2007 Download Festival (Main Stage) Day 3 cont...
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15 July, 2007 08:00
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Papa Roach’s radio friendly bouncy riffs and sing-a-long songs moved over for Grammy nominated Mastodon’s pummelling heaviness. Not so much as moved over but shoved aside with brutal force. We had already been introduced to them a few years ago where the y played in Madrid, Festimad. Totally unknown to us, by chance we caught the end of their set and was surprisingly impressed. Monstrous southern blasts of epic proportions bellowed from the speakers combined with Troy Sanders wild howls and screeches scared the crap out of Download. Even the mosh pits seemed more furious with visibly larger and stronger males defying the laws of gravity but the best was yet to come.
US’s, Virginia bred Lamb of God had been creating a buzz of anticipation all day long, their fans surrounding us in strong numbers ready to explode at any given moment. That moment was the very instant the first riff kicked in. Opener “Laid to Rest” was immense and this was just the beginning because the high standard they had set early on was maintained and improved throughout their showing. These southern boys can kick some serious ass! You have to see them if you get the chance, even if you’re not into metal. The energy they create through the ferocious shredding of guitars and vocalist Randy Blythe’s demonic roars will hit you like a ton of bricks. As many as five mosh pits formed during crowd favourite “Redneck”. Two of them proved to be the biggest of the weekend and an amazing sight to behold.
Lamb of God was unstoppable and certainly a hard act to follow but this doesn’t hold Stonesour back who came out unphased and brimming with confidence. The mood was good and it showed as Corey Taylor (Stonesour/Slipknot) took the stage and commanded it. He was born to be up there, with every ounce of his soul put into the performance. Stonesour is known as Corey’s mellower side project but on the evidence of today in the live arena they pack a powerful punch. With a 2nd album under their belt it’s clear to see that they have matured in their art form.
Mainstage Day was exceeding the hype. Six hours had passed, amongst thousands of die hard fans, up front, close and personal with each of the 6 bands so far, in the countless pits and covered by a blanket of crowd surfers. Bottle fights, missile barrages of Jaffa cakes, water, Muller yoghurts, chocolate chip cookies and various other unidentified flying objects. Rated even got hit by a Dr. Martens boot, gaffer taped to a pair of black jeans!!! It had been quite a day so far with 3 more bands to go...
The sun was setting behind the Donington hills. The occasional overhead planes were beginning to leave a saffron-tinged trail of smoke behind them, as they noisily descended onto the East Midlands airport. It was the perfect setting for metalcore gods, Killswitch Engage. Even though we were extremely anxious to witness this blast of brutality and our adrenaline levels were still soaring, our physical beings were determinedly trying to tell us something. The unbearable heat, limited water and 7 hours of non-stop freaking out had taken its toll and we desperately needed a sit down to recharge our batteries. Despite this, we did persevere for much of their set and gratefully so. Killswitch performed admirably but the absence of lead guitarist, Adam Dutkiewicz (Due to back problems) was felt and shown.
Feeling slightly refreshed and re-energised, we returned to the main stage arena shortly after. Mainstream Goth-rock outfit, Evanescence were providing quite an un-eventful set. We cannot accurately say the remainder of their performance was as bland as we quickly ran off to the nearby stalls. This was another example of the occasional inexplicable and senseless band order shown at Download this year. Few people were able to understand the logic behind this planning, if there was meant to be one. One thing the majority of us know for certain, it doesn’t work , and there was enough evidence throughout the entire 3 days to prove this. Although not present day fans of Iron Maiden, we had to witness these absolute legends that helped shape rock/metal to its current form . Together with Black Sabbath, Van Halen, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, Bruce Dickinson’s band was also responsible for pointing us in the right direction musically throughout our adolescence and we were eager to reminisce. It was owing to bands like these that we learned to greater appreciate music. A crescendo of screams snapped us out of our reverie. We focused on the main stage as the entire arena lit up, revealing a scene similar to the battlefield print on their tour t-shirt, starring Eddie of course. The band were already making their presence on stage and quickly kicked off into their show stopping 2 hour long set. Bruce’s trademark vocals did not disappoint, playing through songs like “Run to the Hills” and “The Flight of Icarus” and brought the house down with their closing number “The Trooper”. An explosive finale as the stage set suddenly turned into a giant tank, with Eddie scanning the audience from his gun turret. Seemingly surveying the impact Iron Maiden had once again made on the Downloader’s. It was a truly bitter sweet moment to end with. Satisfying and fulfilling, yet sad that it was over. Not just Maidens performance but the entire festival experience. Feeling exhilarated over our exhaustion, we still had the VIP night to look forward too...
