The Download Festival, conceived as a follow up to the Monsters of Rock Festival, has grown from a two-day event to what has now become a 3-day metal extravaganza. In its 10th year and boasting 5 stages, the show can now truly claim to showcase some of the best metal the world has to offer. As I arrive on the Sunday morning my metal senses twitch and I am drawn to the second stage where the first band of the day are about to kick off the metal mayhem.
Kobra and the Lotus (second stage)
As the Sunday morning crowd wipe their tired eyes, Canada’s Kobra and the Lotus ignite the 
day’s proceedings with a flurry of operatic metal reminiscent of bands such as Iron Maiden and Dio. Leather-clad lead singer and principle writer Kobra Paige commands the stage with a warrior-like presence, flanked by her army of brothers manning their musical weapons. Throughout the set the vocals and music remain powerful, and anyone who may have been unaware of the band before this performance will be left with an indelible, positive impression.
Devil Driver (main stage)
Dez-Fafara and crew take to the main stage and sucker-punch you with their own brand of melodic death metal. The band start with End of the Line and immediately the crowd are pumping devil horns into the air like their lives depend on it. Able to summon circle pits on command, Devil Driver plough through a ferocious set. The band clearly have a mission: that mission being to make a lasting impression on all who have dared to witness their performance. Tattooed Fafara alternates between clean vocals and unholy death growls whilst the guitars keep up a relentless, fast-paced groove which is the engine and powerhouse behind the violently rotating circle pits into which the occasional unassuming bystander is vacuumed.
As the death metal ride plummets towards the finishing line the final song performed is Clouds Over California which goes to further stoke the circle pit’s engines. The large TV screens clearly depict the mayhem within. The most interesting spectacle is, without doubt, the rapidly deflating flaccid suit of a somewhat incongruous Mr Blobby impersonator, the consequence of being pummelled to near-death within the pit. One wonders what could possibly remain of the once jovial character inside. As the band leaves the stage, did they fulfil their mission? Looking around and seeing the sea of devil horns still in the air, the answer must surely be a resounding yes!
Kyuss Lives! (main stage)
As the ears ring from Devil Driver’s assault, I step over the occasional slain body strewn across the arena. In the distance Kyuss Lives! casually appear on stage and offer the audience a respite from the previous sonic onslaught. Singer John Garcia has a quietly assured presence and the band’s stoner-prog-rock sound would be a perfect choice for any desert saloon’s jukebox. The crowd are soon swaying along to some laid back guitar passages whilst Brant Bjork’s drumming offers a feast for both the ears and eyes. The song El Rodeo draws me into an almost psychedelic trance as my foot gently taps along to the solid drumming and anthem-like chorus from Garcia as he sings out from behind dark shades. As the song 100% closes the set, feedback cascades over a sea of approving faces, and the band leave the stage as casually as they appeared. All that was missing was a cactus and a few rounds of tequila. Adios amigos!
Anthrax (main stage)
As Anthrax’s banner hangs proudly above the backdrop of the stage, you can feel the crowd’s energy building. Impish guitarist Scot Ian, whose block beard has not seen a razor since 1981, feverishly runs out to greet the crowd. Excited and full of energy, his demeanour is a clear indication of the spectacle to come. The 80s thrash metal legends begin with Caught in a Mosh, and in an instant the crowd are singing along. Nimble singer Joey Belladonna skips around the giant stage, his jet black main trailing behind him as he works the crowd. Meanwhile, looking like he’d be more at home on a building site wielding a petrol-driven circular saw is guitarist Rob Caggiano who soon shatters that illusion as his beloved ESP axe slices through the solo sections of Anthrax’s back catalogue. With a dizzying array of fret-board wizardry and playful onstage camaraderie with Scot Ian and Joey Belladonna, Caggiano’s performance is sure to satisfy the cravings of any hardened fret-wankers in the audience.
Among the classics are Madhouse, Antisocial and I Am the Law. The penultimate song sees Joey sport Indian headgear which can only mean one thing – Indians! As Indians is performed, Joey works the crowd even harder, demanding they sing along with all the energy they can muster. The positive response is something to behold and in a moment of unrestrained excitement Belladonna breaks free from the shackles of the main stage and gleefully prances down the gangway into the centre of the crowd. The security have a job of keeping the frenzied fans back as he belts out the chorus and jumps around like he is channelling the spirit of an old Indian war chief. Thankfully he stops short of scalping several security guards who apparently have mistaken him for an over enthusiastic Anthrax fan with a penchant for skin-tight jeans and big hair. In summary, Anthrax rocked!
