Instrumentally, there’s been a lot more variety introduced throughout. The opening of ‘GRIP’ harkens back to Alice in Chains in its droning grunge guitars, before breaking out into a very 90’s solo. It’s something of a surprise from a group with more modern influences in their rock sound, but it’s hardly unwanted, and the sharper mixing and production throughout these three tracks compared to their last release make all the brash guitars feel much more at home than you would expect. The bass from co-vocalist Kira Snow lends to this grindhouse style, the heavy backing riffs putting some heft into the otherwise ethereal vocals of drummer Esmee Baker.

And ethereal they are. The return of Baker’s Amy Lee-evoking singing carries the dirge that is ’Barb’. Somewhat reserved compared to its opening half, it bursts into wailing guitar riffs from Meg Mehta with sudden fury, the sadness replaced by mournful rage. ‘High’ brings back some of the energy of previous EP ‘Fun’, driven by the cannonfire drums of Baker, and ending with a suitably chunky bass riff and a very glam guitar solo. It’s almost melodramatic in its execution, as is much of the EP, but every member delivers here; the chaotic energy of its closing minute belying how much of a doom-tinged release ‘GBH’ is.

‘GBH’ is a short record, but it makes for another respectable entry into the group’s discography. While it’s a typically morose trio of tracks, their deep melancholy makes it no less intense of a listen. With some refined instrumentals and tighter production all around, it’s clear SCD have grown over the last two years, and while their moods may be on the downward spiral, the quartet’s momentum is only speeding up.

FIACHRA JOHNSTON

While ‘Hunting Season’ at first provides elements of a very 90’s thrash record (stock jaguar sound effects and all), it slowly opens up throughout. The sudden hardcore rasps from Sully, the punk breakdown to the chorus; there’s more here than meets the eye, and its all flows together surprisingly cleanly. There’s no more proof of this wonderful mixture than in Sully’s harsh, hardcore vocals, which sound as much at home here as they would on a Megadeth or Slayer record. These are what often put the album into second gear, the raspy monologues in tracks like the titular ‘The Path to Righteousness’ evoking both modern hardcore and some old-school British Punk, along with all the tongue-in-cheek witticism that comes with it. ‘Lessons of the Past’ features a cheeky Grandmaster Flash reference and a deluge of boisterous ‘oh’s’ that would make Hacksaw Jim Duggan proud. Tonally, this isn’t a bleak, nihilistic metal record though; at its core it’s as punk as anything, with all the sly smiles and sardonicism that come with the territory. 

While vocally hardcore, instrumental wise ‘The Path To Righteousness’ leans more towards its thrash influences, though guitarists Sandy and Andy Harper do a fine job toeing the line between smash mouth hardcore rhythms and glamorous 90’s riffs, such as ‘Caught Slippin’’. Here, the hardcore influences really shine, the breakneck pace perfectly suiting the runaway guitars and Sully’s frantic vocals. They excel when they stray from the path even further though, like ‘Ulterior Motives’, which has some wonderful whining guitars a la Audioslave. These little moments of surprise are glimpses into Grove Street’s influences, and just how exciting they can be when they explore these styles fully.

Beyond that, at times it can still be a run of the mill metal record, particularly in the second half of the album. The bouncing bass and group chorus of ‘Sick and Tired’ and the chugging guitars of ‘Shift’ add some variance, but it doesn’t separate them from their peers all that much. ‘Born II Lose’ mixes more of those delicious punk notes with a very classic 80’s metal solo that’s so cheesy you can’t help but smile. ‘Cycle of Grief’ interjects the usual rasping screams with some sick wailing vocals, making for a memorable close to the album. The reliance on those classic riffs and trends isn’t much of a hamper to the band, but it would have been great to see even more punk and hardcore influences sprinkled in to push through some of the more homogenous guitars and drums.

The eclectic mix of styles on ‘The Path To Righteousness’ makes it much more than the sum of its parts however, and through this fusion Grove Street turn their debut from a by the numbers metal record to a fun and inventive punk-thrash behemoth. While it would be great to see things taken even further on future albums, for now Grove Street have managed to successfully land a debut that’s well worth a listen.

FIACHRA JOHNSTON

The opening ‘Into the Abyss’ and its follow-up ‘Human’ set the pace pretty well for the whole EP, some Michael Bay disaster movie levels of electronica underscoring the deep heaviness of the guitars and vocals in its breakdown. Instrumentally Annisokay never lose a step, drummer Nico Vaeen especially holding his own with some brutish, consistent drumming that adds a hefty weight to each track at just the right moments. ‘Ultraviolet’ ramps up the electronica further, with vocalists Christoph Wieczorek and Rudi Schwarzer working in tandem on its verses.

While it’s only a six track EP (if you include the mostly instrumental opening), Schwarzer and Wieczorek flow well into each other, working as well as any other metalcore rough/clean duo. Wieczorek, despite his status as a relative newcomer to the group (taking over rough vocals for 2021’s ‘Aurora’) pulls a lot of these tracks together. The deep growls and screams feed off the guitar and shuddering bass, each in competition with each other at times to see who can get more feral in their performance. Everyone feeds off each other’s energy throughout, and it makes for some fun tracks that emphasise the collaboration between the four of them.

It’s that energy that keeps this EP above water, as although it is a well put together record, it’s nothing anyone won’t see coming. ‘Throne of Sunset’, with its ambient electronic buzz throughout complementing the otherwise staccato guitars and drums, ticks all the boxes for the genre but it doesn’t do a whole lot more than that. There’s a little bit more creativity through ‘Calamity’, a heavy take on pop star Leony’s ‘Remedy’. Annisokay fuses her Weeknd-like synthpop into a more hard rock chorus, but its presentation feels too mismatched to fully work, feeling like a Eurovision entry rather than a fully-fleshed out piece.

The EP’s closer ‘Time’ returns to a more cohesive metalcore sound, its alien electronica giving a sinister undertone for an explosively fun finale, and the best track of the EP. Annisokay are at their best when they lean all in on the cheesy, over-the-top dramaticism that metalcore offers, and there’s fortunately enough of that throughout to help ‘Abyss Part I’ stand on its own, rather than feel like an offshoot of ‘Aurora’.

