Download Festival – 13th-15th June 2014
Friday.
Arriving at Donington Park to the sun beaming down and the heat into the mid-twenties, the omens all point towards a great weekend of music spanning a huge variety of genres and eras.
Miss May I
Open up the Main Stage for the weekend and by this stage the temperature is leaning towards the more uncomfortable side but it’s something the Ohio boys don’t seem to mind as they do a good job of getting the crowd ready for the rest of the weekend. Though their somewhat generic style of Metalcore isn’t particularly interesting to watch, they do their best to get the crowd going. And they do a pretty decent job at doing it, circle pits and plenty of moshing ensues as frontman Levi Benton growls commands at crowd to try keep their already high spirits as high as possible.
Drones
Drones fill the void of pure unaffected punk rock at Download this year as the mohawks and spikes gather in the pit for 25 minutes of madness. Camberley’s Dones are one of the most legitimate punk bands in the UK scene right now and they’re going from strength to strength. Making the most of their debut set at the festival, they blasted through song after song, getting everyone moving around and singing along, packing out the tent. Full of energy and huge songs, they’re not a band to be missed.
Crossfaith
A band known for their high energy levels and genre blending music, and they don’t disappoint. As soon as they run onto stage the energy levels are there for all to see. Mainly from frontman Koie Kenta and keyboardist/programmer Tamano Terufumi, who jump about the stage like they’re possessed. They do an excellent job of mixing metal with obvious elements of dubstep and a variety of other genres and the crowd seem to lap it up. They throw in a cover of The Prodigy’s ‘Omen’ for good measure and end on the huge sounding, fittingly named ‘Leviathan’ which sounds as big as the mythical beast itself.
Turbowolf
Playing songs from their 2012 self-titled album, give the crowd half an hour of huge riffs, punk attitude, filthy guitar tones and most of all, fun. Frontman Chris Georgiadis zaniness really helps get their unique music across the audience. He is in the crowd for much of the set and at one point even gets a crowd member onstage to ‘play whatever he wants’ on his little keyboard. The set is a complete success as far as I’m concerned, particular highlight is ‘Seven Severed Heads’ and probably their most recognisable song ‘A Rose For The Crows’. New song ‘Rabbits Foot’ sounds huge, pointing, even more so, to a bright future for the Bristol four piece.
Skindred
Newport raga-metallers Skindred are no strangers to the Download crowd having played on four previous occasions. People know exactly what to expect from Skindred, fun. And that is exactly what is delivered, frontman Benji Webbe knows exactly how to play up to a big crowd, inciting sing-alongs, chants, claps and the wonderful ‘Newport Helicopter’ which involves every guy in the crowd removing there top and swirling it around their heads, much like a helicopter, hence the name. The move, incidentally, was born at Download festival in 2011 and is a sight to behold. The band plays through their hits ‘Nobody’ ‘Rat Race’ and ‘Pressure’ and even The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’ which seems to go down well. They even throw in a bit of The Harlem Shake which gives everyone a chance to dance including Benji who shakes his ass all the way down the runway from the stage. There’s a reason why Skindred keep getting put on festival line-up, they’re fun, they don’t take themselves seriously and they have catchy songs which will always keep people happy.
Quicksand
Hugely influential Post-hardcore legends Quicksand have been around since 1990, yet I only found about them yesterday when I was told to go see them. Boy, was I glad I did, definitely one of the highlights of the day was Quicksand. They’re mix of post-hardcore and definite grunge tendencies goes down well with the crowd, who I’m sure appreciate how tight they sound as band. ‘Delusional’ and set closer ‘Landmine Spring’ sounds particularly good and as I leave the tent I’m kicking myself for not finding this band sooner.
Letlive.
As lead singer and all round on-stage mentalist Jason Butler entered the stage on two crutches and his knee in a brace, there was still little doubt that he would put in one hell of a performance. Immediately throwing his crutches into the crowd was only the start when during the set he was repeatedly in the crowd, throwing the bongos across the stage, climbing the stage scaffolds and at one point wrapping himself in the carpet that was on the stage. All of the while sounding excellent and not missing a word, demonstrating his unique vocal abilities throughout from fast almost rapped punk to displaying a pitch perfect singing voice during ‘Muther’. With a frontman that enigmatic it’s easy to forget the talent of the rest of the band, who sounded flawless throughout, particularly drummer Lionel Robinson, playing some of the grooviest drumming of the weekend, ‘The Fear Fever’ in particular getting me air drumming throughout.
