It’s a special show for Bleed From Within too. “The self titled Slipknot record is one of the reasons that we are a band,” exclaims vocalist Scott Kennedy. They’re the perfect support, with enough of the Slipknot sound to hype us up, but also enough of their own flavour to show us where that inspiration has been taken. Our hands sprout up like shoots nourished by darkness, drawn towards the riffs from ‘I am Damnation’, the arena filling before our eyes. There’s a beautiful willingness in the air, a desire to throw ourselves into ‘Levitate’, our arms raised to Kennedy’s ripped desperation in his euphoric, tortured vocals. New song ‘In Place Of Your Halo’ features tiny piano touches that head into a raw shred and a punching chorus. By the end of their brief set, we are beyond ready for Slipknot, preemptively lighting our phones across the area in anticipation.

“I said it last night and I’ll say it again,” Corey Taylor says, the smile behind his mask almost audible, “London, it’s like coming home. They stuffed so many people in this goddamn place.” From the moment ‘(sic)’ drops, the whole place has gone off, our appetite finally sated to re-live the original moment Slipknot. burst into the world, iconic in their uniforms, perfect in their choreographed rage. Taylor’s brief pause comes after ‘Eyeless’ sends the floor seething, the song charged with vocals like bullets and isolated guitar like a sewer tunnel. His vocals rise to the top of the finest circle of hell that is ‘Wait And Bleed’ while bucket drummers masquerading as demon clowns hit an oil drum with a baseball bat, our only respite from their dimension a minute guitar solo. Now, the frontman is here to make a promise. “Welcome back to 19-fucking-99. For one night only, you will not hear one fucking song written after 1999…” This album is no less powerful for being dragged forward in time, our nostalgia burned off like a layer of grease in favour of re-discovering their glorious brand of noise. 

Taking breaks for mini DJ sets could be seen as excuse for Slipknot to recuperate (“We will give you another twenty five years, we promise you that,” shouts Taylor, unaware that in another quarter century, he’ll be seventy six years old), but the downtime is welcome respite from the juggernaut that is their set. His mask’s glowing red eyes are the last remnant of light onstage after ‘Eeyore’ proves to be a track that could sweep you away with it’s vigour. A circle pit opens like a sinkhole caused by ‘Me Inside’s rhythmic growling opens, the disconcerting rhythmic glitches building rather than breaking. Consuming and otherworldly, the jagged vibrancy of their show erupts with  ’Liberate’s rolling riffs and ‘Purity’s primitive, haunting opening, Taylor’s voice a murmured incantation. “How would you like to get into deep cuts, motherfucker?” He yells before ‘No Life’; their rap side invigorates like a nuclear blast untrained by nostalgia, a warehouse cyber voodoo that screeches and infects.

Even as far as the encore, there’s a sense of organised chaos, held together through guitar as tight as razor wire on ‘Surfacing’ acting a shuddering tour guide through an underworld of nasty noise. “We will never fucking forget tonight,” declared Taylor. “The first time we played this song in London was December 13th 1999. Just like that time, would you like to go some place very dark with us?” As if he needed to ask. Bringing forth bucket drummer scrapes, he rubs his hands with glee as acid rain guitar picks up for their extended version of ‘Scissors’. The last in a solid hour of crowd surfers are churned up like unearthed magma forced into lava.

Reimagining a specific moment in time, when Slipknot first exploded into the world, is the glue that we needed to round off a fantastic year of music, and draw five digits worth of fans  together. While Taylor might not be able to keep his promise to do a fiftieth anniversary spectacular, that doesn’t really matter. For one brief. Shining evening, we were back at the turn of the last millennium, re-introducing ourselves to the behemoth that is Slipknot. 

KATE ALLVEY

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.

Opening track ‘Adderall’ is built around a piano line and picked acoustic guitars whilst singer Corey Taylor croons over the top. Not only is this a far cry from the full-blown sonic assault of guitars, electronics, screams, and percussion you’d expect from a typical Slipknot song, it’s a real standout moment on an album that has plenty of them.

