Download Festival – 20th Anniversary GIANT REVIEW!

It’s June, we are out of the grey days and on the cusp of summer, there is hope in the breeze. Donington Park, home to superbikes and souped up engines is about to be clad in all black everything – for the unstoppable force that is Download Festival. In it’s 20th Anniversary year, hitting a sold out 100k audience is the cherry on the cake of Donington history. Praise be to the old guard of Monsters of Rock for handing down these fields of joy, so we can continue to celebrate.

WEDNESDAY

As part of the bigger/better anniversary wealth, Download has this year included an additional full day of music to the line-up – meaning that campers can arrive from Wednesday instead. In previous years, there seemed to be a greater split of arrival times and days for those camping but this year… it’s like the Pied Piper of metal suddenly called every alt kid in the UK at once, and everything in a five mile area is a fucking mess.

Now we know the road infrastructure around Donington Park isn’t the best, and we know it’s also competing with East Midlands Airport along one side, but this is another level of shithousery – the abject worst queues in the festival’s history. Reports coming in of people queuing for over seven hours in hot cars and buses, carparks being full and closed early on, signage being scrubbed out instead of redirected… the list goes on.

Many people took to Instagram to contact the festival directly and voice their complaints; @morrighan writes “Please sort out whatever the heck is holding up the J24 exit! We followed advice to follow signs for the fastest route. Taken us 3 hours to move less than a mile!” with @not_my_pubs_name replying “same, got on m1 exit slip road j23a and been sat here 3 hrs so far, and I’m camping in quiet camp, but now West carpark is full, so double fucked off. Utter joke”.

Essex tattoo artist @lucyharmless was also caught in the melee “wanna tell me why I’ve been sat in the same spot for the last 5+ hours, I know it’s a sold out festival but we’re not even moving here”

The festival has made no response about why things were this bad, instead posting the same information about which junctions to enter the festival by for the following days. Though the problem wasn’t as pronounced over the rest of the weekend, there were still significant delays with no real explanation.

As a 20 year fan of this festival (yes, I’ve been to them all) I would love to only sing it’s praises, but this is something that surely must be addressed for next year’s event. There has to be a way to separate and space out arrivals, maybe something in booked time slots for coming in (whilst this may sound a little prescriptive, but both Bestival and the IOW festival essentially had this work with ferry bookings splitting up the entry) or linking booked parking to campsite locations so that you can only go to one specific area. Hopefully better brains than mine are considering the future implications of the festival’s size.

THURSDAY

For ourselves, entering on Thursday was indeed an unfortunate three hour queue situation to hit the West car park which is closest to the box office we needed to be at for our wristbands. Luckily we had packed drinks and snacks knowing the stakes from the day before. Though we missed a few choice early bands due to this, entering the arena again felt like coming home. There is something undeniable about the feeling of stepping through the portal of Download. One minute you’re in the regular world where people look at you funny, and the next you’re side by side with every other person who knows exactly what it’s like to be fringe, or other.

The arena itself has had an overhaul, and I really think it is (mostly) for the better. The fairground rides have been summarily booted to the Avalanche stage area, which is a brilliant move. Their ridiculously loud playlists are no longer sullying the Apex stage sound, and they don’t hinder Avalanche at all because it’s a closed in tent – perfect. Gone too is the traditional line of food outlets that broke up that area, and the accessible viewing platform has had a move too. The result is an absolutely gargantuan main stage area with incredible views from all angles, further helped by the enormous screen towers and stack amps that are supposedly only in place for Metallica. Honestly – I wish they would keep them, the sound and views have been bloody incredible due to this set up.

I will pause to note though, that the accessible platform has been moved to the other side of the arena, presumably to facilitate quicker movement between the stages, especially Opus and Apex. Whilst this is in theory a great idea – the route between the platforms has been sandwiched in probably the most notorious bottleneck of the whole festival, rendering it completely unpassable during high crowd sets, simply because people are stopping in those areas to watch too. I’m not sure what could be done about this, it makes the most sense to have moved the platform there, but some kind of access run-through between them perhaps?

Anyway, onto the music. Having performed an incredible set last year at Bloodstock, it is so good to see Ukrainian band Jinjer absolutely smashing their way onto the Download main stage to a very respectable crowd. Lead vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk is an absolute powerhouse, song ‘Teacher Teacher’ hits hard even in the baking sun. It’s clear the crowd is on side as the band talk about what is happening in their country, by beginning a “Fuck Putin” chant, under the screened Ukrainian flags. I’d call their set a complete triumph, especially for a band that has jumped from performing in The Dogtooth at Download 2019 to the main stage in 2023.

Hundred Reasons ‘I’ll Find You’ will forever be one of my favourite jams, but it is beyond horrendous trying to move around the Opus stage at this point – there are simply too many people for comfort, so we stand off to the side for it and then scarper in search of space to sit down.

Over on The Avalanche stage we caught Punk Rock Factory, a Welsh four-piece doing what absolutely everyone wants to hear – theme songs and Disney covers. I’m not even slightly joking, the tent is packed and there are crowd surfers galore. No-one is pretending to be too cool to sing along with the likes of Go Go Power Rangers (replete with actual Power Rangers standing ominously still at the front of the stage), the Pokemon theme tune is excellent, as is Under The Sea from The Little Mermaid. Truly this band are a highlight, if only for the nostalgia button they press in all of us.

Punk Rock Factory © Anna Hyams Wade for Summer Festival Guide – do not use without permission

Halestorm are predictably awesome, and I mean that in the full sense of the word. Lzzy Hale belts out notes like she doesn’t even need a mic, an absolute rock icon. ‘I Miss The Misery’ is always going to be the big fan fave but truly the whole set was just good clean rock and roll in the sunshine. There’s something to be said for a band that sits so comfortably in this classic sound and owns it – there’s actually not a lot of it on the bill this weekend.

After grabbing a horrendously overpriced slushie (cozzie livs is really showing up in the food and beverage prices this weekend, let me tell you) we thought we’d check out the merchandise selections, but immediately turned on our heels when we discovered that they were over an hour long wait. No thanks.

I’m fairly sure that every single year I’ve complained about merch queues but, this festival is so big now it’s really time to add another one to the main arena. Way back in the Opus corner maybe? Heck stick one in VIP so that an entire population of people can grab their stuff outside of the arena as well? The addition of one to the West carpark exit/village entrance was great, but there were a few teething problems with the new ‘Megastore’ too.

Now, I love an obscure item as much as the next person (I do really want the Download bedsheets) and think this was a great idea… but I don’t know if sticking the Megastore out of reach for day/weekend ticketholders was necessarily fair. Particularly when it contained special tshirts not on sale in the arena stores – nor indeed the ENTIRE Mary Wyatt collection which been so hyped on social media prior to the event. More than a few disgruntled fans flocked to the Mary Wyatt Instagram to express their disappointment at not being able to grab something. The merch itself was interesting this year, I especially enjoyed the retro 03-23 logo tee and the back patch 20 jacket, but ooft the prices really do keep on rising.