Flogging Molly
Supporting Frank Turner and then playing Download. It’s clear that Flogging Molly can put any crowd into a good mood. Starting off with “Screaming at the Wailing Wall” before launching into a set packed out with hits, the celtic-punk band got everyone dancing and singing along. Songs like “Drunken Lullabies” and “What’s Left of the Flag” got the expected gigantic receptions. The positivity that radiates from lead singer Dave King is infectious. Flogging Molly are the perfect festival band.
Baby Godzilla
Guitarist destroys his guitar midway through their first song and hands it out to audience members pretty much sums up Baby Godzilla’s set. Playing fast, chaotic hardcore they give the security constant headaches throughout their 20 minute set which all included that same guitarist also playing atop a bin outside the tent itself. The music itself isn’t particularly ground breaking but Baby Godzilla are good at what they do, which is throw themselves ,literally and figuratively, wholeheartedly into their live stage show.
Jamie Lenman
Hitting the Jagermeister acoustic stage for his second performance of the day, the first being an acoustic set, this one sees him bring his backing band. Though this stuff is absolutely ball busting heaviness, the fact that they’re the best dressed/moustached band all weekend provides a juxtaposition that really is a pleasure to see. His music is interesting, sounding nothing like any of the other metal on show today, there are complex time signatures everywhere and Jamie’s voice sounds heavy as hell. There’s even time for humour, Jamie calling himself ‘The black Jimi Hendrix’ and a rendition of The Champs ‘Tequila’ gets everyone boogying.
Bad Religion
I catch the last few songs of their set and it made me so glad I stuck around for the whole of Jamie Lenman. They may have huge hits such as ‘Los Angeles Is Burning’, ‘Sorrow’ and numerous more. But the songs I hear sound flat, there is little crowd communication, no stage presence and they just don’t seem like they really care about being here. Nothing sums this up more for me, than their exit from the stage, nothing but a muted ‘thanks, we hope to be back soon’ and that was it, an abrupt end to what I saw as the first big disappointment of the weekend.
The Offspring
Rounding out the day on the Zippo Encore Stage, it was time for The Offspring. The “Time to Relax” intro tape began playing and the band swiftly launched into “Nitro (Time to Relax” – marking the beginning of the “Smash” album being played in full. Every track on the record got huge reactions, especially “Bad Habit” which saw everyone screaming along to the bridge. The band went through track after track, rarely letting up. The set was a reminder of just how well deserved a “Smash” show was. The album is wall-to-wall singalong hits. They closed out the initial set with “Self Esteem” which had been saved until the end, then left the stage briefly before returning for a few more classics. “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” and “The Kids Aren’t Alright” got the biggest singalongs and rounded out the day perfectly. The Offspring were on top form, perhaps revisiting the older material has injected them with some new life.
Avenged Sevenfold
Though I catch little of their set, what I do catch sounds pretty impressive. Other than the huge solo that guitarist Synyster Gates performed on stage by himself, which was boring and an obvious time killer. Avenged seem to be one of the most accessible metal bands around at the moment and they do get a great response from a lot of the crowd. Their theatricality is the only thing that intrigues me; they definitely have the most rock and roll approach to their music and image of most metal bands nowadays. The stage itself is impressive, including enough pyrotechnics to warm the crowd up on a chilly evening and huge dancing skeletons behind cages; it was quite the sight to behold, just a shame that the music didn’t really justify such a high place on today’s line up.
Saturday
Zoax
If I was going to sum up Zoax’s set this afternoon in one word, it would no doubt be ENERGY! The whole band doesn’t stand still for one second, most of all frontman Adam Carroll, who jitters about the stage like this is the last gig of his life he is in the audience the next second forming circle pits and generally stirring the crowd up into frenzy. The music isn’t bad either, it’s raw and energetic yet there’s an obvious groove too it and some intricate melodies thrown into the mix for good measure. ‘Bitter Angry Fake’ certainly sums up their sound perfectly; it’s jumpy, melodic, groovy yet aggressive and performed with passion. Zoax are definitely ones to watch going on this performance.
Bury Tomorrow
Are a band on the up, since their recent release of album ‘Runes’ receiving rave reviews and playing bigger and bigger venues. The sun is beaming down when they start, they kick straight into ‘Man On Fire’ first single off Runes. Starting with a nice riff before hitting everyone square in the face with Dan Winter-Bates brutal screams, whose vocals have improved immensely since their debut album ‘Portraits’. The whole band sound brilliant throughout their set, the guitars sounding huge throughout and Dan’s voice never letting up once. They incite circle pits constantly, though, as the organisers have clearly made some restrictions regarding certain crowd activities (circle pits mainly ) bands have to find ways round it, repeatedly telling the crowd that the bands favourite shape is a circle seems to do the trick!