‘The End, So Far’ is the second album with the band’s current lineup after the departure of percussionist Chris Fehn in the run-up to the release of 2019’s ‘We Are Not Your Kind’. That record marked a real return to form after a couple of releases that didn’t live up to the sky-high standards the 9-man metal outfit set for themselves in the 90s and early 00s. While ‘The End, So Far’ can’t quite go toe-to-toe with its predecessor, it hits far more often than it misses, and when it’s good, it’s simply outstanding.

The album title itself has generated plenty of discussion that the Iowan metallers might be coming to the end of their journey after almost three decades. However, you needn’t worry – the band has definitively stated that the record merely signals the end of a particular chapter for the band, and could well be a reference to their contract with long-term label Roadrunner running out.

Following the downbeat opening track, ‘The Dying Song (Time To Sing)’ opens with acapella vocals. Any speculation that Slipknot may be going down a more melodic path with this record is quickly squashed as Taylor screams “die, die, die” to a frenetic cacophony of metal instrumentals. This is Slipknot in more familiar territory, and they execute the album’s first heavy song with precise intensity.

Fans of the band will be familiar with ‘The Chapeltown Rag’ which dropped as a standalone single in 2021 and has already made many appearances in their live set. It is one of the album’s standout moments, a boisterous rampage with a catchy chorus hook.

‘Warranty’ opens with a call to arms as Taylor growls “Isn’t this what you came here for?” over and over again. It’s easy to imagine limbs flying in the pit during this song, and would easily stand alongside classic songs in the band’s catalogue at a live show. In fact, the opening six tracks would all make stellar additions to what is already a stacked repertoire of songs spanning their six prior records.

Unfortunately, the record takes a bit of a dip towards the middle, and whilst songs like ‘Medicine for the Dead’, ‘Acidic’, and ‘Heirloom’ add to the overall mood of the record, they seem unlikely to be songs that will stay in Slipknot’s live set beyond the current album cycle.

Thankfully ‘The End, So Far’ picks up again for the last couple of tracks to close out the album on a high. On ‘De Sade’, Taylor returns to the crooning vocal style he used on ‘Adderall’ over the top of heavy, but atmospheric instrumentals. The stupendous closer, ‘Finale’ carries on with this theme as he sings “I know it’s a shame but I gotta stay because I like it here”. As a side-note, this lyric should hopefully put any unfounded rumours of the band’s demise to bed for good.

‘The End, So Far’ isn’t perfect, but it’s a record that’s quintessentially Slipknot, and its finest moments stand among the best work they’ve put out since the mid-00s. Seven albums into a long career, one of the world’s biggest metal bands has once again shown exactly why their popularity continues to endure across generations.

Everyone remembers their first Slipknot gig. Whether you were there in the chaos of the Astoria in ‘99, the seminal London Arena show in ‘02, their long-awaited Download Festival headlining performance in ‘09, or you’re taking your kids this very evening – everyone remembers their first encounter with the Iowan nontet.

As Taylor likes to reiterate, each show is a chance to reconnect with the maggots that make up his “family”. In the midst of carnage, bruising mosh pits and reckless stage-diving, each show carries with it an overwhelming sense of togetherness. Whether that’s between band and fans, or simply fellow fans, each time Slipknot visit these isles it feels almost like a spiritual event.

Armed with a critically-acclaimed new album, ‘We Are Not Your Kind’, the metal gods have not dropped a beat when it comes to live performance. The newer material brings an extra theatrical element to the party, and the choral introduction of ‘Unsainted’ echoes around the arena before everything, quite literally, explodes into life.

Taylor forever plays the role of conductor to his massed ranks while percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan, looking svelte in a shirt and blazer, sways around his podium with the air and grace of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker. There’s also the new addition of ‘Tortilla Man’, replacing the fired Chris Fehn, who essentially acts as Taylor’s defacto hype man.

It’s a wonderfully curated tour, taking you through the annals of Slipknot’s extensive back catalogue, with rare outings of ‘Eeyore’ and ‘Eyeless’. However, it’s the newer material that shines through, with ‘Nero Forte’ and ‘Solway Firth’ already on their way to becoming regular live tracks in the years and decades to come.