Over on Apex, Alter Bridge bring us another dose of classic rock with Myles Kennedy’s signature vocal sound soaring over the sun-soaked crowd, while New York pop punk quartet State Champs light up the Avalanche stage for a rowdy but fun show – the whole tent is dancing.

State Champs © Anna Hyams Wade for Summer Festival Guide – do not use without permission

There is one band that I categorically want to see playing somewhere EVERY year please-thanks, and that is our Welsh pals, Skindred. As far as I’m concerned they are the sound of the summer, and my season isn’t over if I don’t do the Newport Helicopter at least once. Pulled in to fill the 5FDP void, there could be no more perfect choice than having Benji & co. headline the Opus stage – and what a rowdy good time it was. Every damn song they do is catchy, upbeat and just generally inspires movement… so you can imagine how intensely difficult it was to acquiesce to this innate demand when ALL 100K FESTIVAL GOERS were also trying to occupy that space. Coming off the back of a Heavy Music Award win there’s absolutely no doubting they’re fully at the top of their game, and are beloved at Download.

I’m going to attempt to keep this brief, since the greedy barstewards are playing twice this weekend, but it’s time for the first Metallica roundup.

As the sound of AC/DC’s ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top’ starts up by way of intro, old photos of the band surrounded by neon yellow frames (the official colour scheme of this tour ‘72 Seasons’) splash over the backdrops and the new cylindrical screen towers, including two monster cylinders actually on the stage itself. It’s an undeniably massive set-up, but there is a bit of me that is wondering if it’s going to be all style over substance.

On a personal note, Metallica have been there from the very beginning for me. I was there at the first Download, squished into a tent for their not-so-secret set… I was there when Joey Jordison filled in for Lars… I was there when they played the whole of The Black Album… they’re woven into the fabric of this festival and my festival history. One particular memory I carry from all of these times, is seeing hundreds of lights glowing in the dark of the night for ‘Nothing Else Matters’. The only difference is, the first time I saw them it was a warm orange glow from thousands of flame lighters – tonight, the cool white of phone torches. It’s strange to think how the next generation’s memories of live music will be formed.

Highlights of course included ‘Fade to Black’ in which Lars actually savaged a snare drum which had to be quickly replaced, ‘Sad but True’ and ‘Seek and Destroy’ (have we noticed how much Metallica love 3 word names for their songs?).

That said, this isn’t by any means my favourite set I’ve seen from Metallica. Yes the sound quality is excellent, and I’m never not going to enjoy ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘Fuel’ but it feels a bit like they’re conserving energy for Saturday if I’m honest. Lars predictably spends some time at the end waxing lyrical about their Donington origins in 1985 “…you guys have that saying, ‘home turf’… I think this might be Metallica’s home turf” but, I think it would have been a bit nicer and more topical to have talked about their Download history in particular… it’s only the bloody anniversary event isn’t it.

© Anna Hyams Wade for Summer Festival Guide – do not use without permission

FRIDAY

Today we’re already fearing the heat and slathering ourselves in sun-cream, but off we merrily pop to the Opus stage for The Warning. “We are 3 sisters from Mexico” they yell, before absolutely crushing their punchy hard rock set. From humble beginnings as kids on YouTube covering Enter Sandman, to a huge audience at Download is pretty damn impressive if you ask me.

The Warning © Anna Hyams Wade for Summer Festival Guide – do not use without permission

In a swift change of pace, we catch up with our friends-from-another-field – Elvana. Usually seen in glitter and sequins at the likes of Camp Bestival, they’ve chameleon morphed into… well, something else. Resplendent in black skeleton Elvis-style jumpsuit and suits, the band (and their doom cheerleaders aka backup vocalists) bring something a little silly but ultimately very enjoyable to the Download palette. Who doesn’t want an unhinged circle pit to Blue Suede Shoes, and have lil mosh to Smells Like Teen Spirit? Jokes aside, they’re actually excellent as well as fun, what’s not to love.

Heading across site we spot a lot of little Battle Jackets this year. Seems that a few more people have braved bringing their kids along and it feels like a nice shift for the festival. Yeah you can whinge on about it being ‘for adults’ but, there’s something to be said for passing on the spirit of metal to the next gen in a way that feels genuine and community led, and metal Mums and Dads just wanna see live music too, so bore off.

Witch fever over on the Dogtooth stage are another example of excellent up-and-coming bands we’ve been treated to this weekend. It’s been really fun to have some new blood turnover in the smaller stages and they certainly came seeking violence with their heady mix of post-punk power over gloomy basslines. Riot grrl era is back on the menu, and they are leading the call in all the ways we want – including jumping into the crowd and getting rowdy. If they started a zine I would buy it. Top song for my choosing: ‘Bully Boy’, oh and did I mention – they’re all hot.

Heading down the hill to the Apex, we are greeted by the incredible Nova twins, a punk/grime influenced duo from London. Now this for me is a truly excellent booking, their sound is unique and interesting, they absolutely wail and have that unmistakable star quality that we need for the main stage. Next up, Hot Milk are in danger of becoming Curdled Milk (snickers uncontrollably) and suffer a bit from the crowd being well… too hot. I have no idea how they survived on-stage pyro in this heat but more power to them, because I am melting.

Epica are first up in the melodic/symphonic metal stakes today and lead vocalist Simone Simons has one of those voices that has the power to skewer you right through the soul. It’s a decent crowd already, and I fear for being able to get round there later on.

Neck deep aren’t usually my scene but they’re doing a good job of hyping up the crowd, and it’s nice to see what Wrexham has to offer besides football and American celebrities. However, they do indeed sound extremely American when they sing – such is the power of the pop-punk cadence. “Everyone who’s from a shithole town, yell if you’re proud of where you came from!” elicits a huge roar, but the thing is, everyone in the UK thinks they’re from a shithole town until someone else bags on it, then the gloves are off. Aaanyway, Brutus are another new-to-me band who absolutely ripped up the Dogtooth stage, I am always floored by drummers who are also vocalists, the level of coordination is baffling to me.

Brutus © Anna Hyams Wade for Summer Festival Guide – do not use without permission

As expected Pendulum are fucking incredible and have wisely chosen to beef up the heaviness of their set – as they did last time they played Download. It’s a welcome return and everyone is up dancing about for it, despite the heat. “Front to the back, I need to see you crazy fuckers” is the call to arms for ‘Propane Nightmares’, and it’s quite cool that they’re joined by Matthew Tuck (of Bullet fame) for ‘Halo’, but ‘Witchcraft’ is the ultimate Pendulum masterpiece in my opinion.

