SUNDAY
The bands just start too early on Sunday, and it means that unfortunately Blitz Kids are missed, in spite of being a band I was looking forward to seeing live itll have to be a tour instead. Cancer Bats are now the first concern of the day, so its to the main stage to watch these Canadians pretty much obliterate most peoples hangovers. As if making up for the weather that cancelled their set last year, the band tear through songs spanning the majority of their output so far and their cover of Beastie Boys Sabotage for good measure too. The perfect riffs to start the day and get the nicest weather of the weekend in full swing. Being somewhere between not at all and barely familiar with The Ghost Inside does not hinder my appreciation of their set on the Zippo stage. With punishing breakdowns and pounding riffs, the bands metal heavy hardcore incites some of the most pit friendly anthems of the weekend, and the crowd arent afraid of showing that. A first, real, impression that is definitely going to last beyond finding myself throwing my head backwards and forwards in a field as a one off. http://youtu.be/wzS5-AjJ71E Continuing the afternoons theme of hardcore, its on from Cancer Bats on the main stage, through The Ghost Inside on the Zippo stage, to Brutality Will Prevail on the Pepsi Max Stage. Not to discontinue the trend of impressive sets, Welsh hardcore titans, BWP arent shy with bludgeoning the crowds with relentless riffs, breakdowns, barked orders, a hat stealing crowd surf from their lead vocalist and a guest spot by Liam from Cancer Bats who announces how he f**king loves this band. So does the gathered crowd. Back to the main stage, to keep up this successful succession of sets, its the mighty metalcore punch of Parkway Drive. Catching them live for the first time, after having been familiar with them since hearing their debut on repeat in a mates car around the time it came out, but really getting sold on them with their last two albums; especially last years Atlas. Suffice to say they put on a tight show and really know how to whip up the pit. Given their positioning on the main stage, this could be the real start of them exploding beyond the hardcore and metalcore scenes that adore them. Stone Sour take to the main stage soon after, possessing perhaps one of the biggest crowds of this weekend and not just that but an entire crowd enthralled to the band, but more specifically Corey Taylor. Having already commanded a crowd Friday, he commands another today, in the manner fitting of a king. Even right to the back by the food stalls the crowd respond to his interactions and orders, but this is not the aggressive, yet caring, military leader Corey of Slipknots performance, this is the humble and star-struck by his own audience Corey of Stone Sour. Whether its the gathered masses singing every word to him, especially when he sits with an acoustic on his own, that leads to him stopping in awe or his sincere gratitude for rapturous applause, he cant help but warm the crowd to him wishing happy birthday to girl in the front with a sign informing of it leaves the girl on the big screens screaming, and almost in tears with joy. Theres also a shout out to Black Sabbath and a cover of Children of the Grave, which seems to show Corey just likes to let people know theyve done a good job. http://youtu.be/GIzDsGyxsQM That considerably sized crowd of crowds start to depart once Stone Sour, and some continue to do so during The Gaslight Anthem. You see, apparently most people wanted to watch Airbourne unceremoniously rip off AC/DC instead of enjoying what The Gaslight Anthem had to offer, and plenty they had to offer too. While theyre an unusual band for Download, especially at this time on the main stage, it doesnt really make sense, they are a great band and its a shame most seemed uninterested in their indie and Americana inflect rock. However, those who stayed got to enjoy a sunny afternoon set, that offered up big choruses, bright melodies and just generally good feelings, even if the sound wasnt that great. They did play a Misfits cover too, in the shape of Astro Zombies, which went some way to swaying the unconverted. A Day To Remember can pretty much lay claim to owning the Zippo stage, and another of one of the most fun sets of the weekend. Seeming to steadily be rising and rising in popularity, the band pull in an impressively huge crowd for the second stage (perhaps because 30 Seconds To Mars are on) who get into it every bit as much as those down in the pit. The winning formula of pop-punk, hardcore, honest to god pop and breakdowns is just the right medication for anyone still suffering their hangover Sunday blues. As if to had to sense of fun the band have a friend dressed as an Angry Bird firing a t-shirt cannon into the crowd, a mass of white balls rolled over the pit, a well orchestrated toilet roll display that bombards the crowd from their friends on stage (and seemingly from plants in the audience), alongside an incitement to get the crowd stand on other crowd surfers to create genuine crowd surfing. http://youtu.be/CN4IIgFz93k Opting out of Rammstein was based on the fact that I had seen them previously, I had never seen Limp Bizkit, Id still be able to catch the last hour of Rammstein and it was f**king Limp Bizkit. In the filler time as the band start a little late, the trend of 'boobcam' continues. So much so that the bands intro music is almost ignored by the camera man as he continues hunting for girls to flash; Wez Borland arrives on stage almost unnoticed. Regardless, that red cap aficionado arrives in stage sporting a hefty beard and so too do the band before erupting into Rollin. The sets off to an explosive start, but Durst asks the crowd early on whos going to see Rammstein and a number of the crowd cheer. This becomes a recurrent theme from there out as a significant portion of the crowd disperse with Rammsteins stage time nearing not helped when they start and in the corner of everyones eyes between the trees the biggest firework and pyro display of the weekend makes its presence known. Even though the band play an impressive best of set, though three covers seems too many (Faith on its own would be fine), it appears Fred Durst is not happy and songs are drawn out in quiet sections along with periods of silence or noodling between songs. Try as the crowd might, the band, or at least Fred Durst, become more lacklustre as if testing the crowds loyalty something that does them no favours. Still in time for the second half of Rammsteins set though, which contains the majority of the classic songs youd want to hear; all is certainly not lost. Even more impressive than when I saw them on their Reise Reise tour when it hit Cardiff International Arena; theres more fire, more explosions, more fireworks, more gimp torture, more boiling pots, more people on fire, more simulated sex and far more synthetic ejaculative being sprayed all over the crowd. There isnt a lot that can be said about a Rammstein set other than it is both reliably insane and efficient, as the Germans do best. The crowd remain completely in awe through the entire set, even singing words many dont know the meaning of, marching, saluting and moshing. All the while the band generally sign off Download with the biggest, baddest, flamethrowingest set of the weekend no one couldve done it better. http://youtu.be/kIBeYoP9Wi0 I say that, though who knows what next year will hold? Well have to wait and see, but in the mean time, for those who braved reading much of that badly written drivel; I really am sorry my brain, he is not functioning.