Download 05 @ Donington Park, Derbyshire 10-12 June 2005

The great Donington, for years a symbol of rock music. Throughout the 80's and early 90's it was host to the legendary "Monsters of Rock" and although today's corporate climate means the current incarnation is entitled Download (whatever the fuck that means), Donington will forever be Donington! So to the review then (please note that I could not see all bands so hence this review covers only a cross section of what was on show at the event):

The first band I saw on Friday was FOZZY, a cliched power metal-ish band fronted by none other than Chris Jericho of WWF fame, and while they were kind of fun, don't quit your day job Chris! Musically they were okay but certainly nothing new and if not for their vocalist (who really can't sing that well) they wouldn't have been here at all. Back on the main stage, JJ72 were plodding their way through their middle-of-the-road hard rock to an indifferent crowd before THE OTHERS demonstrated how completely unprofessional and crap a band on the main stage at the UK's premier rock festival could be. Back at the Snickers stage, APOCALYPTICA suitlably fired up the crowd with their original cello-metal interpretations of Metallica's Master of Puppets and Seek and Destroy among other songs. I had seen Apocalyptica earlier in the year and was just as impressed the second time around, even though I was now accustomed to the novelty of playing metal on cellos. I then made my way back to the main stage for one of the performances of the day, by none other than the mighty MEGADETH. Kicking off with "Blackmail the Universe", they played an agreeable mix of old and new songs including "Skin O My Teeth", "Scorpion", "Wake Up Dead", "In My Darkest Hour", "She Wolf", "Die Dead Enough", "Trust", "Symphony of Destruction" and ending with the most excellent "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due". Mustaine and Co were in fine form, and thankfully the soundboard kept up it's end of the bargain with a crisp, heavy production. Definitely one of the picks of the weekend. I then visited the Napster stage for the first time, to catch the legendary PARADISE LOST. Beginning their set with "Say Just Words", they made their way through mostly newer material including "Grey", "Erased", "No Celebration", "One Second", "Forever After" and whilst they did play "Hallowed Land" and "The Last Time" from 1995's fantastic "Draconian Times" release as well as "As I Die" from the Shades of G-d album, I was really hanging out to hear "Gothic". Nonetheless it was a slick, enjoyable performance from a band who have probably deserved far more success than they have enjoyed over the years. The Napster stage headliners today were none other that the legendary NAPALM DEATH, who tore the place apart with their punk-infused grindcore. Playing a good mix of old and new, the likes of "Suffer the Children", "Continuing War on Stupidity" and "The Code is Red" all got an airing, while "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" suitably received a favourable crowd reaction. Many have said, and I agree that Napalm could easily have headlined the main stage tonight instead of the uninspired drivel of Feeder, however in a way the smaller stage was more appropriate, as Napalm have always been the black sheep of UK metal, a thorn in the side of an industry obsessed with numbers and what it thinks will sell. A blistering way to end day 1 of Donington.

And so to day 2. The first band I caught on the Snickers stage was AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE, who played a tight, aggressive set made more poignant by the fact that they lost guitarist Bryan Ottoson in April. Continuing on in his honour, they did his memory proud, firing up the crowd suitably with a very enjoyable, if rather short set. At the main stage after lunch I caught the end of ALTER BRIDGE's set. As you may or may not know, they consist of 3 members of Creed with a new singer and they sound like well, 3 members of Creed with a new singer. They were quite slick, and certainly were enjoying themselves on stage, even pulling off a Led Zeppelin cover satisfactorily. In-between Alter Bridge and Anthrax, a touching thing happened. Footage from Damageplan's 2004 Download performance was broadcast on the giant monitors next to the stage, and the crowd was signing, moshing, and celebrating the immortal spirit of one "Dimebag" Darrell Lance Abbott. Next up were the mighty ANTHRAX, reformed with the classic "Among the Living" line-up. Messrs Belladonna, Spitz, Ian, Bello and Benante put on a very entertaining show, playing such classics as the aforementioned "Among the Living", "I am the Law", "Caught in a Mosh", "Antisocial", "Got the Time" and "Efilnikufesin" among others. The band had a ball on stage. It was kind of like going to your school reunion and getting drunk with people you haven't seen for years, falling back into the groove of who did what and who did who. But whilst Anthrax's performance was all at once tight and shitloads of fun, here's hoping John Bush is back on board for the follow-up to "We've Come For You All". Due to beer drinking commitments, I didn't make it back to the Snickers stage in time for LAMB OF G-D, but am told they absolutely destroyed it, which I believe after witnessing them at the Mean Fiddler last December. HIM predictably sucked with their farcical love-metal slop, and frontman Ville cried like a girl when he was justifiably pelted with bottles. Maybe next time we should throw stones... Next up on the main stage were the mighty VELVET REVOLVER, who were in fine form dishing out their thrilling brand of dirty rock n' roll. Among the many fine songs from their debut album we heard "Sucker Train Blues", "Big Machine", "Fall to Pieces", "Set Me Free" and "Slither". As with the last time I saw them, they also played "Sex Type Thing" and "It's So Easy", but a suprise inclusion was "Mr Brownstone", which sung by Weiland was 100% appropriate! A moving cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" rounded out the set. As the daylight started to fade the apprehension in the crowd rose and rose for the day's headliner's, the legendary BLACK SABBATH. They were everything one could have imagined and more. The legendary Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward did not disappoint. Playing a good mix of songs from throughout thir 1970's back catalogue, we were treated to such delights as "War Pigs", "Fairies Wear Boots", "Into the Void", "Iron Man" and "Dirty Women" among others, my personal favourites being "Electric Funeral" and the eerie "Black Sabbath", the latter being my pick for best song of the night. After also teasing the crowd with the intro riffs to "Sweet Leaf", "Symptom of the Universe" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", they finally finished (predictably) with "Paranoid", leaving no one in any doubt as to who started this whole metal thing, commanding the respect they rightly deserve from the throes of pimply faced teenagers who had believed that metal began and ended with Slipknot. Once in a lifetime and absolutely awe-inspiring!

