Metal

BLOODSTOCK reveals first headliner and more…

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BLOODSTOCK HQ is a hive of activity as a slew of bands confirm slots for the 2020 event.  2020 also sees the festival celebrating 20 years of BLOODSTOCK, so expect some special treats to celebrate at Catton Park next August.

Without further ado, coming to us with an exclusive UK show for 2020, DEVIN TOWNSEND is set to headline Friday on BLOODSTOCK’s Ronnie James Dio main stage!  The show will be a very special set for fans, with more detail on the nature of the set to be revealed in due course!  Here’s Devin to tell you the news: https://youtu.be/noN0RK4LedA.  He also tells us: “OK, folks…wow.  So where should I begin?  Ever since I was a kid, being able to headline a festival as fantastic and forward thinking as Bloodstock has been a dream of mine.  As some of you may know, I’ve been working on several live ‘bands’ lately, from acoustic, to prog and orchestral, with some really artistic and improvisational aspects.  However for Bloodstock, my intention is to do something quite different, and consequently kick ass in every possible way. I am putting together a VERY SPECIAL one-off show for Bloodstock, with a heavy band, playing the very best material for an outdoor festival from my entire catalogue, from SYL up to Empath.  I have always felt that if I was given one shot to knock it out of the park, I wouldn’t hesitate. And my friends, this is the shot! I have listened to what people have been asking for from my catalogue, and with a show like this, a production like we are planning, and the players who have agreed to be involved, this will surely be one of the pinnacle moments in my career.  My intention over the past few years has been to find ways to use different aspects of my work (that fall on opposite ends of the creative spectrum), to ultimately make something really beautiful. Something unified. This show is meant to bring it all together after 25 years of doing this.  Thanks Bloodstock for choosing to rock with me. I can’t wait to see you all there!”

JINJER are also set to make their BLOODSTOCK debut with a slot on Saturday’s main stage.  The Ukrainian metal squad, fronted by Tatiana Shmailyuk, have been making waves in recent years with their heavy progressive sound.  Check out them razing Wacken to the ground earlier this year with ‘Perennial’, a track taken from their recent ‘Micro’ EP; https://youtu.be/bxi3i9wzQBk.  The band are currently readying their brand new studio album, ‘Macro’ for release late October.

Power metallers GLORYHAMMER land a Sunday spot on the Ronnie James Dio main stage.  The band’s current album, ‘Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex‘ is out now via Napalm Records.  Remind yourself of their maximum power metal points by watching the video for ‘Gloryhammer’; https://youtu.be/tKlVYJTSzuU.

BLOODSTOCK is also set to welcome the previously announced SKINDRED, BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, VIO-LENCE, SACRED REICH, DARK TRANQUILLITY, and BUTCHER BABIES.  BLOODSTOCK’s remaining two headline acts and many more bands performing over the weekend will be announced in due course.

BLOODSTOCK announce bands for 2020!

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BLOODSTOCK 2019 is only just underway but already, they’ve announced their first batch of main stage bands for 2020!

Next year, Catton Park welcomes an exclusive twin thrash attack, with Bay Area squad, VIO-LENCE in their first ever and only UK show in 2020 and Phoenix-based four piece,  SACRED REICH in their only UK festival appearance of the year.  We’re also excited for the return of SKINDRED, after their epic Newport Helicopter scenes on the Ronnie James Dio main stage in 2017.  We also have a double dose of melodeath with BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and DARK TRANQUILLITY grabbing main stage slots, along with LA metal crew, BUTCHER BABIES.  BLOODSTOCK’s headline acts will be announced in due course.

Check out the BLOODSTOCK big screen announcement here: https://youtu.be/_mWsVhcFi3U.

2020 also sees the festival celebrating 20 years of BLOODSTOCK!  If you’re on site this weekend, you can buy 2020 early bird tickets in person from the on-site box office for £130, the cheapest price available, with no booking fee!  Early bird tickets, VIP tickets, car parking, child tickets and campervan tickets will also be available online from 9am Monday 12th August at the ticket store.

Download 2019 – Slayer’s final UK show REVIEWED!