Unfortunately due to some costumes not arriving in time, Gwar have to pull out of todays performance, which is met with a huge groan from the crowd inside the Dogtooth. So we head over to Within Temptation to be summarily met by a wall of people right up to the pathway. There is no chance of getting through, so we catch a bit of Sharon Den Adel’s deep and spooky vocals, as the second symphonic band to hit the stage today. Sometimes I forget how much ‘Stand My Ground’ slaps live – do these women even need microphones really? It feels like she could go without and still be heard at the Apex stage.

Architects are inducting newbies to the fray “…how many of you have crowd surfed before? Now’s your chance, get over this fucking barrier!” via some rather nice blokes who are giving people boosts into the waiting arms of obliging pallbearer types. But we’re hanging back to see Evanescence complete the trifecta of big vox, gothic female fronted bands today. As suspected – we can’t get anywhere near and the sound is totally borked from the side to the point of not really being able to hear. Sad times but I think the Opus field just no longer has the capacity.

Luckily the beyond brilliant Carpenter Brut who I’ve been listening to on repeat for the last 2 months, is giving the packed out Dogtooth something resembling a rave but considerably wilder. Apparently we’re calling this darksynth, but all I know is it’s fucking FUN. Sadly there are no tshirts to be found at the merch tents, otherwise I’d have snapped one up, call me a new fan – especially of his cover of Michael Sembello’s Flashdance hit ‘Maniac’– I command you to listen to it immediately.

Bringing Friday to a close are the much anticipated Bring Me The Horizon with an incredible stage set comprising of lots of bridge levels wrapped across a giant screen backdrop, like something out of a musical. Hitting the stage in a crop top with bondage straps and a shaggy haircut, Oli Sykes hasn’t morphed too far from the early scene kid days, but he definitely looks like a headliner now. It’s hard to describe but from minute one I was absolutely convinced they were meant to be there, and I genuinely felt excited to be seeing Download making a clear choice for the future of the festival here.

The band unceremoniously rip through the likes of ‘Teardrops’ and ‘Mantra’, before introducing “…one of [their] favourite bands in the fucking world…” Nova Twins, to head up ‘1×1’ with them. There is no denying the set is special, it’s got pizazz, the band sound incredible and they’re doing things that make it a unique show. This is what I wanted Metallica to do yesterday, to be honest.

Yes they’re a funny mix of genres at times, but this does actually allow them to be more flexible in their set too, something not a lot of bands can bring to the big stage – but there’s nothing that will keep a classic emo down is there… “Sometimes you get sad, but it’s about realising it and sharing it. If I’ve gotta be lost, I’m glad I’m lost with you people”. Oh Oli, wipe your tears babe, here comes Amy Lee (of Evanescence) – joining them for hands down the MOST emo named song in the history of songs ‘One Day the Only Butterflies Left Will Be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death’. It’s pretty great actually, and at least I can finally hear Amy Lee.

I could live without the face melting pyrotechnics to be honest, it’s still so hot tonight – and we were two speaker sets back so you know the people in front were basically cooked like turkeys. There’s a bit of me that wishes the tired suicidal ideation bit (‘DiE4u’) didn’t have to start with spoken word that sounds mystically beautiful to morose teenagers but ah, that’s the therapist in me speaking I suppose. Many have sung worse things I know, but it isn’t my favourite. Despite this, and the sort of strange cyber-attack/AI bit they keep playing on the screens, the band absolutely smash the shit out of this headline show. Yelling “I don’t care what you do, but if you stand still you are… a very special kind of knobhead” actually does appeal to my wish to not be seen as a knobhead, so I join in with everyone else because he told me to. If that isn’t the power of a headline act I don’t know what is.

‘Follow You’ is a lovely musical interlude, in which Oli requests people get on each others’ shoulders and hold up their lighters/phones “I’ll take owt”, and then runs down to hug the front row of fans. It’s a little cultish, but aren’t all the best bands?

With a giant explosion of pink ticker-tape and a nod “I will never forget this moment” they go out on the impeccable trio of ‘Drown’, ‘Throne’ and ‘Can You Feel My Heart’. Sign me up, I’m part of the cult now.

SATURDAY

Up and at ‘em for Polaris, who are very shouty and loud. I’m surprised at how many people are already going hard at midday considering we’re already edging on Satan’s armpit level heat.

I’m off to buy an overpriced slushie and head towards Avalanche for Lake Malice, who are going down as one of my favourite hits of the weekend. Vocalist Alice Guala looks like she’s jumped right off The Grid, wearing some kind of lycra Tron onesie and guitarist Blake Cornwall is rocking the coolest leopard print guitar I’ve ever seen. They’ve got an almost nu-metal edge, which appeals to my younger self, incredible energy and their crowd is responding with sending heaps of surfers across the barrier, despite the fact that the tent is stiflingly hot at this point. It sort of grieves me to know that this band started over Facebook during lockdown, and now they’re here. I was just out there making banana bread and doing my silly little zoom quizzes… how ‘bout you?

Lake Malice © Anna Hyams Wade for Summer Festival Guide – do not use without permission

First hype pick of the day for me are the deliciously kitschy Ice Nine Kills. I’d say the Venn diagram of metal fans and horror fans is probably almost a circle, and I cannot pretend that I’m not a basic bitch. With all their songs themed to horror movies, a good dose of on-stage theatricals (knives, axes, Patrick Bateman getup, you know – the full Alice Cooper style schtick) and catchy lyrics, I don’t think I’m alone in thoroughly loving this set. ‘The American Nightmare’ has been one of my most played songs since their second stage performance at Download last year – get on it.

In a whiplash change of pace, it’s time for the mighty Clutch. They are the antithesis of the previous band, no frills… no stuff… no theatrics. They just do what they always do – play solid funky rock and roll, brilliantly. The blazing sunshine with a cold beer is in my opinion, the most appropriate setting to see the likes of ‘X-Ray Visions’ and ‘Electric Worry’. Neil Fallon quips “hey shall we take our shirts off and pretend we’re in Red Hot Chilli Peppers?” as the heat gets to him, and they go out on the excellent ‘Pure Rock Fury’. I could stand a couple more hours of Clutch in the sunshine to be honest, let the music play.

A quick trip into the Dogtooth for the weird and wonderful Bambie Thug does not disappoint. They are dressed in some sort of Alien-meets-Hela demonic playsuit thing which is very fun, and are flanked by two gyrating dancers wearing only boxers – who later water gun the crowd (which is actually rather thoughtful of them in this heat). ‘Kawasaki (I Love It)’ is very singable, and ‘Headbang’ with special guest Mimi Barks feels a bit on the nose but ultimately is just really enjoyable. Bambie is going straight on the summer playlist.

Bambie Thug © Anna Hyams Wade for Summer Festival Guide – do not use without permission

Alexisonfire are yelling about something “Fuck racism, fuck misogyny, fuck you” but I’m too hot to do anything from my position on the ground under a sun-brella. They’re not usually my jam but it is frankly not in the cards for me to move right now so I accept a bit of shouty ‘Accept Crime’ and ‘Boiled Frogs’ under an oppressively cloudless sky.

