now at downloadfestival.co.uk/tickets.
Download is proud to welcome back the Antichrist Superstar himself Marilyn Manson,fresh off the release of critically acclaimed new album Heaven Upside Down. The goth rock veteran is more energised than ever and set to bring his renowned live show to Donington next year.
Since 2003 Aussie rock titans Parkway Drive have gone from strength-to-strength, pushing boundaries with their epic live performances. Having ascended to the forefront of modern metal with their latest critically acclaimed album Ire, their ferocious crushing breakdowns and stadium-sized choruses have them high on people’s lists for future headliner contenders.
Parkway Drive said:
“Parkway Drive are super stoked to be returning to Download for 2018. It's always a highlight for us to play Download and this time around we're aiming to top it all. We can't wait!”
British modern metal institution Bullet for My Valentine have also been confirmed to perform at Download Festival next year. The Welsh powerhouse have conquered the heights of Wembley Arena along with fellow UK torchbearers Asking Alexandria whowill be taking to the stage with a hero’s return of their original infamous vocalist Danny Worsnop.
Matt Tuck of Bullet For My Valentine said:
“We're so excited to be playing next year's Download Festival!! It's been 5 long years now since we last performed at Donington Park, so we're more than ready to get back on that legendary stage and do what we do best. See you there!”
Ben Bruce of Asking Alexandria said:
“We have been waiting for half a decade to say this again, “DOWNLOAD WE ARE COMING FOR YA!”. Download festival is hands down one of the most exciting festivals in the world to play and so we have decided to bring our biggest show to date over with us. We cannot wait to see you all there. In the words of this year’s legendary headliner, Mama I’m coming home”
Pivotalpunk rock heroes Rise Against will have fists thrown in the air, with their ferocious socio-political rock. Expect a high energy, kinetic performance from one of the world’s biggest authentic punk bands, who’ve proved their lasting worth to the genre.Joining the line up are LA Glam Rockers Black Veil Brides, Swedish extreme tech-metal trail blazers Meshuggah, and post hardcore legends Alexisonfire whose performance will be a long-awaited return to Download Festival.
Mind-blowing “metal phenomenon on a mission”BABYMETALare confirmed to make their second official Download performance. This UK exclusive appearance will see the return of their thunderous metal, mixed with infectious J-pop that’s taken the world by storm. With figurehead Ice T at the helm, Body Count’s mix of harsh political messages and powerful hard-core sensibilities have made the rap metal icons unmissable, as well as In This Moment who are led by the entrancing Maria Brink and ready to bring a gothic, industrial, metal spectacle to make Download proud.
BABYMETAL said:
“We are so happy to announce that we will be playing at Download UK!! We were last there in 2016 and it is an absolute honour to be returning to this prestigious festival next year. Can’t wait to go back and see everyone there!”
Purveyors of garage-punk noise The Hives are confirmed, with frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist guaranteed to leave no stone unturned with a set of frantic non-stop rock n’ roll. Making their Download Festival debut are pop punks scousers WSTR who have propelled themselves throughout the last year, as well as emo pop favourites Mayday Parade who are hot off the back of a successful ten-year anniversary tour.
Selling out Brixton Academy and making massive waves as the break out luminaries of UK pop-punk, Wrexham five-piece Neck Deep are returning to Download Festival along with Seattle’s The Pink Slips with their fusion of “synth-pop, punk, dance and vintage rock ‘n’ roll”, fronted by the ferocious GRAVE, daughter of Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan. Last but no means least are rising stars Dream State with their no-nonsense, melodic emo rock which has earned them their debut Download appearance.
Download Festival is the home of rock music and takes place on the sacred grounds of Donington Park, which have been associated with rock since the eighties. The festival attracts icons of rock to its main stage, plus some of the best and hottest new acts in the world. AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Black Sabbath, The Prodigy, Rage Against The Machine, Slipknot, Linkin Park and many more have all headlined its main stage.
With the sun tentatively out again Downloaders can rejoice at the first dry festival in god knows how many years, no wellies required!
Rock supergroup The Dead Daisies, heavily promoted on Planet Rock over the last few months, are absolutely living up to the hype with their classic rock and roll vibes. Another band to note the recent terror attacks in the UK, vocalist John Corabi calls out “We heard about what’s going on in Manchester… London… it's only gonna get better with love… peace” to a roar of applause from the crowd before busting out ‘Main Line’.
Over on the main stage, Southern rockers The Cadillac Three are making the most of the sunshine with their unmistakable country twang and slide guitar. They are absolutely as redneck as you imagine, it’s awesome. Next up are Gothenburg gods, In Flames with an enormous circle pit and a lot of complaining out their miniature cooler of beer (okay, it really is ridiculously small.) “We are Swedish people and we love beer… and this is what we got… (tiny cool box) we are gonna be great anyway but this is a disgrace! I’m just gonna put it here to remind us of all the suffering and struggle we have to make this shit happen”Anders Friden jokes it’s their “Spinal tap moment”. ‘Take This Life’ is incredible and the arena atmosphere is wild, there’s even a Teletubby in the circle pit going mental.
Next up, Aussie rockers Airbourne are as topless and naughty as ever, but you can see that security are on edge in case Joel ‘deathwish’ O’Keeffe tries any of his mental rig-climbing shit again. On the Encore stage Ministry are going off, with frontman Al Jourgensen yelling “this is a new song… if you think it fucking sucks, throw shit at us. If you like it, go buy the record and our tshirts and shit. I’m a promosexual”. They’ve got a massive crowd in front of them and are giving it everything they’ve got, it’s one of the most storming sets of the weekend.
Despite the fact that the arena is packed for Steel Panther, I can’t see anything different to last time they played Donington. The same misogynistic garbage is being spouted, and yes I know it’s satire but it’s a bit dated now, don’t you think? It’s a shame because they’re obviously talented musicians, but it’s hard to get past all the shit Spinal Tap stuff to see it. As usual they’re pulling loads of girls from the crowd to join them on stage, but it’s clear the TV crew are steering clear of the boob shots, probably due to the fact that these girls are of indeterminate age.
Clutch however are pure rock and roll heroes. After an initial rocky start with the guitars not being right, Neil Fallon quips “we are Clutch… we are professional musicians” before heading into ‘Your Love Is Incarceration’ and the powerfully epic‘X-Ray Visions’. Having been on the Download vetran list for a few years now, Fallon jokes “I think this is the most gorgeous day I’ve ever experienced here at Download, thanks for arranging that, Mr lighting director”. ‘Sucker for the Witch’ is amazing, and who doesn’t love a band who aren’t afraid to use a cowbell? On the other hand, they didn’t play ‘Electric Worry’…
Onward to Opeth, who honestly look like vampires about to combust in the late sun, they’re musically impressive don’t get me wrong, but much more of a band-of-the-brooding-night, am I right?