While it’s disappointing to see Annisokay play things by the book, ‘Abyss Pt I’ will delight any fans who are happily content with more of their usual sound. It’s hard to blame them for sticking to their guns, especially as it results in Schwarzer being solidified as a staple member of the quartet through some of the best screams of their discography. If you’re looking for six good old fashioned metalcore tracks to scratch that specific itch, the melodic choruses and powerhouse guitars will hit all the right notes for you.

FIACHRA JOHNSTON

Kvelertak’s style is such an odd combination at times it’s hard not to draw comparisons to try and make sense of it. The classic rock riffs that build up the tension in the eight minute opener ‘Krøterveg Te Helvete’ or the triple-harmonies that pilot ‘Likvoke’ will immediately evoke the work of Swedish greats Opeth, but the bursts of black metal of ‘Fedrekult’ suggest they can still go heavier when they want to. Even more so, the thrashing punk vibes of ‘Paranoia 297’ also incur memories of their sardonic countrymen Turbonegro. Hell, ‘Døgeniktens Kvad’ opens to an off-kilter banjo accompaniment that would have Primus shedding a tear in its absurdity.

There’s so much to unpack throughout if it’s your first record of theirs, connections to make and styles to compare, but no matter what, it’s impossible to group ‘Endling’ under one genre. It feels wrong to do so anyway, given that Kvelertak ties the record together more through its frantic energy than it does sound. It’s been the band’s modus operandi through five albums now, even with their move away from more black metal elements in previous record ‘Splid’, but little surprises sprinkled throughout keeps ‘Endling’ from feeling like a complete retread of old ground.

What hasn’t changed is vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen’s instantly identifiable scream-singing. It’s only Nikolaisen’s second record with the band, but here he retains and builds on that emotive rasp that made him an instant click with the band. ‘Motsols’, which channels some Brit punk vibes in its stalking guitar line, will connect with anyone on an emotional level even if you don’t speak Norwegian. If you do, throughout the record you’ll find a host of both bleak and nostalgic observations on Norwegian history and modern tradition that are rather poignant for a band such as this. The group’s trio of guitars heavily direct not just pace, but style, moving from more punk-leaning tracks to the likes of ‘Svart September’, a slower contemporary rock piece featuring some thumping Novoselic bass. For all the in-your-face energy both the instrumentals and vocals exude though, all these style changes are more subtle than you expect, a testament to how cohesive the record sounds without resorting to a more homogeneous style.

There’s no denying how fun ‘Endling’ is from end to end, but on the backend there are still some long standing issues older fans may have hoped the group had avoided this time around. Despite three producers taking the reins throughout, the messy mixing is reminiscent of albums past forcing each instrument to clamber over the others to be heard, as though the band is in competition with itself. The fuzzy production that made much of the instrumental details near invisible in previous records has been alleviated somewhat, and Nikolaisen no longer feels completely drowned out as he has before, but this still feels like a mixing that gets in its own way.

Force of will can get you far however, and Kvelertak are at their best when returning to their simplest roots. The titular ‘Endling’ is pure punk with some weighty bass lines that careen the album into its second half, and the closing ‘Morild’, like its twin on the opposite end of the record, is an instrumental treat of heavy rock, delicious guitar solos and drum lines building up more and more, playing up the epic scale of the final track to close us out in a suitably hyperactive manner.

Kvelertak are as keen as ever to steep you in their mythology, and ‘Endling’ continues the Norwegian hard rockers journey deeper into their heritage with all the usual gusto they are capable of. It’s a Kvelertak record through and through: While their weaknesses in mixing are still noticeable, their inimitable sense of character remains just as prominent as ever; their ever-chaotic blended style of punk metal on steroids still carries them forward with an unstoppable momentum that is so much fun to listen to no matter how many times you hear it. While ‘Endling’ has an ominous sense of finality of to it, it’s as great a jumping on point into the band’s discography as any other release, and if you’ve stuck with the band over the last thirteen years, the sheer bedlam this record incites will be just as joyous a riot for you as any previous album

FIACHRA JOHNSTON

Most prominent throughout the album will be the duo vocals from rough vocalist Laura Russell and clean vocalist Ash Ho, both of whom contribute significantly to that old school energy the album seeps from every pore. Russell leans into the raw harshness of their screams to emulate those great vocalists of the 00’s scene, while Ho pulls off a balance of modern metalcore clean vocals and more emo wails. Lead single ‘Bridges Burnt Lessons Learnt (Betrayal)’, including a guest feature from Fit For A King’s Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary, is the best display of both their styles with Ho’s unique cadence blending well with Russell’s raspy interjections. There are moments the band dip more into the current metalcore fashion, such as ‘Don’t You Dare Quit (Resilience)’, which sees Ho pulling off a traditional ‘soaring’ chorus as Russel compliments throughout with some weighty screams. Should the band ever move to a more modern sounding style, they’ll still be comfortably in their wheelhouse.

Strazzanti and Shiers on bass and drums respectively keep the energy going on the back-end, channeling early Enter Shikari in their instrumental intensity and fusion of synths and prog guitars (the ‘REFLECTION’ interlude almost feels like a 00’s dancehall number with it’s keys). ‘Nostalgia (Acceptance)’ jumps around in pace with such abandon it’s hard not to get invested, while the wailing, syncopated guitars of ‘These 4 Walls (Torment)’ pick their moments to move to the back to let the thundering drums take a moment in the spotlight. It’s a roaring good time, but some messy production and mixing means that a lot of the impact often gets lost in the chaos, especially in the g8uitars. ‘This Farewell Is Our Fate (Heartbreak)’ has some cracking lead guitar that gets drowned out entirely by an overpowering set of vocal lines and synths. The spoken word samples will likewise often overpower or get jumbled underneath the main instrumentation of the track, diluting their effect. When it all balances out though, such as in the closing ‘Time Can Be So Short (Loss)’, the dueling vocals and heavy instrumentation really sell the 00’s energy of the whole album.