Black Label Society (main stage)
A roar from the gods introduces Black Label Society and appearing on stage is Zakk Wylde, who, more by accident than design, is also sporting an Indian head dress. All soon becomes clear as Wylde kicks off with Crazy Horse – a head-nodding, riff-crunching, foot-stomping tune that compels you to get in the mood no matter how bad the hangover! Half heavy metal biker, half Viking body builder, Zakk Wylde sports a beard so huge it must surely have its own 2,000 calories per day dietary requirements. The man Titan along with his band of Black Label brothers kick some serious ass despite their sound getting lost slightly due to the open air event. The set is a fan pleaser which consists of true Black Label classics such as Concrete Jungle, Funeral Bell, Overlord, Parade of the Dead and Fire it Up. As the songs blast out you cannot fail to be reminded of how perfectly they create such booze-fuelled biker anthems.
Mid-set, as the band take five, Wylde seizes the opportunity to enter into an extended (to put it mildly) guitar solo trance. As the minutes tick by I find myself contemplating Wylde’s mic stand which is festooned with human skulls and other spoils. As I reflect upon this it occurs to me that these skulls can be nothing other than the remains of the hapless victims previously caught in the Thor-like shredding of his interminable pentatonic guitar solos. Clearly they did not have the stamina required and thus decided to take their own lives.
The band returns as tight as before, tearing through Godspeed Hell Bound before aborting their set with Still Born. The band takes a humble bow whilst the crowd reward them with cheers and the compulsory devil horns. Wylde, like the gorilla Mighty Joe Young, beats his beast-like chest in appreciation and salutes the crowd before thundering off backstage to be surely put back in his cage.
Lamb of God (main stage)
Virginia’s Lamb of God walk out to scan the scene before them. The 100,000-plus crowd stare back, and like a scene from a spaghetti western, you know something is about to erupt. Desolation crunches out and the crowd go wild as the circle pits re-ignite and the metal mayhem resumes. Once Desolation finishes Lamb of God own the crowd and they know it. Vocalist Randy Blythe stands tall and soaks up his congregation’s applause. Blythe introduces the third song to be greeted with a chant of “Walk with Me in Hell”. I prepare for my chest’s implosion as Lamb of God continue to release a torrent of sonic aggression. Chris Adler, known for being one of metal’s best drummers, certainly shows his worth with a double bass drum kick that could blow out your eyes.
Playing through fan favourites such as Set to Fail, Now You’ve Got Something to Die For and Laid to Rest, the songs provide the perfect accompaniment for moshing out in an acrid smelling field buckling under the weight of the hordes of wellington-clad disciples. Guitarists Willie Adler and Mark Morton complement each other well with Mark’s blues inspired riffs and Willie’s more technical math-metal style fleshing out the band’s musical vocabulary. Like musical bookends on either side of the stage, bass player John Campbell moves between them as his grey beard and long hair hide his face, giving him the appearance of the Adams Family’s Cousin IT. The last two songs, Redneck and Black Label, elicit more of a groove from the “mosh-step” as witnessed in the dance orientated character of the pits.
Lamb of God truly know how to raise hell and anyone who suffers from festival toilet syndrome (chronic diarrhoea) will be well advised to go before their set commences. The set played and the performance witnessed confirm Lamb of God’s status as the metal-core kings.
Megadeth (main stage)
A monolithic wall of Marshalls provides the backdrop to the heavy metal sermon that is about to commence. Sporting his trademark, fiery, orange hair atop his gnarled grimace, Dave Mustaine purposefully enters the stage to deliver a brand of metal that has, throughout 28 years and over 30 million album sales, thrilled their loyal army of fans.
The set opens on a ferocious note with Never Dead, taken the latest album TH1RT3EN. Hot on the heels of this are Megadeth classics such as Hanger 18, She-Wolf and Symphony of Destruction. Fans unfamiliar with the band’s pedigree are left wide-eyed and open-jawed as new songs such as Public Enemy No. 1 and Whose Life (Is It Anyways?) pummel them into submission. The pummelling is ratcheted up a notch as Headcrusher’s opening guitar solo blows eardrums clean out and leaves brains vibrating inside their cranial sacks. Many revel in the masochistic pleasure of the metal guitar ecstasy as the crowd chant “Headcrusher!” during the chorus in a disciple-like manner as heads bang in unison. Main guitarist Chris Brodwick is a worthy successor to the Megadeth guitar luminaries who preceded him. His playing is precise, fluid and faithful to the original recordings. During Sweating Bullets the crowd witness some classic Mustaine theatricals as he quirkily gesticulates to the lyric “Hello me, meet the real me!” It is clear that Mustaine and his alter-ego are both having fun up there.
As the band go off for a quick breather, David Ellefson walks back on stage to play a familiar melody on his bass before being joined by the rest of the band. Any self-respecting Megadeth fan knows what is about to follow. The politically charged Peace Sells incites the crowd to sing along enthusiastically after which A Tout le Monde is greeted with equal fervour. Salivating like baying wolves locked behind a trap door the fans are kept waiting in anticipation until the closing minutes of the set for cherished, Megadeth classic Holy Wars. Dave toys with the audience as he teases the song’s opening riff from his guitar until even he is unable to withhold his musical load. As Holy Wars rains down upon the frenzied crowd, one can only guess as to the size of the seismograph readings at geological stations around the globe as fans pound the earth in tribal union. A heavy metal sermon? Amen!