Big Four metal gods Slayer are up next, and Kerry King is sporting a blood-splattered axe while frontman Tom Araya let’s us know how tonight is going to go down “We’re all here for the same thing… smiling and getting hit and stuff. Its always nice to see happy people”. KK absolutely shreds like a beast, massive chains swinging from his leather trousers while his braided beard whips back and forth. The crowd is enormous and rafts of extra security have been drafted in to deal with the constant stream of crowd surfers coming over the barrier, including one particularly unfortunate gringo (he was wearing a poncho) who was bleeding profusely from the nose after recklessly going over on his stomach. He looked pretty proud about it to be honest. ‘South of Heaven’ and ‘Reign In Blood’ are obviously incredible, there’s something utterly spellbinding about hearing those metal anthems in real life.
An hour clear of everything else finishing, a cold night has come out of nowhere and underdressed metalheads are huddling together under the darkening sky. O Fortuna ominously blasts out of the huge array of speaker stacks flanked by giant screens offering up the Aerosmith Aero-Vederci logo and images of the bands’ past. As this is their departing tour, the tribute is expected but kind of lacks the oomph of last years’ farewell to Black Sabbath, maybe it’s because Black Sabbath were homegrown heroes, I don’t know. As Steve Tyler takes to the stage dressed in his usual hippy garb of sequins, frills and flouncy scarves, a massive roar goes up from the astonishingly large crowd.
Having seen Instagram posts earlier on from daughter Liv Tyler, of her and Steve riding the stage-side big wheel earlier on, looking out over the site, I wonder what it feels like to be playing these last shows. At nearly seventy years old I can imagine it’s relief and sadness all rolled into one. Throwing around the mic stand (also bedecked in a floaty scarf, obviously) Steve belts out the likes of ‘Young Lust’, ‘Cryin’ and ‘Living on the Edge’ and it’s like you’re right back at the beginning of their career with them. Well… apart from the incredibly shit fire graphics engulfing Tyler on the screens, it looks like they’ve grabbed them from the original Duke Nukem.
The band themselves are so practiced, so pro, that you wouldn’t know they’d aged a day. ‘Love in an Elevator’ powerfully resonates around the arena and Tyler leads on with a frank statement “I remember checking into rehab one time and hearing the abuse in the world people get… especially women… and thats why Janie’s got a gun”.
After a brief Joe Perry solo, alongside what appears to be a video of his holiday snaps… we get the awesome ‘Stop Messin Around’ and ‘Oh Well’ Fleetwood Mac covers as Tyler writhes around on the giant floor logo. We are treated to every bit of Aerosmith history, harmonicas, rattlesnake shakers and of course ‘Sweet Emotion’, though the wind has picked up and Tyler has to requisition a hat from the crowd to keep his hair out of his mouth. It happens to the best of us pal.
‘I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’ sees everyone in the arena grabbing hold of each other and swaying, while a million phone screens light up the sky. It might not have the prettiness of the 70’s lighters but hey, we’re living in the age of technology. ‘Rag Doll’ includes the use of the most ridiculous and majestic megaphone ever. It is bejewelled with rhinestones inside and out, and Beatles cover ‘Come Together’ is just phenomenal.
‘Dude (looks like a lady’ is hilarious fun with guys prancing around in front of us, but the encore sees a white grand piano brought down onto the gangway for Tyler to play the heartbreakingly beautiful ‘Dream On’ after a mention of the recent UK terror attacks “When you dream good dreams… good things can come true… Aerosmith is dreaming with you… Dream On”. Standing atop the piano, the band show us the true meaning of a ‘show’, something few modern bands really do anymore, it’s a picture I’ll never forget.
Saying goodbye with ‘Walk This Way’, ticker tape explosions and blasts from smoke cannons, it’s hard to comprehend that we’ll never get to see them again. That those bands we grew up listening to, our rock history, is becoming just that, a thing of legend. Aero-vederci to one of the greats.
With an overcast sky and the threat of rain in sight, today’s Download crowd is considerably more covered up and there are a surprising amount of people dressed in bucaneer-swag heading towards the Encore stage…
Alestorm are one of those bands who are both musically talented, and seem to be in it for a laugh. What’s not to love about a band who comedically rhyme anchor and wanker in song form? Wenches, parrots and pirates alike are jumping around to the likes of ‘Keelhauled’ and ‘Magnetic North’ (if you haven’t seen the Alestorm/Lady Gaga mashup ‘Magnetic Telephone’, get on youtube this instant. It’s marvellous.) and the quips on the origins of their material are, interesting… “This song is about that time Tom hanks got lost on a desert island and fucked a volleyball… Shipwrecked!”.
As crowd surfers fly overhead on various inflatable sea creatures (kudos to the guy managing to stay aloft the orca all the way to the front) vocalist Chris Bowes yells “Do you know why we are here download? We are here to drink your beer!” and the arena goes mental for ‘Drink’ followed, obviously, by ‘Hangover’ – “This is for anyone feeling a little. Bit shit today, for anyone who woke up in a puddle of their own vomit”.
Suicide Silence put on a rowdy set yelling at the crowd to “motherfucking jump around” ticking the box for proper metal headbanging and hair lashing today, Of Mice & Men are ripping up the main stage and Kvelertak (the most mispronounced band all weekend) bring dark Norwegian metal (and lots of owl themed décor) to the now slightly gloomy arena. Brief spells of rain see Downloaders immediately reaching for the ponchos, it seems after the last few years everyone has come prepared for the worst.
Pierce the Veil are living up to the piercing part of their name with extraordinarily shrieky vocals, so we’re off to the Encore stage for a good dose of heavy metal with Max & Igor (Cavalera) with thousands of other Sepultura fans looking for their fix. They do not disappoint, Roots Bloody Roots is absolutely insane and the arena is rammed with headbangers.
In the main arena, it seems a lot of people are crashed out on the hill eating food – Download hasn’t been home to crappy ratburgers for a few years now, but highlights this year include gooey Mac & Cheese, duck fat potatoes and on two ends of the spectrum – vegan maki sushi rolls and giant shredded brisket sandwiches. AFI are on the main stage but it’s hard to hear when you’re in a food coma.
