Friday 4th July 2014, American Independence Day and the day Black Sabbath took over Hyde Park. For the purpose of this blog I will be concentrating fully on the gods of rock and metal.
The supporting bill included some other major names in heavy music and so the decision to get a ticket was simple. I just wish I had waited until someone accidentally posted the link to the friends and family tickets that only cost £2.50, but no matter.
(Scores out of 10)
Arriving at the festival site slightly later than planned meant missing Soulfly which is rather annoying as they are a band that I have never managed to see. Seems to be a conspiracy against me seeing them still!
So my opening band of the day was Motorhead (7), these guys can still rock with the best of them but it is clear that Lemmys' frailty is becoming an issue. Still, I don't think anyone telling him that will stop the guy taking the stage and blasting out the hits. A 45 minute set included all the stalwarts you'd expect to see, including an impressive drum solo from Mikkey Dee to allow Lemmy a breather backstage. A decent enough set from the guys but it may be time to start dialing back. After pulling out of their Wacken show after 30 minutes last year they are returning to Germany at the end of the month, it will be interesting to see how that works out this time round.
Following that, we had Faith No More (10), being my first time seeing them I couldn't have been happier. A superb setlist which the band blasted from the stage without a thought to slowing the pace. The band are so tightly knit it's amazing to think they had a ten year hiatus not so long ago, which has definitely been put into history. Mike Patton showed his incredible vocal range from quoting the Exorcists' "your mother sucks cocks in hell" (a quote he said a number of times!) through to a brilliant cover of The Commodores' 'Easy'. The band included the world premiere of two new songs in their set and it has to be said, they sounded bloody marvellous! Really looking forward to what these guys do in the future.
Before the next band on main stage I took a quick stroll around the site and caught part of the Blitz Kids (7) set on the Summer stage (or Little Bandstand as it would be better called), they sounded pretty good and I will look out for catching them again so that I can give them a proper listen.
Back on main and Soundgarden (8) took to the stage. I saw a bit of their set at Download 2012, funnily enough sub-headlining to Black Sabbath, and really didn't think much of them. In fact, when I saw they were subbing at BST, I was looking for any reason to not see them. The fact I gave them another go was a good call in the end. Chris Cornell started the set by telling the crowd that he wouldn't be chatting too much as it was 20 years ago that the album Superunknown was released and they were going to be playing it in its entirety. And it was awesome! They sounded great, Mike McCready joined them on-stage for title track 'Superunknown' and the band, much like FNM but with an additional 2 years, have really pushed on since their hiatus, including a new album, and seem to enjoy what they're doing again. I don't know if they will look to write and put out another new record or just carry on with more live shows, but either way, they were well worth the watch.
Cutting the Soundgarden set 4 songs short, I walked into the Village Hall tent to see another band that have eluded me until now (and a subsequent second time. But that's another story for another blog that may be out soon). Before I get into that, it has to be said that BST didn't seem to think this stage through, it was pitch black inside and everyone struggled to see when they walked in and tried to find a spot to stand. Maybe some house lights could help before the band start, just a suggestion. However, after finding a space, the stage erupted when Gallows (9) arrived on the scene. Nothing like a blast of hardcore punk after a day of rock'n'roll to blow the cobwebs away and keep your attention focused on the front and centre. Lead singer, Wade MacNeil was in the crowd as soon as guitarist Lags had played the first note. These guys are ferocious and punishing in delivering their hard hitting music and don't let up for a second until the final note is played. New song 'Chains' sounds amazing and the new album that Wade promised would be out in Autumn is looking like it'll be a belter! They ended the set with both Wade and Lags in the crowd and it was great to see, not only the appreciation from the fans, but the respect shown right back by the band. Many bands say thanks for the support but these guys know their roots and were happy to be right in the mix with their fellow music loving family.
Before the main event I stopped by the Summer Stage where Turbowolf (7) were delivering their brand of hard rock. They seem like a decent enough band, one to keep an eye on in the future. I didn't hang around long as I wanted to get a good spot for Sabbath but did see the Cuban Brothers (5) performing 'Ace Of Spades', which seemed good fun. Until I noticed the non-singing guy in the tight fitting onesie and so can only give a mid range score. Some things you just can't un-see!
But now it was time for what we had been waiting for, the mighty Black Sabbath (10) took to the Great Oak stage and made it their own. I thought they were superb at Download 2012, but I think this time they were even better. Ozzys' voice was near perfect. Tony Iommi slung his guitar through riffs and solos like there was nothing to it. Geezer Butler kept the low-toned bass driving throughout each song and long-term stand-in drummer Tommy Clufetos fits in nicely behind the skins (and isn't afraid to control the crowd with a frenetic solo whilst the other members have a quick break). The setlist, including 2 songs from new album '13', could not have been much better. 'War Pigs' is a great opener to lure the crowd in straight away and once in their grasp there is no escaping Black Sabbath as they hurl their fused style of doom, prog metal (and in the latter stages of the show, buckets of water) at you. 'Children of the Grave' was belted out as if it was 1971 and the band had only just written it. The encore consisting solely of 'Paranoid' ended a fantastic Sabbath gig and Ozzy and his band mates thanked the crowd for the unwavering support throughout the years.
The huge fireworks finale signaled the last show of this tour and indeed it may well be the very last Sabbath show ever, depending on Iommis health and whether or not he and the others feel they want to continue. But if it was the final show, it was a hell of a send off! Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 'til the end.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, 7 July 2014
Sunday, 22 June 2014
Download Festival 2014 Review
So, after saying I wouldn't be going to any festivals in 2014, I am actually
attending 2 full weekends and 2 days of Sonisphere. Guess my willpower is next
to non-existant, whoops. However, the decision to attend Download for the third
year in a row has turned out to be one of the best decisions ever. It has been
a superb weekend and I wish it hadn't had to come to an end.... although my
feet, legs, arms, neck etc would hugely disagree with that statement!
As with last year I decided to just buy a weekend arena ticket and tuck myself away in Derby in a hotel. I drove up this time which saved lugging everything around on trains and coaches and made the journey far easier. After settling in, it was time for some sleep ready to hit Donington Park on the Friday.
Key: Stage names --- Stephen Sutton Main Stage – M; Zippo
Encore Second Stage – Z; Pepsi Max tent – P; Red Bull tent – R; Jagermeister
stage – J. All ratings out of ten.
Friday
Friday
Prior to the festival, summer had finally turned up in the
UK and the weekend of Download was forecast to remain the same with hot sunshine
and little rain. Friday certainly lived up to this and after getting the
shuttle from Derby to Download, it was already roasting. Another batch of sun
cream applied and it was off to the gates.
Unlike last year, when there was much to-ing and fro-ing, I now knew where to queue to get the ticket checked and wristband given. After getting into the arena and purchasing a cold bottle of water straight away, it was time for the music.
Tax The Heat – Z – 7 – A very enjoyable start to the festival. Great little rock and roll band to nod along to. Not much more to add to that really.
Caught the last song of Miss May I on the main stage, which is the same as I heard when I saw them at a Killswitch gig months earlier. Should try and catch a whole set at some point.
Crossfaith – M – 7 – These guys are such a great live band. Given rise to their “electronicore” style of music they infuse electronic sounds with heavy riffs and mental drum solos. Their cover of ‘Omen’ going over very well with the bouncing masses in front of the stage. Frontman Koie Kenta was extremely grateful to their fans for their success over the years. And I can only see this band getting stronger.
Powerman 5000 – M – 5 – My first thought to this band being announced was “who?!” Transpires that I sing one of their tracks daily in my head, so I was quite looking forward to them. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite live up to expectations. I think they would’ve worked better on 2nd or even in the larger tent and playing to a crowd of their fans. Main stage seemed a bit too much for them. And apart from big hitters ‘Bombshell’ and ‘When Worlds Collide’, which were saved until the end, the crowd just seemed completely uninterested. I did enjoy the set but it just felt quite flat for the most part.
Skindred – M – 10 – Ah, Skindred. What can you say about Skindred? Well, they are one of the most entertaining bands to watch at the moment. Benji Webbe is fast becoming one of the best frontmen of this generation, who else can get the Download crowd to do the Harlem Shake?! They played a great set including 2 off the new album, which isn’t the best in my opinion, and stalwarts ‘Pressure’, ‘Nobody’ and ‘Warning’ (with guest vocals from Crossfaiths Koie Kenta). Speaking to a fellow Downloader later in the weekend I suggested that Skindred could push themselves into a 2nd stage headliner spot (and beyond) in years to come. They have the stage show and crowd work sorted, just need to produce a couple more well received albums to have the whole package.
Making my way back to 2nd stage I managed to see the last couple of songs from The Answer. I really enjoy this band and would’ve seen them if not for Skindred playing on main.
The Temperance Movement – Z – 7 – I don’t think I have ever been this chilled out during a festival set before. A fantastic blues rock band that acted as superb background music whilst I was beginning to flag in the heat. I really hope I can see them again.
Within Temptation – M – 10 – I have to thank Andy C (festival booker) here for adding Rival Sons to the Zippo stage line-up. That stopped the clash of Within Temptation and Flogging Molly which was causing me some distress before the festival. I had to sell my ticket for Within Temptation in London and so, desperately wanted to see them at Download. And I’m extremely glad I did, they were amazing. As I have said in previous reviews, symphonic metal is one of my favourite genres of music and I was not disappointed with this set. Sharon den Adel is an amazing frontwoman and owned every track, if I can be that energetic and powerful a month before I turn 40 I’ll be very happy! For me, the setlist was near perfect. I would say it was a bit too ‘Hydra’ heavy, except that a) it’s the album they’ve been touring and b) it is an incredible album. The only thing that would’ve topped this set would’ve been Xzibit and/or Howard Jones coming on stage during the songs they feature in. But I cannot fault WT at all, one of the best bands of the weekend for sure.
Flogging Molly – Z – 10 – “And now for something completely different” said frontman Dave King, and he’s not wrong. But Flogging Molly are simply just an amazing, fun band to see live. They played a great folk-punk set with all the favourites packed in and you couldn’t help but bop along. Flogging Molly are that band that you can’t help but enjoy everything that is coming off the stage. I just wish they could’ve had a longer set. A plane flew over during their set and in Dave Kings words “it had to be a Ryanair didn’t it!” If you haven’t seen this band before I highly recommend you do so. Great entertainment with superb songs as an added bonus.
Bad Religion – Z – 9 – Full on punk rock blasted with ferocious tenacity was the order for the Friday sub headline set. Bad Religion opened with ‘Fuck You’ and didn’t let up until the final bars of set closer ‘Sorrow’. Managed to get front and centre for this and it was so much fun, I’ve wanted to see them for a long time and wasn’t disappointed. They played 3 songs from their newest album but also included a song from nearly every other album they have released since 1982. It’s amazing to see a band formed in 1979 still have that much enjoyment on stage, playing to their fans and hopefully they’ll be around for a while longer yet.
