Well well well, you came back! And who can blame you really? With such a massive dose of metal in store, its hard to resist a Sunday at Download Festival. Who cares that its the last day? There is still plenty of rock to come. What we are especially looking forward to is the epic variety of music that today promises, ,with Aerosmith, Trivium and Dillinger on offer there really is something for everyone. Ok so the sun seems to be in bed with a hangover, but we’re up and ready to begin our final day at Download. Oh and by the way, make sure you read till the end for a special treat from our friends at Zippo Encore!
The general protocol for unsigned bands playing at Download Festival is to enter the annual Red Bull Studios Live At Download competition; however that wasn’t the case for tech-hardcore mob Dead City Streets, who were approached by the festival to perform over the weekend – pretty impressive hey? So we were intrigued to head down to the Red Bull stage nice and early to catch their short and sweet twenty minute set. “We’re Dead City Streets and thank you for coming to watch us at this ungodly hour” exclaims front man Dana Schofield who stands in front of a generous 100+ people. The band’s intricately brutal riffs, piercing roars and genuine enthusiasm get the crowd moving and cheering; this is only the beginning for Dead City Streets so keep them on your radar. 8/10
One of the great things about Download Festival is their passion for up and coming talent and next on the Jagermeister Stage is experimental rockers Fizzy Blood. Today is their twelfth show as a band but this doesn’t show, throwing themselves about the stage with confidence and enthusiasm. The quartet deliver a series of quirky rock numbers with chunky riffs and bold vocals which carry well but see little interaction from the crowd; the band have released just one single since their inception and so are playing unheard material for the majority of their set. We can see a lot of potential in Fizzy Blood and we look forward to them releasing more music, so next time we can fully appreciate their live performance. 7/10
Storming onstage like a bull in a china shop, Josh Todd of Buckcherry tried to take command of the crowd. With Lit Up coming early in the setlist, the crowd perk up. Todd’s vocals are his usual mix of raspy but drawly rock n roll and his ego is as present as ever. The band aren’t the tightest but then they never have been. They still ooze that filthy LA scene ethos and the crowd enjoy a huge sing along for both All Night Long and of course, Crazy Bitch. A fun set as always but by no means sound perfect. 6/10
We gave their debut album a stonking 10/10, so it’s easy to see why we were excited for The Graveltones and luckily for us, the Aussie duo lived up to their reputation. Their bluesy rock grooves got an eager crowd dancing on a muggy Sunday morning with both members playing with passion. Sauntering drum lines from the incredibly talented Mikey Sorbello and gritty riffs provide the perfect platform for Jimmy O’s hungry, growling vocal style. With their limited but well executed material, these guys are definitely ones to watch. 9/10
Bon Jovi‘s legendary guitarist Richie Sambora literally tries to gather a congregation before him. “It’s Sunday and you’re all at the church of Sambora” he bellows before kicking into a superb rendition of Jovi classic, Lay Your Hands On Me. His cheesy introductions to the classic tracks can be forgiven. Despite the band’s technical difficulties, they were still by far one of the tightest of the entire day – he had a great set up with them. Where the set really excels to superstar status is with the Bon Jovi songs, but his solo tracks didn’t really resonate with the audience. The highlight of the set was Wanted (Dead or Alive) being crammed in right at the end, which definitely lightened the mood as the rain began to fall. 7/10
Next year, We Came As Romans are going to play Download again, and they will be playing to a bigger crowd. FACT. (This isn’t actually a fact, it is pure speculation, please don’t sue us). Considering their set kicked off at 1.30pm and it was absolutely pissing it down with rain, they managed to draw a decent sized crowd. But it wasn’t anywhere near big enough considering how hard these guys rock. The band were one of the most fun we saw all weekend and even dared to drop their cover of The Wanted’s Glad You Came to a bunch of soggy metal heads. Which, we’re glad to report, went down a storm! They thrashed through a few of their tracks from new album Tracing Back Roots and definitely left the crowd wanting more. Make sure you catch them this year. 8/10.
Oh how The Treatment have grown. From long haired rockers to glam infused riot kids to smooth as shit cool lads. They still make amazing tunes that rock hard and have bundles of energy to make the crowd state up in wonder. Doctor is still their stand out track live, looking forward to a second album which will hopefully catapult them into the big UK headline tour they deserve. 9/10
Feed the Rhino played a blistering set, which got the crowd jumping and moshing up a storm. Frontman Lee Tobin threw himself down by the barriers, his tattooed torso a blur whilst he riled the onlookers up into a circle pit. The other members of the band let him take the spotlight but still played with brutal precision although the only niggle with music in this style is that the setlist tends to transcend into a wall of noise, with individual songs becoming lost amongst the mayhem. Still, the crowd was engaged and left feeling satisfied, if somewhat bruised. 7/10
Over on the Stephen Sutton Main Stage, Volbeat are always a pleasure to watch live and once again, this merry band of rockin’ men completely smash their set. It’s their third year at Download – and you can tell – their set is accomplished, full of hits to make you dance (and shred, OBVS), and is close to perfection. There’s no doubt that Rob Caggiano’s influence on the band is a huge one and whether you’re into country, rockabilly or metal, Volbeat is going to have a song there for you. With Michael Poulson providing Download with the perfect front man, this band seems completely indestructible. The Mirror and the Ripper was a favourite of ours, whilst Lola Monetz kicked us in the face and then made us dance and scream at the top of our lungs. Good fucking job, lads. 9/10
Well, this was the worst kept best secret ever! This years secret band are….
