Download Festival - Page 7 of 9 - Summer Festival Guide

Download Festival 2013 – Sunday Review

November 8, 2018June 23, 2013 by Anna Hyams

A drier Sunday sees festival goers lounging on the hillside whilst watching the writhing madness that is the mosh pits at Five Finger Death Punch, and wassailing with Swedish melodic metallers – Amon Amarth, who play aboard their on stage Viking longship, to a sea of fans’ windmilling hair and guttural yells.

Stone Sour pull off a powerful set to a packed arena with the likes of ‘Say You’ll Haunt Me’ and ‘Mission Statement’. With the words “We are in England, the home of heavy metal. This is where it all started. There’s one band that we all owe our allegiance to… Black Sabbath. This is dedicated to them” they proceed to play a very Stone Sour cover of ‘Children of the Grave’ and frontman Corey Taylor goes on to perform second cover Alice In Chains’ ‘Nutshell’ as a solo. Yelling “I’m going to go on record and say this country is my favourite in the fucking world” Corey gains a roar of respect from the crowd, however he (and countless unfortunate others) cop an eyeful of the buck-naked dude standing atop his mate’s shoulders for much of the second half of the set.

Over on the second stage something odd is occurring, my first encounter with what I can only describe as Papal-Metal, comes at the hands of Swedish eccentrics Ghost. Dressed in cardinal’s robes and misfits style skeleton paint, frontman Papa Emeritus II has a much higher/softer rock vocal than you expect, and the ‘Nameless Ghouls’ (read: rest of the band, dressed in black robes) do a decent job with ‘Year Zero’ and ‘Ritual’ to a pretty large crowd.

Following them, the second stage sees a sudden influx of bodies in preparation for the return of Aussie icons Airbourne, a band who last time they performed were put in the naughty corner for frontman Joel O'Keefe’s rock and roll, rigging-scaling action. Smoke cannons, energetic hopping around and some proper good old windmilling are the mainstay of Airbourne’s performance, and a quick “You’re a fucking sight for sore eyes Donington, it’s great to be back in the U fucking K” puts everyone immediately on side. Joel foregoes the death-defying stunts this year and instead legs it into the crowd with his guitar, meeting fans, playing, and just generally having a nice time for ‘Raise The Flag’. After getting back on stage, the crowd is treated to ‘Live it Up’ and ‘Runnin’ Wild’ with a bit of good old synchronised headbanging.

A much anticipated 30 Seconds to Mars are giving the female festival population ovarian tingles, as frontman Jared Leto (widely enjoyed for purely shallow reasons) turns his wailing on the busy arena. Four guys in coloured balaclavas are for some unknown reason, employed to bang drums steadily behind the band a la Blue Man Group, but much less interesting, and Leto’s inane comments (particularly the weird “We are forty seconds to mars”… we all heard that right?!) are getting a bit hard to swallow. Calling out “You, you in the blue hat and the Cannibal Corpse tshirt, you’re just looking at your dick… This guy is gonna lead the jump for us” Leto continues to make an ass of himself. Dear Jared Leto, despite your penchant for odd outfits and your strange ideas about fan-prizes (see “win a night in my bed” no, really) I actually don’t *hate* the way you sound, but come on… if there’s a guy at your show in a Cannibal Corpse tshirt, he’s either just securing his spot for Rammstein later or appeasing a teenage girl. Take the hint. After arrogantly announcing a forthcoming UK tour (the entire list of dates and locations… *sigh*) and pulling a load of screaming hormonal girls on stage, they close out with ‘The Kill (Bury Me’, ‘Kings and Queens’ and ‘Up in the Air’, to the cheers of all those thoroughly annoyed at having witnessed it.

During the stage-setting break the last few brave souls hit the zipline to the terrifying sight of a crowd gearing up for their descent, with a host of bottles and other miscellaneous missiles to hurl at the unfortunate victims – it makes for interesting sport/entertainment as we wait.

