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.

But before Beartooth can savage Wembley, Stray from the Path get the pit started. With a debt to Beastie Boys as much as Korn, their controversial samples on euthanasia and cutesy “join the police” songs contrast with the brutality of the drumbeats and their strong message of support for the marginalised.

The second support, Motionless in White, create circle pits like the dark spots on Jupiter, which seems fitting for a band whose sound and devotion from fans are planetary in scale. ‘Cyberhex’ could topple a building if focused into the right point. “Time to unleash the gates of Hell – it’s Slaughterhouse” screams Chris Motionless, which primes and readies the crowd for explosion, but this is a fuse that will relight over and over tonight. Their cover of ‘Somebody Told Me’ injects of a dose of silliness into an otherwise super serious set, and the crowd love it. The glass separating the more hardcore metal fans has been shattered and now all musical factions are on board by the time Beartooth take the stage.

”We have waited a long fucking time for this show to happen, Wembley… We are a band called Beartooth. We’ve come here to do one thing: rip your faces off with high voltage rock n roll and heavy metal!” Vocalist Caleb Shomo is a force of nature, his singing alternating between a roar emerging from somewhere deep within in his chest and surprising tenderness and intimacy. He barely stops moving for ninety minutes, constantly jumping, posing and flinging himself around the stage. In fact, his only pause is between ‘Devastation’ and ‘Disease’, some ten minutes into the show, when he silently and theatrically directs the audience’s cheers like a ringmaster. When Oshie Bichar and Zach Huston take on lead vocal duties on ‘Skin’ the emotional tone shift is subtle but so very effective, filling in the silences while Shomo throws blind hope and triumph in his poses and hypnotic, gut wrenching sentiment.  

It’s the emotion and intention behind their songs which make Beartooth something special, and it’s this quality which resonates deep with all of us watching. Shomo’s directive of “Off your feet!” creates a pit like a tidal wave, endlessly crashing. Each line holds meaning for the crowd: he sings “I’ll tell you I’ll be fine” and the fists in the air are the rope dragging this sentiment closer. He sings “we are the stars”, and pounding stars we are too. Of course, it helps when the lyrics are punctuated with pyrotechnics: it’s pretty obvious that ‘Beaten In Lips’ would be a big anthem with its catchy chorus and message, but having flames shooting out the stage on the line “light my words with kerosene” is a genius move, even if it isn’t exactly subtle. 2021’s surprising single drop ‘Riptide’ has been regular feature on Beartooth’s setlist this tour and it doesn’t disappoint at Wembley: a short Nine Inch Nails style electro interlude plays us in to a song with a rhythm like a heartbeat and, despite Shomo’s decision to put on a mint green anorak over a bare chest in a controversial sartorial move for this number, it’s a very exciting signpost about Beartooth’s next musical direction. ‘Hated’, the only track from 2016’s ‘Aggressive’ to make it into the set, is frankly stunning live. A sparkling piano introduction followed by a call to hold up our phones created an arena alive with electronic fireflies, and the contrast between the prelude and Huston’s trademark grinding-gears-meets-purring-cat guitar style is immense: tearing down a stereotype of beauty to create something of greater appeal while “from the ashes of the ignorant” touches the souls of most of the audience. 

It’s no great surprise that the final song is ‘In Between’, Beartooth’s biggest song to date, the perfect climax for the main set. Sweet and sharp like shards of sugar crystals, Beartooth include playful dramatic blackouts just as the audience couldn’t be more drawn to their light like moths to a flame. Hearing an audience united in song will never get old, and what’s more fantastic is how subtly done the big finish is. The rest of the band disappear almost without fanfare, leaving Shomo alone to sing out the ‘whoah’ line in acapella vulnerability. That line continues when the house lights go up like an incantation for an encore. 

And what a beautiful thing the encore is. Spotlights and feedback grow ominously as the pit opens and the crowd drop the the floor and begin to row, with lone fans still standing like islands. “I don’t want this to end but I guess we fucking gotta,” screams Shomo as Beartooth begin ‘The Past is Dead’, its throaty birdsong choruses clipped by chipped drumbeats and that trademark grind of guitar. He disappears momentarily, but the stage isn’t empty without the singer: the rest of the band fill void with sound, and grab their own attention, which seems like the Beartooth DIY philosophy summed up. Within moments, he’s back, holding a guitar like a hard won trophy, with the rest of the band behind him playing with fire and force as they end with the same intensity they began with. He silently mimes for what looks like a wall of death but it’s a corridor for Shomo to get to the sound desk. He strides forward like the pied piper before parting the crowd again to stroll back, swatting a few fans who haven’t got the message. As the final chords of ‘The Last Riff’ fade, smoke pushes up like a final pressure release from the front of stage over static feedback, signalling the end of an absolutely stunning live show from one of the hottest acts out there in the scene today. 

KATE ALLVEY

Check it out below:

Ice Nine Kills kick off the night with their brand of theatrical gothic metalcore. If there was ever a perfect opener for a tour like this, it would be this band. ‘Hell In the Hallways’ and ‘Me, Myself, and Hyde’ are the definite highlights of the night; sounding massive and with limitless energy, they start the night off right.

Nu-Metal revivalists Cane Hill take the stage as main support and blast through an energetic set that could soon be considered favourites amongst fans of the genre. Taking influence from all the great Nu-Metal bands, their cocktail of noise sounds like Slipknot fighting Deftones. Lead singer Elijah Witt’s commanding stage presence and earworms ‘Lord of Flies’, ‘Erased’ and ‘Too Far Gone’ are the most impressive parts of the set.