Black Stone Cherry! (Not like we worked this out weeks ago or anything *cough) This “surprise” seems to split the crowd, with around a third of the tightly packed tent dissipating when they realise who the secret band is. For the faithful though, this is an amazing surprise- as well as a reward for believing in the band. As this is a short set, we are treated to some of Black Sone Cherry’s best classic southern rock. The band belt out glorious renditions of Me And Mary Jane, Blame It On The Boom Boom, White Trash Millionaire and Lonely Train. It may not be a huge shock that Black Stone Cherry are there, but they’re still a delicious surprise. 9/10
The Red Bull stage is rammed for hardcore rock crowd-favourites Polar, who make the tent their own this evening. It isn’t long before a pit erupts, with a handful of the crowd throwing hardcore dance moves to the vicious riffs, as front man Adam Woodford‘s fierce demeanour keeps everybody on their toes. The band have seen some recent line-up changes but if anything they sound stronger than ever, their tight musicianship delivering a hard hitting sound that bellows throughout the tent. Commanding the crowd to crouch down, there’s an explosion of chaos as the band kick into a ferocious brutality, the entire room a sea of bodies colliding for one final time. A savage performance as always by Polar, we walk away feeling totally satisfied. 8/10
Crazy Town were the intriguing one of the weekend – would they play to five people, would everyone watch Butterfly and then leave? All wrong. The Pepsi Max tent was full to the brim, with an absolute sea of people around the tent trying to sneak a look inside to catch Shifty Shellshock and crew. The new songs slotted right in, their debut single Toxic allowed for a small ripple and yes of course Butterfly was what everyone wanted to hear. Is rap pop rock dead? Maybe a bit but Crazy Town still sounded good and people were interested, let’s see how this new album goes. 7/10
OH Seether. If anyone can rock a Download stage it’s this band. They are the definition of a metal festival and everyone who watched them rock out to the MAX on the PEPSI stage (no, anyone?) was completely blown away. For an instant there, we moshed so hard that we forgot we were in the middle of the field, momentarily transported the land of FUCKING METAL MOSH LAND where guitars ruled and everyone could shred… ahem. And as for the tunes? They finished on chart topping Remedy, which caused a dust storm to break out beneath them within the pit. With elated fans lapping up Words As Weapons and Tonight, this band prove that they are not going anywhere for a long, long time. Their grunge-esque, hit-making sound is here to stay, people. Jump on board! 9/10.
Steel Panther provided the weekends dosage of boobs, offense and innuendos. While their jokes might not be for the faint of heart, you have to take them with a pinch of salt and the spoof glam rockers know how to put on a great show, even without the flashing girls, although those are kind of hard to ignore when during 17 In A Row, 17 girls from the audience are going wild on stage. The set is heavy on playful chatter and feels a little light on actual music playing, but it’s so fun we’ll let them off. As they begin to play Death To All But Metal to finish the set, the crazy reception it receives shows us that this is an ideal festival choice… we’re just not sure we could stomach a 90 minute set were we to brave one of their own gigs! 7/10
The Zippo Encore stage is about to receive a dose of thrusting, stage crawling and seductive dancing as The Pretty Reckless take their positions in front of the hefty crowd. We can never get over the fact that this rebellious rock chick used to play the innocent Jenny Humphrey in Gossip Girl, but Taylor Momsen has created a brand new image for herself, oozing with attitude and a sexual confidence that leaves the crowd in awe. Her deep, alluring vocals compliment the dirty grunge riffs, performing their hit Make Me Wanna Die, as well as Heaven Knows, Miss Nothing and Going To Hell. Momsen’s “give a fuck” attitude sometimes gets confused with arrogance; but her stage presence is so enchanting that it’s difficult to take your eyes off her. 7/10
Tonight Alter Bridge showed us why they are hotly tipped to be future festival headliners. The band have tonnes of Stateside born tunes, and frontman Myles Kennedy lashes out his Axl Rose-esque vocals. We are treated to an utterly irrepressible, out of this world performance by Alter Bridge. The droves fans in attendance are treated to an all smiles affair, bursting with enthusiasm and excitement. There are singalongs to Ghost Of Days Gone By and Ties That Bind. As Myles thanks the crowd for their enthusiasm, we can’t help but feel its quite humbling to see how proud Alter Bridge are to be playing the main stage at Download.The set ends with the uplifting Rise Today. Oh yes, Alter Bridge will continue to rise today, tomorrow and hopefully ascend to headline level next year. 8/10
The Pepsi Max tent was packed out for The Used, everyone’s favourite rock band from their teenage years. Compared to other bands that this stage has seen over the weekend, the band seem relatively tame and don’t offer much of a spectacle, but no one seems to care very much as they sing emo anthems such as The Taste Of Ink louder than Bert McCracken himself. Incidentally, the frontman has a permanent smile plastered across his face, not surprising considering the amount of love that is being hurled back at the band through the anguished lyrics. Whilst the set might even be described as boring by those who don’t consider themselves fans, it’s everything most people could have wished for and we must admit, we were singing along as loudly as anyone to Pretty Handsome Awkward. 6/10