While She Sleeps
WSS pull a huge crowd on the mainstage, due to the rapidly growing fan base of the Sheffield metalcore lads. Though personally I don’t see the appeal, their music is nothing new but in a genre so over saturated like metalcore it’s quite hard to stand out from the rest. They have plenty of onstage energy and the crowd goes wild throughout their set but for me the music doesn’t live up to the hype. Not helped by the fact the drum seems to be turned up to ten while the other members of the band are at five at most.
Twenty One Pilots
The duo from Ohio really don’t fit anywhere within the weekends line-up, yet that doesn’t stop them doing what they do and doing it very well. There infectious brand of music may get a few questioning glances when they start yet it doesn’t take long for people to start getting into their music. Playing songs mainly from their recent album ‘Vessel’ there is catchy hooks in every song and even a few rapped parts thrown in. It’s fair to say that by the end of the set everyone in the audience is bobbing along and Tyler and John provide a perfect soundtrack for the sunny afternoon.
Marmozets provide the crowd with a really unique mix of heavy vocals, tech based rhythms and choppy, jarring guitars as well as huge chorus hook so catchy that allows everyone in the audience time to sing along or mosh to their heart content. For a band with an average age of just 18 it’s hard not to see big things on the horizon for Marmozets.
Monster Magnet
On the other end of the age spectrum are Monster Magnet who bring their self -proclaimed space rock to the second stage, they formed in 1989 and with over 20 years experience under their belt they sure know how to put on a show. Their loud, droney, reverb laden set is a real treat for the audience who seem to love what they hear. Ending on arguably their two biggest tracks ‘Powertrip’ and ‘Space Lord’ leave everyone who came to watch them lwith a huge grin on their faces.
The Wildhearts
Another band who seem to have been around forever is The Wildhearts, who’s blend of punk influenced rock and roll goes down a treat on a sunny afternoon. Notorious frontman Ginger sounding on top form as the band storm through a set made up of some of their classics like ‘I Wanna Go Where The People Go’ and ‘Sick Of Drugs’. The band is obviously still enjoying playing their music which is refreshing to see in an older band. Ending the set with ’29 x The Pain’ before telling the crowd to ‘thank fuck you’re alive’. Though I only saw their set on a whim, I was sure glad I did.
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage are one of the biggest metalcore bands on the planet, and following the return of original lead singer Jesse Leach, they manage to get a gigantic crowd on the main stage. Despite the large collection of hits they have, the songs fall fairly flat with little movement from crowd and band alike. Some of the more popular songs like “My Curse” and closer “The End of Heartache” get big singalongs, but everything else merges into one overly long generic sound.
Fall Out Boy
The sun is beaming down and there isn’t a cloud in sky when Fall Out Boy take to the stage, which seems fitting for one of the most feel good bands on the bill this yet. It’s easy to forget just how many huge songs Fall Out Boy have and though audience interaction is at a minimum it means that they can ram as many of those songs as they can into their hour long slot .I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a fan, at all, of their most recent album ‘Save Rock and Roll’ but luckily the songs come across a lot better live than they do on the album. Though the new songs rarely give guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley chance to really show off their genuine talents, it’s singer Patrick Stump who really steals the show. His voice sounding absolutely brilliant throughout particularly on ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up)’ Particularly during the chorus where is delivery of the word fire is possibly the most rock & roll moment of the whole set. Fall Out Boy being one of those bands who, despite you’re feelings towards them, you can’t help but sing along to. One flaw of the set was the fact that they didn’t play ‘Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy Tonight’ but the inclusion of closer ‘Saturday’ gave the old school fans of the band something to cheer about.
Linkin Park
With the news that Linkin Park were going to play debut and most beloved of all their albums ‘Hybrid Theory’ in full and in order, there was a massive buzz within the metal community. The news gave everyone at the festival a chance to relive their teenage years, myself included. Hybrid Theory was one of the first albums that I truly loved, it was on constant repeat in my house when it came out and has always been one of my favourite albums. And boy did it not disappoint, for an album that came out 15 years ago, every song sounded as fresh as it did as when It came out in 2001. As soon as those opening electric drum beats kicked in for ‘Papercut’ I was immediately transported to a time when I was first discovering heavy music and though I hadn’t listened to the album for a few years, I found myself singing back every word both Chester and Mike sang. The band sounded as tight as a band as I’d ever witnessed, every drum beat, guitar note, and vocal sounded absolutely perfect, exactly like the album only ten times bigger than it was on record. The crowd even got to witness a first ever performance of ‘Cure For The Itch’ which saw DJ Mr Han show off his talents as well as a first performance of ‘Forgotten’ since 2002.