Rammstein hit Donington with everything they’ve got, showcasing their heavy style amidst a plethora of flaming devices from ‘2, 3, 4, Links’ and ‘Du Hast’ to ‘Ich Will’ and ‘Sonne’. Fans are treated to a spectacular show, including flamethrowers, fireworks, bondage and S&M alongside anthemic hits, it’s the show Download Festival has been waiting years for and they certainly do it justice (see the full review for complete details). Closing the night and the festival with the comedic and fairly gross, ‘Pussy’ and a foam-spraying giant penis-cannon, flanked by ticker-tape explosions, it’s been a long time coming (excuse the pun…) but Rammstein know how to put on an epic performance, this has been one extraordinary night for Download Festival and for the history of Donington Park. Who knows what to expect next year…

Download Festival 2013 – Saturday Review

June 10, 2020June 22, 2013 by Anna Hyams

Arriving in the arena to a sudden and torrential downpour, flapping around trying to get crap plastic ponchos on whilst simultaneously attempting to crouch over the tops of your wellies to avoid trench-foot, wasn’t exactly a joyful experience, but thankfully the rain abated as we queued for a bottle (and special edition cup) of Iron Maiden Trooper beer. Saturday is the day of unfortunate overlaps, a lineup of incredible acts spread across stages so wide that you can’t hope to catch them all, so we resign ourselves to the wishlist and hope to catch others another year.

Starting with classic Brit-rock UFO take to the mainstage for some shredding good fun, and Mastodon do a decent job of pepping up the squelchy audience with ‘Blood and Thunder’ and ‘Oblivion’, but it’s Alice In Chains who really power up, touting their signature grunge doom and gloom. ‘Down in a Hole’ and ‘Check My Brain’ stand out, but the whole set is superb and radiates a sort of nonchalant, effortless aura of cool. On the tiny Jagermeister stage, Buffalo Summer’s funked up southern rock ‘Typhoid Mary’ is getting the small but jolly crowd up and jigging about, and Download repeat offenders Motörhead are, well, EXACTLY the same as always. Despite Lemmy’s stuck record “We are Motörhead and we play rock and roll” lead in, and ‘Everything louder than everything else’ tshirts that have only had a colour update, it is a formula that works, and ‘Ace of Spades’ is as good a mosh-pit starter as it always has been.

Taiwanese metalcore kids Chthonic are as weird as ever, but lady bassist Doris Yeh is definitely gaining a LOT of new fans as the band ramp up the volume and she pulls a very metal pout… however, on the main stage Queens Of The Stone Age aren’t really living up to the hype. The sound is dead, the crowd looks bored and the quips just aren’t that funny – particularly the one about ‘No One Knows’ being a song to get laid to. I’m sure Barry White is turning in his grave. After their departure, the arena heads into instant turmoil as people rush to toilets, bars and food carts whilst the stage is set up for Iron Maiden’s prop heavy show. Bands we’d have liked to see today but missed due to there being TOO MUCH to see were, punk legends Lit, rock royalty Thunder, Norwegians Kvelertak and fellow headliners The Hives and Enter Shikari. *sigh* we just hope Download books them all again. Please.

Iron Maiden begin the evenings shenanigans with an actual Spitfire flyby. Yep, that’s right – they managed to get a Spitfire to thunder up from behind the main stage and fly over a stunned crowd. If you can tell me a band who’ve gone further for their fans, feel free to comment. A stunning set with hits ‘Fear of the Dark, ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’, ‘The Trooper’ and ‘Aces High’ as well as a raft of other Maiden classics and giant moving Eddies, makes for a spectacular night (read the complete Maiden review for more details) that will stick in our memories forever.