Coheed and Cambria are over on the second stage throwing down some heavy melodic sounds, followed by the Ace Ventura of metal – Devin Townsend. There is no extreme expression his elastic face cannot convey, he goes from cheeky to mean in a fraction of a second and this makes him undeniably interesting to watch – even apart from the fact that he fucking shreds. Simple Plan have packed out the Avalanche stage and it looks like the entire tent is bouncing as one to ‘Welcome To My Life’ and Sean Paul collab ‘Summer Paradise’.
Headlining the Encore stage for the second time at Download is heavy metal shock doctor Rob Zombie, whose stage shows always go above and beyond and the biggest crowd of the weekend have turned out to see him. Rob appears on stage rocking the shiniest outfit I’ve ever witnessed in metal. Hell, he wouldn’t be out of place in a Lady Gaga video or on RuPaul’s drag race. Silver mirrored discoball flares are topped with a silver studded and spiked leather jacket with added fringing, a glittery Stetson and a Frankenstein flag hanging out the back of his pants… Rob you have seriously outdone yourself on this one. I want to be you.
Leaping around between three lifted podiums, in front of LED screens showing images from horror movies, Rob screams through hit after hit – 'Living Dead Girl' is wild, and the crowd responds by sending wave after wave of crowd surfers over the barrier. Rob spends a little time joking around about the arena offerings he can see “I wanna fucking party. Do you wanna party or do you wanna eat fucking noodles. Steakhouse. Extreme largeness… what does that even mean??” and briefly noting the current state of affairs in the world… “these challenging political times… I’d like to address a very serious subject that no-one else wants to talk about. What the fuck is going on with alien abductions?” asking “who here has been abducted and anally probed?” before asking stage security to help him crowd surf a blow up alien to the back of the arena.
With a face meltingly large amount of pyro, demon sidekicks sporting LED guitars, grilles and vampire wings – Rob brings a slice of B-movie madness to Donington that really deserved to be lit up on the main stage to be honest. As giant inflatable balls are thrown out into the crowd and foam snow is sprayed from the top of the stage, White Zombie super hit (and Guitar Hero go-to track) 'Thunder Kiss ’65' has a bassline that makes your soul shiver as Rob laments “I remember playing this back in the early 90’s at Castle Donington… were any of you there? You dont remember me but you’ll probably remember Metallica huh”.
After a quick dip into The Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ because… well who knows… it’s back into Thunder Kiss and straight onto a cover of Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out’ whilst parading around in a union flag as a cape. Rounding up with the one everyone’s been waiting for, ‘Dragula’ is truly epic, as this whole show has been.
Over in the main arena, Biffy Clyro are also finishing up on their multi-tiered LED lit stage, tops off, sweaty as hell. It’s awesome to see them top the bill here, and they are fantastic, but it would have been cool to see what horror shenanigans Rob Zombie could have brought to the table. Fireworks light up the night sky above the stage and the arena clears for the campsites, see you tomorrow metalheads…
After a week of doomy skies and rainfall, as well as monikers Drownload and Downpour festival from previous years, you’d be forgiven for going head-to-toe storm wear to Donington. For now though, the weather looks decent so we're donning hats and sunblock.
After a fairly heavy security check, welcome after the recent tragedies in both Manchester and London, we get through to the main arena to see some things have changed. The main difference to the site is that the third stage has been moved up to the top of the hill from its previous home in the bottom corner. Though it means more of a hike between bands to change stage, it has solved a few problems – there’s no more sound transference/overlap when two bands are on at the same time, you don’t have to crush past the toilet queues to get in and the VIP area is more easily accessible now too. Though it’s more likely to have been moved due to the horrendous drainage issues in the rain last year. In fact, there seem to be dug-in irrigation channels all over this year, which according to sod’s law probably means it’ll be blazing sunshine all weekend.
Despite the arenas being quite quiet today, The Raven Age have pulled a decent crowd and are giving their second round at Download everything they have, alongside a commentary on the recent attacks from frontman Michael Burrough“Thank you for turning out, in the face of adversity, we really fucking appreciate it… this one is for Manchester… London… Paris…”.
Next up is the unusual DL pick, rapper Machine Gun Kelly, who appears to be dressed in a dirty lab coat. It’s clear from the first beat he’s a powerful presence and he careens around the stage with explosive passion. Covering Oasis’ Wonderwall is a guaranteed goal in the UK, I mean we all think it’s shit but we do know the words, however it’s ‘Alpha Omega’ that gets everyone yelling along. After jumping off the top of the drum-kit in his massive winkle-picker shoes and jumping into the pit to dance along the front of the crowd, MGK reduces one fan to tears. After calling “Beautiful girl in the front row wearing the white MGK hoody… this one’s for you” he drops down on one knee in front of her and continues with the song whilst holding her hand. It’s adorable… especially considering two minutes ago he was screaming at everyone to get their middle fingers up.
Suicidal Tendencies are ridiculous fun, frontman Mike Muir grins maniacally as crowd-surfers are yanked down by security guards, whilst on the main stage 5 Finger Death Punch are inciting circle pits to snippets of Crazy Train and Smoke on the Water. Someone dressed in an inflatable t-rex costume is trying desperately to leave during ‘Burn MF’, without much success.
Good Charlotte offer up the disturbing realisation that they started this band 21 years ago, asking “how many of you remember us from high school?” but the crowd is bouncing along as if they don’t have jobs… kids… adult responsibilities, all the same.
The lyrics “Girls like cars and money” from ‘Girls & Boys’ were pretty standard fayre for the noughties pop punk scene but times have changed and bagging on girls is a hot topic these days. So it’s not entirely surprising that following the song comes a sort of apologetic disclaimer “firstly I wanna say thank you to every girl who came here today. The whole thing looks better, smells nicer… is smarter… what the world needs… all you girls out there, not afraid to stand up, to express yourselves…”
Closing the Zippo Encore stage with more pop punk are Sum 41, headed up by Deryck Whibley who is looking decidedly healthier than he has done in a while, with his blonde hair still spiked upwards in defiance of the passing of time. He really doesn’t look like he’s aged with us at all to be honest. What a bastard. It’s a huge turnout and the crowd is going wild for the classics ‘Still Waiting’, ‘In Too Deep’ and finishing up with ‘Fat Lip’.
A miraculously dry day at Download sees droves of half-drunk, half-sunburnt red faces heading to the main arena for Friday night's main stage headliner System of a Down. Having played at Download last in 2011, SOAD were definitely due a return to the main stage at Donington and thousands of people are already packed in to watch.