Soundgarden (main stage)
It has been 15 years since Soundgarden last played the UK. Tonight sees them playing the support slot for metal royalty Black Sabbath, which is a fitting return to these rainy shores. As if by fate a radiant sun has now cut through the clouds as if to give a nod of approval to this special occasion. Chris Cornell triumphantly raises his guitar to signal the band’s return and shatters the air of expectation by greeting us with Spoonman. The song thunders out and it feels as if they have never been away. Fulfilling the crowd’s wish list, they romp through favourites such as Outshined, Jesus Christ Pose, The Day I Tried to Live and Rusty Cage. Soundgarden are also unafraid to dip into lesser-known songs from their back catalogue which helps to keep the crowd guessing and the set sounding fresh.
The sound is powerful, raw and in your face, the requisite characteristics of any Soundgarden gig. As I contemplate Cornell’s vocal performance, I struggle to summon the superlatives with which to aptly describe it. Majestic, heavenly, magnificent, sublime; just a few that come to mind as I am transported off-world to a plane of spiritual oneness. Life offers relatively few unifying moments of belonging such as this. Cornell’s interaction with the crowd is as natural as it is heart-warming. The dedication of fan favourite Black Hole Sun to those who have travelled far and wide to see them is a beautiful touch. The crowd, new and old, sing along en masse and it is nice to be a part of the Soundgarden extended family once again.
Beyond the Wheel, an early Soundgarden creation, is used to end the set in dramatic fashion. As the song builds in intensity, Cornell paces the stage, all the while absorbing the crowd’s pent up energy. The song shortly erupts and our thirst is quenched once more as his intense vocal flourishes cascade across the arena. As the song enters the stratosphere, the hairs on my arms stand erect, my eyes roll back, and I am re-acquainted with oneness. Suddenly I snap back to reality and the song is over. Cornell, nowhere to be seen, guitar feedback echoing out, I stand there reflecting. How do you begin to sum up such a performance? In short, the spectacle just witnessed re-affirms Soundgarden’s lofty status as one of the most exciting bands to have transcended the genres of metal, rock and grunge. Put more simply, Soundgarden are back!
Black Sabbath (main stage)
I can think of no worthier band to bring to a close the three-day spectacle that is the Download Festival than Black Sabbath. After all, they practically wrote the blueprint that was to define the metal genre way back in 1969.
The set begins with the eponymously titled song Black Sabbath as fires rage on the colossal screen behind the band. Iommi’s fat riffs bludgeon the audience beneath them and lay down the agenda for what is to follow. The entire set is a feast for the ears of any Sabbath fan and it soon becomes clear they are likely to play through their entire back catalogue of classics. The wizard sees Ozzy whip out his harmonica which he uses to incite the crowd into a pogo-like frenzy. The fat riffs are relentless as is the crowd’s appetite for more. N.I.B allows Geezer Butler to show off his rhythmic chops on the bass as the crowd pogo in concordance. Behind the Wall of Sleep, Into the Void, Under the Sun and Snowblind follow. As Snowblind is played a sea of eyes remains fixed to the stage as the gurus of metal do what they do best.
Ozzy cuts a slightly unsteady figure as he shuffles from the mic stand to beam at the crowd. Sirens suddenly blare out introducing War Pigs and the crowd who are in good voice sing along with as much enthusiasm as they can muster. Tommy Clufeto’s drum solo (Ozzy Ozbourne, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Ted Nugent) allows the aging members of the band to take five and load up on Red Bull and caffeine tablets. Half the age of his fellow band members he is an absolute powerhouse on the kit. Mid-set his drum solo is something to behold. Drumming as if he has eight arms and powered by a nuclear generator, the crowd gasp in awe at the drumming wizardry on display.
Once the Redbull’s are necked Ozzy wobbles back to the front to sing Iron Man, Fairies Wear Boots and Tomorrow’s Dream. Dirty Women is a further crowd pleaser and is a fitting song for the last act to sing in remembrance of the ample bosoms emblazoned across the big screens throughout the day. Throughout the set Ozzy can be heard shouting “Go fucking crazy , I can’t hear you!”, testimony no doubt to the cumulative effect of standing in front of million decibel rigs since 1969. This causes the crowd to go even wilder, shouting back as if reanimating the aging rocker with each passing song. Fully re-animated, Ozzy and the band close their set and the festival in style with Paranoid, a clear reminder of why these guys are revered as the true godfathers of metal.
What a Sunday. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath!
(Reviewed by Steve Love and Andy Roles)