After a long delay, Motionless In White take to the stage and incite absolute pandemonium. Having an hour set, they smash through the opening ‘RATS’, ‘Reincarnate’ and ‘Necessary Evil’ before acknowledging that they’re playing to a sold out venue. Chris Motionless has an undeniable stage presence, stalking around in his leather gloves, holding the attention of every single person in the audience. New tracks from ‘Graveyard Shift’ feature heavily tonight, as they should, and the crowd bellows every word back at the band. Even when dipping into their back catalogue for ‘Abigail’ (featuring Spencer from Ice Nine Kills) and ‘A-M-E-R-I-C-A’ they are greeted with rapturous receptions. Ending on the huge, defining ‘Eternally Yours’, Motionless In White came, saw and conquered.

The band were able to bring over their full stage production for the first time, including lighting rigs and costume changing dancers, and it’s cemented Motionless In White as a band to watch out for. Now in their thirteenth year as a band, they look set to grow even more and pack out venues bigger than the KOKO, and when that happens, audiences will be in for a treat.

ADAM ROSARIO

Manson is all over this record. Despite their main keyboard player having departed, the electronic craft over ‘Graveyard Shift’ is an almost unrecognisable amount more pronounced than on their debut album ‘Creatures’, and Chris Motionless’ vocals are, for the most part, much closer to The God Of Fuck’s than the Eighteen Visions-esque metalcore bellow he had before. Even where Manson isn’t being directly channeled, there’s still plenty of industrial comparisons to be made; most of ‘Queen For Queen’ could have been made by Celldweller, ditto for Blue Stahli on ‘Untouchable’. There’s a very definite Nightmare Before Christmas rip-off in ‘Not My Type: Dead As Fuck 2’ which is almost certainly on purpose.

As well and good as this is, the blend of quite generic industrial beats and synths and quite generic metalcore riffs and breakdowns is not the most exciting of combinations. ‘Graveyard Shift’ is also let down by having some extremely questionable lyrical content: “I’ma have my cake and fucking eat you too” in ‘Necessary Evil’ sounds kind of clever on surface level but as a statement is about as meaningless as any other collection of nine words randomly thrown together. If the whole Motionless In White thing doesn’t work out Chris could definitely have a decent career as an innuendo writer for Steel Panther, because based on this album alone he clearly knows a lot of different ways of saying he’s going to bang someone.

The culmination of the eyebrow-raising cringiness of the over-sexualised lyrics is ‘Not My Type: Dead As Fuck 2’ featuring such over-the-top gems as “She loves me ’cause I like to give head like a zombie” and “if she’s got a pulse then she’s not my type”. It’s possible that these are simply there so that parents will glance disapprovingly at their offspring’s door as they walk past while it’s blaring out of the speakers, but it is also just as possible that they were written in lieu of anything artistic or meaningful.

Even though the lyrics throughout are crap, and even though the musical composition is just two generic things generically smashed together, there is something enjoyable about ‘Graveyard Shift’. The stomp of the music is infectious beyond refusal, and if you can switch all bits of your brain off other than the bits that do “Shout” and “Breathe” then the lyrics cease to be so much of an issue and instead become something hilariously ironic to sing along to. Despite the many glaring flaws they have added Motionless In White have made an album that, at the very core of it, is a bouncy, head-banging romp through nearly 50 minutes of enjoyably basic electro-metalcore.

It’s a pretty sure bet that the songs on ‘Graveyard Shift’ will be pretty entertaining to experience live, especially at Motionless In White’s main stage performance at Download in less than a fortnight, but whether that’s because we’re laughing at them or with them will depend highly on how many of our neurons we’ve had to kill off with alcohol beforehand.

ANDY LEDDINGTON

The band are currently co-headlining ‘The End Is Here’ Tour in the US and are set for a European run of festivals including Download Festival in the UK on 9th June.

Pennsylvanian goth rockers Motionless In White come onstage to rapturous applause, and if you didn’t know they were a support band, you might genuinely believe they were headliners from the response they ignite. They play a relatively short but sweet set, consisting of their biggest hits (‘We Only Come Out At Night’, ‘Abigail’ etc), and they go down an absolute storm. The sound isn’t great, and it remains a little muffled throughout, but despite that they manage to come away triumphant. Excellent work.

Next up are Sheffield metallers While She Sleeps, beginning Brixton’s Yorkshire takeover. They’re one of the few bands that seem to belong both in sweaty little venues and on massive stages, which is a pretty impressive feat. Like Motionless In White, they suffer from slightly muffled sound at the beginning of their set, but their performance itself is flawless. Frontman Loz Taylor possesses fantastic energy, as do the rest of the band. Highlights are ‘The North Stands For Nothing’, ‘Our Courage Our Cancer’ and closer ‘Seven Hills’. Watch these boys, because they’re ascending steadily, and they might just end up headlining this venue themselves.

Last but not least are the gargantuan Asking Alexandria. For a band who have only been around since 2008, their rise to fame has been unbelievable. Already huge in America, they are now taking over their homeland with style. There were rumours of pyrotechnics before the show, but this pyro show has to be seen to be believed. Truly, it’s one of the most spectacular shows you will ever see. The pyro itself is unreal and teamed with chugging riffs, synchronised headbanging and Asking Alexandria’s massive tunes, it’s a pretty unbeatable combo.

The band themselves have some great energy tonight and it’s impossible to take your eyes off them. For 80 minutes, there is nothing else in the world but Asking Alexandria and their huge anthems (see ‘To The Stage’, ‘Not The American Average’). Utterly incredible. The sheer adulation from the crowd is overwhelming and it’s truly impressive to watch the response they receive. Say what you want about Asking Alexandria, but they’re flying a pretty massive flag for the UK and we should be incredibly proud.

The sky’s the limit.

LAIS MW