The Red Bull Stage has been host to a pretty heavy line-up today; however this soon changes when old school punk rock rappers Zebrahead take the role as headliners. Contending with Aerosmith who are just metres away on the Stephen Sutton Stage, the band pull an impressive crowd which isn’t surprising due to their very separate fan base. Zebrahead are the type of band who don’t take themselves too seriously, but there’s no denying that no matter how cheesy you think they are they’re bloody good musicians, delivering intricately rapid riffs, rap sections and percussion with what seems like ease. Playing crowd favourites Hell Yeah!, Postcards From Hell and Anthem to name but a few, the set-list is a dedicated fans dream and it wouldn’t be a Zebrahead show without a downing competition and crowd members surfing in rubber dinghy’s. They may not be to everybody’s tastes, but Zebrahead are a talented bunch who know how to bring the party. They’re fantastic in a festival atmosphere and most definitely worthy of their headline position tonight, waving off the Red Bull tent for another year in true style. 9/10
Surprisingly (or maybe not, considering rock legends Aerosmith are taking to the main stage at the same time), the crowd is pretty sparse before The Dillinger Escape Plan unleash themselves on the Pepsi Max Stage. Chaos is what these New Jersey guys do best and you can tell those who haven’t seem them before by the looks of astonishment and awe on their stricken faces. Powerhouse Greg Puciato hurls himself from one side of the stage to another, up and down the lighting rig, causing the unseen Health and Safety Wizard to cut off his mic. This move is akin to that of poking a tiger with a stick… if you thought it was bad before, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Puciato hurls a mic stand into the drum kit and the rest of the band follow suit as guitarist Ben Weinman and drummer Billy Rymer in particular play with more vigor and violence than ever. The onslaught of noise is almost too much for the naked ear and we leave with a slightly dull sense of hearing from the most aggressive band of the weekend (ear plugs are recommended), not to mention the most thrilling set we’re likely to encounter for a while. 10/10
11 years after their Download debut, tonight see’s Trivium headlining the second stage. The band put on an elaborate stage show, featuring a pretty much constant cloud of smoke and setting the stage on fire during their performance of Anthem. All in all Trivium give a polished performance with tonnes of enthusiasm from the band, as they recognise the huge distance they have come. Matt Heafy’s voice sounds better than it has in a long time, and given that this is one of their drum tech come drummers first gigs, he sounds bloody great. The audience bounce madly and open up pit after pit. Highlights are stunning performances of Dying In Your Arms, In Waves and Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr. In fact to be honest every song is a highlight in its own right, and Trivium get a tremendous reaction from the delighted crowd. A couple of years it seemed like Trivium were dangerously close to becoming the next ‘where are they now?’ band. However, it seems that the tide has turned, and tonight the band showed us that they can still stand up next to the big boys. 10/10
The Stephen Sutton Stage has been host to some huge bands over the weekend, with headliners Avenged Sevenfold and Linkin Park proving their worth over the past couple of nights. Closing a festival is a tough call but Andy Copping chose wisely when he turned to the mighty Aerosmith to do the job. Donning all white attire and a native headdress, the legend that is Steven Tyler takes to the stage to receive an almighty roar, starting their set with Train Kept A-Rollin, Eat The Rich and Love In An Elevator. Aerosmith are so smooth at what they do, effortlessly pleasing the crowd with hit after hit with Tyler playing up to the attention, running down the middle platform of the stage to get closer to his fans.
Their set continues with classics Jaded, Janie’s Got A Gun and of course everybody’s favourite ballad I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing. With the crowd still firmly gripped in their hands, Aerosmith consistently impress with a cover of The Beatles Come Together, closing their awe-inspiring performance with further hits Dude (Looks Like A Lady) and Walk This Way. When we thought it was all over, the band return for two encores: the first welcoming Steven Tyler to the piano which leads into Dream On and Sweet Emotion, followed by a second and final encore featuring Mama Kin; the crowd belting the lyrics from the top of their lungs to finally wave goodbye to what has been one of the greatest, iconic sets of the weekend.
The band members may not be as young as they used to be but they can sure as hell play their instruments; there’s always the fear that bands from the 70′s who make a grand return will disappoint, but Aerosmith prove that they are just a brilliant now as they were 30 years ago.
We couldn’t have asked for a better way to end a phenomenal three days, we’re just gutted that it’s time to say bye to Donington for another year; we’ll see you again in 2015! 10/10
Not quite ready to descent in to the post-festival blues? Check out this Download 2014 hi-lights video courtesy of Zippo Encore. Enjoy!
Written by: Alice Hudson, Hannah Gillicker, Lisa Fox, Kayleigh Watson and Ele Carter