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Ahh, it’s that time of year again. The last stand of the big bands. With Black Sabbath, Aerosmith and countless others over the last couple of years doing their ‘final’ tours and including Donington as a must-do stop, we seem to have these epic/ sad endings coming thick and fast. Honestly though, given I’m about half a generation behind the curve of these bands, I’m pretty glad I’ve had the opportunity to see them at all. Tonight it is the turn of the mighty thrash merchants Slayer to bid us farewell, in their last ever UK show, and the Zippo Encore stage area is awash with black tshirts as far as the eye can see. This is hands down the fullest this arena has ever been in the whole of Download history, and I can see half a dozen kids-on-shoulders who have yet no idea how insanely lucky they are to be at this show, given that these guys have been playing for almost 40 years.

The stage is set with all the trappings you’d expect of metal royalty, pentacles, skulls, chains, fire… and the crowd are already chanting ‘Slayer’ in unison. Walking onto the stage with all the clear purpose and confidence of a band who have made performing live their home, it’s a sobering moment to think that we are about to see this for the very last time, that this is our metal history we’re saying goodbye to. We can’t wallow for long though, ‘Repentless’ is wild and immediately gathers a hot and chaotic mosh pit, before the band break into early track ‘Evil Has No Boundaries’. It’s certain that tonight we’re getting a history lesson.

We’re spoilt with a list of raw, furious shredding from ‘Disciple’ to ‘Seasons in the Abyss’ as pyro cannons shoot flames across the inside of the stage and inverted crosses burn in the darkening night. Rocking a ‘Kill the Kardashians’ tshirt, guitarist Gary Holt is ripping Donington a new one alongside Tom Arya and Kerry King in his signature belt chains, and as the first ominous notes of ‘South of Heaven’ shimmer across the arena, I feel actual chills. Slayer played at the first festival I ever went to – here at Donington for Ozzfest 2002 and those notes, that moment will be forever etched into my memory – now, alongside this one. As the band scream into the iconic ‘Raining Blood’, thousands of people are windmilling their hair and headbanging like their necks aren’t over 30 and going to be immobile by work on Monday, it’s a sight to behold.

Shutting Donington down with ‘Dead Skin Mask’ and ‘Angel of Death’ is exactly the fire fueled, gut-punch of an ending I expected of Slayer, they are masters of their craft and Gods of the genre, that much is undeniable. With a final “Thank you for being here” and Tom Arya reluctantly leaving the stage, with what looks to be tears in his eyes, we in the crowd can only chant their name in appreciation and thanks. I think it’s testimony to their legacy that everyone is just still standing, still throwing horns into the air – instead of legging it straight to the main stage. This night is too important to so many, and I hope we gave Slayer the farewell they deserved.

© Photo courtesy of Download Festival, do not use without permission.
© Photo courtesy of Download Festival, do not use without permission.

Download 2019 – Slipknot REVIEWED!

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Ok. Confession time. I’m not a Slipknot fan. I am standing in a field full of Slipknot fans eagerly awaiting this much anticipated show. Flanked by overall-clad bodies, every face a grotesque mask (some quite obviously homemade), a through-the-ages tour of Slipknot’s style back catalogue, the excitement is palpable. Of course, this UK debut of the bands’ new masks is just a part of it, but the forums and news stories have been filled with ire towards the new choices – with many describing them as boring or thoroughly non-theatrical compared to previous iterations.

Indeed as the giant stage banner drops and the majesty of the stage set up is revealed – all industrial turbines and Mad Max-esque landscaping – frontman Corey Taylor appears in a black trenchcoat in place of a jumpsuit, and gives off a distinctly corpse dragged-from-the-river vibes in his bloated mask. Instantly I am reminded of the terrible ‘dream machine’ mask from the ultimate cheese-fest Bond movie ‘Die Another Day’, which levels on funny rather than creepy for me.

Sporting a more traditional Slipknot look, the rest of the band hit the stage in black boiler suits and their own new masks for an undeniably powerful opening trio of ‘People = Shit’, ‘(Sic)’ and ‘Get This’ with Corey yelling “This is where you fucking scream for me”. New release ‘Unsainted’ is a strong introduction to what we can expect from Slipknot going forward, as Corey screams “…are you happy to see Slipknot back in your beautiful fucking land? It’s amazing to be back HOME” to an almighty roar back from the Download crowd.