Dragging myself into the Avalanche for Gwar’s rescheduled set is a feat in itself, but I am rewarded with the sight of a half naked King Charles, Kim Jong Un getting scalped and Putin with no hands. Unfortunately this also means I joined the masses of [fake]blood-soaked bodies in an already sweaty tent, and let me tell you that stuff does not easily wash off. You can’t not like Gwar, they’re so silly, it’s the law.

After attempting to clean myself up, it’s over to see Disturbed’s inevitable but iconic rendition of ‘The Sound of Silence’, which to my amusement – a group of guys in front of us all had a tearful cuddle afterwards, adorable.

The Opus area is of course way overfull once again, but there is nothing stopping Placebo being just fucking incredible from wherever you were standing. ‘Nancy Boy’ and ‘Bitter End’ are the sounds of my angry youth and I am transported back to a point where I actually had time to sit and listen to songs without it just being in the back of housework or my job. Their cover of ‘Running Up That Hill’ might be a lot of people’s introduction to Placebo, via Stranger Things, but for me they are tickling my nostalgia navel and I am gutted they weren’t put on the main stage instead.

Metallica, night two. This is the set I was waiting for. Yes we had the exact same intro but the band absolutely enter the stage with more presence and purpose tonight than they did on Thursday. The crowd tonight is absolutely wild to look out on. This is the most open the arena has ever been, without all the foot outlets and such chopping the area up it looks incredible, an absolute sea of bodies bathed under the stage lights. There’s something quite eerie about being in the company of 100k people like this, and the deafening roar of those people singing along to ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ immediately goes into the core memory bank.

“Let’s see if you guys know this song… wait let’s see if we know this song” jokes James Hetfield (Papa Het? Is that what we’re calling him these days? Bit weird but ok) as they drop into ‘Until It Sleeps’, but ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’ is just gorgeously melodic and dramatic in the darkness.

Then there’s a weird interlude where Lars Ulrich seems to try and bring an extremely terrified child on stage from the Snakepit, who absolutely has zero interest in being there and therefore cries his eyes out. Luckily Hetfield is on hand to diffuse the situation “Here’s my dad joke… the fans at download are in-tents. You give me a microphone and I don’t know what to do!”. ‘The Unforgiven’ is wildly good, like seared-into-my-minds-eye good – it truly is one of the best performances I’ve seen Metallica give, and I enjoy the mild ribbing they’re giving Lars to boot. “This is night 10 for us here at Download or Monsters of Rock, that’s fabulous. Well, it’s Lars’ 9th show, you gonna catch up with us one day? He’ll be here tomorrow playing with all the other bands” Hetfield jokes, as people around us shout back “please no” and “don’t encourage him”.

‘Whiskey In The Jar’ never fails to get everyone singing along, the on-stage pyro and offset flame canons are massive, closing out with ‘One’ and ‘Enter Sandman’ and shitload of fireworks – this is the epic headline set we needed.

SUNDAY

Day four of blistering heat is a struggle, not gonna lie. We are done in but soldier on into the arena once more for Bloodywood – now with quite the following, the unique New Delhi bhangra heavy metal sound is exactly the kind of newness I love to see, being played to a pretty huge audience.  Graphic Nature in the dogtooth are somehow, and for no discernible reason, doing their entire set wearing hood-up raincoats in this heat – but they do look like they’re having fun.

Lorna Shore probably don’t quite get the reception they deserve as the order of the afternoon seems to be Lorna Snore, as many people appear to tapped out taking a nap in the field. Next up Mongolian metalheads The Hu are plying us with more tasty unique sounds, very enjoyable but I do wish that their stringed instruments had been been levelled up a bit, as that aspect which is prevalent in their online catalogue was kinda missing. Their cover of Metallica’s ‘Sad But True’ with half Mongolian lyrics, is fantastic though.

We head over to the Opus stage for a bit of Avatar who I can only think must be boiling alive in all their leather, especially with all their coordinated circular headbanging segments. ‘The Dirt I’m Buried In’ and ‘Hail The Apocalypse’ are highlights but honestly they’re just so entertaining start to finish – I wish they’d been a main stage band too.

Behemoth look as uncomfortably hot as they did last year at the burning inferno that was Bloodstock Open Air, asking “We need your energy, we need you to jump” to a day 4 crowd who are dead on their feet and basically crisp. It’s a no from me friends, but there are plenty of people down there having their time of their lives still so it’s all good.

I prevail are doing a lot of screaming and yelling fuck, in an angry teenage way, and whilst it isn’t really my vibe, their cover of SOAD’s ‘Chop Suey’ is actually great, and they do manage to provoke some very respectable and dusty circle pits.

On the Opus stage Bad Religion are playing an absolute blinder of a set, just solid good punk rock – the sound of my college years. The likes of ‘Anaesthesia’ and ‘You’ are required Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater history of course, and ‘Infected’ results in a massive singalong. Over in Avalanche, German electronic wizards Electric Callboy are ripping Download a new one. This is the most packed and writhing I’ve seen the tent this weekend, the electric energy is undeniable. ‘Hypa Hypa’ is probably the most well known of theirs, but I also loved their cover of Darude’s ‘Sandstorm’ and The Frozen/Backstreet Boys ‘Let It Go’/‘I Want It That Way’ sweaty metalhead singalong was very funny to watch.

Scooting back through the gap to Opus we’re ready for some retro 80’s style metal from our favourite Swedish ghouls Ghost. This iteration of Papa Emeritus comes with much less pomp and ceremony, and I’m here for it. ‘Rats’ makes me giggle every time, it’s great used as a response to pretty much anything someone can ask you over the course of a weekend – but not if you want to keep your friends, let me tell you.

Dressed as a bat, Papa sings “I can feel the thunder that’s breaking in your heart” from ‘Cirice’ at almost the precise moment we start to witness lightning flashes in the sky above them. Very forward thinking of them to order the weather honestly. Luckily the festival skirts the zone between two massive thunderstorms in the Midlands, and is mercifully spared the Drownload moniker for another year.

Yelling “Do you want a goodnight kiss? How you doing Donington”, they launch forth into the epic and choral ‘Mary On A Cross’, a ticker tape and firework explosion, finishing up with ‘Dance Macabre’ and ‘Square Hammer’. This was truly the best Ghost performance I’ve seen, it looks like they’ve settled into their zone without some of the theatrical elements that I thought held them back a bit last time, and let the music speak.