Incorporating elements from the popular genres of old can take many forms, but to dedicate yourself to a style like We Are Sovereign have done with ‘Step Out Your Comfort Zone’ requires heavy investment from all involved. While it’s raw around the edges, there’s a lot of heart to be found in the quartet’s debut, and with a powerful pair of vocalists and a clear love for the throwback years of the scene, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more impassioned record this year.

FIACHRA JOHNSTON

It’s not hard to see how much emotional weight the quintet have put into this album. The clean vocals of ‘Overflow’ slowly scale through the verses into these heartbreaking gasping roars at the emotional apex of the song. ‘With Regards’ channels some emo guitar lines into its instrumentals, matching the morose lyricism of Jamie Hails to make for an especially emotional moment on the album that will sadly take on more meaning than intended at its inception – “I never understood the things you faced, the path you had to take”. ‘Aftertouch’ slows it down and uses some alien-like electronic elements to add even more contrast to a track that feels uniquely separated from the rest of the album. Hails and guitarist/backup vocalist Jake Steinhauser shine in these moments, the wailing cry of “I fall away” giving rise to even more fantastic guitars.

A lot of effort has been put into finding a balance between those stinging instrumentals that drive Polaris’ core sound, and the alternative sounds and styles they toy with throughout that both complement and enhance it. The opening track ‘Harbinger’, is defined by a simple yet venomous guitar line but the low industrial electronic rumble and dreamy keyboard notes that encompasses them add so much body to the track. ‘Parasites’ seems to be nothing but wild energy on the surface, but its chorus is beautifully layered with some manic electronic effects, lending an almost drum n’ bass intensity throughout that adds weight to the anxiety-inducing breakdown that follows. 

These aren’t the kind of changes that completely reinvent their sound, but they exemplify how the band are able to make their already unique blend of rock and metalcore sound with such subtle changes, and how confidently they seem to dip into these new styles without compromising their original vision. Lead single ‘Inhumane’ is the most traditionally “Polaris” sounding track on the album and even it gets some eerie touch ups thanks to the alarm-like synths that linger in the background. 

At times this stylistic variance is minimal within the instrumentation, but can still be felt in the energy exuded by each track. ‘Dissipate’ is the most aggressive of the record, taking Polaris’ more traditional sound and simply cranking up the tempo to create a wholly serviceable 2000’s deathcore piece. ‘The Crossfire’ adds layers upon layers to create a wall of sound, while ‘All In Vain’ closes out the album’s ongoing tension with an explosive release with the record’s most violent melody as a result. They aren’t the record’s most impactful songs, but they again show how much Polaris can experiment with by using so little. 

For those who know just how much Polaris have fought through over the course of the past few years, ‘Fatalism’ will be an especially difficult listen, but even casual listeners will see the five of them wear their hearts on their sleeves throughout. The band’s open embrace of fear as both a divider and a unifier has borne some intoxicatingly beautiful moments on this album, and every listener will take something different away from each gut-wrenching, melancholic moment. What isn’t open to interpretation is how masterfully each member of Polaris has played their part, delivering a record that is as quietly hopeful as it is despairing, and though the tragic passing of guitarist Ryan Siew has altered how many will perceive these eleven tracks, it serves as both a beautiful tribute to one of the industry’s most inimitable musicians, and a fitting next step forward for a band who only keep getting better and better

FIACHRA JOHNSTON

Naturally.

Empire State Bastard is the rabid love child of this unholy trinity, an esoteric experiment that attempts to intertwine the tenets of extreme metal with each member’s own musical flair. Punky, sardonic, and visceral, their debut release, ‘Rivers of Heresy’ is an eclectic, but exciting, release.

Neil is no stranger to the odd attempt to blow out his vocal chords in other projects. Biffy Clyro or his guest features with bands like Architects have seen the screeching unclean vocals that make up most of ‘Rivers of Heresy’ peppered into his usual Scottish-twanged vocals. However from the opening hammer blow that is ‘Harvest’, it’s evident the ante has been upped massively. While the effect of Neil’s drawn-out, high pitched frying screams on his throat will be debated on, their effect on the album is nothing short of demonic. It’s not just him, as Mike Vennart on guitars is just as responsible for the smash-mouth energy of each track. The chugging ‘Blusher’ draws so much of its force from the bass and rhythm guitars, that encase Neil’s screeches like a suit of armour. 

Dave Lombardo was never going to fall behind either. There’s tinges of his usual fast paced thrash style, but overall he avoids treading familiar territory; this is some of the most exciting drumming of his career in some time. ‘Tired, Aye?’ features no instrumentation below Neil and Vennart’s vocals other than Lombardo’s hypnotic drumline, an off-kilter but impressive display of all three’s talents. ‘Sons And Daughters’ has a White Stripes-like marching rhythm to its second half that ESB use to crank up the menace. ‘Dusty’ channels some raw Nine Inch Nails drums and wailing guitars in a slower than expected, but no less intense, piece.

All three contribute to the swirling madness of the album, but there’s still moments where the trio fuse  even more alternative styles into the mix. ‘Moi?’ sees a more stripped down, menacing bass-driven song where Neil returns to those melodic clean vocals he’s famous for, exploding back into a landslide chorus of shrieks on a hair trigger. ‘Stutter’ speeds things up an unholy amount while a sense of unease creeps in, the alien-like synths in the background, playing against the more traditional metal riffs throughout. ‘Palms of Hands’ channels the spirit of Rage Against The Machine in its guitar scratching as Lombardo goes full Slayer on drums, making for a weird fusion of 80’s thrash and 90’s alt rock. ‘The Looming’ feels like the closing hymn of a church service, the fuzzy guitars slowly breaking down while organ-like synths take over. This isn’t just an extreme metal album, rather it’s a sandbox for the three artists to mess around in. This could have easily lead to a poorly flowing album, but fortunately some pretty solid mixing and production means not only is this a great sounding record, but a cohesive one too.