The Offspring – Z – 10 – Time for my first headliner of Download 2014 and I was slightly worried that they would disappoint me. I’d heard reviews that they are lacklustre and bored in their playing nowadays. The fact they were playing the album ‘Smash’ in full was something I was looking forward to and after 20 seconds of Nitro I knew that this was going to be The Offspring at their best. The whole band looked like they were enjoying it as much as the crowd. It started raining during the set (just a brief cooling shower) and unlike many previous years of Download, this was greeted by a huge cheer from the crowd. After playing through Smash it was time for the hits. I would’ve liked a couple of songs from ‘Conspiracy of One’ but can’t complain about the tunes that did get aired. It turned into a complete sing-a-long with ‘Pretty Fly’ and ‘Why Don’t You Get a Job’ being belted out by everyone around me. I can happily say I have now seen The Offspring and am delighted by that fact. It was a great way to end the first day of Download and now fully into the festival feel I couldn’t wait for day 2.
Band of the day – The Offspring, just too good to ignore as the highlight of the day.
Surprise of the day – Very difficult to pick as there were so many good bands on the Friday. I think it will have to go to Bad Religion, as I wasn't expecting them to still be that good.
Saturday
Unlike last year, when there was much to-ing and fro-ing, I now knew where to queue to get the ticket checked and wristband given. After getting into the arena and purchasing a cold bottle of water straight away, it was time for the music.
Tax The Heat – Z – 7 – A very enjoyable start to the festival. Great little rock and roll band to nod along to. Not much more to add to that really.
Caught the last song of Miss May I on the main stage, which is the same as I heard when I saw them at a Killswitch gig months earlier. Should try and catch a whole set at some point.
Crossfaith – M – 7 – These guys are such a great live band. Given rise to their “electronicore” style of music they infuse electronic sounds with heavy riffs and mental drum solos. Their cover of ‘Omen’ going over very well with the bouncing masses in front of the stage. Frontman Koie Kenta was extremely grateful to their fans for their success over the years. And I can only see this band getting stronger.
Powerman 5000 – M – 5 – My first thought to this band being announced was “who?!” Transpires that I sing one of their tracks daily in my head, so I was quite looking forward to them. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite live up to expectations. I think they would’ve worked better on 2nd or even in the larger tent and playing to a crowd of their fans. Main stage seemed a bit too much for them. And apart from big hitters ‘Bombshell’ and ‘When Worlds Collide’, which were saved until the end, the crowd just seemed completely uninterested. I did enjoy the set but it just felt quite flat for the most part.
Skindred – M – 10 – Ah, Skindred. What can you say about Skindred? Well, they are one of the most entertaining bands to watch at the moment. Benji Webbe is fast becoming one of the best frontmen of this generation, who else can get the Download crowd to do the Harlem Shake?! They played a great set including 2 off the new album, which isn’t the best in my opinion, and stalwarts ‘Pressure’, ‘Nobody’ and ‘Warning’ (with guest vocals from Crossfaiths Koie Kenta). Speaking to a fellow Downloader later in the weekend I suggested that Skindred could push themselves into a 2nd stage headliner spot (and beyond) in years to come. They have the stage show and crowd work sorted, just need to produce a couple more well received albums to have the whole package.
Making my way back to 2nd stage I managed to see the last couple of songs from The Answer. I really enjoy this band and would’ve seen them if not for Skindred playing on main.
The Temperance Movement – Z – 7 – I don’t think I have ever been this chilled out during a festival set before. A fantastic blues rock band that acted as superb background music whilst I was beginning to flag in the heat. I really hope I can see them again.
Within Temptation – M – 10 – I have to thank Andy C (festival booker) here for adding Rival Sons to the Zippo stage line-up. That stopped the clash of Within Temptation and Flogging Molly which was causing me some distress before the festival. I had to sell my ticket for Within Temptation in London and so, desperately wanted to see them at Download. And I’m extremely glad I did, they were amazing. As I have said in previous reviews, symphonic metal is one of my favourite genres of music and I was not disappointed with this set. Sharon den Adel is an amazing frontwoman and owned every track, if I can be that energetic and powerful a month before I turn 40 I’ll be very happy! For me, the setlist was near perfect. I would say it was a bit too ‘Hydra’ heavy, except that a) it’s the album they’ve been touring and b) it is an incredible album. The only thing that would’ve topped this set would’ve been Xzibit and/or Howard Jones coming on stage during the songs they feature in. But I cannot fault WT at all, one of the best bands of the weekend for sure.
Flogging Molly – Z – 10 – “And now for something completely different” said frontman Dave King, and he’s not wrong. But Flogging Molly are simply just an amazing, fun band to see live. They played a great folk-punk set with all the favourites packed in and you couldn’t help but bop along. Flogging Molly are that band that you can’t help but enjoy everything that is coming off the stage. I just wish they could’ve had a longer set. A plane flew over during their set and in Dave Kings words “it had to be a Ryanair didn’t it!” If you haven’t seen this band before I highly recommend you do so. Great entertainment with superb songs as an added bonus.
Bad Religion – Z – 9 – Full on punk rock blasted with ferocious tenacity was the order for the Friday sub headline set. Bad Religion opened with ‘Fuck You’ and didn’t let up until the final bars of set closer ‘Sorrow’. Managed to get front and centre for this and it was so much fun, I’ve wanted to see them for a long time and wasn’t disappointed. They played 3 songs from their newest album but also included a song from nearly every other album they have released since 1982. It’s amazing to see a band formed in 1979 still have that much enjoyment on stage, playing to their fans and hopefully they’ll be around for a while longer yet.
The Offspring – Z – 10 – Time for my first headliner of Download 2014 and I was slightly worried that they would disappoint me. I’d heard reviews that they are lacklustre and bored in their playing nowadays. The fact they were playing the album ‘Smash’ in full was something I was looking forward to and after 20 seconds of Nitro I knew that this was going to be The Offspring at their best. The whole band looked like they were enjoying it as much as the crowd. It started raining during the set (just a brief cooling shower) and unlike many previous years of Download, this was greeted by a huge cheer from the crowd. After playing through Smash it was time for the hits. I would’ve liked a couple of songs from ‘Conspiracy of One’ but can’t complain about the tunes that did get aired. It turned into a complete sing-a-long with ‘Pretty Fly’ and ‘Why Don’t You Get a Job’ being belted out by everyone around me. I can happily say I have now seen The Offspring and am delighted by that fact. It was a great way to end the first day of Download and now fully into the festival feel I couldn’t wait for day 2.
Band of the day – The Offspring, just too good to ignore as the highlight of the day.
Surprise of the day – Very difficult to pick as there were so many good bands on the Friday. I think it will have to go to Bad Religion, as I wasn't expecting them to still be that good.
Saturday
The forecast for Saturday was that it would be cooler with
more cloud cover. And after the heat of Friday I was rather happy about this!
It’s always easier getting into a festival once you have a wristband on and
after a member of the security staff asked if he could give me a tug (and then
explaining he meant the wristband and not that I’d be getting lucky) I was into
the second day of the festival. This would start with the longest period of
time I have spent at one stage for all of the festivals I have attended.
Dying Fetus – M – 9 – Now, death metal is a great style of music but there is a thin line for bands to be good or just sound like an awful racket. On record, Dying Fetus aren’t really my cup of tea. Live, however, they were absolutely fantastic. I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed their set that I didn’t want it to last just 30 minutes. It was such a shock to like them as much as I did. The reason Dying Fetus got booked to play was due to a Twitter campaign, #whynotdyingfetus, and vocalist John Gallagher paid tribute to the fans that got them on the line up. Phenomenal start to the day and it was only 11.30am.
Fozzy – M – 7 – I am a big fan of Fozzy, although not so much the last album. But this set left me a little disappointed. Something was lacking and it meant they didn’t score as highly as I was anticipating. That being said, they still sounded good and I did enjoy it. Chris Jericho is a great frontman and his time in WWE has helped that, during part of the set it sounded like he was cutting a promo on RAW. But whether the main stage was a step too far for them I don’t know. Chris also said that he had made an agreement with the higher powers that it wouldn’t rain, this was about 5 minutes before it did start raining, albeit barely a drizzle. They played 2 songs from their upcoming album and they were great so I have higher hopes for that record.
Bury Tomorrow – M – 9 – From going into the set thinking, ‘I’m not a huge fan of this band’ to coming out with the mindset of ‘wow, that was brilliant’, is a perfect example of why I love live music. A fantastic band that will only get bigger as time goes on. I do like metalcore and I really like how Bury Tomorrow have added more melodic elements into their structure as well. Bury Tomorrow commanded the main stage and kept the crowd entertained with a battle of the sexes, including a female only mosh pit, and adapting the crouch down to jump up into a lie down to jump up segment. Ending the set with the big hit of ‘Lionheart’ and asking for as many crowd surfers as possible was awesome (for the crowd at least, I think the security staff had a heart attack when they heard that) They’re playing a small venue in Portsmouth later in the year which I wasn’t going to attend, I may reappraise that decision. – edit - Since writing that I have indeed purchased a ticket.
Took a little wander after Bury Tomorrow to fill up the water bottle and stood outside the Red Bull tent listening to Colt 45 – R - 7 – Only caught a couple of songs but they seem like a decent rock band. If I remember correctly they were one I was going to check out at Camden Rocks or something similar. I will keep an eye out if these guys are playing somewhere close by.
While She Sleeps – M – 8 – Metalcore band from Sheffield who tore apart the main stage. Heavy riffs and screaming vocals a-plenty and they seemed really happy being there. This band are really on an upwards incline and it was easy to see why. After taking some time out in the early part of 2014 for lead singer Lawrence ‘Loz’ Taylor to undergo throat surgery, they made their return UK performance a memorable one. The crowd were really into them and there was a lot of movement at the front. At the end of the set, Loz climbed the sound desk/video camera tower in the middle of the arena and planted the WSS flag he had been holding. Unfortunately it was the other side to where I was standing so I couldn’t get a photo.
Bowling For Soup – M – 9 – Well, this was just super fun! And, somehow, the first time I have seen BFS. The banter from the group was brilliant and at times I thought I was at a comedy gig rather than music. The BFS photo opportunity was hilarious if not a little long winded; it was a music gig after all. The Queens’ knight killing a giant inflatable sheep got a lot of laughs, especially as it seemed to be a difficult task! And when they were actually playing, they were faultless. All the hits got an airing and the crowd were fully into it, ‘1985’ and ‘Punk Rock 101’ were definite highlights. The band doesn’t take themselves seriously and that helped with the good-natured, fun-loving feel of the set. Definitely a band to check out at their own shows.
Killswitch Engage – M – 8 – Saw these guys at their headline show earlier this year and they were fantastic, they were just as good at Download. Jesse Leach has slotted straight back into the band as if he never left, commanding the old and new records. I wasn’t sure if another metalcore band was going to prove too much for one day, or if by following Bowling For Soup they would seem out of place. But I was proven wrong by a band that knows what they’re doing and do it very well indeed, every song was pounded out with as much energy from start to finish. Apart from Adam Ds’ guitar breaking from which he eventually gave up with and went to party with the crowd.