I’ll admit, they bring a great show – the pyrotechnics, the crazy percussion podium made of steel industrial hazard drums, the mysterious extra member who still hasn’t been revealed… and it’s clear the crowd are absolutely loving Slipknot’s return to Donington. Growling “…bunch of crazy motherfuckers over here. You feel good?” we head into a brutal assault of ‘Psychosocial’ and ‘The Devil in I’ while Corey muses “…this is the kind of Download I wanna see right”.

‘Duality’ comes with a side of the clown smashing up some of the stage set with a bat, and we’re treated to “something fucking special” which turns out to be a bit of a mishmash of ‘555 to the 666’ and ‘If Rain is What You Want’ at possibly the only time this weekend it isn’t actually raining. It’s kind of a shame to be honest, if there’s any band that the rain would have benefited in terms of atmosphere – it’s Slipknot. Regardless, the entire crowd is singing along in a rowdy chorus before going headlong into ‘Spit it Out’ for an arena-wide bounce… on the floor… before the song breaks and everyone goes absolutely berserk.

Corey leads out with a heartfelt speech on Download/the fans being family and making the statement “We are not their kind”, before heading into closer ‘Surfacing’, and a quick message to ‘take care of each other’ as they exit the stage. There may be thousands of raised horns in the arena, there may be a mass chant of ‘one more song’ but it’s clear as the house lights come up that the band are done for the night. Despite a bit of initial disappointment in the crowd, as the black video screens change to display ‘SLIPKNOT LIVE 2020’ a guttural roar of appreciation begins to ripple. Slipknot are coming back, and the sweaty hordes are abated as they head out into the night.

Photograph © Matt Higgs – Courtesy of Download Festival. Do not use without permission.
Photograph © Matt Higgs – Courtesy of Download Festival. Do not use without permission.

Download Festival: last minute larry guide!

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DOWNLOAD 2019! Are you a last minute larry? Have you just drunkenly spent your wages on a weekend ticket because your mates are going, but have no idea what you need? Ok, so – you’re probably screwed in all honesty. The weather is tracking to be vile (cue Drownload jokes) and if you haven’t sorted out a tent and sleeping bag you need to leg it to a camping shop immediately. For everyone else, here’s your last minute mini checklist for the DL2019 weekend!

  1. Rain poncho – yeah these come in clear, or funky colours… but everyone wants to swish about like a Dementor in the rain right?
  2. Absurd leggings – Sure, you’ll never have occasion to wear these ever again but they’re comfy, and they afford you ample lunge-ability for appropriate headbanging stance. Oh and Whitesnake are playing so you’ll be paying tribute to a better time, when hair and dreams were bigger.
  3. Wellies – Don’t pretend you’re too cool for wellies if it’s raining. Your mates aren’t going to be sympathetic to your self-induced trench foot.
  4. Inflatable guitar – hear me out. It’s a multi-use item in my opinion. Obviously you’ll look rad/tragic rocking out with it, but it can double as a waterproof/comfortable arena seat that folds back up to pocket size. Can also be used to smash the bonce of any friends who dare to snooze.
  5. Battle jacket – Ok, not essential buuuut… how else are you meant to proclaim your love for Nickelback? Extra points for covering it past festival wristbands, instead of keeping them on your wrist, you filthy bastard.
  6. Beanie hat – Categorically the best way to retain heat at night. Cover in studs if you’re precious.
  7. Bandana – Stylish, tames greasy day three hair, can be used over the face when entering offensive portaloos.
  8. Tissue packs – Small enough for the pocket and in a handy water resistant pouch for when you spill your beer all over yourself trying to throw horns at Slayer.
  9. Power bank – We all used to make it work without mobile phones back in the day, just meet back at the Dog right? But you’ll probably want to use your phone camera to capture some memories of your pal Dave mud surfing naked soooo, keep that battery charged for those magical moments.
  10. Sun cream – Yep. The forecast sucks. It doesn’t matter. For some inexplicable reason, Download is THE festival where you can get simultaneously burnt and soaked. I don’t know how or why. It’s just how it is.
  11. Foldable drinks sac – Download is going green, which means a ban on water bottles/single use plastics. These lil babies are about a quid from Sports Direct and will roll up in your pocket while you’re not using it. Also good for your ‘walking whisky’ between the campsite and the arena.

So, grab your stash, prepare yourself for mud and madness… see you at Donington!