Do not go into ‘Rivers of Heresy’ as a Biffy Clyro fan. Nor should you go into it as a Slayer fan hoping for some classic thrash metal. Go into it as a psychopath looking to put your headphones to their limits and do some damage to the furniture around you. It’s not an album that you’d expect from this unlikely trio, but the resultant chaos is uniquely their own, with Neil, Vennart and Lombardo’s own quirks layered amongst the sheer noise of the record. It’s hard to see where this project goes from here, whether this is a once off passion project or the start of something long term, but regardless, Empire State Bastard’s debut will delight anyone searching for something outside the box.

FIACHRA JOHNSTON

The already humid crowd cramming the main room venue is greeted first by Toronto based deathcore group Brand of Sacrifice. The main stage is a surprisingly narrow affair that can barely contain the equipment sprawled across, and it contrasts vocalist Kyle Anderson’s intimidating stature. Clad in body armour and opening up with demonic howls of ‘Dawn’, the band look like mythological titans. Yet for someone who takes up a solid quarter of the stage, Anderson still finds a way to navigate around the joint, maniacally conducting the crowd through tracks from their new ‘Between Death And Dreams’ EP. BOS are part of a wave of intense North American deathcore like Lorna Shore that never really made roots in Ireland, but the crowd take to their seven-track set with open arms, matching the mania onstage as Rob Zalischi breaks in the speaker system with some apocalypse-heralding drums in ‘Exodus’. To the dedicated few in the Academy who dare crank up the temperature even further in the pit, it’s a perfect malevolent warm up, and for the rest of the crowd, it’s a suitably berserk first act that sets the tone for the night perfectly.

For many in the crowd, Spiritbox were not the only band in high demand for an Irish show. Despite being so close by, the Liverpudlians of Loathe make their debut in Ireland for the first time here tonight, and the mighty reception they receive seems well deserved after the show they put on. Despite their recent breakout songs being melodic metal tracks a la Sleep Token, they are as much a wall of sound as Brand of Sacrifice before them, and silhouetted against a pure red backdrop, the quartet introduce the crowd to their own slice of hell with ‘Aggressive Evolution’. With 12 tracks in their set they’re practically a headliner in terms of length, and Kadeem France has all the charisma a main event player requires, bathed in red light like some bloodthirsty war god. Though it would have been nice to see some more tracks outside of ‘I Let It In and It Took Everything’ bar the two we get, it’s a fantastic album to see live, France and cohorts Erik Bickerstaffe and Feisal El-Khazragi swanning between the machine-gun violence of ‘New Faces in the Dark’ and uplifting shoegaze/metal hybrids like ‘Two-Way Mirror’. While the crowd believe they’re about to be sent off to Spiritbox with the popular ‘Is It Really You?’, in reality Loathe were never going to leave the crowd feeling mellow. Instead setting things alight one more time with ‘Gored’, the energy, and heat, in the main room is perfectly maintained for what is yet to come.

Despite the difference in stature, Courtney LaPlante stands as tall as any of the acts that have come before her. The screeching electronic intro to ‘Rule of Nines’ is enough to send the crowd into overdrive before the first guitar notes even hit. Our opening half-dozen salvo of tracks are dedicated to some of the hits of ‘Eternal Blue’ and the latest single releases, with the one-two combo of ‘Hurt You’ into ‘Yellowjacket’ serving up the perfect combination of sweet and sour. Clean and rough vocals swirl together as LaPlante’s stage presence moves between mesmerisingly ethereal and monstrously chaotically, and though Sam Carter is not in attendance for ‘Yellowjacket’, LaPlante is more than metal enough to comfortably fill his role with bassist/co-vocalist Josh Gilbert aiding to keep the energy at maximum.

Much like the performers, the lighting setup plays with contrast to great effect. Though the main room is limited in its space it’s used to its fullest, shimmering spotlights piercing through the crowd at regular intervals while the backing screen flares up with everything from hazy black smoke to cobwebbing tree branches. The blaring pinks and reds of ‘Silk in the Strings’ play against the moody blues of ‘Rotoscope’. Often, such as during ‘Circle With Me’, the two are merged, soft and sharp played against each other as the stage lights up a brilliant violet.

That doesn’t mean the show is formulaic: the myriad of flickering TV screens that appear signal ‘The Mara Effect, Pt. 3’, a classic from the original 2017 EP that adds its own unique aesthetic to an otherwise uniform show. But, much like their music, there are very few bells and whistles attached to Spiritbox’s live performance. Beyond the stellar lighting and Laplante and co’s own energy, it’s just classic metalcore pushed to its limits. The sinister atmosphere of ‘Hysteria’ gives way to a slower, somber closing duo of ‘Constance’ and the titular ‘Eternal Blue’. LaPlante is frank about what these songs mean to them, both then and now: “They used to make us sad… so feel what you have to feel, and we’ll see you soon”.

You can’t help but wonder if Courtney Laplante and Mike Stringer knew this is where things would be heading after leaving Iwrestledabearonce. Laplante certainly still has a sense of wonder to the whole thing: “I can’t believe this is our job” she remarks, during the first break in the set, seemingly amazed to even be on a UK & Ireland tour. Yet for their debut in the country, it’s an incredible first showing, a pure metalcore gig that lets Spiritbox highlight all of their strengths. By the night’s end, the icy cloudburst the inhabitants of The Academy walk out into feels almost like a relief from the sauna they’ve just escaped. Ireland marks the halfway point in their UK excursion, the final leg of the ‘Eternal Blue Tour’ that has supported the immense swell in popularity their debut record has received. Now set to tour with Shinedown and Papa Roach come September, Spiritbox aren’t planning on resting for very long, which only leaves us hoping they don’t wait too long for a return visit.

FIACHRA JOHNSTON

Words: Fiachra Johnston and Lisa Fox.  Images: Penny Bennett and Download Festival / Todd Owyoung

Bloodywood

Now this was a pleasant surprise. The Nu-metal representatives of India were a relative unknown to the audience, but the impact they left have made them an instant favourite. Preaching combat against injustice, sexual violence and depression among a host of other topics close to the heart of a modern audience, the unique blend of tradition Indian instrumentation and headbanging heavy metal quickly wins over a bleary-eyed crowd. Vocalists Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr’s roles onstage as vocalist and rapper will invariably incite comparisons to Bennington and Shinoda of Linkin Park, but their Hindi language tracks put a fresh spin on an aging genre, and the energy on stage is infectious to no end. If there was ever a band to hype up the crowd on the final day, Bloodywood are it.