Dying Fetus – M – 9 – Now, death metal is a great style of music but there is a thin line for bands to be good or just sound like an awful racket. On record, Dying Fetus aren’t really my cup of tea. Live, however, they were absolutely fantastic. I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed their set that I didn’t want it to last just 30 minutes. It was such a shock to like them as much as I did. The reason Dying Fetus got booked to play was due to a Twitter campaign, #whynotdyingfetus, and vocalist John Gallagher paid tribute to the fans that got them on the line up. Phenomenal start to the day and it was only 11.30am.
Fozzy – M – 7 – I am a big fan of Fozzy, although not so much the last album. But this set left me a little disappointed. Something was lacking and it meant they didn’t score as highly as I was anticipating. That being said, they still sounded good and I did enjoy it. Chris Jericho is a great frontman and his time in WWE has helped that, during part of the set it sounded like he was cutting a promo on RAW. But whether the main stage was a step too far for them I don’t know. Chris also said that he had made an agreement with the higher powers that it wouldn’t rain, this was about 5 minutes before it did start raining, albeit barely a drizzle. They played 2 songs from their upcoming album and they were great so I have higher hopes for that record.
Bury Tomorrow – M – 9 – From going into the set thinking, ‘I’m not a huge fan of this band’ to coming out with the mindset of ‘wow, that was brilliant’, is a perfect example of why I love live music. A fantastic band that will only get bigger as time goes on. I do like metalcore and I really like how Bury Tomorrow have added more melodic elements into their structure as well. Bury Tomorrow commanded the main stage and kept the crowd entertained with a battle of the sexes, including a female only mosh pit, and adapting the crouch down to jump up into a lie down to jump up segment. Ending the set with the big hit of ‘Lionheart’ and asking for as many crowd surfers as possible was awesome (for the crowd at least, I think the security staff had a heart attack when they heard that) They’re playing a small venue in Portsmouth later in the year which I wasn’t going to attend, I may reappraise that decision. – edit - Since writing that I have indeed purchased a ticket.
Took a little wander after Bury Tomorrow to fill up the water bottle and stood outside the Red Bull tent listening to Colt 45 – R - 7 – Only caught a couple of songs but they seem like a decent rock band. If I remember correctly they were one I was going to check out at Camden Rocks or something similar. I will keep an eye out if these guys are playing somewhere close by.
While She Sleeps – M – 8 – Metalcore band from Sheffield who tore apart the main stage. Heavy riffs and screaming vocals a-plenty and they seemed really happy being there. This band are really on an upwards incline and it was easy to see why. After taking some time out in the early part of 2014 for lead singer Lawrence ‘Loz’ Taylor to undergo throat surgery, they made their return UK performance a memorable one. The crowd were really into them and there was a lot of movement at the front. At the end of the set, Loz climbed the sound desk/video camera tower in the middle of the arena and planted the WSS flag he had been holding. Unfortunately it was the other side to where I was standing so I couldn’t get a photo.
Bowling For Soup – M – 9 – Well, this was just super fun! And, somehow, the first time I have seen BFS. The banter from the group was brilliant and at times I thought I was at a comedy gig rather than music. The BFS photo opportunity was hilarious if not a little long winded; it was a music gig after all. The Queens’ knight killing a giant inflatable sheep got a lot of laughs, especially as it seemed to be a difficult task! And when they were actually playing, they were faultless. All the hits got an airing and the crowd were fully into it, ‘1985’ and ‘Punk Rock 101’ were definite highlights. The band doesn’t take themselves seriously and that helped with the good-natured, fun-loving feel of the set. Definitely a band to check out at their own shows.
Killswitch Engage – M – 8 – Saw these guys at their headline show earlier this year and they were fantastic, they were just as good at Download. Jesse Leach has slotted straight back into the band as if he never left, commanding the old and new records. I wasn’t sure if another metalcore band was going to prove too much for one day, or if by following Bowling For Soup they would seem out of place. But I was proven wrong by a band that knows what they’re doing and do it very well indeed, every song was pounded out with as much energy from start to finish. Apart from Adam Ds’ guitar breaking from which he eventually gave up with and went to party with the crowd.
During the set I went to watch some of Skyharbors’ set
in the Red Bull tent (7) who sounded very good
and I would’ve stayed longer had KSE not started playing Life To Lifeless, which
is one of my favourite songs.
Just looking back at the setlist and I don’t think I would’ve changed a thing. KSE are great entertainment and now that Jesse is back I hope they will continue to get stronger bookings and move up the pile.
Monster Magnet – Z – 6 – After the heaviness of the metalcore Saturday had thrown out so far, stoner rock was the best place to head for a relaxing 40 minutes. They scored a mid-range 6 as I seemed to relax a bit too much and found myself drifting in and out of listening, but from what I did hear they played decent enough rock that went down well with those camped out in front of the stage.
The Wildhearts – Z – 10 – Saturday at Download was re-named on the Facebook Wildhearts page to The Wildhearts Day. And they did exactly what they always do; they owned the stage like it was their own gig. I managed to get front and centre for the set and had ridiculous good fun. The Wildhearts brand of pop-punk perfectly allows you to jump around, clap, sing and just have a damn good time with fellow minded fans. The setlist was pretty much as expected with only a 40 minute set (although the band cut it short themselves. Maybe, as last time they played Download their sound was turned off when they continued to play over their allotted time). But, for die-hard Wildhearts fans it just created a great sing-a-long and for new listeners it was the biggest songs that they could just enjoy. Random Jon Poole had taken place as bassist for this gig, replacing Scott Sorry from Aprils tour. You could tell how much fun the band has playing to their fans with the broad smiles that adorned their faces throughout the set. Ginger told the crowd to hang around for “the greatest frontman ever, Dee Snider”, however, I had other plans first.
Fall Out Boy – M – 10 – And so it came to the worst clash, and one of only a couple this year, of the festival - Fall Out Boy vs. Twisted Sister. In the end the only way to determine who to see was to see both and split the sets. Starting with FOB, I managed to stay for 8 songs and listened to ‘Sugar, We’re Going Down’ whilst walking off to 2nd stage and they were absolutely brilliant. I wasn’t sure how they would go down at Download being a more “emo-scene” rock band but they definitely brought their A-game, and a lot of fire! As soon as opener ‘The Phoenix’ blasted out of the speakers it was clear that FOB were deserving of their sub-headline slot and they never looked back after that. They went over really well with the sizeable crowd they drew and I wish I could’ve stayed for the entirety of their set. However, I couldn’t miss the opportunity of seeing Twisted Sister and so I headed off to catch the remainder of them.
Twisted Sister – Z – 10 – I arrived at second stage at the end of ‘You Can’t Stop Rock’n’Roll’ and managed to get into the front section. It seems that the festival was a lot quieter this year, not that I’m complaining! So my first full taste of Twisted Sister live was iconic ‘Shoot Em Down’, for a band that has existed since 1972 in varying lineups, these guys have so much energy and presence it puts some newer bands to shame. Guitarist Eddie Ojeda had the crowd in the palm of his hand when he spoke about the festival organisers putting them on the ‘lesser’ stage again. And that we had to be so loud, the people listening to FOB would realise their mistake at not seeing Twisted Sister. Enter the intro to ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ and the crowd really did go mental for it. Dee led a sing-a-long throughout and it was crazy good fun. Into the opening bars of ‘Burn In Hell’ a DHL plane came into land at nearby East Midlands Airport. This stopped Dee in his tracks, “is that normal?! I’m having 9/11 flashbacks! They should put a sign up by the stage!” after much laughter Dee then had a lightbulb moment, “oh no! I have to sing Burn In Hell after talking about 9/11!” However, this small disturbance didn’t stop the band from tearing through the song with ferocious tenacity. This brought us to the final song of the set, rock anthem ‘I Wanna Rock’, to say this was fun would be understatement of the century! The entire crowd answered Dee's call with an almighty “ROCK!” The band then tested the reaction to “I Wanna Fuck”, to say the ground shook with the crowds response is not far off what happened! That had to be the loudest I have ever heard a crowd! As I left the 2nd stage the band came back out to play a cover of Motorheads’ ‘Born To Raise Hell’ which would’ve been cool to stay and see but I’d already walked away.
Heading around towards the smaller stages I saw the last couple of songs from Malevolence – R – 7 – They sounded pretty good, will have to keep an eye out if they do their own shows around this way.
Ginger Wildheart (acoustic) – J – 9 – My sub-headliner for the Saturday was an acoustic set from The Wildhearts frontman Ginger. Really enjoyed this and wanted to give it a 10 but something just wasn’t there to make it a perfect set. When I saw him play acoustic at Camden Rocks the set was filled with Wildhearts songs which had already been played an hour previous at Download and so I was expecting it to be more Ginger solo orientated, seeing as he now has 5 albums from which to choose from. But instead he just played a different selection of Wildhearts songs, which I was fine with. Chris Catalyst (of Eureka Machines) accompanied him on acoustic, although sat out of the first song when he broke his guitar after the first verse! And Random Jon Poole added his acoustic bass to the show. Some great banter from the enigmatic frontman helped this fun and lively set turn into a mass sing-a-long from the sizeable crowd he drew. I always enjoy watching Ginger, solo or with The Wildhearts, and am really looking forward to his Birthday Bash later in the year.
Before taking a spot for the day’s headliner, The Howling – R – 8 – started playing in the tent and so I was able to stand and catch the first 2 songs they played. After seeing them support Volbeat earlier this year I was surprised at how much better they sounded. Everything seemed cleaner and more mature in musical terms as well as the band's stage presence. These guys could well start making a big name for themselves.
Linkin Park – M – 10 – Hybrid Theory was the first real alternative album I ever bought and so is a major part of the reason I am now a metalhead/rock fan/grunger or whatever terms people nowadays use. So when it was announced that half of this set would be that album in full I was delighted, just hoping that the band would be on form. They started with a video saying how excited they were to be playing the album which included the intro to ‘Papercut’ (first song on the album.) I really thought they would then kick into the song as a great way to begin and was a bit annoyed when the video continued. When the band finally did take the stage they blew me away. They were absolutely fantastic and I think that is the first time I have sung along with every word of every song. Having listened to the album a few times before the festival I still forgot that every track is an absolute belter, some of which haven’t been played live since the early 2000s and a full debut of ‘Cure For The Itch’. Mike Shinoda and Chester Benningtons’ vocal were nigh on perfect and they looked extremely happy and comfortable on stage. Shinoda adorned a bright red wig for ’Papercut’ as that was the colour of his hair when the single was released. At the end of the album play-through Mike Shinoda said, ‘if this was 2001 we’d be done, we’d have nothing else.’ I had decided before the festival to leave after Hybrid Theory as, other than Meteora, I’m not a huge fan of their other work, so this was my cue to leave. Looking back on the setlist I’m happy with that decision. It was a great way to end the Saturday and I’m glad that Linkin Park were so good for the first time seeing a band that helped shape my musical tastes.