Download Festival 2013 – Friday Review

June 10, 2020June 19, 2013 by Anna Hyams

Avid weather watching and ultimate festival preparation was indeed necessary for this year’s Download Festival at the legendary Donington Racetrack, as the masses were simultaneously sunburnt and soaked, we thank the grand old British climate for a mostly acceptable atmosphere in which to rock. In it’s eleventh year, Download Festival draws in the metal hordes, clad in anything black, denim, ripped and studded, for a weekend of extraordinary music and warm beer.

Heading into the arena on Friday, the familiar sights and smells wash over us (portaloos, expensive burgers, eau de camping) with one particular very obvious addition – the zipline. Even at this time people are queuing up to spend fifteen smackers for thirty seconds of extreme wedgie, it’s baffling. I suppose the view is good from up there though. At the Zippo Encore Stage nearest the arena entrance, legendary hard-rocker heroes Uriah Heep draw an absolutely massive crowd and play a storming set that would have you think you’re at the ’82 heyday Monsters of Rock, not 2013 Download. Screaming “Where were you back in nineteen seventy seven?” frontman Mick Box smiles at the blank stares of all those who weren’t born yet, and pushes on with ‘Gypsy’ and some serious shredding. Despite the very recent and death of bassist Trevor Bolder, the band put on a great show and leave the stage with an outtro of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ just to cement their homegrown status.

Over on the main stage, Yorkshire metalcore kids Asking Alexandria spin damp fans in the rain into a frenzy, whilst London based power metal heavyweights Dragonforce are beset with shoddy sound for the first few songs. Despite this they ride rambunctiously through ‘Through the Fire and Flames’ and new track ‘Cry Thunder’ is punchy enough (and almost ironic enough, in the current conditions) to gain instant earworm status. Herman Li’s frankly beautiful hair blows in the wind as he and Sam Totman shred harmoniously in their distinctive style and the crowd joins in for the chorus. Main stage emotions are running high as Papa Roach create circle-pits and drive the hits ‘… To Be Loved’ and ‘Last Resort’, and the second stage area is awash with Swedish flags for Stockholm rockers Europe. After a hugely entertaining and musically engaging set, the inevitable party-piece ‘The Final Countdown’ is final-ly rolled out, to which the crowd goes wild. It’s more comedy than it is song now, but boy do we Brits love a good cheesy anthem.

Korn, though intensely self-aware and at times quite comical, are actually rather good and manage to draw the largest crowd of the daytime. Head honcho Jonathan Davis’ looks like he’s having a fit whilst dancing/headbanging through ‘Blind’ and ‘Falling Away From Me’, but it’s ‘Coming Undone’ that really gets the audience thrashing. An unnecessary ten minute bagpipe interval (of which Davis really only plays a few notes, it’s like… if Deep Purple went highlander…) leaves a lot of confused faces, and more than a few people groan when the dubstep part hits, however, fan favourite ‘Freak On A Leash’ brings them back.

3 Doors Down do a sterling job making the afternoon light with their particular brand of American Rock, with a fun cover of Megadeth’s ‘Symphony of Destruction’ and Gypsy Punk crazies Gogol Bordello have everyone up and skanking to their weird and wonderful accordion packed sound, also rainbow stripes don’t really make a balaclava any less menacing, but we appreciate the oddity of it.

Second stage headliners Black Stone Cherry, here on merit of a forum-wide plea from fans, play an absolutely stunning set with favourites from the first three albums, and a first ever sneak peek at brand spanking new material from their studio work (see headline review for full details). Main stage masked-bandit headliners Slipknot have ditched the red boiler suits for white (much to the dismay of die hard fans who’ve spend the whole day perfecting their costumes) but other than that, not much is different from their 2009 Download appearance, except that this year they play without late bassist Paul Grey and play ‘Duality’ in tribute to him (the 2009 Download Festival show was his last appearance). Fans are fans though, and twice during the wild night, Corey Taylor called to stop the performance due to crowd surges, yelling “No-one is getting hurt on my watch, I'm not going to let that happen to my family”. Over the two hour set, hits ‘Wait and Bleed’ and ‘Psychosocial’ make for rowdy moshpits and after an extra long pause before the encore, ‘People = Shit’ and ‘Surfacing’ complete the show.