 

BLOODSTOCK unveils Jager Stage acts and more Metal 2 The Masses winners

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There’s just 8 weeks until BLOODSTOCK’s metal weekender gets underway and BLOODSTOCK HQ have now locked in some of the bands for 2019’s Jagermeister Stage.

Belfast’s SKYPILOT bring their heavy riffs and groove to Catton Park’s Jager stage on Friday, joined by Leicester grunge/hard rock outfit, GRAVES and blues metal squad, BEGGAR.  On Saturday, we welcome Irish heavy groove trio, BLACK SHUCK and one man death metal outfit FOUL BODY AUTOPSY.  Then Sunday’s bill features Irish/Australian hard rockers, JAILBIRDS and you-can-work-it-out-from-their-name, WOMENOWAR!  A second batch of Jagermeister Stage bands will be announced next month!

BLOODSTOCK is also pleased to announce the second wave of New Blood winners from their ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ finals, who all bag a spot to perform on the Hobgoblin New Blood stage.  The finals are still taking place around the country, so get down to your local event and support grass roots music and help shape BLOODSTOCK’s line-up

Landing a Friday New Blood Stage slot are Burnley’s winners, the Southern/doom metal squad, GRAND ELDER, Bournemouth’s black/death metal victors ANAKIM, and thrash/prog groovesters BLIND DIVIDE who triumphed in Cardiff’s final.  Saturday’s lineup welcomes Wrexham’s top dogs, SCARS OF REMEMBRANCE.  Joining Sunday’s New Blood fun are ELYREAN, the melo/tech thrashers who won in Wolverhampton, Hitchin melodeath victors  FEAR BOUND, and instrumental tri-guitar Stoke champions, LOST IN LAVENDER TOWN.

BLOODSTOCK RELEASE DAY TICKETS; ANNOUNCE FIRST ‘METAL 2 THE MASSES’ WINNERS

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It’s time for BLOODSTOCK to unleash the day tickets!!  A limited amount of day tickets for 2019’s event go on sale at 9.00am this Thursday 30th May, priced at £65 (+ fees) for adults and £20 (+ fees) for children aged 4-11.  Children under 4 go free! Head here to snap them up!  You can still also pick up 4-day ‘weekend tickets with camping’, priced £145 (+ fees) and children’s weekend tickets at just £35 (+ fees).  VIP tickets are expected to sell out shortly, so grab yours soon if you want one, including limited Podpads, Bellepads and Octopads, plus limited remaining VIP upgrades (for those who’ve already purchased a standard ticket).  Camper van plots & Luxpads are already SOLD OUT! For full VIP details click here.

BLOODSTOCK is also pleased to announce the first batch of New Blood winners from their ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ finals, who all bag a slot to perform on the Hobgoblin New Blood stage!  The finals are still taking place around the country, so get down to your local event and support grass roots music and help shape BLOODSTOCK’s line-up!

Saturday’s New Blood stage bill welcomes Coventry winners DJINOVA, Glasgow victors INFERIEM, and DEFORMATION OF MAN, who took top prize in the Sheffield heat.  They’ll be joined by Belfast top dogs, LOCK HORNS.  Black Country band MASTERS CALL also win a New Blood slot after impressing the booking team via their CD submission.

Sunday brings Dublin champions AESECT, Norwich leaders BASTARD, and TAKE REFUGE, having clinched first place in the Milton Keynes final.  You’ll also get to see 28 DOUBLE, who took Leicester’s gold medal!  Stay tuned for more results to come!

BLOODSTOCK’s second batch of club nights kick off from 1st June. Head on down for a great night out with your mates to warm up for BLOODSTOCK and you might just win yourself some goodies while you’re there.

 

Sat 1st June – Brighton – Apocalypse @ Envy

Fri 7th June – Leicester – Feedback @ Firebug

Sat 8th June – Stoke-On-Trent – Devil’s Night @ The Sugarmill

Sat 8th June – Southampton – Apocalypse @ The Engine Rooms

Sat 22nd June – Sheffield – Corporation

Fri 28th June – Altern8 @ The Cavern

Sat 29th June – Birmingham – Eddie’s Rock Club

Sat 29th June – Newcastle – RISE Rock Bar

Sat 29th June – Pandamonium @ Electrik Warehouse

 

