The great thing about Danish band Neckbreakker is they do exactly what their name suggests. Despite the early hour (11am), they are tightly wound, bristling with aggression and operating with a take-no-prisoners attitude. It’s a sound that’s guaranteed to blow away any hangovers and the pit which erupts tells us the band are doing their job. Fun and feisty, Neckbreaker get the follicles flying.
It’s proving to be an eventful weekend for Midwest metalcore crew Archers. Having just released their latest EP Temporary High (reviewed here), they’ve just been announced as support on Never More’s tour, and to cap it all they’re playing on Donington’s hallowed ground. It’s all feeding into the band’s confidence and they hit the stage without warning and with wrecking ball force. ‘Never Enough’, ‘Better Off’ and final track ‘Bitter’ all blend emo and metalcore to perfection.
There are certain moments when you catch a band on the cusp of greatness and Glasgow’s Bleed From Within on the Apex stage is one such moment. Glasgow is a conurbation that breeds hardy folk who in turn breed hardy bands and this becomes immediately apparent when they hit the stage. From coming here as fans to actually playing on stage could throw some people, but not this bunch who play with razor sharp precision and throw everything into their performance. The world is their oyster.
Faetooth are another band whose moniker gives a good indication of the sound they create and they peddle a nice line in (self-described) “fairy doom”. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, they are a power trio in the purest definition, locking in tightly to create a sound that is far bigger than their individual parts. The very nature of their sound means it transfers well to the live environment and its organic quality gives the impression that it could grow in any direction. I’ve seen the future and it is fairy doom.
Power Trip are a band who encapsulate all that’s good about crossover thrash; the brutal musicianship of metal coupled with the indignant rage of hardcore punk was always going to be a winner and both are on display this afternoon. The band are kind enough to wear their influences on their collective sleeve and any group with a member sporting an English Dogs t-shirt is onto a winner. Power Trip light up the stage with drums that fire like machine guns and guitars that squeal like dive bombers. I’ll wager that Power Trip will be back, next time topping the bill.
It’s the first time for Japan’s Survive Said The Prophet in the UK and what a way to pop your cherry that at the mother of all metal festivals. If the pressure is on then it doesn’t show because the band hit the Dogtooth stage with bluster and bravado, delivering a tight set devoid of filler. The vocalist leads from the front, a general taking his troops into battle and Survive Sid The Prophet have come to win. The crowd require little goading to sing along and punch the air in unison and the energy they radiate gets sent straight back. It’s obvious why the band’s songs have featured prominently in various TV shows; there’s a very cinematic quality to their sound that plants strong images in the mind’s eye and the band magically transport us to some Bladerunner cityscape in futuristic, down town Tokyo. It’s Survive Said The Prophet’s first gig in the UK, but on the strength of the crowd’s reaction, it won’t be their last.
Stomping the stage like a 900lb gorilla, Seven Hours After Violet make their presence felt from the get go. When System Of A Down’s bassist Shavo Odajian met producer and multi-instrumentalist Morgoth, a magical fusion occurred and the result was the band who are rocking the Dogtooth right now. Adding a couple of band mates, Seven Hours After Violet create an imposing sound, and one that’s hard to ignore. It’s weighty and attaches itself to the listener like an anchor tied to a drowning man, pulling us down to delirious and uncharted depths. Songs such as ‘Cry’ deliver knockout blow after knockout blow whilst closer ‘Sunrise’ is a floor shaking, earth quaking beast that ensures the band won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
Every year at Download it seems that there’s a surprise set, and this year’s treat is very special indeed. Hailing from Sheffield, Malevolence have burst from the underground to headline tours and festival slots, all through sheer determination, hard work and, of course, some top tunes. What’s even sweeter is that the band have reached the top on their own terms and without selling their souls to some record label boss. Word has quickly spread that Malevolence are appearing on the Avalanche stage, so the punters are packed in like sardines in a tin and while it seems that there’s no room to mosh, as soon as the first note rings out (and I mean the very first note), pits erupt and swirl with gravitational force and pull the unaware into their slipstream. The bouncers at the front of the stage are earning their wages while Malevolence are on stage, but it’s all in the right spirit and the unwritten rules of the pit ensures no one gets seriously hurt. Future headliners, undoubtedly.
Following Malevolence on the Avalanche stage is no easy task, but if any band can do it, House Of Protection can. Formed by former Fever 333 members Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta, this project finds them taking a more fluid route, and that’s precisely what their set does. There’s an improvisational nature to their operandi and because of this is comes with a certain amount of danger that it might derail at any moment, however, this pair are masters of their own ship and know how to keep things in the right channel. Nevertheless, there’s an individuality to each set and makes every show markedly different, and while some gigs are choreographed down to the smallest detail, House Of Protection are the complete opposite and that means you’ll come and see them again and again (and again).
President is a new type of politician, and one who deals in the good stuff, namely sublime songs and memorable melodies. As with a seasoned politician, the enigmatic President soon gets the crowd chanting and swaying in unison. Dressed in suit, tie and ice white shirt, President is all business and radiates an air of assured authority. It means that people actually listen to his songs, as opposed to the drunken cheers that usually characterise a festival crowd…and these are songs you actually want to hear. It’s as if President has cast a hypnotic spell over the crowd and that means the set has passed far too soon.