Band of the day – Linkin Park, no contest. Great fun and even now I can’t stop smiling thinking about great a time I had.
Just looking back at the setlist and I don’t think I would’ve changed a thing. KSE are great entertainment and now that Jesse is back I hope they will continue to get stronger bookings and move up the pile.
Monster Magnet – Z – 6 – After the heaviness of the metalcore Saturday had thrown out so far, stoner rock was the best place to head for a relaxing 40 minutes. They scored a mid-range 6 as I seemed to relax a bit too much and found myself drifting in and out of listening, but from what I did hear they played decent enough rock that went down well with those camped out in front of the stage.
The Wildhearts – Z – 10 – Saturday at Download was re-named on the Facebook Wildhearts page to The Wildhearts Day. And they did exactly what they always do; they owned the stage like it was their own gig. I managed to get front and centre for the set and had ridiculous good fun. The Wildhearts brand of pop-punk perfectly allows you to jump around, clap, sing and just have a damn good time with fellow minded fans. The setlist was pretty much as expected with only a 40 minute set (although the band cut it short themselves. Maybe, as last time they played Download their sound was turned off when they continued to play over their allotted time). But, for die-hard Wildhearts fans it just created a great sing-a-long and for new listeners it was the biggest songs that they could just enjoy. Random Jon Poole had taken place as bassist for this gig, replacing Scott Sorry from Aprils tour. You could tell how much fun the band has playing to their fans with the broad smiles that adorned their faces throughout the set. Ginger told the crowd to hang around for “the greatest frontman ever, Dee Snider”, however, I had other plans first.
Fall Out Boy – M – 10 – And so it came to the worst clash, and one of only a couple this year, of the festival - Fall Out Boy vs. Twisted Sister. In the end the only way to determine who to see was to see both and split the sets. Starting with FOB, I managed to stay for 8 songs and listened to ‘Sugar, We’re Going Down’ whilst walking off to 2nd stage and they were absolutely brilliant. I wasn’t sure how they would go down at Download being a more “emo-scene” rock band but they definitely brought their A-game, and a lot of fire! As soon as opener ‘The Phoenix’ blasted out of the speakers it was clear that FOB were deserving of their sub-headline slot and they never looked back after that. They went over really well with the sizeable crowd they drew and I wish I could’ve stayed for the entirety of their set. However, I couldn’t miss the opportunity of seeing Twisted Sister and so I headed off to catch the remainder of them.
Twisted Sister – Z – 10 – I arrived at second stage at the end of ‘You Can’t Stop Rock’n’Roll’ and managed to get into the front section. It seems that the festival was a lot quieter this year, not that I’m complaining! So my first full taste of Twisted Sister live was iconic ‘Shoot Em Down’, for a band that has existed since 1972 in varying lineups, these guys have so much energy and presence it puts some newer bands to shame. Guitarist Eddie Ojeda had the crowd in the palm of his hand when he spoke about the festival organisers putting them on the ‘lesser’ stage again. And that we had to be so loud, the people listening to FOB would realise their mistake at not seeing Twisted Sister. Enter the intro to ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ and the crowd really did go mental for it. Dee led a sing-a-long throughout and it was crazy good fun. Into the opening bars of ‘Burn In Hell’ a DHL plane came into land at nearby East Midlands Airport. This stopped Dee in his tracks, “is that normal?! I’m having 9/11 flashbacks! They should put a sign up by the stage!” after much laughter Dee then had a lightbulb moment, “oh no! I have to sing Burn In Hell after talking about 9/11!” However, this small disturbance didn’t stop the band from tearing through the song with ferocious tenacity. This brought us to the final song of the set, rock anthem ‘I Wanna Rock’, to say this was fun would be understatement of the century! The entire crowd answered Dee's call with an almighty “ROCK!” The band then tested the reaction to “I Wanna Fuck”, to say the ground shook with the crowds response is not far off what happened! That had to be the loudest I have ever heard a crowd! As I left the 2nd stage the band came back out to play a cover of Motorheads’ ‘Born To Raise Hell’ which would’ve been cool to stay and see but I’d already walked away.
Heading around towards the smaller stages I saw the last couple of songs from Malevolence – R – 7 – They sounded pretty good, will have to keep an eye out if they do their own shows around this way.
Ginger Wildheart (acoustic) – J – 9 – My sub-headliner for the Saturday was an acoustic set from The Wildhearts frontman Ginger. Really enjoyed this and wanted to give it a 10 but something just wasn’t there to make it a perfect set. When I saw him play acoustic at Camden Rocks the set was filled with Wildhearts songs which had already been played an hour previous at Download and so I was expecting it to be more Ginger solo orientated, seeing as he now has 5 albums from which to choose from. But instead he just played a different selection of Wildhearts songs, which I was fine with. Chris Catalyst (of Eureka Machines) accompanied him on acoustic, although sat out of the first song when he broke his guitar after the first verse! And Random Jon Poole added his acoustic bass to the show. Some great banter from the enigmatic frontman helped this fun and lively set turn into a mass sing-a-long from the sizeable crowd he drew. I always enjoy watching Ginger, solo or with The Wildhearts, and am really looking forward to his Birthday Bash later in the year.
Before taking a spot for the day’s headliner, The Howling – R – 8 – started playing in the tent and so I was able to stand and catch the first 2 songs they played. After seeing them support Volbeat earlier this year I was surprised at how much better they sounded. Everything seemed cleaner and more mature in musical terms as well as the band's stage presence. These guys could well start making a big name for themselves.
Linkin Park – M – 10 – Hybrid Theory was the first real alternative album I ever bought and so is a major part of the reason I am now a metalhead/rock fan/grunger or whatever terms people nowadays use. So when it was announced that half of this set would be that album in full I was delighted, just hoping that the band would be on form. They started with a video saying how excited they were to be playing the album which included the intro to ‘Papercut’ (first song on the album.) I really thought they would then kick into the song as a great way to begin and was a bit annoyed when the video continued. When the band finally did take the stage they blew me away. They were absolutely fantastic and I think that is the first time I have sung along with every word of every song. Having listened to the album a few times before the festival I still forgot that every track is an absolute belter, some of which haven’t been played live since the early 2000s and a full debut of ‘Cure For The Itch’. Mike Shinoda and Chester Benningtons’ vocal were nigh on perfect and they looked extremely happy and comfortable on stage. Shinoda adorned a bright red wig for ’Papercut’ as that was the colour of his hair when the single was released. At the end of the album play-through Mike Shinoda said, ‘if this was 2001 we’d be done, we’d have nothing else.’ I had decided before the festival to leave after Hybrid Theory as, other than Meteora, I’m not a huge fan of their other work, so this was my cue to leave. Looking back on the setlist I’m happy with that decision. It was a great way to end the Saturday and I’m glad that Linkin Park were so good for the first time seeing a band that helped shape my musical tastes.
Band of the day – Linkin Park, no contest. Great fun and even now I can’t stop smiling thinking about great a time I had.
Surprise of the day – Dying Fetus, a Twitter
campaign that gained motion and got them booked and they were really good. Well
played Dying Fetus.
Sunday
Sunday
And so we reached the final day of Download 2014, this would
be a day with a lot of moving between stages and catching half sets here and
there.
Red Dragon Cartel – M – 7 – A decent start to the day with some classic rock. Being an ex-guitarist for Ozzy Osborne, Jake E Lee and his new band threw in a couple of cover songs, closing with Bark At The Moon which was pretty cool.
Kill Devil Hill – Z – 6 – Wasn’t really sure what to expect from Vinny Appices’ supergroup but they were pretty good. It had started to drizzle during the set and my mind was torn between listening to the band and wondering how heavy the rain was going to get (turns out, not very) So I found myself not paying attention at times, hence the lower score. I’m also annoyed with myself as, after leaving the set early, Phil Anselmo came on stage to perform a cover of Panteras ‘Mouth For War’ which would’ve been ace to see.
Heading across the arena I stopped to see the end of Winger – M – 5 – expecting them to close on ‘Seventeen’, when they didn’t they got an average score of 5 seeing as they weren’t bad and I only saw 2 and a bit songs.
The Graveltones – P - 8 – It had taken 2 and a half days for me to venture to the right side of the arena and into the Pepsi Max tent but my first taste of it in 2014 was a good one. In 2013, the sound in the tent was ridiculously loud and therefore I spent most of my time there listening from outside which takes away from the performance. Immediately when arriving at the stage it was obvious that these issues had been sorted and the sound was excellent inside the tent. As were The Graveltones, it’s amazing how much noise can be made by just two people but it was extremely enjoyable and makes up for missing them at Camden Rocks.
Buckcherry – M – 7 – Good band, good songs, good atmosphere. The band has since stated that it wasn’t their best performance but I certainly enjoyed it. The partial cover of AC/DCs ‘Big Balls’ was dedicated to Father’s Day, seeing as that coincided with the Sunday of Download. Set closer ‘Crazy Bitch’ went over as well as it always does.
Thy Art Is Murder – P – 3 – Went back to the Pepsi Max tent and sat outside whilst TAIM finished their set. In hindsight I wish I’d been anywhere else. It sounded terrible. Apparently I am not a fan of the ‘deathcore’ genre! And after looking through a list of bands noted as deathcore, that opinion hasn’t changed. Fair play to them but it’s just not for me.
Feed The Rhino – P – 9 – What an incredible set from these guys, furious energy pounding out some fantastic tunes. They seemed to draw a bigger crowd than they expected but it didn’t faze them at all. Lead singer Lee Tobin spent as much time in the crowd and the pits as he did bouncing around the stage in total control of his audience. This is a band that could become huge very easily and I expect to see them on larger stages in the not too distant future.
Nipping out of the tent to fill up the water bottle I caught Richie Sambora playing ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ on main stage. Purely for seeing this song live he scores a 7.
The Treatment – P – 10 – Tremendous set from a band that had impressed me when they supported Airbourne early this year. Powerful rock’n’roll erupted from the stage and didn’t let up for the entire 30 minute slot. The one thing I would’ve changed with their set list would’ve been swapping the last 2 songs around and closing with ‘I Bleed Rock’n’Roll’ so as to put a stamp on the set. But that’s just me and I’m not in the band so never mind.
Sepultura – Z – 6 - Having seen Sepultura before, I was looking forward to this set and was left rather disappointed. I think with the fact they only had a half hour set I was expecting them to run out all the major songs, only getting ‘Roots Bloody Roots’ to finish with just seemed a bit of a let-down personally. The band, as always, were good at what they do and Derrick Greens’ voice was flawless as usual. I really do think that I had built an expectation of the set and then felt bored when it didn’t turn out how I was expecting. Derrick introduced a song by saying “there are a lot of people out there who only talk shit, we are Sepultura”, I was wondering where he was going with the statement until they broke into ‘Propaganda’, then everything made more sense. I had the same giggle as I always do during ‘Rattamahatta’……hehe rattamahatta. I did think they would say something about the World Cup currently taking place in Brazil (the band's birthplace) and the protests surrounding it but I guess that may just have been me.