Fri 5th July – Plymouth – Altern8 @ Envy

Sat 6th July – Brighton – Apocalypse @ Envy

Sat 6th July – Stoke-On-Trent – Devil’s Night @ The Sugarmill

Sat 13th July – Apocalypse @ The Engine Rooms

Sat 22nd July – Sheffield – Corporation

Fri 26th July – Leicester – Feedback @ Firebug

Fri 26th July – London – Voodoo Summer Ball @ Elektrowerkz

Sat 27th July – Birmingham – Eddie’s Rock Club

Sat 27th July – Liverpool – Pandamonium @ Electrik Warehouse

BLOODSTOCK UPDATE…

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BLOODSTOCK have locked down the last handful of Ronnie James Dio main stage and Sophie Lancaster stage bands, as the Metal 2 The Masses finals roll through the UK to find the best of the grass roots to flesh out the New Blood stage. BLOODSTOCK can also reveal that a limited number of day tickets for 2019’s event will go on sale at the end of May. Don’t miss out – sign up for a reminder here.

BLOODSTOCK’s final main stage band are classic UK thrash squad, XENTRIX, who are set to play on Friday.  Having recently signed to Listenable Records, the band are set to release a new studio album, ‘Bury The Pain’ on 7th June.  Check out the brand new track, ‘Bleeding Out’ here; https://youtu.be/vFgiw7XOiGo.  The album has been produced by Andy Sneap and you can pre-order it over at  www.shop-listenable.net/en/268_xentrix.

Joining the Sophie stage bill on Friday are British death metallers, KARYBDIS.  The band released their third studio album, ‘In The Shadow Of Paradise’ last year, which you can pick up over on their Bandcamp page; https://karybdis.bandcamp.com/.  Watch the video for the title track and get yourself up to speed – https://youtu.be/g09x4f8cVUc.

A former winner of BLOODSTOCK’s Metal 2 The Masses competition back in 2012, melodic metal crew CONTROL THE STORM have gone from strength to strength, and we’re delighted to now welcome them to Friday’s Sophie stage. With plans afoot to release their second album, ‘Forevermore’ this summer, hopefully they’ll treat everyone to some new songs live! See what you think of new single ‘Follow Me’ at https://youtu.be/7SzIq8yc0T4 and if you dig it, help them along by contributing to their Kickstarter at  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/controlthestorm/control-the-storm-forevermore-help-fund-the-album.

The pioneers of Norwegian Viking Metal, HELHEIM land a Saturday set on the Sophie stage. Hailing from Bergen, you can find their latest blackened sounds on new album, ‘Rignir’, released late last month by Dark Essence, who have kindly added no less than three songs from it to their YouTube channel, including the title track at https://youtu.be/ECRCW94pW_o.

There’s more from our Norwegian brethren, with GUARDIANS OF TIME also bagging a Saturday slot on the Sophie stage to showcase their brand of heavy/power metal. Don’t know them yet? Their fifth album, ‘Tearing Up The World’ came out in Oct 2018 and features guest appearances from none other than Abbath and Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens. Investigate that title track with Abbath here – https://youtu.be/69ItcYo8txU.

Bulgarian metalheads, ODD CREW also land a Saturday slot.  The band take their influences from classic metal like Black Sabbath through artists like Pantera through to modern day acts like Killswitch Engage.  Check ‘em out storming through ‘Death Trap’ here; https://youtu.be/MSpAig3cxaI.  The band released their fifth studio album, ‘The Lost Pages’ last year, which you can check out on Spotify or via all major DSPs.

BLOODSTOCK GOES GREENER

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Following along from 2018’s ‘Drastic On Plastic’ initiative, this year we’re committing to the ‘BLOODSTOCK Goes Greener’ campaign!  This year we aim to recycle at least 50% of the festival’s waste and send nothing at all to landfill.  We’re encouraging everyone to say a big ‘NO’ to single use tents and plastics on site and we hope to completely eradicate single use plastics atBLOODSTOCK by 2020 as well as lower BLOODSTOCK‘s carbon footprint as a whole by 2021.  Our initial 6-point plan for 2019 runs as follows:

1 – RECYCLABLE BRANDED BLOODSTOCK CUPS ACROSS ALL BARS – BLOODSTOCKers pay a one-off sum of £2 for a recyclable BLOODSTOCK-branded plastic cup which can be used across all bars.  The added bonus is that you’ll have a souvenir to take home too.

2 – RECYCLING POINTS – BLOODSTOCKers to use the clearly signed recycling points in the arena & campsites.