The double header of the haunting ‘Vermilion’ and ‘Birth of the Cruel’ provide a little respite in the full throttle pace Slipknot like to charge with. Amidst this there is even a moment to wish DJ Sid Wilson a happy birthday, though it’s not long before the adrenaline is cranked back up with an enormous version of ‘Duality’.

Despite the longevity of their career and sheer behemoth that Slipknot have become, there has always been a level of humility to their performances. Taylor takes a moment to address the state of the world we live in, and preaches a message of togetherness that is found at a Slipknot show.

“As long as we have each other, no one will fuck with this family,” he states, as he leads in a chorus of ‘People = Shit’ – a song that could not be more poignant than in the sadistic state of 2020.

TOM WALSH

With no paid VIP meet and greet packages in sight, this is an extremely rare opportunity for Slipknot fans – particularly in the UK.

The event will work on a first come first serve basis, however it’s expected that Thomson will stick around for as long as he can to meet as many fans as possible. It’s expected that a couple of hundred of Birmingham-based fans will be heading down to the signing, so be sure to head down early to avoid long waits!

Fans are welcome to bring whatever item they’d like Thomson to autograph and staff will also be handing out flyers to be signed by Mick that fans can take away with them.

If you can make it along to the evening, be sure to ask Thomson about his signature guitars!

WHEN: 6pm Thursday 23 January
WHERE: Guitarguitar 104 Hagley Rd, Birmingham B16 8LT

For more information about Mick’s USA Signature Mick Thomson Soloist™ and the Pro Series Signature Mick Thomson Soloist™ SL2 guitars please visit: https://www.jacksonguitars.com/

That’s not the only news to come out of the Slipknot camp this week, though, as the locations for a 2020 tour were revealed – there are no confirmed dates yet, however, fans who pre-order ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ here – due for release on 9 August – before 23.30 GMT on 8 August will receive an exclusive pre-sale code for the tour. The locations are listed in full below, and there’s plenty of chances to catch them here with eight dates across the UK  – roll on 2020.

Dublin, Ireland
Manchester, United Kingdom
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Cardiff, United Kingdom
Birmingham, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Frankfurt, Germany
Paris, France
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Lyon, France
Budapest, Hungary
Lodz, Poland
Stuttgart, Germany
Munich, Germany
Milan, Italy
Zurich, Switzerland
Vienna, Austria
Hamburg, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Dortmund, Germany
Copenhagen, Denmark
Stockholm, Sweden
Oslo, Norway

Of course, being set in the lovely fields of England’s Midlands means that it’s also inevitably on the receiving end of some of our island’s most punishing weather – although increased drainage was installed after 2016, with around two months’ worth of rain arriving at exactly the same time as thousands of campers (of course) this year, there was to be no avoiding the mud. Lots, and lots of mud. With such a stellar line-up, though, it would take a lot more than a bit of dirt and rain to dampen the spirits of most festival goers – it is a metal festival, after all.

The second day on Donington’s now slightly brown-looking fields doesn’t see much relief from the rain, though we are at least treated to a little sunshine in the morning as Mother Nature attempts to lull us into a false sense of security. As if we’d fall for that. Liberally applied straw has come to the rescue in the arena and we are, at least temporarily, rescued from the squelch – though in its place comes an infestation of Maggots (sic)…

Images: Penny Bennett, Words: Gem Rogers [GR], Dave Stewart [DS]

Parting Gift

The first band of Saturday over on the Avalanche stage was Manchester’s Parting Gift. Having the tough early slot at the stage the furthest away from everything can sometimes mean that the crowd will be small, but thankfully this wasn’t the case. Although it may have started small, the tent grew into a brimming, buzzing mass of bodies, all wooed into the tent by their siren-like music. Vocalist Zac Vernon has a phenomenal set of pipes on him, his silky tones filling every inch of the tent, although he seemed somewhat reserved through the majority of the set. The band put on a very tight and together display, full of dynamics and impact – although guitarist Jack Dutton found himself victim to a number of technical issues with his equipment, possibly due to his commitment to putting on an energetic performance. Technical difficulties aside, this was a triumphant set for the band, giving Download Festival a potent dose of what they’re capable of. [DS]