Sabaton – Z – 7 – I’d been quite fortunate with clashes this year, Sabaton vs. Volbeat was a nasty one though. Add to that the fact that the (not so) secret band in the tent had been confirmed as Black Stone Cherry and it offered up a nasty 3-way clash. I had decided that I wouldn’t be seeing BSC (or whoever was the secret band, wink wink nudge) before the festival as I saw them in a small venue in February and will be seeing them again in November. This left the original Sabaton or Volbeat decision, Sabaton were in the lead being as I’d never seen them but Volbeat are one of my favourites. Cue the usual flurry of tour announcements as festival season kicks in, and Volbeat were announced to play Portsmouth before the festival started. So the decision was simple, I’d be seeing Sabaton at Download. Unfortunately, Volbeat started on the main stage whilst I was waiting at 2nd and it just planted that seed in the mind that I could be seeing Volbeat right now. I stuck with the Sabaton decision and was glad I did. They came on stage and blasted through the superb ‘Ghost Division’ and ‘To Hell And Back’, which were two songs that I particularly wanted to see. The crowd really got into them and a sea of horns were relentlessly being thrown towards the stage throughout both tracks. It was then that my subconscious took over and I left 2nd to walk to main and the draw of Volbeat. I’m glad I have seen Sabaton and would gladly do so again, preferably when there isn’t somewhere else I’d also like to be. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them in higher positions at future festivals on these shores.
Volbeat – M – 9 – Heading round to Volbeat during the set meant taking a spot further back from the stage than I would’ve liked and I think this is what took something away from the set. Musically, they sounded brilliant and I can’t fault Michael Poulsens’ vocals, but it wasn’t quite enough to be able to give them the top score. The other annoying thing about arriving late was that I turned up just after they had played ‘Lola Montez’ which is a personal favourite of mine. I liked the stage they had brought with them; it seemed simple but effective and gave the eye something else to take in. When they headlined Wacken in 2012 they proved that they are more than capable of making that spot their own, hopefully they will continue to get bigger in this country and carry on their rise up the line-up. I have now bought a ticket for their local show and am ridiculously excited about that.
Memphis May Fire – P – 5 – Back at the Pepsi Max tent and took a seat outside whilst these guys played out their set. They didn’t sound bad and had I been inside I reckon I would’ve enjoyed it, but it did enough to just sit down and listen to.
Against Me! – P – 10 – Wow! What an absolutely incredible set from this band. They drew a sizeable crowd and didn’t disappoint. This was punk rock as it should be; fast, bouncey and in your face. There wasn’t a lot of crowd interaction between songs but for this set that didn’t matter. Against Me! smashed through their songs and managed to fit 10 into the small half hour set, which certainly gave a good account of the calibre of their music. I left the tent wanting more, which I suppose is the desire of musicians and bands and hope that they will come back and tour over here.
Red Dragon Cartel – M – 7 – A decent start to the day with some classic rock. Being an ex-guitarist for Ozzy Osborne, Jake E Lee and his new band threw in a couple of cover songs, closing with Bark At The Moon which was pretty cool.
Kill Devil Hill – Z – 6 – Wasn’t really sure what to expect from Vinny Appices’ supergroup but they were pretty good. It had started to drizzle during the set and my mind was torn between listening to the band and wondering how heavy the rain was going to get (turns out, not very) So I found myself not paying attention at times, hence the lower score. I’m also annoyed with myself as, after leaving the set early, Phil Anselmo came on stage to perform a cover of Panteras ‘Mouth For War’ which would’ve been ace to see.
Heading across the arena I stopped to see the end of Winger – M – 5 – expecting them to close on ‘Seventeen’, when they didn’t they got an average score of 5 seeing as they weren’t bad and I only saw 2 and a bit songs.
The Graveltones – P - 8 – It had taken 2 and a half days for me to venture to the right side of the arena and into the Pepsi Max tent but my first taste of it in 2014 was a good one. In 2013, the sound in the tent was ridiculously loud and therefore I spent most of my time there listening from outside which takes away from the performance. Immediately when arriving at the stage it was obvious that these issues had been sorted and the sound was excellent inside the tent. As were The Graveltones, it’s amazing how much noise can be made by just two people but it was extremely enjoyable and makes up for missing them at Camden Rocks.
Buckcherry – M – 7 – Good band, good songs, good atmosphere. The band has since stated that it wasn’t their best performance but I certainly enjoyed it. The partial cover of AC/DCs ‘Big Balls’ was dedicated to Father’s Day, seeing as that coincided with the Sunday of Download. Set closer ‘Crazy Bitch’ went over as well as it always does.
Thy Art Is Murder – P – 3 – Went back to the Pepsi Max tent and sat outside whilst TAIM finished their set. In hindsight I wish I’d been anywhere else. It sounded terrible. Apparently I am not a fan of the ‘deathcore’ genre! And after looking through a list of bands noted as deathcore, that opinion hasn’t changed. Fair play to them but it’s just not for me.
Feed The Rhino – P – 9 – What an incredible set from these guys, furious energy pounding out some fantastic tunes. They seemed to draw a bigger crowd than they expected but it didn’t faze them at all. Lead singer Lee Tobin spent as much time in the crowd and the pits as he did bouncing around the stage in total control of his audience. This is a band that could become huge very easily and I expect to see them on larger stages in the not too distant future.
Nipping out of the tent to fill up the water bottle I caught Richie Sambora playing ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ on main stage. Purely for seeing this song live he scores a 7.
The Treatment – P – 10 – Tremendous set from a band that had impressed me when they supported Airbourne early this year. Powerful rock’n’roll erupted from the stage and didn’t let up for the entire 30 minute slot. The one thing I would’ve changed with their set list would’ve been swapping the last 2 songs around and closing with ‘I Bleed Rock’n’Roll’ so as to put a stamp on the set. But that’s just me and I’m not in the band so never mind.
Sepultura – Z – 6 - Having seen Sepultura before, I was looking forward to this set and was left rather disappointed. I think with the fact they only had a half hour set I was expecting them to run out all the major songs, only getting ‘Roots Bloody Roots’ to finish with just seemed a bit of a let-down personally. The band, as always, were good at what they do and Derrick Greens’ voice was flawless as usual. I really do think that I had built an expectation of the set and then felt bored when it didn’t turn out how I was expecting. Derrick introduced a song by saying “there are a lot of people out there who only talk shit, we are Sepultura”, I was wondering where he was going with the statement until they broke into ‘Propaganda’, then everything made more sense. I had the same giggle as I always do during ‘Rattamahatta’……hehe rattamahatta. I did think they would say something about the World Cup currently taking place in Brazil (the band's birthplace) and the protests surrounding it but I guess that may just have been me.
Sabaton – Z – 7 – I’d been quite fortunate with clashes this year, Sabaton vs. Volbeat was a nasty one though. Add to that the fact that the (not so) secret band in the tent had been confirmed as Black Stone Cherry and it offered up a nasty 3-way clash. I had decided that I wouldn’t be seeing BSC (or whoever was the secret band, wink wink nudge) before the festival as I saw them in a small venue in February and will be seeing them again in November. This left the original Sabaton or Volbeat decision, Sabaton were in the lead being as I’d never seen them but Volbeat are one of my favourites. Cue the usual flurry of tour announcements as festival season kicks in, and Volbeat were announced to play Portsmouth before the festival started. So the decision was simple, I’d be seeing Sabaton at Download. Unfortunately, Volbeat started on the main stage whilst I was waiting at 2nd and it just planted that seed in the mind that I could be seeing Volbeat right now. I stuck with the Sabaton decision and was glad I did. They came on stage and blasted through the superb ‘Ghost Division’ and ‘To Hell And Back’, which were two songs that I particularly wanted to see. The crowd really got into them and a sea of horns were relentlessly being thrown towards the stage throughout both tracks. It was then that my subconscious took over and I left 2nd to walk to main and the draw of Volbeat. I’m glad I have seen Sabaton and would gladly do so again, preferably when there isn’t somewhere else I’d also like to be. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them in higher positions at future festivals on these shores.
Volbeat – M – 9 – Heading round to Volbeat during the set meant taking a spot further back from the stage than I would’ve liked and I think this is what took something away from the set. Musically, they sounded brilliant and I can’t fault Michael Poulsens’ vocals, but it wasn’t quite enough to be able to give them the top score. The other annoying thing about arriving late was that I turned up just after they had played ‘Lola Montez’ which is a personal favourite of mine. I liked the stage they had brought with them; it seemed simple but effective and gave the eye something else to take in. When they headlined Wacken in 2012 they proved that they are more than capable of making that spot their own, hopefully they will continue to get bigger in this country and carry on their rise up the line-up. I have now bought a ticket for their local show and am ridiculously excited about that.
Memphis May Fire – P – 5 – Back at the Pepsi Max tent and took a seat outside whilst these guys played out their set. They didn’t sound bad and had I been inside I reckon I would’ve enjoyed it, but it did enough to just sit down and listen to.
Against Me! – P – 10 – Wow! What an absolutely incredible set from this band. They drew a sizeable crowd and didn’t disappoint. This was punk rock as it should be; fast, bouncey and in your face. There wasn’t a lot of crowd interaction between songs but for this set that didn’t matter. Against Me! smashed through their songs and managed to fit 10 into the small half hour set, which certainly gave a good account of the calibre of their music. I left the tent wanting more, which I suppose is the desire of musicians and bands and hope that they will come back and tour over here.
Once again making the trek across the arena I had the
unfortunate opportunity to see Steel Panther who were
still on main at the time and getting 3 girls to make out on stage, because
that’s just what they do. I saw their set closer ‘Death To All But Metal’
however, this year they didn’t bring out Corey Taylor for his vocals so they
will get a mid-range 5. I really do see them
going from strength to strength very quickly and shooting up festival line-ups,
they are possible future headliners if the joke doesn’t wear off before then
(it wore off for me about a month after their first album), but we shall see.
Seether – Z – 7 – Having seen Seether before and being disappointed with them, I gave them a chance to prove that I saw them on a bad day. Catching the last few songs at Download did prove that, they sounded really good and it would’ve been great to have been able to see more of them. ‘Fake It’ and ‘Remedy’ are two classic songs and seemed to get a great reaction from the crowd at the front of the stage.
The Pretty Reckless – Z – 5 – I was totally disappointed in this set and band. One of the bands I was looking forward to seeing before the festival and it was absolutely dreadful. The only reason they get a 5 is because I managed to see ‘Heaven Knows’, but I certainly won’t be rushing to see them again. At times it was like watching a Black Label Society show with how long and drawn out the guitar solos were. Taylor Momsens’ mic was too loud. And it was utterly boring. I was always going to be leaving early to head over to the tent, I just wish I’d done so earlier and been able to watch some of Alter Bridges’ sub-headline set.