3 – 100% BIODEGRADABLE FOOD PACKAGING – Food traders will only be using 100% biodegradable food packaging and cutlery this year.

4 – RECYCLE PLASTIC BOTTLES ACROSS THE SITE – Coca Cola will collect and recycle your plastic bottles on site and have them back in circulation within weeks of the festival.

5 – SAY NO TO SINGLE USE TENTS – Together with our tent partners Fat Franks Camping Shop and Tangerine Fields, we want to encourage you to either take your tent home with you after the festival or if you don’t want the hassle of bringing a tent with you in the first place, you can either ‘Click and Collect’ a tent and camping equipment from Fat Franks Camping Shop in advance – http://www.fatfrankscampingshop.com/sustainable-camping – or you can simply hire a pre-erected tent, airbed, bedding, etc, from Tangerine Fields –  https://www.tangerinefields.co.uk/events/bloodstock-open-air.html – which will be ready and waiting to move into when you arrive at the festival.  Both Fat Franks Camping Shop and Tangerine Fields are situated in the Midgard Campsite. 


DONATE YOUR TENT & WIN TICKETS TO BLOODSTOCK 2020!  Fat Franks Camping Shop will stay open until 12 Noon on Monday morning after the festival to enable you to take back any unwanted camping equipment (tents, sleeping bags, chairs, bedding, airbeds, etc) whether purchased from Fat Franks or elsewhere.  For those of you that drop off unwanted tents at Fat Franks, we will enter you into a prize draw to win a pair of tickets to Bloodstock 2020 (our 20th Anniversary event)!  Winners will be announced approximately 28 days after the festival.  All donated items will go to Pathways Homeless Charity and a local scout group.

6 – LOWER TRAVEL EMISSIONS – We want to offer low impact ways to travel to the festival so have partnered with Big Green Coach who have 34 pickup locations around the UK.  This creates a huge reduction in carbon emissions, coming by coach rather than car.  For every customer who books travel with Big Green Coach, they sponsor and protect 5 sq ft of Amazonian Rainforest for 10 years.  This has resulted in over 1,200,000 sq ft of Peruvian Rainforest being protected by Big Green Coach for the next 10 years since they began the commitment.  Their target is to protect an area covering 3 million sq ft over the next 5 years.  This is all thanks to you!  For more info click to https://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/why-are-we-green.  To book coach tickets; https://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/events/bloodstock-festival-tickets-coach-travel.  Alternatively, you can travel via Carshare to BLOODSTOCK with GoCarshare.com for the cheapest festival travel prices to site.  GoCarShare connect metal-loving drivers and passengers going in the same direction.  By sharing a spare seat or two, this reduces the number of cars on the road travelling to BLOODSTOCK and subsequently reduces carbon emissions.  Click to https://gocarshare.com/festival/bloodstock for full info.

Let’s work together to make the world a better place for us and our children.

DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL DEBUTS MINDFULNESS PROGRAMME – MIND THE DOG

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DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL DEBUTS
MINDFULNESS PROGRAMME – MIND THE DOG

ON SITE IMPROVEMENTS FOR 2019
INCLUDING NEW DAY ENTRANCE, CAR PARKS, AND MORE!

FIVE CONTINENTS OF ROCK TALENT TO DESCEND
ON THE HALLOWED GROUNDS OF DONINGTON PARK

Download Festival, the world’s premiere rock event, has announced that a full mindfulness
programme will be implemented in 2019 for the first time. Announced ahead of Mental Health
Awareness week next month, the Mind The Dog initiative will run morning, afternoon, and evening
sessions where rockers can share a fully immersive, live music and mindfulness experience, from
Thursday 13 – Sunday 16 June. Day and weekend festival tickets available at
www.downloadfestival.co.uk

One in six people in England report experiencing common mental health issues including anxiety and
depression in any given week (1) and by 2030, it’s estimated that two million more adults in the UK will
experience mental health problems than there were in 2013 (2). The recent loss of music legends
including Keith Flint (Prodigy), Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), Chris Cornell (Soundgarden), and
Scott Hutchinson (Frightened Rabbit), calls for action to open up the conversation surrounding mental
health, something Download organisers are committed to.