Trying to get back to the main stage for our final headliner Slipknot, was like some kind of hideous cross country trek through sticky stinky bodies shoulder-to-shoulder. The traffic around the site this year has been noticeably worse due in part to numbers but also perhaps a few layout changes that have made routes through somewhat smaller. Slipknot arrive to giant bursts of smoke from all of the speaker towers in the crowds, and the cylindrical screens are focusing on up-close band members which is actually really effective. It’s also good to see the Clown return to the stage after a hiatus, atop one of the giant spiked drum tower flanking each side of the stage.

There’s no denying that it’s an impressive set up, and the band come in with a solid twenty minutes of pure heavy rage, eventually Corey yells “It’s good to be home” followed by “I’m a bit mad at you, you made me lose a bet. They bet me you would still go as mad without me running my mouth for the first twenty minutes. There were circle pits, I lost twenty quid you fuckin pricks” before admitting that he has been ill and that his voice isn’t up to par at the moment. Unfortunately it’s really obvious that he’s struggling through the set and it makes a marked difference in the power and delivery of the songs. “Well I always sound like shit, but I don’t always sound this cool” he jokes.

A collective ooooh emanates from the crowd as he shouts “Download! Our family. Here are  some songs we haven’t played in a very fucking long time…” as they launch into a tour debut of ‘Left Behind’.

“This one goes out to Kerrang magazine… Let’s see what you do with this one folks…” is the precursor to another exciting inclusion ‘Snuff’ which again has Slipknot fans cooing.

The obvious run down towards the end of ‘People = Shit’ and ‘Surfacing’ followed by an encore of ‘Duality’, ‘Custer’ and ‘Spit It Out’ is a predictable but, what the people want. The execution is phenomenal and exactly what you expect of a headliner but… it’s still not the best we’ve seen them I fear. There’s something lacking in the vibrancy, and sure some of it is Corey’s voice – but I do wonder whether the passion is in it for them as a band anymore. It’s hard not to make a comparison to Friday’s Bring Me The Horizon headline set, where the air was absolutely electric, and I say this as a person who isn’t (or wasn’t) a particular fan of either band. The tides are a’changing at Download festival, and I’m excited to see where we are headed, but it might mean leaving some beloved people behind.

Download, you’ve been epic once again – may your next 20 years be as wild!

© Anna Hyams Wade for Summer Festival Guide – do not use without permission

DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL REVEALS
EVEN MORE ARTISTS FOR 2023 LINE-UP

The line-up for Download Festival’s 20th anniversary has expanded with a further 12 names added to the weekend’s programme. All stage splits for the four days have also been revealed. The special anniversary edition, taking place for the first time over four days on 8-11 June 2023 at Donington Park, will now feature Cancer Bats, Casey, Hundred Reasons, Puscifer, State Champs and more, alongside headliners Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica, who will perform two headline sets with no repeat songs. The very last tickets are available from www.downloadfestival.co.uk.
 
Tool and A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan will be bringing Puscifer to Download for the very first time, Canadian hardcore punk band Cancer Bats will also be delivering the noise this year and Hundred Reasons are back with their first new music in 15 years and will be playing Download for the first time since their 2006 debut.
 
Further additions include the recently reunited Welsh outfit Casey, as well as New York pop punk heroes State Champs, daredevil rock’n’roll darlings Cherry Bombs, and Welsh TikTok heroes Punk Rock Factory, who are rightfully graduating to a Main Arena performance after their memorable set in The Village last year.
 
The line-up continues with theatrical post-hardcore band Static Dress, South coast punk rockers SNAYX, Australian alt four-piece RedHook, and Kerrang! Radio The Deal competition winners Rituals, who will open The Avalanche Stage with their blisteringly heavy Newcastle metal.
 
These further additions continue to add to an incredible line-up for the very special anniversary edition of Download Festival. Stage splits have been confirmed and can be found at www.downloadfestival.co.uk.

HEAVY MUSIC AWARDS 2023

FIRST WAVE OF PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED

Today, Heavy Music Awards announces its first wave performers and hosts for the historic 2023 event, set to take place at OVO Arena Wembley on 26 May 2023.Renowned for showcasing the diverse global icons of heavy music at the annual event, this year will welcome unique and special performances from some of the most exciting names in the scene. With a location upgrade to OVO Arena Wembley, the celebrated venue will recognise the growing impact of heavy music, highlighting both breakthrough artists and stalwarts of the scene. Pre-sale tickets are available to voters and general sale tickets available Wednesday 19th April at 10am, starting at just £25 (plus fees), which are on sale here.

With fournominationnods for the HMAs2023—including Best International Live Artist and Best Album – Lzzy and Joe of the ferocious Halestorm will be playing an intimate ‘unplugged’ show at the awards, joined by inimitable Machine Gun Kelly guitarist Sophie Lloyd. Further talent set to take the stage includes the hugely influential Florida metalcore outfit Underoath, dramatic gothic punks Creeper, Blackpool alt-rockers Boston Manor, and incendiary rock outfit Vukovi (HMAs record makers, boasting 5 nominations this year), joined by pink provocateur Scene Queen in an exclusive one-off collaboration.

Joining the performers on stage and off are an array of compelling hosts from the world of heavy music. Renowned broadcaster and breakthrough music mogul, Kerrang! Radio’s Alex Baker will once again proudly step up to the role of the evenings host, a Heavy Music Awards mainstay after presenting a number of previous unforgettable shows across the awards history. Joining the presenting team will be the alt music champions of national radio, BBC Radio 1 Introducing Rock presenter Alyx Holcombe and BBC Radio 1 Future Alternative presenter Nels Hylton, taking to the Red Carpet to capture the incredible spirit of the evenings celebrations.

This monumental year for the awards continues, with an incredible 1.3 million votes received from fans across 163 countries, giving their huge community of fans a direct hand in shaping the future of their own beloved scene. To thank the zealous and growing Heavy Music Awards fanbase, voters are being given the first opportunity to grab tickets to this landmark event in the UK heavy music calendar, with an exclusive voters only pre-sale now live. General sale will begin Wednesday 19th April at 10am, with tickets starting at £25 (plus fees) and can be found here.

Since its inception back in 2017, the Heavy Music Awards has certified itself as a staple of the heavy music awards calendar, supporting bands from their seminal gigs all the way up to sold out, globe-trotting stadium tours. The awards are known for championing the best in the genre and recognising the most exciting talent in the scene, alongside celebrating the successes of established industry icons. Previous years have supported the breakthrough careers of Nova Twins, Wargasm, Spiritbox, Cassyette and Hot Milk whilst simultaneously recognising the colossal success of Slipknot, Metallica and Bring Me The Horizon in the UK market and beyond.

OVER 40 NEW BANDS AND DAY SPLITS ANNOUNCED
FOR DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2023 

The greatest rock and metal festival of all time, Download Festival, announces 44 new names and the day splits for 2023’s mammoth line-up. New names include the blistering Halestorm, Alter Bridge, Neck Deep, Bob Vylan, Carcass, Five Finger Death Punch, Jinjer, Coheed and Cambria, Electric Callboy, Hot Milk and The Amity Affliction, who will join the celebration of Download’s 20-year legacy at the hallowed grounds of Donington Park across four days over 8-11 June 2023. They join headliners Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon and Metallica, who will deliver two massive no-repeat performances. Weekend and day tickets are now on sale, as well as a very limited amount of camping tickets and new VIP options: www.downloadfestival.co.uk.
 