Starting strong with 'Suite-Pee' and 'Prison Song', blending seamlessly into 'Violent Pornography' (which I realise sounds rather rude…) SOAD make it known that they mean business. It's rare for a band to be respected and liked across the board, but it really seems like System aren't the great divider that other headline acts seem to be. Droves of people are coming in from the second stage where Sum 41 are just finishing up, and the standing is packed all the way to the back of the arena.
With his now white-streaked beard, Serj Tankian holds the crowd in the palm of his hand and a giant screen behind shows clips of black and white movies and news stories during the bass heavy 'Aerials'. It's bone-shakingly heavy and there is a deafening chorus of people joining in around us, Download have got the main stage sound absolutely spot on this year, it's pitch perfect from way back into the arena. Into the much loved 'Bounce' for some limb-flailingly chaotic pogoing, during which a man in an extraordinarily short tutu with "Twat" sharpied across his forehead, almost loses what's left of his dwindling dignity, followed shortly by the incredible 'Psycho' and 'Chop Suey' – absolute classics. The guy on the front row wearing a full tuxedo is going berserk and I know how he feels, this is shaping up to be one of the best headline sets Download has ever seen.
After a solid 45 minutes of play without so much as a pause, Serj yells out to the crowd "Download, how you fucking doing out there?" and that's our lot. SOAD truly came to just smash it up, not stop for a chat. For a band heavily invested in political topics and lyrics, I had sort of wished for a quip or two regarding yesterday's UK election results, maybe something about being well hung…
Closing out with the enormously enjoyable 'Toxicity' and 'Sugar' SOAD have pulled off a near perfect headline set, and despite the obviously lower numbers at the festival this year, everyone seems to have turned out to see them do it. Roll on day two!
A miraculously dry day at Download sees droves of half-drunk, half-sunburnt red faces heading to the main arena for Friday night's headliner System of a Down. Having played at Download last in 2011, SOAD were definitely due a return to the main stage at Donington and thousands of people are already packed in to watch.
Starting strong with 'Suite-Pee' and 'Prison Song', blending seamlessly into 'Violent Pornography' (which I realise sounds rather rude…) SOAD make it known that they mean business. It's rare for a band to be respected and liked across the board, but it really seems like System aren't the great divider that other headline acts seem to be. Droves of people are coming in from the second stage where Sum 41 are just finishing up, and the standing is packed all the way to the back of the arena.
With his now white-streaked beard, Serj Tankian holds the crowd in the palm of his hand and a giant screen behind shows clips of black and white movies and news stories during the bass heavy 'Aerials'. It's bone-shakingly heavy and there is a deafening chorus of people joining in around us, Download have got the main stage sound absolutely spot on this year, it's pitch perfect from way back into the arena. Into the much loved 'Bounce' for some limb-flailingly chaotic pogoing, during which a man in an extraordinarily short tutu with "Twat" sharpied across his forehead, almost loses what's left of his dwindling dignity, followed shortly by the incredible 'Psycho' and 'Chop Suey' – absolute classics. The guy on the front row wearing a full tuxedo is going berserk and I know how he feels, this is shaping up to be one of the best headline sets Download has ever seen.
After a solid 45 minutes of play without so much as a pause, Serj yells out to the crowd "Download, how you fucking doing out there?" and that's our lot. SOAD truly came to just smash it up, not stop for a chat. For a band heavily invested in political topics and lyrics, I had sort of wished for a quip or two regarding yesterday's UK election results, maybe something about being well hung…
Closing out with the enormously enjoyable 'Toxicity' and 'Sugar' SOAD have pulled off a near perfect headline set, and despite the obviously lower numbers at the festival this year, everyone seems to have turned out to see them do it. Roll on day two!
Download Festival, the world’s premier rock event has announced another plethora of bands, from legends and new talent alike, including Devin Townsend Project, Suicide Silence, Code Orange and many more. Download Festival takes place on 9 – 11 June 2017 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire.
New to 2017, The Avalanche Stage shines a spotlight on everyone from the biggest global acts, to the latest breaking bands. Headlined by the previously announced Sleeping With Sirens, Simple Plan and The Dillinger Escape Plan, the Avalanche Stage will be hosted by new music champions, Kerrang’s Fresh Blood.
Alex Baker, presenter of Fresh Blood on Kerrang! Radio said: “Right now, there is an undeniable, electric excitement about new music in the air and as soon as we saw the new Avalanche Stage we just had to be involved. It was clear from the get go that one of The Avalanche Stage’s aims was to ensure that there was a dedicated space for these new bands within the festival. Download has always been amazing at supporting new talent and I’ve always admired them for that – so it was a no brainer to get as involved as much as humanely possible!”
Metal behemoth, Devin Townsend Project will be making their welcomed return to Download Festival, featuring living legend and ex Strapping Young Lad frontman, Devin Townsend.
On playing the festival, Devin said: "Download! Amidst a crazy year, we have been invited to play at one of my favourite festivals in the world. The band is rocking better than ever, and we are fired up to have some fun with you guys. We look forward to blowing the roof off the place. See you there!"
The hottest name in hardcore, Code Orange are torchbearers for their genre and will excite festival goers with a crushing set. Twenty years on from the release of ground-breaking album Roots, Max & Iggor Cavalera reunite to perform the seminal record in its entirety to the Download crowd.
Having influenced heavy music with their rapid twin vocal and tech metal, groove masters SikTh will bring the Main Stage mosh pit to life. Deathcore stalwarts Suicide Silence are back with tracks from their eponymous fifth album and are set to deliver an incomparably powerful live set atDonington this summer. Joining them are unmissable supergroup elite, Krokodil who are set to impress with their immensely forceful metal, and UK stoner rock legends, Orange Goblin with their heavy hammer, steel toed riffs and fistfuls of attitude.
Renowned for his wild live shows and fiercely loyal fan base, Ohio rapper Machine Gun Kelly has received waves of critical and commercial success with sophomore album General Admission, which he’ll be bringing in abundance to Download this June. Aussie rock heroes Sick Puppies will serve up their tooth rattling rock and hard hitting hooks that will send the Download crowd wild. Led by the incredible Johnny Hawkins, San Antonio rockers Nothing More have cemented themselves in the top echelons of modern rock and will be bringing their ferocious live performance to Donington.
Having previously supported Iron Maiden, metalcore outfit The Raven Age stride between melody and brute force, and will be returning to Download for another epic performance. They’ll be joined by tour de force of energy, Yonaka, and country rock n’ rollers Blackwater Conspiracy.