Download 2007 rocked in every possible way!!!
US’s, Virginia bred Lamb of God had been creating a buzz of anticipation all day long, their fans surrounding us in strong numbers ready to explode at any given moment. That moment was the very instant the first riff kicked in. Opener “Laid to Rest” was immense and this was just the beginning because the high standard they had set early on was maintained and improved throughout their showing. These southern boys can kick some serious ass! You have to see them if you get the chance, even if you’re not into metal. The energy they create through the ferocious shredding of guitars and vocalist Randy Blythe’s demonic roars will hit you like a ton of bricks. As many as five mosh pits formed during crowd favourite “Redneck”. Two of them proved to be the biggest of the weekend and an amazing sight to behold.
Lamb of God was unstoppable and certainly a hard act to follow but this doesn’t hold Stonesour back who came out unphased and brimming with confidence. The mood was good and it showed as Corey Taylor (Stonesour/Slipknot) took the stage and commanded it. He was born to be up there, with every ounce of his soul put into the performance. Stonesour is known as Corey’s mellower side project but on the evidence of today in the live arena they pack a powerful punch. With a 2nd album under their belt it’s clear to see that they have matured in their art form.
Mainstage Day was exceeding the hype. Six hours had passed, amongst thousands of die hard fans, up front, close and personal with each of the 6 bands so far, in the countless pits and covered by a blanket of crowd surfers. Bottle fights, missile barrages of Jaffa cakes, water, Muller yoghurts, chocolate chip cookies and various other unidentified flying objects. Rated even got hit by a Dr. Martens boot, gaffer taped to a pair of black jeans!!! It had been quite a day so far with 3 more bands to go...
The sun was setting behind the Donington hills. The occasional overhead planes were beginning to leave a saffron-tinged trail of smoke behind them, as they noisily descended onto the East Midlands airport. It was the perfect setting for metalcore gods, Killswitch Engage. Even though we were extremely anxious to witness this blast of brutality and our adrenaline levels were still soaring, our physical beings were determinedly trying to tell us something. The unbearable heat, limited water and 7 hours of non-stop freaking out had taken its toll and we desperately needed a sit down to recharge our batteries. Despite this, we did persevere for much of their set and gratefully so. Killswitch performed admirably but the absence of lead guitarist, Adam Dutkiewicz (Due to back problems) was felt and shown.
Feeling slightly refreshed and re-energised, we returned to the main stage arena shortly after. Mainstream Goth-rock outfit, Evanescence were providing quite an un-eventful set. We cannot accurately say the remainder of their performance was as bland as we quickly ran off to the nearby stalls. This was another example of the occasional inexplicable and senseless band order shown at Download this year. Few people were able to understand the logic behind this planning, if there was meant to be one. One thing the majority of us know for certain, it doesn’t work , and there was enough evidence throughout the entire 3 days to prove this. Although not present day fans of Iron Maiden, we had to witness these absolute legends that helped shape rock/metal to its current form . Together with Black Sabbath, Van Halen, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, Bruce Dickinson’s band was also responsible for pointing us in the right direction musically throughout our adolescence and we were eager to reminisce. It was owing to bands like these that we learned to greater appreciate music. A crescendo of screams snapped us out of our reverie. We focused on the main stage as the entire arena lit up, revealing a scene similar to the battlefield print on their tour t-shirt, starring Eddie of course. The band were already making their presence on stage and quickly kicked off into their show stopping 2 hour long set. Bruce’s trademark vocals did not disappoint, playing through songs like “Run to the Hills” and “The Flight of Icarus” and brought the house down with their closing number “The Trooper”. An explosive finale as the stage set suddenly turned into a giant tank, with Eddie scanning the audience from his gun turret. Seemingly surveying the impact Iron Maiden had once again made on the Downloader’s. It was a truly bitter sweet moment to end with. Satisfying and fulfilling, yet sad that it was over. Not just Maidens performance but the entire festival experience. Feeling exhilarated over our exhaustion, we still had the VIP night to look forward too...
Download 2007 rocked in every possible way!!!
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