Photo courtesy of Download Festival

Download Festival 2013 Review – Sunday – Rammstein

November 8, 2018June 17, 2013 by Anna Hyams

With a stage-wide curtain keeping the set secret, and Sunday’s sunshine dwindling into the night, the excitement in the air is almost palpable for final headliner Rammstein. The Berlin industrial metal heavyweights have been long awaited by Download-goers and tonight the arena is Ramm-packed with eager fans.

The screens turn to black, the curtain drops and Rammstein explode onto the stage, with frontman Till Lindemann being ceremoniously lowered on a firework wreathed platform from the ceiling. Whilst Lindemann’s menacing grin is enough to spark fear in the hearts of many, his pink fluffy jacket (which sort of looks like a bloody Wampa skin…) is just giggle-worthy, but the massive cobweb-like stage set and enormous drum-lights behind make for an impressive backdrop.

Without further ado the band get right down to business, ‘Keine Lust’ and ‘Sehnsucht’ get the crowd warmed up, with the enigmatic frontman maniacally wielding flaming poi, but it’s ‘Feuer Frei!’ that pushes the circle-pits into overdrive with raw firepower, quite literally as the stage lights up with fire cannons. Keyboard-jockey Christian "Flake" Lorenz, in a bejewelled suit, marches along on a rotating treadmill as he plays – which whilst mildly entertaining just doesn’t cut the mustard when you’ve seen *that* OKGO video, but the night is young…

Drawn from real-life events ‘Mein Teil’ (The Meiwes Case) and ‘Wiener Blut’ (The Fritzl case) are peppered with sadomasochistic overtones, and later ‘Buch Dich’ sees Lindemann don S&M gear to roleplay anal sex with an assless-chaps-wearing bondage Lorenze, on a rising platform. From the platform, Lindemann proceeds to spray the crowd with ‘ejaculate’ (clever/gross hose attached to inside of trousers, activated through the platform), screaming girls seen rubbing it into their hair and chests: shame on you – your mothers could see this on tv, *wink*.

A giant cauldron containing Lorenze, set alight by a bloodied-chef-costumed, flamethrower brandishing Lindemann, Bane-esque face cages which also shoot fire, guitars that shoot fire, fire cannons, flaming-spinning fire bow, a man on fire… it’s safe to say the German metallers just bloody love fire, and so do the crowd. ‘2, 3, 4 Links’ and ‘Du Hast’ are yelled simultaneously by the entire arena, with fireworks travelling along cables across the crowd to the sound tent and back to an explosive finale and the stage lighting up in a cloud of sparks. ‘Ich Will’ is the real show-stopper with every hand in the air and Lindemann’s trademark low-growl calling out “Thank you very very, very much. Danke schön, we are RAMMSTEIN” before leaving the stage.

After a brief break and a rather pretty acoustic ‘Mein Herz Brennt’ it’s back into heavy for the epic ‘Sonne’ and the band close out this extraordinary show with the comedic ‘Pussy’. As Lindemann rocks up with a giant penis-shaped foam cannon and sprays it into the crowd, completely covering the front facing security staff (who were doing a sterling job of looking like they weren’t at all bothered about being ceremoniously covered in fake spunk…) the ticker tape bombs detonate, covering the entire stage. Kneeling superman-style, the band show their appreciation for the rowdy Download crowd with a final “You are amazing, we love you, thank you very much”, and it’s over. Rammstein at Download 2013 were definitely a crowning moment in the festival’s history, and it has been more than worth the wait.