The Used – P – 9 – Well, this was awesome, I really wasn’t expecting them to be as good as they were. I wasn’t sure if the large crowd was partly because Dillinger Escape Plan were headlining the tent, but it appeared that they loved every minute of The Used regardless. Apart from two songs showcasing the new album they didn’t play anything post-2007, which was when I was really into them, so that helped my enjoyment. In saying that, the new songs sounded damn good, ‘Revolution’ especially. The band were so appreciative of the fans and especially with how vocal they were. Their style of hardcore-alt rock was a great way to begin the end of the festival and I would happily have had them as my final headliner. Except there was one more band to go before bidding farewell to Download 2014.
Aerosmith – M – 10 – One of those classic rock bands that adorn so many 'must see' band lists is Aerosmith. I did have trepidations before they started in the fact that a band that has been going for 44 years always carries the possibility of being poor live; Can a 66 year old hit every note like he could back in the day? Can the drummer keep the pace? Will the guitarists still be able to shred through solos like they’re taking a stroll through the park? Aerosmith answered those questions and more with a resounding hell yeah we can! So much so, I think I would have to say that they are the best band I have seen at Download over the last 3 years I have attended. Not to take anything away from the others, Aerosmith were just that damn good. The whole set was completely perfect in every sense. The setlist was incredible with all the big hitters there, lacking ‘Back In The Saddle’ but that can be my only gripe which is smothered by how much amazingness was included. The entire crowd singing along to ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing’, which has been one of my favourite songs since the film Armageddon was released, was a pure highlight for me. Seeing Joe Perry sing ‘Freedom Fighter’ was awesome and showed how much depth this band still has. After making my way to the back of the arena during the intermission I saw the encore of ‘Dream On’ &‘Sweet Emotion’ before leaving the festival site, and since learning that they also played ‘Mama Kin’. But I think I had definitely seen enough by this point to be stupidly happy on the way home.
Band of the day – Aerosmith, it had to be. Nothing compared to them across the whole festival.
Seether – Z – 7 – Having seen Seether before and being disappointed with them, I gave them a chance to prove that I saw them on a bad day. Catching the last few songs at Download did prove that, they sounded really good and it would’ve been great to have been able to see more of them. ‘Fake It’ and ‘Remedy’ are two classic songs and seemed to get a great reaction from the crowd at the front of the stage.
The Pretty Reckless – Z – 5 – I was totally disappointed in this set and band. One of the bands I was looking forward to seeing before the festival and it was absolutely dreadful. The only reason they get a 5 is because I managed to see ‘Heaven Knows’, but I certainly won’t be rushing to see them again. At times it was like watching a Black Label Society show with how long and drawn out the guitar solos were. Taylor Momsens’ mic was too loud. And it was utterly boring. I was always going to be leaving early to head over to the tent, I just wish I’d done so earlier and been able to watch some of Alter Bridges’ sub-headline set.
The Used – P – 9 – Well, this was awesome, I really wasn’t expecting them to be as good as they were. I wasn’t sure if the large crowd was partly because Dillinger Escape Plan were headlining the tent, but it appeared that they loved every minute of The Used regardless. Apart from two songs showcasing the new album they didn’t play anything post-2007, which was when I was really into them, so that helped my enjoyment. In saying that, the new songs sounded damn good, ‘Revolution’ especially. The band were so appreciative of the fans and especially with how vocal they were. Their style of hardcore-alt rock was a great way to begin the end of the festival and I would happily have had them as my final headliner. Except there was one more band to go before bidding farewell to Download 2014.
Aerosmith – M – 10 – One of those classic rock bands that adorn so many 'must see' band lists is Aerosmith. I did have trepidations before they started in the fact that a band that has been going for 44 years always carries the possibility of being poor live; Can a 66 year old hit every note like he could back in the day? Can the drummer keep the pace? Will the guitarists still be able to shred through solos like they’re taking a stroll through the park? Aerosmith answered those questions and more with a resounding hell yeah we can! So much so, I think I would have to say that they are the best band I have seen at Download over the last 3 years I have attended. Not to take anything away from the others, Aerosmith were just that damn good. The whole set was completely perfect in every sense. The setlist was incredible with all the big hitters there, lacking ‘Back In The Saddle’ but that can be my only gripe which is smothered by how much amazingness was included. The entire crowd singing along to ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing’, which has been one of my favourite songs since the film Armageddon was released, was a pure highlight for me. Seeing Joe Perry sing ‘Freedom Fighter’ was awesome and showed how much depth this band still has. After making my way to the back of the arena during the intermission I saw the encore of ‘Dream On’ &‘Sweet Emotion’ before leaving the festival site, and since learning that they also played ‘Mama Kin’. But I think I had definitely seen enough by this point to be stupidly happy on the way home.
Band of the day – Aerosmith, it had to be. Nothing compared to them across the whole festival.
Surprise of the day – Against Me!, full on, heart
racing punk rock at it’s best.
And so we came to the end of this years’ festival and I have to say it may have been the best time I’ve had at a festival so far. Whether it was the decent weather, how well it was organised this year, the fact that it was quieter and so seemed more accessible, I don’t know. But Download 2014 will always be remembered for the ace time that was had.
And so we came to the end of this years’ festival and I have to say it may have been the best time I’ve had at a festival so far. Whether it was the decent weather, how well it was organised this year, the fact that it was quieter and so seemed more accessible, I don’t know. But Download 2014 will always be remembered for the ace time that was had.
I said at the end of last years’ review that I wouldn’t be attending any
festivals in 2014, a quote that didn’t hold well. However, next year is all
about the rugby world cup in England and attending as many games as possible so
I may do some day tickets if the line up really calls to me but won’t be
attending any full weekend festivals in 2015.
Many thanks for reading; I’m sorry you can’t get that time back.
Many thanks for reading; I’m sorry you can’t get that time back.
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Download 2013 Review - Knots, Iron and Fire.
After last years festival I doubted that Download could pull off a lineup that would be anywhere near as good as 2012. I was wrong. Although it wasn't as star studded as I would have liked, there was more than enough to keep me entertained. Including some bands that moved my music taste in a more alternative direction.
This year myself and friends decided to stay in a hotel. The weather at Download and Wacken last year really put me off camping again.
So on Thursday morning I left Portsmouth via coach to London and then got the train onto Derby. Only one issue with the travel was when going to board the train. Myself and a friend had booked through Megabus. His ticket said he had to check in 15 minutes prior to departure, mine didn't. He asked the steward on the gate who said not to worry about it and just head to the platform. As I went to go through the guy said 'You need to join that queue and get your ticket stamped'. This confused the hell out of me but as I only had to wait for a few minutes it didn't make much difference.
Now, most people will print out instructions and the like when they travel somewhere new. Me, being a smart man, decided not to print out directions to the hotel. And apparently my phone decided to agree with my idiocy by not allowing maps to load whilst outside the station. I knew it was in the general direction of Pride Park stadium and then opposite in the middle of an industrial estate looking area. As we kept getting closer to the stadium I couldn't see a road to take me parallel to it and ended up on the corner of the stadium. Now, research prior to leaving told me it was around a 26 minute walk from station to hotel and it had only taken us about 7 minutes to get this far, so I assumed it was still a fair distance from here. As I looked down the road the Travelodge sign was in sight. Slightly shocked but by no means disappointed by this, we walked the last couple of minutes and checked in.
The remainder of Thursday was spent drinking beer and watching TV (more entertaining than people shouting butt-scratcher). Now, I was happy with the decision to stay in a hotel however there were two issues with this
1) I couldn't attend the Download Forums Boardie BBQ, which was a shame that I couldn't meet some awesome people.
2) I really wasn't excited at this time, normally you pitch your tent and you're at the festival and buzzing. Sat in a hotel doesn't quite have the same feeling. But, it would soon be festival times and all would be well.
Key: Bands will be set out as Band - Stage - Rating. All ratings are out of 10.
Friday
The shuttle bus drop off area is nowhere near where I was expecting it to be and so a fair walk is needed to reach the arena entrance. I had hoped to be getting a wristband even though I wasn't camping. So I was a little disappointed when there was no ticket booths in which to exchange my ticket. We queued in the weekend line and got to the front very quickly, only to be told that we need to get a wristband. I asked where from and was told back at the main entrance. So after trudging all the way back and once again seeing nowhere in which to do this I asked a steward, who told me and I quote 'for fucks sake, I wish they'd stop doing this. Go back and tell them you're not camping. If they still won't sort you out ask to see a supervisor'. Pretty straight up directions there so after walking back to the arena entrance and going to a different gate we got told that arena only wristbands were from a queue around the corner. As annoyed as I was that I was now going to have to go somewhere else again, at least this time I was told the correct location. Finally getting the wristband and getting into the festival I could relax.
The weather hadn't been too bad. However, there was some heavy rain before the first band and this already put a slight dampener (sorry) on my mood. But it was time for music so here we go.
Monster Truck - Zippo - 7 - A very enjoyable band to kick off the festival. They were a late addition after another band had to pull out and I'm glad I checked them out. It was their first time playing in the UK and they weren't phased by it at all. They are an out and out rock band and played a decent 20 minute set to open the music for me.
On the way to the next band I walked past Rise To Remain, they sounded pretty good and added another band to the list that I have seen.
Free Fall - Red Bull - 6 - These guys were good at what they do and their score may have been higher if I knew much of their music. This was the first time I had been in the Red Bull tent and I like the atmosphere in there.
Strolling past the Jagermeister Acoustic stage I heard Avosetta playing. My thoughts on them were 'they play good music to walk to'. Other than that I can't say much about them
Continuing the walk back to second stage I unfortunately, caught some of the Architects. So I started singing in my head to try and block it out.
Uriah Heep - Zippo - 6 - Same rating as Free Fall for pretty much the same reason. They are a decent old school rock band but not knowing much about them didn't help.
Papa Roach - Main - 9 - The first time I have seen a band that gave my tastes a push towards this genre of music and they really didn't disappoint. I was expecting them to be a bit flat and for the crowd only to respond to the major songs but I was so wrong. The energy they had was unbelievable and every song was belted out furiously. One thing I found this weekend, which started during this set, was I seem to forget that certain songs were done by a band. This happened during To Be Loved and Lifeline. I am glad I can now say I've seen them and the fact they are playing Portsmouth later in the year may cause me to part with some money.
Europe - Zippo - 8 - First major clash of the weekend was Europe v Down. I planned on seeing Down all the way up until the Wednesday before Download, reason being I hadn't seen them before. That was until my brain reminded me that I hadn't seen Europe either, so they won. And I'm glad they did. Europe were awesome. Hearing the classics Rock the Night and Final Countdown was superb. Joey Tempest said exactly what was on everyone's mind 'We're here finally! Last year sucked but we're so glad to see you all here with us now'. These guys had released 3 albums by the time I was born and yet still had the energy and charisma to deliver a blinding set.