Bad Wolves

If you’re a metalhead and you’ve had The Cranberries legendary hit ‘Zombie’ stuck in your head recently, it’ll probably be because of Bad Wolves. Their hard hitting metal take on the song went global, smashing its way onto charts and spreading their name everywhere. That isn’t the only weapon they have in their arsenal though, and if you swung by the Zippo Encore stage during their set at Download you’d have seen the whole armoury. They put on a storming performance, packed full of power and dominance with a generous dose of fun thrown in for good measure. Anything that front man Tommy Vext wanted from the crowd, he got – mass clapping, headbanging, chants, a sea of people waving their shirts above their head and even a pit re-enactment of the battle for Winterfell from Game Of Thrones. Bad Wolves used their early slot to set the bar high for everyone that followed them, acting as the perfect warm up for the day ahead. [DS]

Yours Truly

Making your international performance debut at Download Festival is surely the most intimidating possible way to introduce yourself to overseas fans, though Aussies Yours Truly seem to handle it relatively well as they start a run of heavily pop-punk influenced acts on Saturday’s Avalanche Stage.  Their inexperience is evident, though, with the set generally lacking any real spark – and although Mikaila Delgado’s vocals are good, she is frequently drowned out by the music, resulting in much of it falling flat. Given a little more experience, Yours Truly show some promise, but they’ll find fierce competition amongst the other fresh faces coming into the genre. [GR]

Hot Milk

Manchester’s Hot Milk may be newcomers, but they’re already no strangers to the festival circuit with appearances at Slam Dunk and Great Escape under their collective belts this year. Their super slick power pop features seemingly endless energy and plenty of natural stage presence, and only the most coldhearted souls could fail to be warmed by dual vocalists Hannah Mee and Jim Shaw. It’s a shame that we seem to lose most of the lead guitar during closer ‘Awful Ever After’ and it sounds a little off as a result, but it’s more than made up for by the relentless positivity of the four on stage in one of the most fun, catchy sets of the weekend. Make no mistake – Hot Milk are here to stay, and we’re very pleased about that. [GR]

Animals As Leaders

If you were a musician at Download and needed to find a guitarist to make a band with, you could’ve found them in large numbers over at the Zippo Encore stage as Animals As Leaders took the stage – an instrumental trio led by the incredible guitar virtuoso Tosin Abasi. Their music on record is complex and musically mind boggling, filling musicians with the curious question “can they do it live?”. It turns out that yes, they absolutely can. If you did a 360 degree turn during their set you would’ve seen open mouths everywhere, completely in disbelief that they were watching human beings perform the music and not robots. Set closer ‘CAFO’ was executed flawlessly and with ease, forcing all the guitarists in the audience to have a long hard think about whether they’d ever be that good. Impeccable technique, unbelievable musicianship and a truly stunning performance. Sadly a short set due to the length of their songs, but a mind blowing short set, without a doubt. [DS]

Palisades

Metalcore fans flocked over to the Avalanche stage to see New Jersey’s export Palisades storm through a few songs. Armed with a whole host of standout tracks from their ever growing back catalogue, they marched onto the stage and immediately got the crowd on side, all of them feeding directly out of vocalist Lou Miceli’s hands. Their performance was the only redeeming feature of the set though, falling a bit flat on the sound front. All the weight and punch that you would’ve expected from them got completely lost in the tent, and caused the whole show to lack weight. Regardless of the sound, their fanbase demonstrated their loyalty and love for the band by seemingly ignoring the sound issues, continuing to lose their minds to every song they were treated to. Set closer ‘Let Down’ was the finest example of that, causing the majority of the tent to burst into action. An energetic and hearty performance that didn’t quite hit the mark. [DS]