The biggest annual gathering of the rock and metal tribes will be joined by 44 new names, including the Grammy-winning Halestorm, hard rock frontrunners Alter Bridge, heavy metal behemoths Five Finger Death Punch, MOBO’s first ever Best Alternative Music Act Bob Vylan, Welsh pop punk kings Neck Deep, Las Vegas glam rockers Palaye Royale, and effervescent partycore group Electric Callboy.
 
Joining them at the hallowed grounds will be Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil with his grindcore extreme metal side project Empire State Bastard, metalcore veterans Hatebreed, progressive rock icons Coheed and Cambria, death metal heroes Carcass, throwback rap rockers Joey Valence & Brae, dual-fronted power pop rockers Hot Milk, bright Leeds metalcore outfit Caskets and frenetic Yorkshire-based rock group Dinosaur Pile-Up. Californian punk veterans The Bronx will also be returning to Donington, along with metalcore legend and former lead vocalist of The Dillinger Escape Plan Greg Puciato, and LA metal heavyweights Bad Wolves.
 
Download Festival continues to showcase the best of the international metal scene, with Dutch symphonic metal group Epica, Ukrainian progressive metal band Jinjer, globe-trotting Mongolian warriors The Hu, Australian metalcore heroes The Amity Affliction, Scandinavian pop-rockers Smash Into Pieces, Swedish metal ringmasters Avatar, French gothic electronic musician Perturbator, incendiary Canadian heavy rock duo Cleopatrick, Mexican metal sisters The Warning and French dark-synth pioneer Carpenter Brut all on the bill.
 
Alongside them will be Maryland stoner metal monarchs Clutch, pop punk reformists Mom Jeans, two-time Polaris Music Prize nominees PUP, doom-trap purveyor Mimi Barks, contemporary heavy metallers Spirit Adrift, Essex alt-rock quintet Tigress and Hunstanton’s finest, Deaf Havana. And from the bloodline that brought us the late Eddie Van Halen, we have Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH.
 
Last but not least, we have fist-pumping doom outfit Green Lung, the theatrically bleak A.A. Williams, eloquent emo-infused alt-rockers Beauty School, ostentatious Wyoming metallers Antisaint, punishing riff purveyors Undeath and Metallica protégés Taipei Houston. Not to mention that  Fearless Vampire Killers are back, and their flair for the dramatic and vaudevillian is sure to charm the Donington crowds.
 
Aside from bands, Download Festival are pleased to announce a brand new Camping Plus five-day ticket, which includes toilets and showers in a private campsite. For those who already have a four or five day camping tickets, upgrades are available. For something a little different, a selection of new and unique accommodations have been added to The Rock Retreat including The Skoolie, Fire Truck and Billy The Snail.
 
For more information on VIP options, camping tickets, weekend and day tickets, please go to: www.downloadfestival.co.uk.

Reading Festival 2015 Review

It's bank holiday weekend in August which means one thing, READING FESTIVAL! With 8 stages in the arena, there is something for everyone. 

The Main Stage saw headlining sets from Mumford & Sons, to heavy metal band Metallica and closing the show on Sunday, The Libertines. Each night saw three different audiences, a lot of hardcore Metallica fans arrived on Saturday which drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. During their set Metallica released hundreds of black bouncy balls with their logo on and the fans went wild, all trying to catch one to keep. Unfortunetly The Libertines seemed to lack a powerful performance and struggled to keep a full crowd for the whole set, being Sunday night a few people like to leave and beat the traffic but this seemed more than usual. However Mumford & Sons really captivated the audience attention with sing along songs from their first and second album. Other bands that caught my attention on the Main Stage were Marmozets, Bastille, Bring Me The Horizon, All Time Low and Panic At The Disco.

The BBC hosted 3 stages at Reading where you could see acts like Lethal Bizzle on the 1XTRA stage, Boy Better Know on the Radio 1 Dance Stage to Slaves and Limp Bizkit on the NME Stage where there was also a secret set from Foals. They also support growing talent in the music industry and brought back the BBC Introducing stage for another year. I got to see The Big Moon, Clean Cut Kid and Georgia. I was very impressed with all three and they are names to look out for in the future. 

I soon realised I’d be spending most of my time at The Lock Up/The Pit stage when I saw the line up. There were so many bands worth mentioning the list could go on forever, but these were some of my favourites; While She Sleeps, Bury Tomorrow, PVRIS, Moose Blood, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and definelty a band to keep an eye on ho99o9. I’m pretty sure a lot of these acts will be on the main stage next year at Reading which is exciting for 2016.

Overall I had a really good experience at Reading Festival. The weather turned out to be pretty great, considering forecasts were set for downpours on Saturday and Sunday, there was minimal rain and hardly any mud (apart from in the campsite). The food was average festival food and there was a fair that went on into the night to keep you entertained when the music stopped. I’m really looking forward to what they have to offer for Reading Festival 2016!

Metallica to headline Reading and Leeds Festival 2015

Reading & Leeds Festivals are excited to announce undisputed global superstars Metallica as the first headliners for 2015 in a UK Festival Exclusive performance. James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and Rob Trujillo will take to the Main Stage next August Bank Holiday Weekend to provide a defining moment of the 2015 festival season.

Returning to the prestigious headline spot for a record fourth time in 2015, the band have a rich history at the Festivals, having first headlined Reading Festival 18 years ago. With a career spanning over three decades and more than 110 million records sold across the world, Metallica are undoubtedly one of the biggest and best live acts on the planet. Their critically acclaimed film ‘Some Kind of Monster’ will be re-released on December 15th, available for the first time digitally and on Blu-ray, and including ‘Metallica: This Monster Lives’, a brand new 25-minute feature following up on the last decade with the band.

Lars Ulrich from Metallica says:

We are obviously beyond thrilled to be returning to headline the magnificent and mighty double shot at Reading & Leeds for the fourth time. We are practically the house band. Bring it!”

Festival boss Melvin Benn comments:

“I’m excited to be able to announce Metallica as the first headliner for Reading & Leeds 2015. Their amazing live show promises to be a favourite with rock, metal and genuine music fans at the UK's most important music festival, perfectly topping a bill of brilliant acts from across the genres. I’m looking forward to revealing the rest of the Festival line up, which will feature the absolute best of rock, indie, dance and hip hop and will only add to the amazing atmosphere that make Reading & Leeds so special.”