British heavyweights Ingested have become a national institution and have been pumping out
killer tunes for almost two decades. You get the feeling that if these guys had originated in the States or on the Continent, they’d be a far bigger band but for some reason the kind of brutal metal these guys dish out doesn’t have the same kudos when delivered by a bunch of Brits. Never mind, because it’s here and now that matters and by second song, ‘Endgame’, Ingested are firmly in their groove and doing what they do best, crushing skulls with their raw, primitive brand of metal. New single ‘Alter Of Flesh’ is as bloodthirsty as the title suggests and with plenty of breakdowns and groovy sections, their songs come pit ready, and the circle variety swirl throughout their set, not unlike Dante’s Inferno circling the lower reaches of hell. Going back to their genesis, ‘Skinned And Fucked’ from their debut album brings things to a nose bleeding conclusion.
German quartet Unprocessed are very much at the vanguard of modern metal, forging onwards with a sound that’s progressive in its purest definition (i.e. forward facing and unconstrained). They’re putting a contemporary twist on familiar themes and in doing so point the way to a bright future. They’ve a hefty sound and one which transfers very well to the stage. With plenty on the bottom end they swing with force and you feel they could knockdown any obstacle in their path. There’s lither sections to contrast the heavy, but it’s the former where the action is and it has a strange effect on people and causes all sorts of havoc in front of the stage. The crowd sing along with every word and suggests that the band are very much on the way up.
It’s always a special occasion when Bullet For My Valentine make an appearance, but this evening proves special on several levels. It’s twenty one years since they first played here and secondly, it’s the twentieth anniversary of their debut album, both of which gives their set a celebratory tone. It’s a party vibe and one to which we are all invited, and in honour of this special date they are playing The Poison in full (and for the last time in the UK). As befitting a band who’ve been in the game for a quarter of a century, Bullet For My Valentine hit the ground running and give a masterclass in how to play a main stage. As flames lick the sky, the band are all over the stage like a rash playing songs that become more visceral and direct when performed live and with the sense of danger and unpredictably only that can bring. For whatever the reason, Wales is a country that punches well above its weight when it comes to music and Bullet For My Valentine prove themselves the hardest of hitters.
Formed in France in 2013, Novelists are a Parisian quintet who’re indicative of the way in which metalcore has evolved and taken on new form. Novelists bring a progressive element to the form and it definitely gives them a unique angle. The twin guitarists in particular are unpredictable and give the impression that they could grow and twist in any direction and it’s never not knowing their direction of travel that makes them such an intriguing proposition. Novelists are on my watch list…and they should be on yours too.
I’m a big fan of bands who arrive with little fanfare; in terms of impact it can’t be beat. Like a bullet between the ears, you don’t see it until it hits you, and that’s exactly how New Jersey hoodlums Fit For An Autopsy arrive. They’re lean, ripped and make a beeline for your jugular. ‘Pandora’ finds them bang on point whilst ‘The Sea Of Tragic Beasts’ causes all sorts of mayhem; the vocalist demands a pit, and that’s exactly what he gets. There’s plenty of squealing guitars, pounding drums and singing that is not of this world (in short, everything that makes music great), it’s the sound of a world perishing in flames and if we really are hurtling towards Armageddon then Fit For An Autopsy will provide the perfect soundtrack. This isn’t the kind of music you receive passively, it demands a reaction in the listener, good or bad, and it’s causing a lot of people around me to lose their sh*t (but in the best way possible) as friends start mini mosh pits and shoulder charge each other. Fit For An Autopsy are alive and kicking.
As darkness starts to descend and cover the surrounding hills in a dark shroud, inside the Dogtooth tent the stage is bathed in blood red light. It’s unsettling and discombobulating, and even more so when Whitechapel arrive and rip through the air like a tear in the matrix. It feels as if Whitechapel (and the associated Ripper murders that moniker conjures) is the perfect name for this American deathcore band because they are equally hungry for blood and take great delight in terrifying audiences. Not only do the band feed off the crowds energy, but they have an interesting dynamic within the band and they fire from each other and you can almost see the electricity crackling between them. Needless to say, Whitechapel deal in the hard stuff; there’s no quarter given as the band unleash a torrent of songs that connect like a boxer punching a bag. It’s an energetic set, with vocalist Phil Bozeman delivering an inspired performance that’s not quite of this world. In fact, Whitechapel peel back the thin veneer that separates this world from the next and offers a frightening glimpse of what lies beyond.
If there is one band tailor made to close this new look Download festival then it is surely Korn. In terms of music and lyricism, they were a band who completely broke the mould and set metal on a whole new trajectory. So it’s perfectly apt that they should headline the Apex on Sunday, and it’s a set that many have been looking forward to all weekend. With downtuned guitars, an emphasis on groove and a flat out denial to be constrained by genre expectations there’s a desire to break away from the past and look towards the future, and that’s been the vibe that has characterised Download over the past two years. It makes Korn the perfect fit and after working their way up the bill they take their place as worthy headliners. Things get real as soon as the band appear and launch into ‘Blind’ and from this moment on things steer towards overdrive. While Korn might have ripped up the rulebook, thankfully they haven’t turned their backs on their own work and they deliver a crowd pleasing set that covers most bases. In fact, if you were compiling a mixtape of Korn tracks, I imagine it’d sound a lot like this as the band pull ‘Clown’, ‘Ball Tongue’ and ‘A.D.I.D.A.S.’ out the bag, each one warmly embraced like old (and younger) friends. As we reach closer ‘Y’All Want A Single’ both crowd and band look visibly drained, but Korn return for four encores (count ‘em!) including ‘Freak On A Leash’ which brings down the curtain in some style.
While this new look Download caused a lot of consternation in the chat rooms, on the ground it has worked rather well and judging by the smiles on the faces as people head back to their tents, that’s a general consensus. So let’s raise a glass to the past and also toast the future. What’d you say?
Photography by Philip Piskor.
Download Festival – Friday review
Download Festival – Saturday review