Volbeat - Zippo - 10 - Excuse me whilst I put myself through a table for ever having the notion to miss this band. Second clash of the festival and one that will live in infamy, Volbeat v Korn. I know this clash really did split most of the Download goers in half. Volbeat were simply amazing. This was the third time I've seen them and the third time I haven't stopped singing and nodding my head throughout the entire set. I've already decided to get a ticket for their tour later this year and I really must recommend you do the same. Pure rock'n'roll blasting from the stage from start to finish. Including a cover of Breaking the Law and Raining Blood (in tribute to the late, great Jeff Hanneman) which I didn't expect them to play during this short set. I was a little disappointed not to hear Cape Of Our Hero from the new album but as i will see them on their tour I'm sure it will happen then. These guys know how to rock and smile from ear to ear whilst doing it. This is the first time I have seen them with new guitarist Rob Caggiano and he fits in perfectly. I cannot wait to see Volbeat again and can only see them rising up the Download bill in the future.
I did take a quick stroll over to Main stage to catch some Korn as I haven't seen them before and as with Papa Roach, they were a pioneer into my changing music taste. I managed to catch set closer Freak on a Leash and the band sounded brilliant. Hopefully I can see them again and spend more time listening to them but I will never regret the decision to see Volbeat instead.
3 Doors Down - Zippo - 6 - After seeing these guys in Manchester I decided to check them out again during the gap before BFMV on main. What a disappointment. They just really didn't deliver for me, hearing the classics again was nice but I just couldn't get into them. They threw in a cover of Megadeths Symphony of Destruction which was cool, but I'm still not sure why they did it. Seeing as I'd had that song in my head for the previous week maybe it was a premonition! One strange thing I noticed this weekend is bands were cutting their sets short for some reason. 3DD did this and it's another reason they score low.
Bullet For My Valentine - Main - 6 - So I moved over to see these guys earlier than planned but stayed at the top of the hill as I was going straight back to 2nd. This is one reason that I didn't give BFMV a high rating. The other reason is I have tried to get into them, I really have but I just can't. They are good at what they do and if they can release a couple more good records then they could develop into a headliner but not for me thanks. They did have some awesome pyrotechnics though.
Gogol Bordello - Zippo - 6 - After a decent mid afternoon card the ratings have dropped off. Again, this score isn't against the performance but more for the fact that I was stood way off to the side and my mind kept wandering from the music. It also didn't help that every song sounded the same. I'm sure if I'd been more central and in the crowd I would've enjoyed it more.
Black Stone Cherry - Zippo - 10 - I first saw BSC in 2007 at a local venue, The Wedgewood Rooms (capacity 500). To now be seeing them headline the 2nd stage at arguably the biggest rock festival in the UK was simply stunning. These guys were so humble with this spot, their only UK show this year. They said that Download were going to take the slot away from then because they weren't touring or plugging a new album but they wanted to do it. And then to see a huge crowd singing with them in the rain justified their decision to come over. They played a new song from their new record which sounded awesome. When it came to 'Things My Father Said', lead singer Chris Robertson asked the crowd to sing it because not long ago a friend's father had died and that this was the longest he'd been away from his newborn son. Cue the band starting to play, the crowd singing and Chris having to wipe away the tears. I don't think he realises how many fans BSC really have. This was an awesome show and I'm glad they were my main headliner for the first day of the festival.
Slipknot - Main - 9 - Managed to catch the first 3 songs before heading over to BSC, and the final 3 songs afterwards. They sounded really tight and friends that were a lot closer than I was said they were very good. The only reason I haven't given a 10 is because I didn't see the whole set and I was far back both times I watched. You know a band are getting a mental reaction when the barrier breaks....twice. The energy these guys have is tremendous, all the way until they powered through finisher Surfacing.
So, Friday was a fairly decent day for music. It was a shame that the early evening bands weren't as high scoring as I would've hoped but never mind.
Saturday
A couple of friends had day tickets for the Saturday and as luck would have it, appeared on the shuttle bus I was on in the morning. So it was cool to have a catch up with them. I showed them where the day tickets queue was and then went into the arena for the next day of music.
UFO - Main - 7 - Great start to the day with some old rock. Another case of knowing more songs than you realise and are able to sing along to. I was hoping that they would cut Doctor Doctor from their set and then play it live later to open Maidens set. This wasn't to be but it was still an enjoyable opening set.
Heaven's Basement - Zippo - 8 - I have finally managed to see Heaven's Basement! And they were really good, playing some heavy rock to make sure everyone was awake. They play such catchy tunes as well, thoroughly enjoyable band. The type of music you can just nod along to and hopefully I'll manage to catch them again soon.
Hardcore Superstar - Zippo - 7 - I was really looking forward to seeing these guys and although I wasn't disappointed, I felt something was missing. Maybe it's because I don't know a lot of their material or maybe it's that they don't work on an outside stage. Either way their score dropped slightly.
As I left second stage the rain decided that it wasn't heavy enough and so proceeded to hammer down. Anyone who has been to Download will know that it takes roughly 5 minutes to get over to 3rd stage and the safety of a tent. This was where I was headed for my next band, now slightly worried that everyone will have sought protection from the rain and I wouldn't be able to get in. However, by the time I had reached my destination, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and I was already starting to sweat in the sun! This year, Downloads weather really did epitomise the British summer.
Earthtone9 - Pepsi Max - 6 - I stood outside the tent for this set because a) there was no room inside and b) the sun was helping to dry out my trousers that were soaked through. I enjoyed what I heard and think that, had I been inside, they would have scored higher. I'd like to see them again so that I could have a better opinion.
Black Star Riders - Main - 9 - Who better to rock out on main stage than the new form of Thin Lizzy? Their own stuff is sounding really good and a lot more hard rock than the previous stuff released under the Lizzy name. It was great to hear the classic songs Boys Are Back In Town and Jailbreak. But they stole the show by playing Whiskey In The Jar, a song that I absolutely love and had such a fanboy moment when the opening bars erupted from the stage.
Katatonia - Zippo - 6 - I had a similar situation to Gogol Bordello during this band, my mind just kept wandering into space. I think this is due to the fact that I'm not a huge fan of Doom Metal. Saying that, I was impressed with their sound and will give them some more air time when listening to music. I did think that the lead singer was Cousin It from the Addams family until he moved the his hair from in front of his face. Plus, anything is better than Mastadon!
Karnivool - Zippo - 6 - I haven't listened to Prog Rock for a while now and I need to rectify that. Karnivool were really enjoyable . They got a much bigger crowd than I expected and I think more than the band expected as well. It was a nice set to just chill out with and let the feet have a bit of a rest.
Alice In Chains - Main - 8 - Again, I was stood quite far back for this set. But, I really enjoyed AIC more than I thought I would. It looks like William DuVall has really stepped up to the frontman role and is doing a fine job with it. They are another band that play songs that made me think, 'oh, didn't know this was by them'.
Managed to get back to 2nd stage in time to catch Lit's set closer My Own Worst Enemy, so I was happy about that.
Thunder - Zippo - 8 - How come all the great bands are from back in the day? A superb set from these guys. They just looked so happy to be playing and I'm glad I managed to see them. After the festival I was chatting to someone who's daughter used to fancy frontman Danny Bowes. And when seeing that he now has short cut grey hair asked, 'what happened to him?', the trials of getting old eh?
I then took a stroll across to 3rd stage and managed to catch Motorhead playing Ace of Spades and Overkill. This was cool as they are 2 of my favourite Motorhead songs.
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Pepsi Max - 7 - Before entering the tent, I proposed having a smoke. We then moved back from the tent, and then a little further back and then a little bit more. The sound guys had obviously got pissed off with the rides blaring out music next to them and so turned the volume up. I ended up standing outside for the set and really enjoyed it. UA&TD sounded really tight and drew a fairly large crowd by the end of the set. They play psychedelic doom which is a pretty cool genre, truth be told!
Queens Of The Stone Age - Main - 9 - I saw QOTSA at Rock am Ring in 2008 and didn't overly enjoy it. Mainly due to it being 1am and being very tired. This time I was delighted at how great they were. Josh Homme is a fantastic frontman and looked much happier in himself. They ripped into their set with a ferocious tenacity that didn't let up until they left the stage. Classics No One Knows and Feel Good Hit Of The Summer mixed in well with stuff from the new album. I wouldn't be surprised to see them headlining festivals in the not too distant future.
Kvelertak - Pepsi Max - 8 - Again, this set was observed from outside the tent. And they didn't disappoint. It's the second time I've seen Kvelertak and the second time I have been left with my ears ringing. These Norwegian rockers really know what they are doing and if you haven't yet, go see them.
Iron Maiden - Main - 10 - Well, what do I say about Maiden? A lot of people have said they had sound problems, I only thought it was at the beginning with Bruce Dickinson's mic and once he had asked for it to be turned up everything was right with the set. To have a Spitfire flyover before you take to the stage was something truly incredible to see. And then for Maiden to rip through the Maiden England setlist was just truly special. They had headlined Donington back in 1988 and they played the Maiden England set back then too with the addition of Sanctuary and Wrathchild. Bruce acknowledged this the first time he addressed the crowd with, 'Hello Monsters of Rock 1988'. I really cannot fault Maiden from Saturday night, for me they were perfect. And that's without mentioning the stage show with Eddie and the interactive backdrops. Iron Maiden won't be able to go on forever but, based on this performance, the old rockers still have some life left in them yet.
Sunday
After a 20 minute delay opening the gates, with no explanation as to why, the final day of Download 2013 was to begin.
Sacred Mother Tongue - Main - 9 - And to kick it off with a huge score, SMT really shook out the cobwebs from the crowd. Such heavy riffs complimented with clean vocals. This was an incredible beginning to the day. I wish I had seen them before as the half-hour set didn't really do them justice.
Cancer Bats - Main - 10 - How I haven't seen CB before I have no idea. However, they did not disappoint. Frontman Liam Cromier looked extremely pleased to be up there after they had to be cancelled last year and they really ripped into their set. Solid anthems Bricks & Mortar and Sorceress were sent screaming from the stage. Add in a cover of Beastie Boys 'Sabotage' and finish the set in the crowd singing Hail Destroyer, and I don't think anyone there was standing still. These guys will only get bigger and I for one, can't wait.
Coal Chamber - Main - 9 - I think this was the most surprising set of the weekend. They were incredible. 40 minutes of searing riffs and screaming vocals. I have seen DevilDriver (frontman Dez Fafara's other band) a few times and so seeing him rap was quite odd indeed; however, he did it without falter. They really didn't look like a band that had only reformed less than 2 years ago. This is nu-metal at its best and they really know what they're doing. Hits Loco and Sway went down really well with the crowd and, after announcing a tour for later this year, I think a lot of new fans have been created.