Skindred

Let’s get one thing straight immediately – a festival is not a festival if Skindred don’t make an appearance. That’s just the way it is. Fortunately, Skindred are exactly what Download give us, and the appearance of a handful of torrential downpours matter considerably less in the face of the Welsh group’s bounding, irresistibly catchy reggae-infused metal. Their entrance to The Imperial March tells you all you need to know about this gloriously over-the-top, flamboyant band, with charismatic and consummate showman Benji Webbe leading the charge.  Including a surprise appearance by Reef’s Gary Stringer for last year’s ‘Machine’, Skindred plough through as many of their popular hits as possible in a high-energy 50 minutes, finishing as always with a dash of Newport Helicopter to the tune of ‘Warning’. The sight of thousands of t-shirts and jumpers flying above heads in a whirlwind of chaos never fails to disappoint – just like Skindred themselves. [GR]

ROAM

Over in the Avalanche tent, today’s poppier line-up doesn’t seem to be getting the greatest of receptions. It may be that the exhausting trek through the worst of the arena’s mud to get there is putting punters off making the trip over, but south coast five-piece ROAM make the most of the crowd they have for a quick dose of classic pop-punk. Vocalist Alex Costello is uncharacteristically off key a few times, fortunately pulling it back quickly – but unfortunately, it’s not the only issue with the set, as much of it is marred by sound that just isn’t quite right and ends up about as muddy as the ground outside. The overall energy can’t be disputed, though, and despite it being far from the best performance we’ve seen from ROAM, the crowd have a grand old time all the same. [GR]

Trivium

Trivium are without doubt one of the most adored metal bands of our generation – a fact that’s backed up by the gigantic crowd that gathered around the main stage to witness their performance. The sun beaming down onto the muddy grounds was the hottest it had been all weekend, and front man Matt Heafy used the good vibes to his advantage, convincing the crowd to go hard for their entire show. The set was a whistle stop tour through their entire discography, delivered with pure class and finesse. Newer cuts like ‘The Sin and the Sentence’ incited immediate riots, as did powerful renditions of ‘Down From The Sky’ and ‘Strife’. The golden moments of the set were found in towards the end though, with Heafy commanding the birth of “eight or more” mosh pits during ‘Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr’, topping the number they had at their first Download appearance 14 years ago. If that wasn’t enough, it was followed by ‘In Waves’, sounding more monstrous than ever on the big stage. Pyrotechnics, fireworks, giant circle pits and one of metals modern greats. What else could you possibly want from a main stage festival appearance? [DS]

Intervals

The second instrumental act of the day could be found over on the Dogtooth stage in the form of Intervals. The Canadian quartet have amassed quite a following, a large portion of which crammed themselves into the tent in order to hear every single note in all its glory – only that’s not quite what happened. The sound was a muddy mess, mostly comprising cymbals and high frequencies. The bass was almost non-existent, only really audible when their backing track contained bass drops. The band themselves threw everything they had at the audience, fully taken by the music they were playing and exerting all their energy outward. The crowd did give a lot of that energy back, but those energy levels would’ve been miles higher if the sound had been clearer. A strong setlist dampened by poor sound. [DS]

Trash Boat

With their tantalising blend of punk rock, hardcore, and pop punk, Trash Boat are a welcome sight on any line-up, and today it doesn’t take long for pits to open up under the guidance of chugging riffs and Tobi Duncan’s outstanding, gritty vocals. Where other bands today have struggled to make the most of the space in the huge Avalanche Stage tent, Trash Boat sound crystal clear and project energy right to the back of the crowd; their crossover appeal and huge tracks get heads bobbing everywhere, with passionate joy erupting from the pit at the opening bars of every song. The sky is the limit for this band, and with performances like this, they’re well on their way there. [GR]

nothing, nowhere.

nothing, nowhere. mastermind Joe Mulherin went through some difficult times in 2018 that resulted in the cancellation of numerous performances and it is, first and foremost, fantastic to see him back on stage here at Download. Bringing together emo and rap in a unique way, nothing, nowhere. allows Mulherin to express the emotions and experiences that are part and parcel of the anxiety and depression he lives with, and on stage, he shares them with his audience in a stunningly heartfelt way. Pacing the stage in a way that reflects the almost diary-like qualities of his song writing, thoughts spilling out as he walks, the response of the crowd makes clear the deep connection many have with his words. Mulherin states that he’s having vocal problems today, but if that’s the case then it’s barely noticeable in this hypnotisingly powerful set, and as he closes with ‘Nevermore’, it’s to be hoped that it won’t be long before he returns. [GR]