After finishing Hybrid Theory in full, the band then went into the rest of their back catalogue showcasing some of their other huge hits such as ‘Bleed It Out’, ‘Numb’ and ‘What I’ve Done’ .They also play some songs off upcoming new album ‘The Hunting Party’ which on first listen sound like it could be the best thing they’ve done since second album ‘Meteora’.
Sunday
The Graveltones
Australian duo ‘The Graveltones’ mix of hard rock, blues and rock & roll goes down well those who have ventured out relatively early for a Sunday. Going into the tent, not knowing a thing about the band other than the name of the band, I was intrigued straight away. How just two guys could make such a rocking sound, at times it seemed that Jimmy O (guitar/vocals) and Mikey Sorbello (drums) were just jamming, it was truly a testimony to the duo’s chemistry on stage that everything sounded as good as it did.
Thy Art Is Murder
There couldn’t be more of a difference between Thy Art is Murder and The Graveltones, as one collective audience quickly emptied the tent, another, all together more youthful crowd, spilled into it. Another Australian band, up and coming deathcore boys deliver a full on onslaught of heavy riffs, intense drumming and blood curdling vocals. Obvious hit ‘The Purest Strain Of Hate’ going down the best out of an absolutely brutal set and the crowd loved every second of it.
Feed The Rhino
Known for their relentless onstage energy Feed The Rhino certainly do not disappoint, Vocalist Lee Tobin is in the crowd before the first song has even started and spends more time in it than on the stage during their entire set. It’s much the same for the rest of the band members, whose energy levels, seem completely limitless, bouncing around the stage and even playing there instruments while continuously pummelling the crowd with their music. New album ‘The Sorrow and the Sound’ is yet to be released, but they give the crowd a taster with first single off the album ‘Deny and Offend’ sound pretty spectacular
Inspire To Create
Essex band Inspire to Create fail to make a mark on anyone in the tiny crowd that has gathered to see them play in the smallest tent. Though their music isn’t bad it just falls a little flat, sounding pretty generic and not particularly interesting. Moving on.
Fizzy Blood Another band that completely falls flat, proving that a good band name proves little if the music is tired and bland. I catch two songs before moving onto the next band, and im sure lots of other people moved on pretty swiftly as well. A minor blip in the grand scheme of things, but a blip nonetheless.
Black Stone Cherry (secret set)
The not-so-secret band for the weekend happened to be Black Stone Cherry, this proved to be a popular move as the Pepsi Max tent was overflowing with people who had gathered to see some of the southern riffage that they would bring. Playing mainly their biggest hits seemed to please the crowd immensely who were in great voice throughout the set. Often singing much louder than vocalist Chris Robertson himself. Hats off to the Download organisers who pulled this one out of the bag as this was definitely a wise move, though not my cup of tea really, Black Stone Cherry sounded immense and I can see why the pulled the huge crowd that they did.
Against Me! arrive on stage with huge grins on all of their faces, and why not, their latest album ‘Transgender Dysphoria Blues’ has been very well received and with Lead singers Laura’s public coming out as transgender, the amount of acceptance around the punk/rock community seems to be overwhelmingly in support of what she has done. So the smiles are definitely not misplaced and though the crowd interaction is at a bare minimum, their music does all the talking for them. Playing songs spanning all their albums, and all their different stages of music, from their folky punk rock beginnings, shown off on opener ‘Pints of Guinness Make You Strong’ through their more accessible rocky stage, ‘I Was a Teenage Anarchist ‘and ‘New Wave’ off White Crosses and New Wave respectively. It’s really their new stuff that sounds awesome today, ‘Drinking With The Jocks’ sees a return to their punk roots and closer ‘Black Me Out’ a perfect mix of all their previous efforts. Against Me! Are on form today, they sound tight and since there latest album and some new members there is a definite new lease of life within the band. Let’s hope they don’t leave it this long again before returning to UK shores.
Jon Gomm
…And now for something completely different, here is a man who can play an entire bands worth of music on just his acoustic guitar, so that’s, drums, bass, guitar and of course a really nice voice to go with it. It’s a true spectacle to behold and probably the most interesting music I see all weekend, Jon Gomm is ridiculously talented, managing to somehow keep a drum beat going while playing intricate melodies, often using tapping techniques and changing tuning in the middle of a note to get a certain effect all the while singing. It’s a display of multi-tasking that I’ve not seen before, and I doubt I’ll see anything like it again. Along with all this talent, Jon has a sense of humour and seems completely down to earth, even going so far as to come out after his set to converse with fans and take group photos with them.