Following this year’s explosive secret set at Reading, Jamie T will make the trip to both Festival sites in 2015. Fresh from a hugely successful sold out UK tour and the release of third album ‘Carry On The Grudge’ this autumn, Jamie T is one of the hottest acts of the moment and an exciting addition to the Festival line-up.

Fresh from their highly anticipated fourth studio album, Californian post-hardcore favourites Pierce The Veil will be making their long-awaited Reading & Leeds debut in 2015.

Vic Fuentes from the band comments:

"We've been dying to do these Festivals ever since we started touring in the UK!  It's such an honour to be a part of something that people wait all year round to see.”

With his set this year proving to be one of the defining moments on the BBC Radio 1 Dance Stage, drum ‘n’ bass maestro Wilkinson is no stranger to Reading & Leeds. Stepping up his live show yet another notch following his ‘Lazers Not Included’ tour, he will be returning to the Festival in 2015.

Headlining The Pit Stage, Refused have become one of the most influential heavy bands of a generation. The Swedish punk band’s now legendary album ‘The Shape Of Punk To Come’ fused noisy hardcore, post-punk, techno and jazz to create an entirely original sound. Since reforming for shows in 2012, the band have returned stronger than ever with a live set that shows the true scope of their musical legacy.

With two critically acclaimed albums released in the last two years, Run The Jewels are arguably the hottest hip-hop act on the planet. Making their Reading & Leeds debut next year, rap veterans Killer Mike and El-P’s performance will be essential Festival viewing.

Manchester Orchestra will make their third trip to Reading & Leeds in 2015. Following the release of fourth album ‘Cope’ and this year’s stripped down alternate version ‘Hope’, their appearances at the Festivals will be a summer highlight for indie-rock fans.

Sonisphere Review 2014

Sonisphere made a triumphant return after being cancelled for the past two years, due to a mix of financial problems, getting the right line up and bad luck. So this year it was time for Sonisphere to pick back up and the people of Sonisphere to finally reunite. A weekend of The Prodigy, Iron Maiden, Metallica from fist pumping to moshing, circle pits to expensive beer, dam good burritos, disgusting toilets and pretty good weather these past few days have been incredible. 

The layout of this years main arena was a fantastic and cleaver set up with the two main stages (Apollo stage and Saturn stage) opposite each other, being such a small festival fans could easily move from one to another within a few minutes. If stood in between the two stages there were some spots which you could see both stages from a reasonable distance. I believed this helped promote the bands on the second stage (Saturn stage) more as it wasn't any effort to switch between the two stages. To walk around the whole festival aswell has having a cheeky look into some of the market stalls it would take around ten minutes. 

The market and food stalls have an excellent selection to choose from. The market stalls include festival clothes, festival gear, temporary tattoos, face paint, shoe stalls, as well as tones more. Food wise, Sonisphere went a little on the gourmet/ bohemian style food, with the desert bar, the Hippy chippy, I <3 Ostrich and Milkshake bars. However there has been an uproar on the expense of the beer. Being at £4.90 a pint and allowing no alcohol of your own into the main area this proved to be a disappointment to the people of Sonisphere

Friday
Tents up and the sun shining Defiled kicking off this years main stage, this wasn't there only slot, they also performed Nivarna covers on the Bohemia stage later on in the weekend. Next up Anti Flag, who enticed the audience by making them sing back, clap their hands, and of course start circle pits. Without a doubt Anti Flags audience participation was defiantly there. As well as getting the crowd involved witty banter from lead singer Chris Baker shouts "the mother fucking pink power ranger wasn't singing, don't you dare fuck this up for the rest of us." Their last song 'Power to the Peaceful' was performed with Chris surrounded by the crowd. HIM singing behind their signature brand image, I believe there could of been more enthusiasm from the band it's self as there was very little audience participation which let there performance down. Limp Bizkit started out by saying "Now you know what time it really fucking is? Limp Bizkit in the house, you ready for this" 'Rollin' starting their set everyone stood up and began moshing and head banging. A lot of toilet roll was thrown around the crowd, was this a sign of a bad performance or just typical festival discourse? Awkwardly saying it was Saturday when in fact it was Friday, there were a few other blips throughout the set. "You guys ready to get you're Saturday night on?" Left the crowd a little silent and confused. But this was styled out with a cover of George Michael's Faith. To finish was the first headliner of the weekend, The Prodigy. Lights and smoke filled the stage, building the suspense for the fans. The atmosphere was electrifying, hands were in the air, everyone was dancing, and when it begin to rain during the second song this was a massive relief (especially to the sunburnt people) after the insanely hot weather that whole day. Thunder was slowed down and changed to fit the crowd which was good as it was a metal festival but made Prodigy loose abit of its originality.  

Saturday 
Alestorm took the Saturn stage early this morning and with pirate metal being such a niche market the turn out was pretty big. Fans embraced the music and danced to fit the genre. Alestorms advice to the crowd was "Let's drink a lot of shit." Baby Metal blew everyone away at this years festival, if they were to receive a on award from the crowds feedback, it would defiantly be most upcoming band of the year. The three sweet Japanese young looking trio contrasted with the hard metal instrumental but it worked and was a fantastic performance that everyone couldn't stop talking about and was singing the whole weekend. The bands visuals spoke of no bullying and not hurting one another this may have been contradictory after the trio then told the crowd to do the wall of death. Ghost gave out a passionate performance and excelled on there on stage presence which the band is recognised for. Lead singer Papa Emeritus mimics the Roman Catholic Pope although the greatest difference is the anti Christ symbol on his head piece, the image representing the worship of Satan. The guitarist were also dressed mimicking Priest. Anthrax turn out was pretty much the same as an a headliner maybe this is a hint for Sonisphere in the future, but this wasn't there only set, on Friday they played their 'Playing Among the Living' on the Bohemia Stage but the tent was packed full the security had to monitor people going in and out of the tent. Their main stage performance, the crowd was really going for it. Sonisphere sure did love Anthrax. Deftones and Slayer both had similar audience engagement, everyone was moshing, circle pits were forming and head banging was taken place which concluded these two bands really pulled it off. If you weren't in an Iron Maiden top for today then you would stick out like a saw thumb because literally everyone had them on. Overhearing a lot of people talking about Bruce Dickinson and were jokes going round that every plane that flew past, it was Bruce flying it, (even if it was an easy jet plane.) To end the day of this crazy line up, Iron Maiden took the stage and completely ripped it apart. The visuals were continuously changed throughout the set, with Eddie in his few forms. "It's you that's makes it real" Bruce proposes to the crowd. Lights, fire, sparks, everything and more in a performance you could wish for, this was by far the performance that completely owned this years Sonisphere.
 