The Wonder Years

Debut Download performances are usually something that happens for the young up and coming bands bursting onto the scene. It’s very rare that a fully fledged powerhouse escapes the grip of the festival, but there’s the odd band here and there that manage to slip through the cracks. One such band is The Wonder Years, and 2019 saw them perform on the hallowed ground of Donington for the first time. The Avalanche stage was full to the brim, and it leapt straight into motion as soon as front man Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell and crew stepped out from behind the curtain. Their set was completely faultless, paced beautifully and full of anthem after anthem. ‘Sister Cities’ immediately set the bar high for their set, and every single song that followed it continued to nudge it ever so slightly higher – they had all their bases covered and delivered a mesmerising performance. By the time set closer ‘Came Out Swinging’ came to an end, the completely crammed tent was hungry for more – but that’s exactly what The Wonder Years do. They put on an incredible show and make you want to keep on coming back to bask in the rays of their beautiful music. [DS]

Simple Creatures

As tough festival slots go, clashing with Slipknot at a metal festival is definitely up there. It’s not too surprising then that, despite the supergroup pairing of Mark Hoppus and Alex Gaskarth, the Avalanche Tent isn’t at its fullest for the festival debut of powerpop duo Simple Creatures. Those who have trundled over to the far corner of Donington, though, are rewarded with a true highlight of the weekend in this bright, poppy set, jammed full of hooks and good humour. It’s not a lengthy set – the duo only have one EP to their name so far – but it feels like the work of both Hoppus and Gaskarth at their absolute best, with vocals and melodies as vibrant as their personalities – and the entrancingly fantastic, borderline psychedelic light displays that complement each track.

Probably more part-comedy set than purely music, with (immature and deeply entertaining) quips flying across the stage in every available interval, it’s important the note that when it does come to the music, there’s really nothing to fault. Alongside tracks from their ‘Strange Love’ EP is new single ‘Special’ – which is also accompanied by a horde of unicorns Gaskarth insists on pulling from the crowd (obviously) – and their own version of the much-covered ‘Personal Jesus’, all delivered with the kind of joy and energy that essentially demands constant shoulder wiggles and head bopping. And maybe a dash of jazz hands. Some may question the pair being given a headline slot, given the lack of releases under their belt, but Simple Creatures have easily proved how deserving they are of this privilege – there’s few better ways to end an evening than with a massive, face-engulfing grin. [GR]

Slipknot

And then came the main event. The band everyone had been waiting for. The band most people bought their ticket for – Slipknot. Everywhere the eye could see was covered with excited faces, like the entire festival had gathered around the main stage to witness the approaching carnage. The atmosphere was one of pure excitement, barely able to contain themselves for what was about to happen. And what happened? Slipknot played a pedal to the metal, no holds barred, heavy as sin set that was equal parts stunning and punishing. The curtain that was covering the stage dropped and as they tore straight into ‘People = Shit’, the ground vibrated with the stampede of feet across the field. Pits opened up immediately, and they stayed open for the entire show.

The pace was relentless as they fired out non-stop heavy hitters, tearing through tracks like ‘Disasterpiece’, ‘Psychosocial’, and golden oldie ‘Prosthetics’, much to the eager and raucous crowd’s approval. Their performance of ‘Custer’ was one of the set highlights, as front man Corey Taylor played with the audience before leading them into a full on aural assault. The new songs sounded beastly too – especially ‘All Out Life’. On record it sounds similar to their ‘IOWA’ days, but in a live setting it feels like an entirely different beast. It feels angrier, more full of pain and angst – something the crowd lapped up and used as energy to further fuel the pits. Closing their set with ‘Spit It Out’ and ‘Surfacing’ was the ultimate ending – the former providing yet another historical record breaking number of greebos sitting down in a field at the same time, and the latter providing those very same greebos with one final opportunity to release every last drop of adrenaline in their systems. Slipknot are a machine built for festivals, and this Download performance was a testament to that. They couldn’t have been more perfect if they tried. [DS]