2007 Download Festival Day 2

Last week we left off describing the crowd’s hostile reception towards leaders of Emo My Chemical Romance, which apparently had kicked off prior to the festival when rumours emerged of an online petition move to remove MCR from appearing. This is likely to become a yearly plight, both for the organisers and for what has become Download’s signature fans - the hard rock metallers. The organisers will no doubt be caught between the hammer and the anvil next year and might have to think twice about inviting emo bands to headline the main stage.

One cannot blame the metal fans, as hard rock is what Download has represented for the last 5 years, where Donington Park has paid host to one of Britain’s heaviest rock festivals, following in their predecessors footsteps, Monsters of Rock and Ozzfest. Having a band like MCR headline the main stage isn’t exactly hardcore and not the brightest of ideas, especially when multitudes were cramming to watch Korn and empty spaces could be seen between the mixed crowds in the main stage arena. Whether Korn chose the 2nd stage to pay tribute to Dimebag or whether they were offered it is irrelevant here (some may suggest Korn’s ‘relegation’ move was a marketing ploy). However, in saying this, we believe MCR knew what they were up against, and still had the b*lls to perform, so respect in that respect!

Off to Day 2...

After Rated had their much needed hot shower and full English breakfast (not quite as full as it would seem) we headed over to the main stage. To our surprise, we left the VIP bar/lounge to find ourselves in a scene from Star Wars, but the setting wasn’t quite Planet Tattooine or the Death Star. Here we were on a racing track in Donington surrounded by 80,000 metal heads, punks, emos and goths with a squadron from UK’s 101st Brigade of Storm-Troopers pretending to execute people for photos, and a few Scout-Troopers following closely by. This wouldn’t be the first time we were to meet them and their evil friends, and being Star Wars fans ourselves, this already had made our day.

By 11:30am we had reached the main stage early in preparation for HellYeah, rock’s newest super group featuring band members from Mudvayne, Nothingface, Damageplan and Pantera’s mighty drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. The welcome they received was commendable from the ever-increasing crowd given the time of day and rising heat. Their performance was good all in all, providing us with their heavy/southern metal grooves with recent single “You Wouldn’t Know” going down well, and the brazen “Alcohaulin’Ass” amongst them. Not a bad start to a great day... . Shortly after, Shadows Fall stepped up after 2 years since their last visit to the UK. They were a very late entry onto the lineup, playing their material on rented and borrowed equipment and it certainly did not seem to phase them in the slightest. By now the crowd had started to gather en masse as Brian Fair (vocalist) swung his super human 5ft dreads all over the stage, an impressive sight to behold, with the mix of new and old school metal. Stand out tracks had to be “The Light That Blinds” and the closing “Redemption”, the latter taken off their latest album Threads Of Life. Creating day 2’s first mosh pit and several crowd surfers being chucked around like rag dolls.

As the set closed, our minds began to drift with thoughts of Machinehead but they weren’t playing for a few hours, so we had time to kill. We headed off back to the VIP lounge and onto our home from home, our tent. After some preparation and talk of our fresh experiences we headed back into the site, purchasing some much needed Tuborg beer refreshments. Then made our way to the aptly named Turborg stage to catch UK’s Panic Cell blast through their old school Jagermeister-fuelled metal. Their mix of Machinehead and Pantera, in a more melodic approach impressed the people of Download. You’d be wise to catch them on their headlining tour in October breaking in their new material from ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’.

On route to the main stage a strange feeling overcame us. It was the anticipation of Machinehead looming ever closer. Only Bowling for Soup to go and the hardcore thrash titans would destroy us!

After what seemed like an eternity, where everyone was appearing to be wallowing in Aiden and 30 Seconds to Mars’ pits of emo-despair, Bowling for Soup proved to have been given the most suitable slot, and gave us all a good old dose of much needed low-brow humour... and relief. Their first attempt to make us smile was the moment they brought on 2 huge inflatable sheep onstage, with perfectly visible genitals. They clearly are a band who don’t take themselves too seriously, with members interacting regularly with the crowd and creating a somewhat comic set. As we mentioned in our previous article, watching them live has made us appreciate them so much more than if we were to just listen to their albums. As live performers, they pulled it off very well, and lifted the atmosphere with their friendly banter and happy easy-going numbers.

After BFS had matched the mood of Saturday’s weather of clear blue skies and sun shining, Machinehead were in stark contrast. It was as if a storm was brewing and everyone could feel it. As they took to the stage the crowd greatfully responded by chanting the ever affectionate “Machine F**king Head!!!” over and over. Front man Robert Flynn then paid a genuine heartfelt tribute to the late Dimebag Darrell, which had Download in total agreement. Then the ten-tonne hammer onslaught began, devouring all in its wake with ‘Aesthetics Of Hate’, a monstrous slab of thrash. Machinehead proceeded to play through their back catalogue with style and aggression, as they clearly owned the main stage. We were witnessing something special and realising, just like at Korn, that this was a highlight. Classics ‘Davidian’ and ‘Take My Scars’ provided the best reaction with a large circular violent pit forming from out of nowhere, filled with crazed head banging metalheads. Moshing is probably the nicest violent way of enjoying yourself! Machinehead had laid claim the being the best band of the day. We would have been content with that being the last performance but there were plenty of big hitters to follow.

As big and popular their material has been for over 2 decades, Brutal thrashers Slayer left us unimpressed, possibly owing to Machine Head’s riveting performance. Slayer seemed to be slightly life-less on stage, contrary to their offerings, which were too speedy and agressive for our liking. We decided to take this opportunity to make the inevitable loo trip, and catch some food on the way back, in time for the self proclaimed God of F*ck. Having witnessed them once before in what used to be Spain’s equivalent to Download - Festimad, Marilyn Manson didn’t win any new fans then. He ended up turning up very late for a non-amused crowd, and his slightly arrogant demeanour wasn’t taken in too well. So, we were hoping of replacing this last memory with a much more satisfying one. Sadly, this was not to be. It appears to us that Marilyn Manson comes best served in digital form, as his live performance does not live up to his reputation, and we found his set to be slightly boring to say the least. With a new album out, the crowd reacted mostly to his old classic covers, ‘Tainted Love’ and ‘Sweet Dreams’.

To be continued...