Blind Channel

From India to Finland, the former Eurovision hopefuls on the Opus stage have made good use of the spotlight, stepping foot into Donington for the first time ever. While ‘Dark Side’, their contest entry naturally draws huge cheers, the rest of set is just as engaging, with ‘HAPPY DOOMSDAY’ making it clear why I Prevail brought them on tour through Europe. The mix of modern metalcore and 2000’s nu-metal vibes make them such a unique presence on the second stage, and Joel Hokka and Niko Moilanen strut down the stage with such joy on their faces as the crowd enthusiastically chant along to their cover of Anastacia’s ‘Left Outside Alone’ – a wonderful scene. There are so few band that break out of the shadow of Eurovision fame/infamy, and after this we can only hope Blind Channel are one of those lucky few.

Lorna Shore

Thank god Liquid Death sponsored this weekend, because Will Ramos is gonna need a bucket of ice cold water after those screams. Lorna Shore seem to have settled into their newest roster over this tour, and their fans have as well, drawing an impressive crowd whose excitement surprises even Ramos as they launch into ‘Cursed To Die’. The sonic violence they incur over the course of 45 minutes is impressive, an absolute wall of sound putting the entire park on notice. Ramos invoking whatever spirits he needs to produce the guttural squeals he vomits out during ‘To The Hellfire’ is a sight to see. Jovially trotting off stage after the 3-part blow of ‘The Pain Remains’, this year’s deathcore representatives leave us feeling like we need to take a lie down to take it all in.

SiM

This isn’t just the Japanese alt-metal outfit’s first Download, it’s their first ever UK show, and vocalist Manabu ‘MAH’ Taniguchi is having a lot of fun teasing an unsuspecting crowd (“Arigato means fuck you!” he exclaims as the crowd try to respond to the band’s opening remarks). Their unique pairing of reggae and metal invokes the energy of Skindred a few nights ago, and MAH is just as charismatic a host as Benji was, dancing to the ‘London Calling’ riff that opens up ‘TxHxC’. Of course, anime fans will recognise ‘The Rumbling’ from the latest ‘Attack on Titan’ season, but to the average viewer it’s simply a beast of a track that gets the already interested crowd properly moving. It only gets heavier from their as SiM earn their place at Opus with ‘f.a.i.t.h’, closing with a speed metal breakdown that any upstanding festival goer joins the pit for. SiM know full well they’ll be welcome back, putting their faith someday they’ll be performing on the Apex: “This is not the biggest stage? Aw.. next time…”

The Hu

Even if you aren’t at the Apex stage, you hear The Hu perform ‘Black Thunder’/’Sugaan Essena’. From the top of Opus, to the Church of Genxsis tucked behind the Avalanche, you can hear the low bellow of Galbadrakh “Gala” Tsendbaatar’s throat singing and the rolling gallop of the ‘Hunnu rock’ outfit’s folk instrumentation. It’s no wonder that the crowd begins to swell halfway through the Ulaanbaatar eight piece’s howling performance, and no wonder they receive such an ovation. For longtime fans this is a pretty standard set, if a little safe, but The Hu know how many new eyes are on them here, and their showcase as one of the few Mongolian metal bands has certainly piqued the curiosity of the Download fanbase.

Amity Affliction

Like Motionless in White, Amity Affliction feel like they just belong on the Opus. The casual confidence on display is enough to endear them to the packed crowd, despite barely saying a word to the audience throughout their set, but the waves of pyro spilling over everyone as the angelic chorus of ‘Like Love’ certainly got everyone going even further. Beyond some check-ins throughout, Ahren Stringer is solely concerned with the energy of the crowd: ‘You got some more gas in the tank?” he cries for the finale of ‘Soak Me In The Bleach? For AA, it’s by-the-numbers show for the most part, but for anyone who made the harsh trek up the hill to the stage, it was well worth it.

Jazmin Bean

Donington’s own Audrey Hepburn and online star Jazmin Bean is something of a wildcard for this year’s festival, and the usual crowd just looking to escape the afternoon heat in the Avalanche tent may look at the pastel pink bonnet and army boots of Bean with a level of derision. Having witnessed them beat a dancing Hello Kitty to death onstage, before breaking into the explosive ‘Saccharine’ with all the energy of an old school metal frontman, the newfound love for Jazmin many will leave the tent with is proof enough they’re ‘punk enough’ (whatever that means) to make the stage at Donington their home.

Cleopatrick

Luke Gruntz and Ian Fraser have brought traces of the weather from Ontario to Avalanche, as the first wispy clouds of the weekend meander overhead, yet the duo only aim to crank up the humidity in the tent. Their full-bodied, wailing guitars cut through the mugginess of the day, the ever-popular ‘hometown’ getting the crowd riled. Like a lot of rock duos, the focus on instruments means the two remain relatively static on stage, but the crowd have enough movement left for everyone, and ‘SCARING ME’ sets them into overdrive. It’s a quick set, but it’s the perfect stage and the perfect atmosphere of it, and fans of the two will leave the tent with a smile on their face.

Dinosaur Pile-Up

Sometimes you have to turn manure into diamonds, and Dinosaur Pile-Up have been handed a bin liner full of the stuff. Massive tech issues mean their set is cut to just five songs, and its clear from the nerves onstage that all of this is being worked through on the fly: “We’re so grateful for you to be here with us while we take a shit on stage” chuckles Matt Bigland as they rip into ’11:11′ with all the gusto of a drowning man swimming to the surface. This is an underground show on a big stage, and the mix is rough going no matter where you are around the stage but the fight to stay afloat propels the trio forward. ‘Stupid Heavy Metal Broken Hearted Loser Punk’ blasts out to a crowd just relieved to see the boys back on track. The tension is palpable around the Opus, but DPU are able to feed off the encouragement of the crowd into a short but sweet set, and while they leave the stage thinking all is lost in a sea of technical issues, the warm response from the crowd hopefully proves otherwise.