Graveyard - Zippo - 6 - I was a little disappointed with this band, but that was probably due to the first three sets of the day being that damn good! It was a decent showing of blues-infused rock and I found it to be more easy listening after the heavier sounds of Coal Chamber & Cancer Bats. But they are still a relatively new band so I will keep an eye on how things develop with them.
Masters Of Reality - Zippo - 8 - I really don't know how to categorise this band: they seem to be influenced by all sorts. That being said, they were a great band to see and listen to. They didn't get too much reaction from the small crowd they drew, due to clashing with Five Finger Death Punch. But, I think they were the perfect type of band to spend the early afternoon bobbing along too. A comical moment happened with lead singer Chris Goss saying 'we've got to fit 20 years of music into a half hour, guess you'll have to come to our show to hear the rest'.
Amon Amarth - Zippo - 7 - These guys had sound issues to begin with, they also came on late due to dragging the Viking ship stage with them. However, for the 4 songs they did manage to play, they were very good. Including a song that will be coming on their next album and that sounded awesome, so I'm really looking forward to that release. I saw them do a longer set at Wacken last year and they were brilliant then. They definitely seem like a band that will need a decent length set to play more of their material. But who can't love Viking Metal!!
Stone Sour - Main - 10 - Corey Taylor's second appearance at this year's Download was an absolute stormer. I really like this band and their mix of heavy and softer music. I was shocked that they played 4 songs from the new album House of Gold & Bones parts 1 and 2, but as that included Gone Sovereign and Absolute Zero, they can be forgiven. Corey got extremely emotional during Bother, the fans really have made this guy their God and even he seems to find it hard to accept this status. They've played a cover of Black Sabbaths 'Children of the Grave' at some of their shows but the fact they included it in this set was amazing. Giving tribute to bands, whom without there probably wouldn't be a metal scene today, is one thing that I really like to see bands do. And the fact that they really to pound this tune out well is just phenomenal. Set closer '30/30-150' was almost earth shaking! I'd like to see these guys bounce back from the underwhelming HoG&B albums and really throw all of their old sound back into the studio and return with records like Come What(ever) May again.
Red Fang - Pepsi Max - 7 - The volume in the tent still seemed to be at 15 so I took a seat on the grass and listened in the sun. This was some pure rock during the early evening. Although I think the weekend had caught up with me and I just felt wiped out. I'd like to catch them again to give a true reflection of them.
Newsted - Pepsi Max - 10 - What happens after you leave arguably one of the greatest metal bands on the planet? Answer: Start your own band who are pretty damn good! I was expecting a decent thrash band to keep me entertained, instead I heard one of the best sets of the weekend. And this was from a band formed just last December! The few songs they have written so far, with an album due out later this year, have some very catchy tunes with a superb blend of melody and percussion involved. And hearing Whiplash live was something special to add to it. Jason Newsted was overjoyed at the reaction the crowd gave him and if they keep this sort of level up then they could be returning on one of the bigger stages quite easily.
P.O.D. - Pepsi Max - 5 - I have never been more disappointed in seeing a band that I was so looking forward to. I thought the bass was way too high and distorted the vocals, nor were vocals as fresh as I was expecting. P.O.D were one of the bands that got me into alternative music and I can't say I have ever walked away from a performance as deflated with a band than I did on Sunday. I managed to stay until Youth of a Nation was played, and being just as disappointed with that I left the tent to catch a longer portion of the next band.
I have just heard on TeamRock Radio that they've had reports that P.O.D were a roaring success, shame I wasn't listening to the same thing they were!
On the way to 2nd stage I had to endure 30 Seconds To Mars. Now, I dislike them on record but it's bearable. Live.....well, they sounded truly and completely awful. I'm so glad I wasn't staying there as I really would've done myself an injury just to get away!
A Day To Remember - Zippo - 9 - I'm going to say it straight off the bat, these guys will headline festivals. They really are that good. They have been described as a fusion of emo, hardcore and metal, and I can't disagree with that. They were a lot heavier than I expected but the huge crowd they drew loved every minute of it. Throwing inflatable balls and toilet paper into the crowd was such an awesome sight. The only part of the set I disagreed with was asking for crowd surfer surfers, crowd surfing is pretty dangerous on it's own without then asking someone else to stand on them. As expected the crowd obliged and I saw a lot of people at least attempting it and most people falling and disappearing into the crowd. Mild concussions and bruises aside, ADTR were truly awesome. And, with a headline tour coming up this year, the step up the festival lineups could happen quite soon.
LimpBizkit - Zippo - 9 - I guarantee this rating would be a 10 had I stayed for the entire set. They weren't even part of my Download plan until I watched the live stream from Rock am Ring. Limp really have turned a corner with their live performances and are now not a disappointment but rather a huge nu-metal force again (if you disregard the album Gold Cobra). Great entertainers playing what can now/soon will be called rock anthems. Stayed to hear Rollin', Nookie and Hot Dog, 3of my favourite Bizkit songs so I was incredibly happy. Also, Fred Durst is currently sporting a cracking beard.
Rammstein - Main - 10 - I'd like to start by saying that Rammstein outside loses something from their indoor show. Now that's out of the way, wow Rammstein were absolutely incredible! The setlist was mostly as to be expected with a shock addition of Wiener Blut, but using the majority of their back catalogue and using it well. The response to Du Hast was stunning, even to the band! I maintain that there will never be a better stage show than that of Rammstein. Everything they do fits in to the music and is just a sight to see. I enjoyed the piano version of Mein Herz Brennt, it was something different to the furious pace at which the band tear through their songs. At the end of the set, Till Lindemann thanked the crowd with 'we love you', this seemed 100% more emotional than previous times I have seen them. I doubt they will forget this date for a long time. There are huge rumours that the band will be calling it a day soon and if this is how they've signed off in the UK then no-one present will have bad memories from their time witnessing the Gods of fire and metal doing what only they do best.
And that concluded my Download Festival 2013. Bringing with it some awesome sets, some not so awesome sets and so much fire that Hell is probably empty right now.
I highly doubt I will do any festivals next year, bar a ridiculously unbelievable lineup. But for those who don't know, Download 2014 will take place on the weekend 13-15 June.
Many thanks for reading.
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Summers - 364 Album Review
Summers are a rock band from Southampton, Hampshire, England.
They comprise of: Crash Summers - Lead Vocals, Ricky Summers - Bass & Vocals, Jason Sepala - Guitar & Vocals, Joedy Rose - Guitar & Vocals, Andy Pope - Drums & Vocals.
The band are influenced by the likes of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Aerosmith, among others.
And have just released their début album '364'. Which is the reason I am writing this blog. So without further ado, here is my review of 364.
Shot In The Dark - A strong opening riff kicks off the album with a sense of things to come. Clean vocals take hold over melodic guitars and a dramatic drum track. The echoing vocals of 'Catch Me' certainly represent this catchy tune and it is a very positive opening song. The band have laid out their intentions to entertain and captivate their audience.
Superhero - After the first few seconds luring you into thinking this is going to be a slow ballad-esque song, the guitars rip open and the drums belt out. It's only the second song of the album and the band have a settled sound that is very pleasing to the ears. The lyrics are clean and have you singing along before you know it. Plus, any song that eludes that Batman is a whore has to be a winner! I really enjoy this style of rock; clean-cut, strong riffs and a fantastic blend of bridging from strong to soft.
Girls - No messing with the opening of this song, blasting straight out the speakers and not slowing down. It is foot tapping, head nodding, pure rock. The lyrics are well written and are greatly complimented by the melodic riffs from the guitars and an unrelenting drum beat.
And after a 5 minute break to try and get that chorus out of my head we can move on. Damn, that is a catchy song.
Too Late - A slower paced ballad breaks into the rapidness that this album has held during the first 3 songs. It shows the depth of change this band have already cultivated for themselves. A great sounding song that holds the attention and keeps that foot moving. Again the lyrics are so well penned they have you singing along in no time. My only gripe is that it seems to end abruptly. This is no bad thing but I was still singing along when the next song jumped in!
Sometimes - And jump in it certainly does. After the slowness of Too Late, this song fires straight up with belting drums and melodic guitars. The track bounces along nicely and with the style that this band has shown to enslave the ear from the offset. The ending sees the lyrics trailing off into a blend of riffing from the guitarists and the unrelenting drum beat which has worked so well throughout the album.
Steal Away - These guys really like to play with the listeners. Another song that opens with a relaxed tune, soon scares the pants off you when the amps are cranked up. This song is a salute to the masters of rock with a real fun rocking vibe. Once again, the lyrics are decidedly catchy and, soon enough, there is nothing you can do to stop yourself singing along.
Let's Make Love - Another song that showcases a differing sound the band have in their repertoire. Resonating guitar sounds blend over the top of the drums before the vocals drift into the melody. The song then picks up and rolls over the chorus with a brutal power. This is a superb contrast with the smoothness of the verses and the band have clearly worked the tempo change to perfection.
Billy - Speaking of changing tempo. Wow! 'Billy' shoots from the starting blocks and doesn't stop. This song flies along with fast paced guitars, quick lyrics and a drum track which makes me wonder if Andy Pope has more than 2 arms! This song is just 3 and a half minutes of pure energy flowing from the speakers. Summers seem to have picked up every rock sound available and nailed it as their own.
Let's Go Round - This could be re-titled 'Ode to Motley Crue'. Another great track which picks you up and ensures your head is nodding until its conclusion. This is a really enjoyable song that allows the guitarists to have some fun throwing solos around. I can't think of a time I sung so much during the first listen of an album! Some inspired lyric writing has taken place on this album and the audible entrapment of each song is amazing.
Told You So - A change of sound on this track shows the influence Bon Jovi has had on the band. Softer vocals on top of a hard rocking track. A fantastic guitar riff carries the flow and creates a melody bouncing off the hard hitting drums. Another bout of continuous foot tapping plays out through this high-spirited and playful tune.
Terminator - This song begins with a futuristic electronic sound before the ever present riffage and exuberant drums of this band kick in. The pace fastens into another energy fuelled track filled with guitar solos abound. I feel this song would be the perfect opener for a live set, with it's audio track building up whilst the band enter the stage and then they kick in as the lights go up. But that's just my opinion.
Rock Machine - And so we reach the final song of the album. Another audio track introduces the song and then the guys jump in feet first with a hard rocking tune. It's a really animated song that makes great use of the backing vocals to join it together. This is a real lively and energetic song to finish the album with. And it seems the guys may be looking to put a message across as to their future intentions with the lyrics 'Can't stop the rock machine'.
Summers could have just jumped straight out of the 80s music scene to bring a fresh new sound to the current rock fans. This is a superb album and I can see Summers becoming a huge hit with the fans of this music. Each song has a lot of energy and are well crafted. The lyrics have been well written and are unbelievably catchy.
I apologise if this review has sounded bias towards the band but I have never enjoyed a first listen to a début album as I have with 364.
The album is available on iTunes, and I'm sure from other music selling places.
Many thanks for reading.
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