Download Festival 2013 – Iron Maiden Review

November 8, 2018June 16, 2013 by Anna Hyams

If you weren't previously assured of Iron Maiden's God status in the world of metal, there's absolutely no denying it now. Saturday night at Download, we're standing in a soggy field, shoulder to shoulder, shivering in anticipation… as a Spitfire – yes, a SPITFIRE, soars up from behind the main stage. As the metal horns are thrust up to the sky, the aircraft banks and continues the flyby over a stunned crowd, and the band burst on stage for 'Moonchild'. Now THAT's an entrance.

Their ice-berg styled gangways make for Bruce's personal runway as he races about during 'Can I Play With Madness', wearing a sparkly clockwork-covered tailcoat. It's definitely a step up from the swamp-thing outfit we witnessed last time. Despite a bit of wavering sound, 'The Prisoner' (complete with a clip from the 1967 tv series) warmed up for the arena-shaking '2 Minutes To Midnight', with extreme crowd participation.

The driving wind in the first half of the set was fairly irritating, and probably worse behind the sound tent, definitely nowhere near as unfortunate as befallen by Metallica in 2012 – but did pick up for 'Afraid To Shoot Strangers' and 'The Trooper' with Bruce donning his traditional red 'Light Brigade' uniform and giant Union Flag. Bruce jokes "Welcome to Monsters of Rock '88" to which the five guys standing next to us yell "We were there!!" and certainly, Maiden are a band that people come back time and time again for. Giggling "…back then we couldn't blow things up, or use fire… Or a Battle of Britain Memorial Spitfire…" Bruce thanks RAF Coningsby for the loan, and takes a swig of signature Trooper Beer.

'The Number of The Beast' (with giant fire canons and a flame-eyed Beast) and 'Run To The Hills' (including frontier Eddie wielding a sword at band-members) are screamed at deafening levels by the crowd around us… Ok ok, it was us too… and a giant grimacing Eddie looming over the stage is revealed for 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'.

After a huge instrumental and some well-timed fireworks, the iconic refrain of 'Fear of the Dark' is played out to a chorus of 'woooaaahhh-ing' fans. Yes it's traditional, Yes we've seen it before. Does it mean that hearing ninety thousand people locked in song with a single string of notes is any less impressive? No. Nothing makes your breath catch like looking back at the sea of lighters waving in the dark, it's the stuff ambitions are forged from, and as Bruce drops "a little anxious, in Donington Park" the young lad in front of us turns to his mum and says "This is the best thing I've ever heard" it brings me right back to the time I first saw Maiden.

An enormous Eddie holding a writhing heart-type-beast for 'Iron Maiden' has his head lit on fire before the band depart for a short break for the encore, where we finally get to hear 'Aces High', 'The Evil That Men Do' and 'Running Free', though Bruce was less 'running-free' than 'skipping-like-a-spring-lamb-free'…

The band thank everyone for a great night, and having tantalised us with the announcement of an O2 show later in the year, it's clear they're leaving everyone on a high. As the glassy eyes of people who've just witnessed something special, turn toward the exits, we are happily singing along with 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life', as only British festival-goers – who've spent two days being sunburnt and rained on, can truly appreciate. Iron Maiden were everything they should be and more, gaining a whole new generation of fans in one night.

Download Festival 2013 Friday Review

November 8, 2018June 15, 2013 by Anna Hyams

After a confused (yet bloody typical) day of showers, blazing sunshine, bare bodies, full waterproofs and teeth-chattering cold, the rain abated for the start of my choice of headliner – Zippo Encore stage's American rock'n'roll heroes, Black Stone Cherry.

As self-proclaimed Download Darlings, this is a fourth return but their first go at a headline slot here at Donington, as requested by the forum-going public. It's a proper Cinderella story, despite not having a new album out or any tours planned (prerequisites for booking festival slots generally) BSC are here on the back of some serious fan-fare. Hailing from the not-so-deep south (read: Kentucky) these good country boys are Lynyrd Skynyrd with better riffs, and less blue-collar/redneck jokes.