I Prevail

If there was ever a time for the Apex stage’s speakers to start going awry, it had to be now huh? The first half of the Michigan metalcore outfit’s otherwise impeccable performance was difficult to parse through a sea of feedback from unfortunately mixed drums and electronica, but that didn’t stop them from making the most of the slowly setting sun. From co-vocalists Brian Burkheiser and Eric Vanlerbleghe stopping during ‘Hurricane’ to take the moment in with the crowd, to the duo picking their favourite circle pit and assigning referees to them in ‘Deep End’, to the cover of ‘Chop Suey’ that drove what few members of the crowd that weren’t already moving down into the pits, this was a vibrant and engaging set from the get go. It was so fun a time, we’ll even forgive Vanlerberghe for being a Red Wings fan.

Set It Off

Cody Carson exudes old school emo right from the get go: “Our name is Set It Off and we came to fuck shit up” he cries to an impassioned crowd, one who are more than happy to turn the Avalanche stage into a sweltering hotbox of movement. Whether it’s the synchronised side hops on ‘Projector’, or drummer Maxx Danziger getting a warm reception as he moves to the front to perform ‘Hypnotized’, or surprise saxophone solo in ‘Loose Cannon’, the Florida trio have the tent in the palm of their hands. Probably a good thing they ended when they did, as the heat of the day and the amount of movement from the crowd was turning some folks a little pale.

Parkway Drive

It’s Parkway Drive’s first post-covid international festival, and there’s a lot of catching up to do. Certainly, the amount of pageantry the New South Wales rockers bring to the main stage shows how much they’ve missed this, as druids with torches ablaze line the stage, now adorned with great spikes and metal sconces. The crowd have missed this too, as even before the breakdown of the opening ‘Glitch’ hit the dust from the pits rises, turning Winston McCall’s pearly white outfit a sordid brick red almost instantaneously. Not that he cares: “You can tell it’s a good set when you can taste the dirt from the stage” he says, grinning from ear to ear after the guitars of ‘Soul Bleach’ send the crowd into overdrive.

Both McCall and the audience have no intention of keeping things static for even an iota of a second, and in what is maybe the highlight of the festival, McCall descends into the frenzied Apex pit for ‘Idols and Anchors’. With a succinct “Jeff, give ’em a fucking ripper”, he’s hoisted aloft by his feet as a circle pit envelops him. The image of a hundred people swarming around a muddy, maniacal McCall will stay with a lot of us for a long time, and the string trio that accompanies the soft intro of ‘Shadow Boxing’ seems to reset the crowd for another round of rioting. Parkway Drive have suffered through a lot of darkness and put a lot of work to get a new record out, but their return to British soil has been an entirely successful venture. Don’t stay away for too long this time, guys.

Ghost

The second big clash of the weekend, Electric Callboy and Ghost were sure to cause a rift between fans. We wish we’re able to tell you how ‘Hypa Hypa’ Electric Callboy’s set was, but when the crowd at the Avalanche is spilling out the sides into the surrounding area, there’s not a lot you’re able to discern beyond the fact people love Electric Callboy. Fortunately, it means we can dedicate all the time in the world to Opus headliners and resident gothic sex cult Ghost. A supposed technical error means we sadly get no appearance from the reanimated, saxophone wielding Papa Nihil, but otherwise Ghost delivers exactly what is expected: a monstrously fun time. From the batwings of ‘Cirice’ to full unholy regalia of ‘Year Zero’, Tobias Forge, AKA Papa Emeritus IV takes his role as head of the Ministry and leader of the Nameless Ghouls that shred alongside him seriously, even managing to summon the first dark clouds of the entire weekend, much to the elation of a sun bleached audience. Despite playing the Cardinal Copia as a swaggering, sensual dark priest (‘Are you ready to get your teats tickled?” bring raucous responses from the audience), there are moments where the more ghoulish persona of past records come out to play, such as the sinisterly regal Emeritus III, who growls his way through ‘Mummy Dust’. The problem with a festival-length set is there’s always going to be some omissions, and with a rather extensive discography of popular tracks, some cuts need to be made, such as excluding their debut record. Yet they hit all the high notes, closing on the ever popular ‘Square Hammer’. The size of the rabid crowd crying for a longer set, the pageantry and charisma of the band, the altogether excellent performance? Oh, they’ll be back here soon for sure.

Slipknot

Talk about a big finish. After two nights of classic Metallica, a jolt of modern energy with BMTH, and enough dirt kicked up to fill a canyon, there’s really only one group you can bring on to set the weary crowd rioting one last time; Slipknot are quite the panacea for the poison. Not to say they’re not also fighting a degree of war weariness, with the nebulous status of longtime member Craig Jones, and Corey Taylor battling a throat injury, but with Shaun ‘The Clown’ Crahan returning from family responsibilities and 90,000 strong crowd packing the Apex to the gills, this feels like the finale the crowd have been waiting for.

The monstrous pop that the opening track of ‘The Blister Exists’ receives is testament to how badly Download wanted Slipknot back. In Taylor’s own words. “Let’s just get this out of the way: it’s good to be home”. Taylor, even injured, immediately makes it known why the final headline slot could only ever be theirs. For the first eight straight tracks, Slipknot’s eight man team and their new mysterious keyboard player are solely focused on the performance, barely pausing to take in the absolutely manic atmosphere after tracks from their newest record, ‘The Dying Song’ and ‘Yen’ get to properly stretch their legs against crowd favourite ‘Pyschosocial’, and though the industrial-styled stage, with giant rusted fans and flickering shadows gives an air of tension, the band are as vibrant and powerful as ever. Their recent personal stumbles having no effect on just how good a show they’re able to put on, and its only after finishing contorting on stage for ‘Hopeless’ that Taylor finally addresses the crowd: “I just lost twenty quid”. It seems the gang have made a bet with Taylor that he could do a dozen songs without saying a word to the crowd and we would still lose our shit, Which, to be fair, we did.