The Used
Penultimate band in the tent of the weekend is The Used, the post-hardcore legends arrive on stage to a packed out tent. like Linkin Park yesterday, The Used were one of the bands that shaped my music taste in my early teens. Their self-titled debut album was beloved by a huge amount of people, me included. But as far as I’m concerned, like a lot of bands who had a huge debuts, they have slowly gone downhill, so much so that I’ve really heard the singles off their last two albums ‘Artwork’ and ‘Vulnerable’ nevertheless I do enjoy what I hear tonight. Mainly because they play their older more recognisable songs, ‘Pretty Handsome Awkward’, ‘Take It Away’ and an old favourite of many ‘The Taste Of Ink’. It’s pretty obvious from the get go that Burt can’t particularly sing live, but he does make up for it by being an entertaining frontman and still being able to get the crowd going.
Zebrahead
As Aerosmith and The Dillinger Escape Plan were playing across the other stages, it was expected that Zebrahead would be playing to an empty tent. That was not the case at all, and they managed to pack out the tent to capacity and provide one of the most enjoyable sets of the entire weekend. Vocalist Ali Tabatabaee did a fantastic job of getting the crowd involved in every song, getting everyone jumping and singing along. Hits like “Hell Yeah” and “Anthem” get huge singalongs and Zebrahead provide a great alternative end to the weekend.
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Closing the weekend on what will, no doubt be a huge high were DEP, a band no stranger to tearing crowds a new one at every show they play. Tonight of course, was no different, as soon as the opening riff of ‘Prancer’ kicks in, the room is already in a frenzy. Greg’s growls sound as diabolical as ever and the pure power behind him is like being kicked in the head repeatedly, in a good way of course. If anyone was hoping for a nice chilled end to the weekend, this was certainly not it. In fact, I think people saw it more as one last chance to go crazy before heading back to boring mundane reality. Dillinger knew this and made sure to give them one more reminder that sticking around for them was completely worth it. The set they play, in my opinion is pretty much spot on, while not only playing the violent ear shredding crazy songs like ‘Panasonic Youth’ and ‘Hero Of The Soviet Union’ they also play a lot of there more riffy songs, which give Vocalist Greg Puciato a chance to show off his undeniably talented vocal range. Songs like the excellent ‘One Of Us Is The Killer’ and huge fan favourite ‘Milk Lizard’ show why Dillinger are one of the most original bands to come out in the last two decades, a band who’s constant evolution shows no sign of slowing down as they continue to push the boundaries of what is possible.
Aerosmith
After some backstage footage being shown on the big screen, Aerosmith burst onto Download’s Main Stage with more vivacity than bands forty years their junior. The hyperactive Steven Tyler was wearing a Native American headpiece and volumous white outfit, playing mischievously up to the live camera feed whilst belting out Train Kept A Rollin’. The pace increased with Eat The Rich that saw the crowd fully embrace the blues rockers, singing along with the chorus and welcoming the final burp. Aerosmith’s set straddled the length of their vast career, including crowd pleasers from the ’80’s, blues tracks from the ’70’s and Freedom Fighter from their most recent album. As a five piece, Aerosmith know how to entertain a massive audience even the cheesy ballad I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing saw the majority of the audience singing at the top of their voices. And when you can end the main set with Dude (Looks Like A Lady) and Walk This Way, there is no questioning your calibre. The encore was supreme, consisting of the passionate Dream On,with a minor piano error that left a rye smile on Tyler’s face, and then the sensational groove of Sweet Emotion erupts. What a song! Tom Hamilton’s bass line drives the track which crescendos to a tremendous extended guitar solo whilst ticker tape cannons fire over the audience. Even after this finale, Aerosmith aren’t done and push the curfew with the simple, bluesy Mama Kin. Yet again Aerosmith prove their worth and show that they are far from hanging up their rock star prowess, thank god. It was an utterly superb ending to Download
Overall it was an excellent weekend for music old and new and, although the first time I saw the line-up I wasn’t exactly that impressed, this meant I saw a lot of bands I wouldn’t usually have seen. Which, for me, means it was a successful weekend, as I’ll definitely be checking out lots of these bands.
Review – Francis Sebestjanowicz, Toni Woodward & Max Quayyum
Photos – Katja Ogrin