The dark and volatile Perturbator completes the trio of Dogtooth Stage headliners alongside the previously announced Exodus and Wednesday 13. Prepare to be lost in his technoir, dark synthwave as he closes the Dogtooth Stage for 2017. Dublin’s grunge pop rockers OTHERKIN will riff their way through infectious songs with a raucous energy, whilst London five piece, Drones will be out to deliver a barrage of hardcore punk for the Download Festival audience.
Having supported the likes of rock legends Black Stone Cherry and Halestorm, The Fallen State will bring soulful vocals and unapologetic rock to Donington. Expect a distinctive mix of pop, punk and new wave from London/LA duo Love Zombies, chaotic and energetic indie punk from Blackwaters, gritty modern blues fuelled rock from Bristol natives Tax The Heat and soulful rock n’ roll from Nashville’s Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown.
Download Festival is the home of rock music and takes place on the sacred grounds of Donington Park, which have been associated with rock since the eighties. The festival attracts rock icons to its Main Stage, plus some of the best and hottest new acts in the world. AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses, Rage Against The Machine, Slipknot, Linkin Park and many more have all headlined its Main Stage.
Download Festival, the world’s premier rock and metal event has made an unprecedented announcement, adding over forty of the world’s biggest bands to an unparalled bill including Steel Panther, A Day To Remember, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Suicidal Tendencies and In Flames.
Download Festival’s Andy Copping said: “We’re committed to delivering the best in rock and metal year on year for the Download fans, and this year is no exception. We’re thrilled to have core acts in the likes of Steel Panther, A Day To Remember, Dillinger Escape Plan, The Cadillac Three, Suicidal Tendencies and more, along with some of the most exciting new talent in the game such as Creeper, Red Sun Rising and Hacktivist. Right through from The Dogtooth Stage, all the way to the top, fans are guaranteed to witness an incredible weekend of music from their trusted favourites, and discover new favourite bands of the future.”
Download Festival’s Dave Bradley said:“We’re stoked to represent the many facets of rock in this announcement. We’ve always been invested in booking bands across every stage that have the grit and determination to step up and be headliners of the future. The Avalanche Stage is really exciting this year, promising three days of unapologetic rock, pop punk and metal from the likes of State Champs, As It Is, Moose Blood and Trash Boat. Festival goers better get in that tent early – we’ve got face melting riffs and one hell of a weekend in store.”
Glam superstars Steel Panther will be hitting the Main Stage with their tongues firmly in cheek. The crew renowned for their debaucherous live shows are back to melt faces and hearts once more.
Steel Panther frontman Michael Starr said:“I'm so happy to be back at Download Festival. Download Festival 2009 was our very first show in the UK, so this Festival holds a special place in my heart! Hell yea.”
Following a sold-out Wembley show last week, arena smashers A Day To Remember will be bringing the party to Donington, buoyed by the triumphant success of their new album Bad Vibrations. Following the announcement of their retirement, pioneers of their genre The Dillinger Escape Plan will be making their last ever UK festival appearance at Download this year. The genre defining legends have been pushing musical boundaries and demolishing stages with assured anarchy for 20 years – this is a set not to be missed.
The fathers of cross-over thrash, Suicidal Tendencies have been leading the charge and inciting mosh pits for over 30 years; the hardcore hall of famers are back to tear Download apart this summer. Rising punk stars Creeper will capitalise on a year of huge successes and deliver the biggest horror-punk set of their lives as they take to the Download Festival Main Stage. Joining them are Baroness, who rightfully earned themselves a Grammy nomination for ‘Best Metal Performance’ with their intensely progressive heavy metal masterpiece ‘Shock Me’; and the enigmatic and ever-evolving Anathema, who are ready to dish out their lithe and muscular alternative metal to the Download Festival crowd. Legendary forefathers of melodic death-metal outfitIn Flames also join the bill; having toured the planet countless times and influencing many of today's biggest metal acts.
Wednesday 13 – also known as legend Joseph Poole of Murderdolls fame – is returning for the first time in 12 years for all the zombie themed, horror-punk that fans can handle. Scottish pirate metallers Alestorm will be regaling Download fans with tales of unforgettable swashbuckling adventures, whilst it’ll be riffs aplenty as Nordic hard rockers Kvelertak pack a truly head banging worthy punch following the release of last year’s anthemic album Nattesferd. The Charm The Fury are one of the brightest prospects in metalcore, and are set to take the crowd on a ride of crushingly heavy breakdowns and high-energy monstrous anthems this June.
Australian metalcore mob Northlane have instilled themselves as one of the most exciting acts to emerge in the genre, rapidly growing their international fanbase with their groove laden technical take on the scene. Straight out of Ohio; metalcore legends The Devil Wears Prada return to Download with their incomparable powerful sound – they’re set for one hell of an exciting live show. Joining them will be grime-metal crew Hacktvist who are set to rage Download with their fiery, genre-melding anthems.
As It Is are one of the hottest current names in pop punk. Led by Patty Walters, the Brighton four-piece’s popularity has sky rocketed after touring with the previously announced Sum 41 and Sleeping With Sirens. State Champs are ready to rock Donington Park with their energetic and infectious party vibes, whilst Trash Boat will provide amped-up fast paced punk bangers and posi jumps galore. Emo revivalists Moose Blood will deliver their unapologetic heartfelt hooks for the Avalanche Stage masses, whilst pro wrestler Mark Andrew will be making his Download musical debut in his pop punk outfit Junior.
London activists The King Blues are officially back and will be sending the Download crowd wild with anthems like ‘I Got Love’. Swedish alt-rock act Normandie are destined to fill arenas in the future having impressed with their soaring and hugely ambitious sound. Post-hardcore stalwarts Touché Amore have been capturing the hearts and minds of the rock world over the last few years with a leaden mix of serrated guitar leads and frontman Jeremy Bolm’s impassioned screams. They join the incomparable line up, alongside the uplifting and hard-hitting Southern rock sound of The Cadillac Three, South London’s alternative rockers Wallflower, and Grove Street Families; the serious thrash crossover unit who’ll be bringing hardcore hooks and buckets of bounce to Donington Park.
Everyone’s favourite rock chanteuses, The Lounge Kittens are making their grand Download return, bringing with them their unique jazzy spin on metal’s biggest hits. Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics will blow the lid off Download Festival in style, featuring the show-stopping vocals of the former Heaven’s Basement frontman in his new outfit. Leeds three piece Dinosaur Pile-Up are sure to shake things up with their alternative riffs and grunge tinged melodies, whilst Bristol up-and-comers IDLES are set to unleash a torrent of brash and belligerent post-punk on their debut Download appearance.