Day 3 began with a trip to the main stage to see SOCIETY 1, who's set would have been uneventful and ordinary had frontman Matt Zane not spent the whole half hour of it suspended above the stage by meathooks. Beyond this shock tactic however, all the band could really offer was well-played if unexciting metal-by-numbers plodder that no doubt was appreciated by the misguided younger crowd, but was far from high-quality heavy metal. MUDVAYNE fared better. I have always believed they had something more than their nu-metalcore contemporaries to offer, and today they played a thoroughly enjoyable set comprising material from all 3 of their albums. They were diverse, heavy and precise, and I truly believe that now that they've ditched their mask gimmick, they will get a lot more respect from traditional metalheads as they have done from yours truly. I saw a snippet of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's set, which seemed to be very tight and inspiring to those who were into it, however I myself have trouble connecting with what they're doing. Off to the Snickers stage then to see the mighty HELMET, playing for the second time this weekend after headlining the Napster stage the previous evening. They played an awesome, heavy-as-fuck set, and whilst I was not familiar with a lot of the material, it did not compromise my enjoyment of it. Next up at Snickers central was SHADOWS FALL, who delivered 30 minutes of enjoyable agression, even inspiring the audience to form 2 massive circle pits! On CD they sound like a lot of other metalcore acts, but live did play a good set. Interestingly, their guitar player had a better voice than their frontman... MASTODON followed, and after reading in almost every heavy music magazine about how magical their debut album "Leviathan" is, I was rather keen to see them display their chops. I found them to be pretty good without being fantastic, though in all fairness I did leave their set early to get a good spot for Slayer, so things might have gotten more impressive. Back at the main stage things were running late, so I arrived just as NIGHTWISH began a delayed, shortened set. Frontwoman Tarja (however the hell you spell it) tried hard, but one could clearly see that the band was pised off about the reason for their delay, and it did affect the feel of their performance. Fans of the band were still pleased however, though what they do is not my thing. Next up were the mighty SLAYER, who are always good value to see live. Beginning with "South of Heaven", the masters took us through a shortened greatest hits package that included the likes of "War Ensemble", "Silent Scream", "Stain of Mind", "Seasons In The Abyss", "Mandatory Suicide", "Disciple" and "Dead Skin Mask" as well as suprise inclusions such as "Blood Red". Hanneman and King were in fine form, Lombardo was absolutely smoking behind the kit and as usual Tom Araya's agressive playing, tortured screams and trademark humour completed the usual high-quality Slayer package. Finishing in style with "Postmortem", "Raining Blood" and "Angel of Death", the metal kings showed everybody who still rules the roost. If any complaint can be made about their set, it's only that it wasn't loud enough! As it was in Hammersmith last October, the mighty Slayer were followed by SLIPKNOT, who impressed me far more this time. A decent sound from the mixing desk certainly helped matters, as did being in the middle of things rather than watching from afar. The Knot took the crowd through several highlights including "Spit it Out", "Duality", "People Equal Shit", "Before I Forget", "The Heretic Anthem", "Vermillion" and "Everthing Ends". "742617000027" and "Wait and Bleed" recieved rousing ovations as the band, playing without Clown, churned out a most impressive all-round performance. On several occasions Corey Taylor expressed his grattitude to the crowd for their support, an impressive gesture which helped to define the family nature of the festival. The main stage headline act for the day was none other than SYSTEM OF A DOWN, who took their time getting to the stage but once there played a solid set representing all of their albums. Kicking off with "Soldiers Side" and "BYOB", they also played "Revenga", then took the crowd through "Science", "Psycho", "Chop Suey" and "Bounce" off 2001's Toxicity release, before playing "Cigaro", "Lost in Hollywood" and "Question" off the new platter. Their self-titled 1998 release was revisited with "Suggestions", "War" and "Suite-Pee" whilst we also heard "ATWA", "Forest" and the title track off their 2001 effort. Two complaints about System tonight, one not their fault was that the sound could have been a little better. Secondly, after blasting the crowd with a rousing rendition of "Sugar", the band simply left the stage without saying anything, not to return. Many waited for the encore which never came, and if the band were not planning to play one, they should have announced either before or after Sugar that it was the last song and thanked the crowd. Perhaps there is a reason, but at the time of writing this I do not know what it is. I'm a little annoyed because I made the very difficult decision of seeing System instead of going to the Snickers stage for the legendary MOTORHEAD, who I'm told delivered an amazing performance, and who appreciated and thanked those who were there!

So there it is, 3 days of rock and heavy metal madness. There were many other bands who I did not get to see, however there was a common theme running throughout those I did see - yet again, the older, more established bands wiped the floor with most of the newcomers, proving that old school metal is still king!

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