From there, it’s an hour of some of the best heavy metal you’re going to see in the 21st century. No one, and I mean no one does it like Slipknot, and the setlist is more or less the perfect combination of golden oldies and well received new singles. ‘Left Behind’ gets its tour debut to great delight, while ‘Wait and Bleed’ is dedicated to Slipknot’s friends at Kerrang and ‘Unsainted’ reminds us that every era of the band’s career has its shining moments. An encore of Slipknot’s biggest hits (mysteriously sans ‘Before I Forget’, which is a surprise) closes us out: ‘Duality’ and ‘Custer’ sets the now truly exhausted crowd alight one final time, before the evergreen ‘Spit It Out’, the bands second ever single, sends us home with a nostalgic glow.

It’s a show for the ages, and it closes out four days of headliners just like this one. Metallica showing the metal of old still reigns supreme, Bring Me The Horizon finally coming into their own as a world-class headliner of the future, and Slipknot reminding us why they have never stopped being *the* heavy band of the here and now. Past, present, and future, all putting their best foot forward. Despite the crowd feeling jam packed, especially with how packed the queues and tent stages feel at times, and the maddening lack of shade, this is a festival well worth of Download’s 20th anniversary. A dozen different brands of rock have been represented, from metal to metalcore, electronically-tinged and acoustically-infused, from every corner of the world. In a year where inclusion and diversity has been more important than ever, Download have come through to make every fan feel welcome. All we have to do now is beat the final boss of the festival: the morning traffic out of here.

Words: Fiachra Johnston and Lisa Fox.  Images: Penny Bennett and Download Festival / Abbie Shipperley

Polaris

If I had a nickel for every time an Australian band opened up the Apex stage at Download Festival I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s strange how it’s happened twice in two days. Maybe it’s the way they can get a crowd moving at 12 in the afternoon? Polaris start up the dust storms that will continue throughout the day with a rendition of ‘Hypermania’ that immediately puts the speaker system to the test. It’s a basic but effective set, a classic explosion of metalcore as vocalist Jamie Hall violently wheels around onstage. This is sadly one of the last shows on their EU tour before having to recuse themselves due to the passing of their guitarist Ryan Siew. We send them all the love in the world, and we cannot wait to have them back with us soon.

Stray From The Path

Long Island residents Stray From The Path know where they are, and how to get the crowd moving. Right from the start of ‘Needful Things’, the vicious nu-metal throwbacks have the audience on their side, with front man Drew Dijorio directing them in a storm of circle pits. Launching into the ever-relevant “Goodnight Alt-Right” with a statement that minority communities that “will always be welcome at a SFTP show” and that “Nazi punk motherfuckers” will promptly meet a metaphorical boot heel only gets people going even more. Maybe this is how Dijorio is able to inject enough energy into a dust-covered, already exhausted crowd into bouncing for ‘Guillotine’. SFTP perform like they’re the last act of the day, and the crowd move as if they don’t have another 10 hours to go. Will it come back to bite us as we dredge through the 25 degree wasteland without shade? Absolutely. Was it worth it? Most definitely.

Ice Nine Kills

Half of the enjoyment of an INK set comes from vocalist Spencer Charnas’ antics on stage, and there are antics abound as they took to the Apex. From his role as a psychotic hostel customer in ‘Wurst Vacation’, to murdering a poor misfortunate banker in ‘Hip to be Scared’, to full on knife crime against the Download Dog for ‘The Shower Scene’, INK’s set is as much a horror film as it is a musical performance, one we can’t tear our eyes away from. Musically, they’re as talented as they’ve ever been, though they only pull from their two ‘Silver Scream’ albums, avoiding their more classic work in favour of further cementing themselves as a full-force, blood-fuelled, horror-themed band. Charnas kills it (pun intended) on vocals, the action on stage not detracting from the vicious breakdowns and tight guitar lines that avoid many of the tech bungles that other bands have been plagued with on the Apex.

Still, we feel bad for the poor Download Dog. Wonder what poor shmuck they roped into climbing into that thing…

Bob Vylan

Passing by Bob Vylan in the Avalanche tent, you can’t help but grin ear to ear. Bobby and Bobbie have turned the fit to burst Avalanche into a madman’s disco, with Fever 333 joining briefly for ‘Pulled Pork’ and nearly blowing out the nearby sound systems with ‘Wicked and Bad’. The announcement they would be doing an after hours set “well after Metallica’s bedtime” is met with raucous applause, and you can’t help but wonder how big Bring Me The Horizon’s Church of Genxsis could really be in comparison to the duo’s cult of personality. We later hear their secret set went so long security came to shut them down, leading them to crowdsurfing offstage by an enthusiastic crowd to further party elsewhere. Now that’s punk.

Motionless In White

It’s their fourth go around at Download, but it is always a joy to see Motionless In White at Donington. Evidently, many share the sentiment, as even before the first notes of ‘Disguise’ drop, the jam packed crowd is electric. Ever the burst of charisma, Chris Motionless celebrates the year anniversary of their latest record by conducting the crowd through ‘Scoring The End of the Word’. ‘Slaughterhouse’ sets the Opus alight even without Knocked Loose’s Bryan Garris, its breakdown maybe the most violent of the day, and ‘Reincarnate’ draws exclamations of joy as the 2014 classic adds a layer of nostalgia to the electricity onstage. It’s a pretty standard MIW set, not reinventing the wheel but never letting the energy fall below manic levels, and there’s no doubt Chris and co. will be more than welcome back with the crowd they’ve drawn.

Kid Kapichi

Kid Kapichi may not think they belong, with lead singer and resident “old man in a young man’s body” Ben Beetham’s little spots of self-derision throughout the set (“We probably sound like Miley Cyrus compared to what you’ve just heard but thanks for giving us a chance”) but the crowd certainly do by the time thudding bass of ‘Rob The Supermarket’ hits. The Hastings group are full of love for a receptive crowd, losing themselves at how packed the tents gets as their open, airy guitars cries out in ‘Death Dips’. There’s so much charisma on stage, its hard not to see why they were Frank Carter’s band of choice for his birthday, and as ‘Smash The Gaff’ is launched into with a battle cry of “What the fuck is up Denny’s?”, its clear that the mix of humour, sincerity and old school bash-your-head-in punk rock will carry this relatively young band a long way.