The Contortionist will deliver an explosive set with expert precision and intensity, igniting a djent spark sure send the Download crowd wild. With a raucous mix of death and doom metal,Venom Prison’s righteous set will put them up there with the Download Festival greats, as will the effervescent rock ‘n’ roll of Fizzy Blood and the unique black metal sounds of She Must Burn.
London-based rock ’n’ roll four-piece M O S E S will have fans revved up with their boisterous and visceral sound. Casey are a tour de force of experimental post-hardcore who’ll be taking to the Download stage for the first time, as will the chunky riffs and stadium-sized choruses of Stone Broken and the London based group who are quickly establishing themselves as one of the hottest modern metal band of the moment; Brutai.
The LaFontaines will bring their socially-aware hip-hop infused rock to Donington, whilst melodic hardcore sounds will come from Cardiff’s Holding Absence and the fist-pounding circle-pit-ready metal of Dead Label. Get ready for a masterclass in head banging anthems from New Zealand hard rock behemoths Like A Storm. They’ll be joined by their fellow countrymenDevilskin, led by the incredible Jennie Skulander.
Lincoln mob Blood Youth, are ready to bring a set of high-octane and visceral melodic hardcore, alongside San Francisco quartet I The Mighty, who are guaranteed to impress with their blend of pop and piercing post hardcore. Hotly tipped as ‘ones-to-watch’, Emo punks Dead! are ready to show Donington what they’re made of, as are Swedish power-metal machine Sabaton and the grunge-tinged alt rock sounds of Red Sun Rising.
Download Festival 2017 Line Up
A DAY TO REMEMBER | AARON BUCHANAN & THE CULT CLASSICS | AEROSMITH | AFI | AIRBOURNE | ALESTORM | ALTER BRIDGE | ANATHEMA | AS IT IS | ASTROID BOYS | BARONESS | BASEMENT | BIFFY CLYRO | BLOOD YOUTH | BRUTAI | CASEY | CLUTCH | COHEED AND CAMBRIA | CREEPER | CROWN THE EMPIRE | DEAD LABEL | DEAD! | DEVILDRIVER | DEVILSKIN | DINOSAUR PILE-UP | EVERY TIME I DIE | EXODUS | FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH | FIZZY BLOOD | FOUR YEAR STRONG | FOZZY | GOD DAMN | GOOD CHARLOTTE | GREYWIND | GROVE STREET FAMILIES | HACKTIVIST | HOLDING ABSENCE | I THE MIGHTY | IDLES | IN FLAMES | ISSUES | JUNIOR | KNUCKLE PUCK | KVELERTAK | LIKE A STORM | LOST SOCIETY | MASTODON | MINISTRY | MOOSE BLOOD | M O S E S | MOTIONLESS IN WHITE | NORMANDIE | NORTHLANE | OF MICE & MEN | OPETH | PIERCE THE VEIL | PROPHETS OF RAGE | RED FANG | RED SUN RISING | ROB ZOMBIE | SABATON | SHE MUST BURN | SIMPLE PLAN | SLAYER | SLEEPING WITH SIRENS | STATE CHAMPS | STEEL PANTHER | STONE BROKEN | SUICIDAL TENDENCIES | SUM 41 | SYSTEM OF A DOWN | THE CADILLAC THREE | THE CHARM THE FURY | THE CONTORTIONIST | THE DEAD DAISIES | THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA | THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN | THE KING BLUES | THE LAFONTAINES | THE LOUNGE KITTENS | THE ONE HUNDRED | THE STORY SO FAR | TOUCHÉ AMORÉ | TRASH BOAT | VENOM PRISON | WAKRAT | WALLFLOWER | WEDNESDAY 13
You can’t deny it, something out there really has it in for Download Festival. It’s the same story every year – burnt for the first two days camping and then incessantly soaked for the rest, it’s like… metal is the music of the devil… or something…
Campers have been steadily pouring in since Wednesday, setting up epic tent-collectives with all manner of décor (bra-bunting is a particular favourite of mine) and it’s set to be a belter of a weekend, even though we’re probably all going home with trench foot and hypothermia. The Village, the hub of the camping area, is home to weird and wonderful acts such as The Wall of Death, The Inflatable Church, The Circus of Horrors, Zorbing and the fire-wielding Area 51. Oh and hilariously British pursuits like Bogan Bingo, a quiz and five-a-side football, if that’s more your speed. Head over there at night for after-hours bands, DJ’s and even catch a movie in the Cinema or laugh your arse off in The Side Splitter comedy tent.
It’s clear Download’s commitment to becoming a bit more of a well-rounded festival is working, the out of hours entertainment, things to do and see and the much improved food options mean a nicer festival experience for all, without taking the emphasis off the music at all. With the now extensive shopping and food outlets you’d better have cash on you this weekend, as despite last years’ ‘breakthrough’ technology claiming to take all the hassle out of on-site payments (which of course did not go to plan) Download have well and truly ditched the idea of RFID tags and have gone over to… er… all normal methods that you can do in the real world.
FRIDAY
Friday sees a dry start and Alien Ant Farm are failing to get anyone interested in anything other than Smooth Criminal, and Babymetal (half an hour late) draw a massive crowd for their J-Pop inspired metal, which is frankly just about the oddest thing ever. They’ve stuck to their goth-loli look and eardrum piercingly high vocals for Gimme Chocolate but actually the new album tracks seem a bit more developed and musically interesting rather than gimmicky. We do wish Herman Lee could have popped up for Road of Resistance, but the two girls down the front who have made a massive effort to dress like the band seem to be loving it, alongside some very big bearded men who appear to know ALL the words.
On the Encore stage, Christian rock band Skillet are killinit (see what I did there?) but the Lemmy/Motorhead tribute video on the main stage is in all honestly a bit lame. We all know Lemmy partied hard, but is it really necessary for people to recount exactly what variety of drug he offered them? Only Brian May appears to talk about him in a painfully honest way, saying “I miss him very badly”. Apart from a stage naming and a tshirt on the merch stand, it’s weirdly unspoken for the most part… maybe it’s all a bit soon for most of the bands.
Grabbing possibly the most English food available for lunch (Duck fat roast potatoes with gravy, followed by apple crumble…) we hit up the absolutely packed Maverick stage for Geordie rockers The Wildhearts who have everyone jumping to I Wanna Go Where The People Go. Over on the main stage we’re treated to a dose of Jonathon Davis’ chicken dance (hold mic, flap arms) as Korn blast out the likes of Coming Undone and Freak On A Leash. The rain is absolutely hammering down now and it kinda fits the grungy nu-metal feel, the arena is full of swamp-people whipping their hair everywhere. Amidst the seriousness of purpose that Korn portray, it’s hard not to giggle at the Lebowski-esque rug that has been laid down to stop Davis stacking it in front of everyone.