With three already stellar albums greedily devoured by UK fans over the last few years, it was inevitable that the bustling arena was going to be a good testing ground for new material and a fun soundboard for old, and as BSC drop right into 'Maybe Someday' the crowd yells right along as if the main stage (and Slipknot) don't even exist. The apt refrain "But for now I've got to rock and roll" sets the tone for the rest of the set, with fan favourite 'Blind Man' and brand-spanking-new (seriously, this is it's first ever outing from the studio) 'Me and Mary Jane' which is an immediate ear-worm.

The unfortunate opening line of 'Rain Wizard' "Here comes the rain" does indeed seem to open the heavens, but a heartfelt 'Things My Father Said', with the crowd singing the entire first verse back to homesick frontman Chris Robertson, who is for the first time away from his baby son, brings a tear to his eye.

'White Trash Millionaire' and 'Soul Creek' go down a storm, almost literally as by now it is widdling it down most ungraciously. Drummer John Fred Young's unruly mane is flapping wildly as he smashes about in a manner not unlike Animal of The Muppets, but his quick solo is a reminder that he's a technical whizz as well as a solid rock beat, and Robertson tells us how they may be four guys from Kentucky, but the heart of this band is in the UK, because "nowhere else in the world would people stand for an hour in the pissing rain to see [them]". No-one had the heart to tell him standing in the pissing rain is practically a national passtime of ours, but we certainly appreciated the compliment.

After a raucous 'Blame it on the Boom Boom', they close out with first album hit 'Lonely Train' and leave the crowd yelling for more. As the stage lights die, the sound of Slipknot on the main stage floods back into our ears but they could have been a million miles away during Black Stone Cherry's extraordinary set.

DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL: One week to go! New acts announced

June 10, 2020June 7, 2013 by Anna Hyams

With ONLY ONE WEEK TO GO, Download Festival announces a further 10 bands for the weekend as well of details of its on site activities and the return of the mighty Download FM powered by TeamRock. There’s still chance to get your ticket for the biggest weekend in the rock and metal calendar, visit www.downloadfestival.co.uk now for more information.

Joining the lineup are I Am I, fronted by former Dragonforce singer ZP Theart, Welsh rockers Falling With Style, three-piece Press To Meco, Leicester locals Surrender The Coast, Essex rockers Searching Alaska, Southampton group Forever Can Wait, Blackburn band Sky Valley Mistress, Scottish rockers Semper Fi and Akord, and energetic four piece rock/punk band New Killer Shoes.

This year’s Download Village entertainment is set to be bigger and better than ever as the Doghouse returns with its club night hosted by Revolution, Liverpool’s biggest rock night. Revolution’s Doghouse Residency is three nights of crazy, debauched and wild theme parties with a different theme each night. Revolution DJs will be slamming a mix of metal, punk and hardcore into the early hours Friday-Sunday, joined by some very special guests. Themes include Hawaiian Beach Party, Pirates of The Doghouse Party and the Download Zombie Apocalypse Party. Further information can be found at facebook.com/revolutionrocksliverpool.

The comedy tent also returns on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 June, with the Silent Arena taking over the tent for weekend activities from Friday 14-16 June. If villagers aren’t too busy buying some vintage merch or limited edition t-shirts, they can snuggle up at the Download Cinema, located in a Village corner.

For the first time Download Festival will this year have a zip line in the arena. Festival goers can zip across the sky taking in an adrenalin filled aerial view of the Donignton site. The first 12 people in the queue each day will receive a discounted price of £10 instead of the usual £15.

Download Festival are also excited to announce the return of the ever rocking Download Radio powered by TeamRock, broadcasting on 87.7FM across the Donington site, and online at www.DownloadFM.co.uk. Requests can be made via twitter @DOWNLOADFM & by email to [email protected].