Alexisonfire

Alexisonfire are, like Bring Me The Horizon, something of an odd pick for Download 20, though only a few weeks off from the release anniversary of ‘Otherness’ – their first record together in over a decade – the Ontario post-hardcore outfit also have cause for celebration. Their scale certainly fits the Apex, and after combating with the sound system a bit with ‘Sweet Dreams of Otherness’, they settle into a rhythm. Apart from a few cursory introductions and crowd check-ins, vocalists George Pettit and Dallas Green are rather taciturn and clinical in their onstage performance, giving the crowd something of a breather in between some rather heavy hitters. It’s a solid set, one perhaps most mired by the heat of the day and some unfortunate mixing by the tech crew but the most dedicated of us are bellowing along to ‘We Are The Sound’, and the quintet enthusiastically retort with a powerful rendition of ‘Blue Spade’. Though they wouldn’t have been many’s first pick for a slot at the Apex, they certainly made their mark.

Deaf Havana

Fresh off a secret set last night at the Sidesplitter stage, Deaf Havana are here to nurse our hangovers. Sadly, there’s a frustrating amount of mic issues for the Veck-Gilodi boys and their backing members, impacting the otherwise wonderful renditions of ‘Fever’ and ‘Hell’. This doesn’t stop a loyal crowd from singing along to every hit however, heat and tech issues be damned. It’s cathartic then, when the issues are wrangled under control ‘The Present is a Foreign Land’, and much like their late night set the night before, the curious blend of folk and alt-rock makes them one of the unique sounds in the metal-laden Donington.

Monuments

Monuments have some of the most unfortunate luck, starting their set surprisingly late due to ongoing tech issues in the Dogtooth stage, yet it doesn’t dampen the audience spirit, continuously chanting for the band and hollering with glee when vocalist Andy Cizek pops on to help with mic setup. Cizek has only been with the band since 2019, but the man can scream. In what may be one of Download’s most eardrum-busting sets, Monuments absolutely hammer home how cohesive their current lineup is, debuting ‘Nefarious’ live for the first time to rabid reaction. The crowd is equally here to prove something, keeping the energy high, forming pits aplenty as ‘Lavos’ threatens to tear the tent of its supports. Somehow, the mass of bodies in here forgets about the stifling heat for one moment, resulting in a set that could have kept on the entire night if not for a frantic stagehand trying to keep sets on time. Please, if you get the chance, see these boys live, they will not disappoint.

Creeper

If people were angry about the Coheed and Cambria/Placebo clash before, the announcement of a surprise set by Creeper at the same time drove most over the edge. Of course, we couldn’t resist attending Fright Night at the Dogtooth and despite a late start similar to Monuments, it was worth every second. The tightly packed crowd is enamored as Will Gould and the band’s unique brand of goth punk sweeps through the tent, bringing out the live debut of a new track, ‘Sacred Blasphemy’ to a stellar reaction. The set will of course garner comparisons to tomorrow’s Opus headliners Ghost, but the suave nature of the band, how they go from the ‘Cry To Heaven’ to monstrously vampiric in ‘Poison Pens’ makes the tent wholly theirs. Criminally, the set is cut to shreds for time to make way for the headliners over at Apex, leading to ‘Annabelle’ being cut and a shortened version of ‘Hiding with the Boys’ (dedicated to the equally macabre Ice Nine Kills) before sending the crowd home ghoulishly grinning with ‘Misery’. As far as Download secret sets go, Creeper have carved their name into the annals succinctly but savagely.

Metallica

Throughout the day there has been a sea of camping chairs turning the journey to the front of the Apex stage into a human slalom course. With the heat sucking the energy out of every person in Donington (which no one can be faulted for), it makes navigating throughout the day feel like an escapade within a people-littered hedge maze. Fortunately, as what feels like the entire population of the festival descends on the main stage, the chairs are packed away, as everyone rises for Metallica’s second set of the weekend, and their record tenth Donington show.

Compared to Thursday, Metallica are praetorian in their performance, immediately picking up the pace from their entertaining, but slightly hollow Thursday show. ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ comes early and hits hard, reinvigorating a sun poisoned crowd back into life. ’72 Seasons’ like it’s Thursday brethren from the titular record, is as devastating as any classic Metallica track, feeling right at home on a big stage. The most noticeable change is how at home the demiurges of destruction now feel onstage. The band poke fun at this only being Lars ninth outing at Donington (“He’s playing with every band tomorrow to catch up) and making light at the bands weaker moments, as Hetfield compares a snare test to St. Anger: “Please stop, it’s torture”. Some dad jokes are thrown around (“the crowd at Download are in-tents!” to a chorus of groans). James struts and puffs gusts of smoke as the chug through ‘The Call of Ktulu’, and a little girl brought on stage bursts into tears standing next to Lars (poor guy can’t catch a break). It’s a energetic, charismatic outing that reminds us how the four of them have stayed in the hearts of so many for so long: this is ultimately a rip roaring gig.

Darkness finally envelopes Download to the chorus of ‘Wherever I May Roam’, and ‘Moth to a Flame’ incites the largest pyrotechnic display of the night, the funnels of flame able to be felt from the back of the park. Their rendition of ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ incites some pride in the Irish festival goers next (Is deas i gcónaí cuimhní baile nuair atáthar thar lear). James lets loose with a surprisingly animalistic scream for ‘One’, something we haven’t heard in a long, long time while ‘Enter Sandman’ gets the crowd moving for one final time. Of course, an explosive firework sendoff is in order as we walk away from the arena, and its deserved. Ten outings at Donington and Metallica have given a clinic of a performance. Three days in, against a crowd with dust in their lungs and sunburn on their backs, yet the quartet’s masterful command of the show make them seem like they were in the prime of their career. It’s easily the weekend’s most dynamic, and largest attended, performance.

Then again, Corey Taylor waits patiently in the wings.