Finally it’s on to the main event, and the bedraggled but excited masses have gathered for the ever sinister yet playful German powerhouse that is Rammstein. Running through scores of hits like Sonne, Du Hast, Ich Will and Feuer frei there’s nothing missing from this incredible set. The expected but always insane pyrotechnics just keep coming, with fire breathing face-cages, firework body suits and a giant pair of angel wings, there’s just nothing these guys won’t do for a show.
Entering the arena today it’s obvious some effort has been made in the way of soaking up the sludge, using a ton of hay and woodchips, there’s a much boggier/safer quality to the underfoot feel, but it probably won’t last.
Over in The Kennels area, a queue is already forming for new addition WWE NXT stage, live wrestling shows hosted by Triple H, whilst self-proclaimed Swedish circus freaks Avatar are bringing some life to the main stage. Wearing what I can only describe as resplendent outfits inspired by the Vatican Guard and yelling “Bang your heads English men!” they put on a rowdy first set of the day, and gain a few more followers with their tight riffs and synchronized hairwhipping.
Beartooth’s punky tones soar across the arena to a decent sized crowd for In Between and Black Peaks are totally smashing the Maverick stage. Turbowolf take the baton next yelling “For the next half an hour, this is our home” before tumbling headlong into the likes of Rabbit’s Foot and Solid Gold.
Danko Jones starts out with classic Play The Blues which actually gets kind of a cold reception from the crowd, but soon he’s telling us “…everybody at Download gets to call me… delicious” and saying “I am a whore for that sound you make with your hands” everything starts to get lively. A fan in the front row passes up a flag requesting Sex Change Shake but Danko goes on to play Cadillac instead citing “…it’s the same three chord structure anyway… so this is like, Shake Change Sex”. There is something ridiculously fun about Danko Jones, in an overwhelmingly cheesy way. They are so uncool they’re cool. They’re the Fonz of rock.
Lawmower Deth however, are exactly the kind of godawful rubbish we should (and do) love, this time with an added Brucey Bonus of being joined by… and I can’t believe I’m writing this… Kim Wilde for Kids in America. It could not be more bonkers and everyone LOVED it.
Rival Sons bluesy cali rock has the arena up and dancing with their beers, soaring vocals and a stellar set – we loved closer Keep On Swinging. On the Encore stage Juliette and the Licks hit hard with Hot Kiss and Credence Clearwater Revival cover Proud Mary, J-Lew is just as enigmatic on stage as on screen. Megadeth are joined on stage by Nikki Sixx for Anarchy in the UK before Nikki steps out with his own band Sixx: AM for a completely different sound. It’s a strong set and a hell of a lot of people have come out to watch. Despite the sea of hair and black tshirts this weekend, it’s clear the pop-punk kids have been hiding in plain sight as the hoarde heads towards the Maverick stage for rowdy Welsh band Neck Deep, but they aren’t even going to win Taffy of the day with Skindred tearing it up over on the Encore stage. Despite the now constant rain, Skindred have drawn a huge crowd for their completely-weird-but-totally-works reggae-metal and the whole crowd is getting down and dirty for Doom Riff and Pressure. With an unsolicited play of Bieber’s ‘Sorry’ mixed into Trouble, they’ve singlehandedly outlined exactly which people we should push in the mud later, but not to worry as there’s an epic and extremely wet swirling of tshirts for Warning. We love a bit of a Newport Helicopter we do.
The rain is now unashamedly heavy and regardless of the plastic ponchos, raincoats and really fucking annoying golf umbrellas, pretty much everyone is soaked through. The crowd is built right up the main stage hill and the anticipation is palpable. Fan or not, there’s no denying that seeing Black Sabbath on their last ever tour (no really, it will be the last this time… right?) is pretty special and important. Though it’s clear throughout the set that Ozzy’s voice isn’t the best (was it ever?) the songs are heavy and hit the nerve of nostalgia so hard. Snowblind, War Pigs, Iron Man and Paranoid are obvious highlights, but no less great because of it. With the downpour drastically thinning the crowd, the views are spectacular and it’s the kind of closing show you hope for – full of hits, none of the new stuff. They will be missed.
With the early morning news that GHOST have cancelled their set today and nightmarish state of the main arena (seriously, it’s the kind of goop bodies arise from in the Walking Dead) today’s bands have to compete with the drowned-rat temperament of all those who’ve camped. Luckily there’s crepes for breakfast, a champagne tent and… hold up, what? I’m down with crumble but there’s no place for Moët in Metal. Come on.
Looking about as country as you can get, Whiskey Myers ease us in gently with Early Morning Shakes on the Encore stage before Amon Amarth give us growly Viking battle tunes from their dragon longship style stage set-up and giant fire canons. It’s even more awesome than it sounds, honestly. Whiplash back to bluesy rock with an inexplicably American sound for Glasgow vocalist Phil Campbell and The Temperance Movement. It’s an unrelentingly great set with a few tracks from the new album but finishing up with Ain’t No Telling from their first, we’re glad to see them back at Download.
On the Maverick stage, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are, well, doing what they do. There’s a huge mosh pit and lots of people seem to be enjoying themselves, but lots of other people seem to be screwing their noses up and walking away. So we head on over to the main stage for the eponymous Halestorm who have grabbed a massive crowd and are belting out Amen, I Am The Fire and I Miss The Misery. There’s no doubting Lzzy Hale’s vocal prowess but there’s something very Nickelback about them, massively produced and clean, it’s hard to put your finger on it.
Shinedown have that crowd-participation approach that we Brits love to hate, like panto – they want us to jump, so at first we do it sarcastically… then again to reinforce the joke… before you know it everyone is pogoing like a complete tosspot to a band they don’t even really like. Either we’re a very very susceptible nation, or Shinedown are actually doing a good job. I’ve no idea at this point. Delain on the Encore stage have drawn all the raven haired goth girls for a good old headbang but there’s a bit of power missing behind it all. On the Maverick stage Electric Wizard are heavy in a way that makes your stomach drop but it's Gojira who really make our skin crawl, in the best kind of way.