TeamRock Radio will launch at Download Festival on Sunday 16 June at the unconventional time of 11.58pm, with Iron Maiden’s iconic song from the band’s fifth album, ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ reinforcing its very different approach to broadcasting. Once the festival ends, TeamRock Radio will be born and directly after spinning the Iron Maiden classic to open the station they will broadcast The Best Of Download 2013, a retrospective show that tells the story of their years festival from the moment the gates open until the final act play their last chord.

Vodafone VIP is once again giving all our UK customers unrivalled experiences at some of Britain’s best festivals this summer, along with other great events. The Vodafone VIP Recharge Truck will return to Download Festival in 2013, helping customers ensure their mobile phone is charged throughout the festival weekend. Customers can also enjoy an unrivalled view of all the performances on the main stage by visiting the Vodafone VIP Viewing Platform. Also, don’t forget to download the official 2013 Download Festival app – powered by Vodafone.

Pepsi Max is proud to be the Official Cola partner of Download. Follow them on Twitter @PepsiMaxUK to find out about the Pepsi MAX stage and how they’ll be Maxing your festival experience. #maxmusic

The Red Bull Studios Live stage focuses on showcasing new and emerging talent. Eight unsigned bands also join the diverse line-up having earned their spot through the Red Bull Studios Live stage at Download opportunity.

Zippo are also ready to rock Download for a 3^rd year. Head over to the Zippo Encore Area for competitions like the hugely popular ‘Zippo Custom’ that allows you to design your own Zippo lighter, side-of-stage tickets up for grabs, face painting and lots more. You will also be able to purchase Zippo lighters, including the cool Download limited edition, perfect to hold up high during your favourite performances to create the ultimate Zippo Encore moment with your mates.

Jägermeister is bringing its brand new ‘Deep Freeze’ interactive bar experience to Download this summer. This unique activation is 50 square metres and boasts a 10 metre bar, maze, interactive photo wall, VIP area, free Wi-Fi and an incredible ‘Ice Bar’ which is chilled down to -10°C. The Jägermeister stage will also feature as the acoustic stage at Download.

A limited amount of tickets are still available for Download 2013. Visit www.downloadfestival.co.uk now to purchase yours.

FINAL BANDS ANNOUNCED TO PLAY THE RED BULL STUDIOS LIVE AT DOWNLOAD

November 18, 2018May 29, 2013 by Anna Hyams

On Friday 25 May eight young bands from all over the country gained a once in a lifetime chance to play live at Download festival this June with the Red Bull Studios live at Download opportunity. Six bands with the highest online votes from the public were picked, whilst two were chosen by the judges as wildcards. Searching Alaska from Essex, Akord from Grampian, Semperfi from Aberdeen, Surrender The Coast from Leicester and Forever Can Wait from Ponypridd were all chosen by public vote. Press To Meco from Horsham/Croydon and Sky Valley Mistress from Manchester/Lancashire were added to the Download bill by the judges.

The judges were Kerrang Radio presenter Katie P, Rock Sound magazine editor Ben Patashnik, Red Bull Records label manager and music industry aficionado Angie Somerside, plus hyped rock band and Download Festival veterans Don Broco.

A huge 700 bands entered in total. The public then voted and 100 of these went through to the judging panel who handpicked 15 they felt showed most potential. Those 15 undertook a professional studio experience in London at Red Bull Studios which included expert mentoring, professional photos and recording a live track in the state-of-the-art studio. Short films of each of the bands performances were put online and the public voted for six of the final eight.

The final eight bands will play the Red Bull Studios stages at Download festival 14-16th June, to crowds of thousands.

Thunder, Devin Townsend and more added to Download Festival

November 18, 2018April 29, 2013 by Summer Festival Guide

Download Festival continues to score out of the park with the announcement that a further 25 acts have been added to this year’s line up, including Thunder, Kvelertak, Devin Townsend and We Are The Ocean.

Headlined by Slipknot, Iron Maiden and Rammstein, Download Festival takes place 14-16 June 2013 in Donington Park. Weekend and day tickets are available at www.downloadfestival.co.uk.