Sunday
Sadly the last day of Sonisphere, but the wait for Metallica tonight was sure to hold the crowd up from their hangovers. After Gojira noticed the crowds half hearted dancing (as this was an early set,) they soon got the crowd back up, by shouting, "Still a little sleepy, let's makes some noise," which woke the crowd up and circle pits started appearing and more fist pumping was taking place. Devin Townsend Project was all about the love at this years Sonisphere as he told the crowd, "Group hug everybody, it's all about the love." Devin pulled off a fantastic performance and even hinted he may be back next year. "Maybe see you next year, love you all, see you and have a good night." Airbourne hitting the stage next and we all know this is going to be an exciting performance after the expectations of Joel O'Keefee goings on, on stage. Airbourne completely took the stage and had everyone gripped. "Even though the toilets are leaking, you lot still having a good time…You lot look great, you are rock and roll." As of tradition Joel did start climbing the scaffolding of the main stage and began to swing his guitar about whilst up in the air. At the end of the set Joel kindly threw a few beers into the crowd. Reel Big Fish on next, the crowd did experience about a minute worth of sound missing from the main speakers but the bands humour and charm pulled this off. The song 'Fuck You', resulted in "47 fucks in a row." Everyone was soon up singing and dancing when they played a cover of Ah Ha's Take On Me. Alice in Chains on before the final headliner of Soniphere was another kickass performance. "How you doing Knebworth?" got the crowd buzzing and was a consistent performance from start to finish. Wrapping up this years Sonisphere Metallica held the fans waiting a eager 15 minutes after their scheduled time. This really built up the climax to the final big performance. Typically some great facial expressions from James Hetfield as they played fans request for the set list. The bands classics were played along with their new songs Lords of Summer which seems a little strange that this was requested, but the bands performance was truly astonishing. The visuals and props were a little disappointing at the beginning but this got better as balloons and lasers appeared later on in the set. 

This years Sonisphere was a thrilling return and a complete success. Lets hope Sonisphere lives up to its amazing weekends like this one for the future. 

Metallica Review Sonisphere 2014

After the incredible performance from Iron Maiden last night, can Metallica generate the same results?  With the crowds pouring towards the Apollo Stage and people packed tightly together, this long weekend was tiring but everyone was so ready for this grande finale of Metallica By Request. Part of their 'By Request' tour allowed fans to vote the set.

Starting the set with "Battery" this got the crowd going wild. "Are you alive, tell me what it's like to be alive?" Screamed lead singer James Hetfield making the crowd roar with excitement. The visuals included three different screens showing the band live as they play. This was a little disappointing, however this was only the start and it sure kicked off in the end with giant inflatable beach balls filling the main stage, lasers hitting the night sky, fireworks and the whole shabang. "You've saved all your best fun for tonight right?" James shouts, getting the crowd revved up again.

James called someone up on stage which was pretty exciting and asked them to present the next song. Up came a bohemian looking chic Kate from London who introduced the next song but the crowd had a different idea and she did get a few boos. This happened a second time with a gentleman called Craig also from London, but again this didn't go down too well with the crowd.

Photo courtesy of Sonisphere

But of course Metallica being Metallica easily pulled this off and got the crowd back on track. Most of the favourites songs were played such as "Enter Sandman", "Master of Puppets", "Nothing Else Matters", and strangely "Lords of Summer", one of the bands new songs, which was pretty surprising that it got requested.  

After a short encore and the crowd crying out for more they returned on stage and ended with "Seek and Destroy". Hanging about the stage for quite a while with Union Jack flags the band was messing about abit but then disappeared. Metallica and Iron Maiden are clearly equally as talented but in terms of performance, the visuals and effort but in of the presentation of the performance it has to be Iron Maiden trumps as headliner of the weekend at Sonisphere.

Glastonbury reveals Metallica, Kasabian & Arcade Fire will headline in 2014

There have been various rumors over the past few months with who would headline this years Glastonbury.  The Summer Festival Guide can now reveal that Metallica, Kasabian & Arcade Fire will headline the Pyramid Stage at this years Glastonbury.

Also joining the headliners on the Pyramid Stage will be Dolly Parton, Jack White, Elbow, The Black Keys, Robert Plant, ily Allen, Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Rudimental, De La Soul, Kelis, The 1975, Angel Haze and more.

Also gracing this years festival will be Skrillex, Jake Bugg, Massive Attack, M.I.A, Bryan Ferry, Disclosure, Metronomy, Mogwai, James Blacke, Kaiser Chiefs, MGMT, London Grammar, Dexys, Suzanne Vega, Fat Boy Slim, Richie Hawtin, Annie Mac, Above & Beyond, and many many more.

See the lineup below:

Sonisphere 2014 Day Splits announced plus more artists!

You can now start planning your Sonisphere itinerary as we present to you the day splits for this years summer festival which takes place at the legendary venue Knebworth Park.

We have also got a list of fourteen new bands which will join the massive lineup headlined by The Prodigy, Iron Maiden and Metallica.

Announced today we have, Gary Numan, Band of Skulls, Carcass, New Model Army, The Winery Dogs, The Bronx, Gallows, 65DaysOfStatic, Sebastian Bach, Chiodos, Bam Margera's Fuckface Unstoppable, Anti Nowhere League, Little Matador & The Lounge Kittens.

See the day splits below:

Friday
 
APOLLO STAGE:
 
THE PRODIGY
LIMP BIZKIT
BAND OF SKULLS
GARY NUMAN
ANTI-FLAG
THE DEFILED
 
BOHEMIA & OTHER STAGES:
 
ELECTRIC WIZARD
65DAYSOFSTATIC
DEVIL YOU KNOW
BAM  MARGERA'S FUCKFACE UNSTOPPABLE
YASHIN   
CARNIFEX
BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL
HOUNDS  
LITTLE MATADOR
 
Saturday
 
APOLLO STAGE:
IRON MAIDEN
DEFTONES
FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS
ANTHRAX
GHOST
 
SATURN STAGE:
SLAYER
CARCASS
THE WINERY DOGS
CHAS & DAVE
ALESTORM
 
BOHEMIA & OTHER STAGES:
THE SISTERS OF MERCY
NEW MODEL ARMY
DOG EAT DOG PLAYING ALL BORO KINGS
SEBASTIAN BACH   
WILKO JOHNSON
THE VIRGINMARYS    
RECKLESS LOVE  
BLITZ KIDS   
STAMPIN GROUND   
TURBOWOLF  
VOODOO SIX   
THE HELL
 
Sunday
 
APOLLO STAGE:
METALLICA
ALICE IN CHAINS
MASTODON
AIRBOURNE
DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT
GOJIRA
 
SATURN STAGE:
DREAM THEATER
DROPKICK MURPHYS
REEL BIG FISH
KARNIVOOL  
PROTEST THE HERO
 
BOHEMIA & OTHER STAGES:
THE BRONX
GALLOWS
CHIODOS  
KERBDOG
BLACK SPIDERS  
TRUCKFIGHTERS
SILVERSTEIN  
THE CADILLAC THREE
ONLY CRIME
ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE
ITCH  
KROKODIL