Disturbed are actually forcing joy out of otherwise non-fans today with the likes of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence – a stalwart of their tour repertoire. In an epic hit-to-hit continuous play we get; U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For with Lzzy Hale, The Who’s Baba O’Riley with Blaze Bayley and RATM’s Killing In The Name with Benjamin Burnley of Breaking Benjamin. Where else are you gonna see that kind of mash up? Let’s be honest though, we’re all waiting for Down With The Sickness, and Disturbed give it to us with a cry of “I think it’s apparent the entire United Kingdom has been infected with sickness…”
Nightwish are plagued from the off with the heaviest downpour of the weekend but that’s never done anything to quiet this truly epic band before. Lords of the symphonic circuit, Nightwish have been the subject of more drama than any other band, public shamings and bootings aside – they seem to have bounced back each time. In Floor Jansen they’ve found a vocalist capable of traversing Tarja Turunen’s operatic realm and the rock sound they’ve been moving steadily towards over the last few albums, and she hits the stage dressed like a Valkyrie, which I guess, is the point really. With giant bursts of fire from stage canons, Nightwish (and the now extraordinarily drenched fans) power through some of the strongest numbers of the entire weekend. Nemo’s the one everyone has been waiting for, and though it will never quite be the same without Tarja, it packs a punch and remains a fan favourite. It seems Download loves Nightwish, no matter who’s fronting. Especially that dude vogue-ing the shit out of it at the back.
Headlining the Maverick stage Saxon get more than they bargained for – the tent is bursting at its seams with the soggy and groggy, warming themselves up for Maiden with the Yorkshire boys. 747 (Strangers in the Night) is melodic-shreddingly amazing, And The Bands Played On is the perfect description of what Saxon seem to intend to do… forever… and Wheels of Steel has every single person singing along. Biff’s voice and determination is as strong as ever.
As is typical of Sunday headliners at Download, there is very little crossover of other stages, and Iron Maiden also joining us a little later than intended means the arena is absolutely COVERED in bodies. Thankfully the rain has stopped just in time for the screens to switch over to Eddie TV and Bruce Dickinson to emerge from centre stage for If Eternity Should Fail. Through a Book Of Souls heavy set we are well and truly smacked with the fact that Bruce’s throat cancer surgery has done nothing to dull his vocals or his enthusiasm, he races the stage with the same wild abandon he has always had. In the wake of Black Sabbath’s ending, it’s sort of comforting to know that Maiden have no plans to quit any time soon. Hell, they just got a new plane.
Old favorites The Trooper, Hallowed Be Thy Name and Fear Of The Dark are every bit as heart-stoppingly brilliant as we’ve come to expect, the stage sets and animatronics just can’t be rivaled. With an epic encore of The Number Of The Beast, Blood Brothers and Wasted Years, Maiden came, saw, conquered. With a long speech regarding this weekend’s tragic events in Orlando, an incredible set and more energy than any one of us can muster after three days in a field – Bruce may as well have done an actual mic drop.
So what to make of Download 2016? As always controversy over headliners is rife for this sort of festival. With a genre so diverse, with arguably warring factions – there’s always going to be something you love, and something you hate. That’s kind of the point right? If you loved the whole lineup everything would clash. If you hated the whole lineup, you wouldn’t buy a ticket. This year, Download seemed to have secured bands from a whole heap of genres without one heavily dominating the others and let’s be honest – seeing Rammstein, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden on the same bill is really pretty incredible when you think about it. But who the hell is going to top this? Roll on DL2017’s announcements and the ensuing forum arguments we will inevitably be part of…
Despite a day of heavy downpours over a now very boggy Donington Park (yes yes, we’ve heard the monikers… Drownload… Downpour Festival…), thousands of expectant faces are turned towards the main stage for tonight’s headliner – German heavy metal powerhouse, Rammstein. There’s nothing quite like a side of S&M or pyrotechnics alongside learning how to count to vier whilst headbanging, and Rammstein promise a whole lot more than just their stage show.
As a cinematic countdown begins, video screens send a message “Enjoy the show, please do not be preoccupied with recording it” and instantly Go-Pro’s are thrust into the air on ridiculous, view-ruining monopods. I mean come on, what the hell are you actually going to do with that footage man?
Regardless of the moronathon, Rammstein smash their way onstage as only they can – with giant showoff billowing clouds of pink smoke, which when combined with the ongoing drizzle turns quickly into a spatter of blood on anyone wearing lighter than black outfits. First up new song Ramm 4 sees giant firework laden platforms lowering guitarists Kruspe and Landers onto the stage and the always enigmatic frontman Till Lindemann emerges in a childcatcher-esque outfit and his patent white painted face.
The stage look for Rammstein has always been industrial but this time steps over into the cyborg realm with giant stage-high light bars which respond to the band’s instruments. Reise, Reise is absolutely gut churningly heavy, and Till sports a very fetching duffel coat over his flash-bang adorned waistcoat which explodes, quite obviously right in his face. How this band have not sustained more serious pyrotechnic related injuries I’ll never know.
The electronic intro bleeps for Feuer Frei raise an enormouse guttural roar from the crowd, and there is no shortage of actual fire alongside the music, their signature flamethrowing face cages are everything Batman’s Bane wishes he was. Keyboardist/freak on a leash Lorenz is hastily shoved into a box after being dragged around the floor, emerging later in an extremely spangly sequined suit to walk off his horrors on a treadmill whilst Till wields a giant flaming arc that sort of looks like a crossbow. You really couldn’t make it up. A crackly speaker on the right side of the stage threatens to dull Mein Hertz Brennt but as Till’s heart (flare) lights up, every single person in the arena is singing their lungs raw. Following up with Links 2, 3, 4 this is shaping up to be a stellar performance from Rammstein.
Guitar flamethrowers, fireballs erupting from the sound tent in the middle of the crowd and zip-wire fireworks streaking back and forth – every time you think you’ve seen it all, Rammstein amp it up a little more. Ich Will has everyone yelling back the required replies ‘Wir hören dich’ and so on, Du Hast is heavier than a heavy thing and Depeche Mode cover Stripped just couldn’t sound more seedy than in a German accent.
For the Encore, we are treated to the completely epic Sonne followed by an acoustic Ohne Dich but it’s Till’s ascension into angel-dom that is the real icing on this weird and wonderful cake. Giant metal wings loaded with white sparking fireworks lift Till into the air above the stage floor for Engel and it is motherlovin’ glorious. Leaving us with a brief “Thank you. Danke schoen, you’re amazing” the stage erupts in a backdrop of massive rocket fireworks and the arena is engulfed in smoke. There’s nothing more to say except that Rammstein are arguably one of the best metal acts of our time and here’s hoping they don’t leave it too long before returning with even more incredible shows.