Having last played Download as one of festival promoter Andy Copping’s ‘secret acts’ in 2009, classic rock favourites Thunder will be returning to Donington soil on the Saturday – hopefully guitarist/singer Luke Morley will have recovered from riding 161 miles on a pedal bike from London to Donington as part of the “Heavy Metal Truants” charity bike ride organized by Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood! For more information about Heavy Metal Truants go to www.heavymetaltruants.com.

Following their Download debut in 2011, hardcore Norwegian punkers Kvelertak will be back with a vengeance to perform tracks from their new album Meir. The inimitable Devin Townsend will also be back at Download, this time taking it down a notch to perform on the acoustic Jagermeister stage. Also confirmed for this year’s Download with a wealth of new material to please the crowds at the Jagermeister stage will be Essex four-piece We Are The Ocean.

No stranger to Download, London’s Zico Chain are confirmed for the Friday, fresh of the back of their support slot on Steve Harris’ solo tour. Hot new metal act Blood Command – another Norwegian export – will be looking forward to showcasing their live act this year. Blending stoner metal and garage rock, Black Moth are confirmed for the Saturday, as are hard riffers The Wild Lies.

New London punk band The Howling are confirmed, alongside local Birmingham pop-punkers Page 44 and the fierce Wounds.

The acoustic Jagermeister Stage at Download is a great chance to catch up and coming rock acts as well as stripped down performances from acts from the other stages over the weekend. In addition to Devin Townsend and We Are The Ocean, the Jagermeister stage will see the following acts: Hear Kitty Kitty, Toseland, Rob Lynch, Acoustic TV, Straight Lines, Fahran, The Killing Floor, The Afterparty, Pig Iron, Night x Night, Crash Mansion, The Graveltones, Arthemis and Avosetta, alongside acoustic performances from Walking Papers, Buffalo Summer, Crowns, Heaven’s Basement, Skin and Red White & Blues.

Black Stone Cherry, CHTHONIC and more added to Download 2013 lineup

November 18, 2018March 25, 2013 by Summer Festival Guide

Headlined by Slipknot, Iron Maiden and Rammstein, Download Festival takes place on 14-16 June 2013 at Donington Park. Day tickets are on sale from 9am on Thursday 28 March and are available at www.downloadfestival.co.uk. Weekend tickets are available now and selling quick!

Back for their fourth epic appearance at Download Festival are American rockers Black Stone Cherry with some loud, hard, in-your-face rock music. The band’s 2011 set left crowds gasping for more with a relentless onslaught of big guitar riffs at maximum volume. Taiwanese group CHTHONIC & The Oriental Orchestra and Norway’s legendary Satyricon will treat fans to some pure unadulterated black metal, while bestowing utter mayhem and full scale metal force at Donington are DragonForce. Ghost are also confirmed for 2013 having just completed a successful UK tour culminating in a sold out Brixton Academy in London.

American rockers Masters Of Reality join the bill performing tracks spanning their six studio albums, and ready to ‘Stand Up For Rock N Roll’ are US group Red White & Blues. Fearless Vampire Killers will tear it up with some theatrical alt-rock, punk rock band of the moment Fidlar will bring their Californian jams to UK shores, and Brit hardcore group Palm Reader are getting ready to churn up the Donington mosh pit.

Californian‘70s-style blues rockers Rival Sons are also confirmed, they joined Black Stone Cherry on their UK tour last year playing to packed out crowds across the country. American rockers Little Caesar are confirmed for some ballsy rock music, and the new supergroup Krokodil featuring members of Sikth, Johnny Truant, Cry for Silence, Gallows and Hexes will make their first Download appearance as a band.

Pop-punk piece Patent Pending are also added to the bill fresh from their tour with Bowling For Soup. Brit metal heads Idiom also join the bill, fresh from touring with Skindred, and last but by no means least are UK rockers Voodoo Six and Hammer Of The Gods.