Festival Republic’s Melvin Benn said:
“Download Festival has gone from strength to strength in its sustainability and accessibility offerings.
We have been awarded 4 star Creative Green Result by Julie’s Bicycle for the second year running, and
level gold from Access Is For Everything last year, which is highest possible award for accessibility, so
it only made sense to offer an on site programme for mental health, as well as physical. By introducing
Mind The Dog this year, we are hoping to provide a mindfulness haven in The Doghouse across the
weekend, with meditation, sound baths, and more. I couldn’t be prouder of how much Download
Festival has accomplished already.”

Fans can channel their zen under ambient lighting and atop woven tapestries, before immersing
themselves in hour long classes under the roof of The Doghouse which will transform into Mind The
Dog by day, offering FREE mindfulness gatherings. Morning meditation will host curated live music
sessions, designed to ready campers for the day, whilst the afternoon offers a healing sound bath, encouraging fans to pause, connect, and tune into themselves, and the evening class brings a calming
focus to elevate fans state of consciousness. Designed with conscious breath work sessions, the
programme aims to bring fans together in the now, becoming closer to themselves, the music, and
each other. Full schedule details can be found in notes to editors.

Recent studies show music can prevent feelings of loneliness and provide social connection (3), whilst
the global heavy metal community provides a strong sense of “belonging and acceptance”(4). In line
with the success and return of on-site DO.OM Yoga (yoga to Doom Metal music), and the thriving
return of Camp Loner, (the campsite dedicated to welcoming individuals attending the festival solo),
organisers are now excited to bring their elevated mindful offerings for Download fans in synergy with
the festival spirit.

In support of the programme, Rou Reynolds from Enter Shikari, who headline The Avalanche Stage at
this year’s festival said: “We often go through life on autopilot, getting caught up in the stressors, the anxieties, the intensity of it all. We’re rarely consciously in control of our turbulent mind. Mindfulness allows us to regain
control as we learn to observe our thoughts instead of getting caught up in them.
It has been an incredible help to me and I couldn’t recommend it more. Not only does it help with
anxiety and depression, but it also improves focus, emotional intelligence, compassion, tolerance and
objectivity and has even been proven to help boost your immune system. Big up Download for
introducing this programme to the festival”

Improved changes for 2019 include a new devoted entrance for day visitors and non-camping
weekend ticket holders, weekend campers will also have their own dedicated car park, plus The Village
is moving close to The Arena meaning festivalgoers can go from mosh to party with ease. The NXT
Arena moves closer to the guest area, where NXT UK will be live taping to broadcast as part of a weekly
show on the WWE Network, and the introduction of Metal Movies, a new open-air cinema with
hammocks and lounge areas, will allow fans to kick back and watch music documentaries including
being a metal band from Nepal with Underside along with a Q&A with the band afterwards, and
Pursuit Of The Vikings with Amon Amarth.

Download continues its commitment to provide the best experience for fans, with accessibility
improvements implemented in 2018, resulting in the awarding of Gold Level status by Access is
Everything ahead of this year’s festival.

Sustainability remains a priority for Download Festival. Car parking donations last year via Energy
Revolution raised £15,811 for Solar to Schools, a project which funds schools with solar roofing panels
across the UK, and the festival continues its zero waste to landfill policy, as recycling points in the
campsites will double in 2019. Last year saw the recycling and composting rate increase to 46% from
2017’s 41%, and single use cups were reduced by a million with reusable alternatives. The Eco
Campsite opened in 2018 which saw zero tents left behind and returns this year with an increased
capacity for a total of 2000 campers, a 33% increase from last year.

Additional water points for 2019 will be introduced across the arena, refillable Download Festival
metal water bottles will be available for purchase the first time, and Co-op are excited to continue
their Deposit and Return Scheme with their reverse vending machine returning to Download, which
proved popular last year with festivalgoers who want to recycle plastic bottles, in return for a coupon to spend in the on site Co-op shop. Since 2016, all single use plastic cutlery, containers, and straws
have been banned from traders, caterers and bars.

Donnington Park, the spiritual home of rock, has always called for international talent to grace its
stages, with 2019 as no exception. With over 100 bands performing across the weekend, hailing from
18 countries including Australia, Canada, England, France, Finland, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, United States
and Wales, Download Festival remains the King of rock festivals.

(1) Mind
(2) NHS Mental Health Network

(3) Reachout.com
(4) Journal of Community Psychology