Download Festival 2016 Review: More Like Drownload...
Friday
As way too many campers continued to file into the fields looking for spaces that were all taken on Thursday (why they dont leave a couple of fields closed until Thursday and stagger the openings is beyond me - also BAN GAZEBOS), swaggering Swedes Royal Republic opened up with gusto. Their enthusiastic brand of fun poppy rock was a great match for the lying sun of the early hours, particularly on Tommy Gun - definitely one for dancing.
They were followed (quite perfectly matched actually) by Alien Ant Farm - the right kind of cobweb blowing mainstream rock to wake everyone up who was finally getting in from the car park logjams. Then a jump to the Encore stage saw classy retro rock Swedes Graveyard offer something entirely different (and great), until the bloody heavens opened and forced them off stage with lightning biting in the air.
Baby Metal on the Lemmy Stage heeded no such warning from the skies, offering their usual, irresistible slice of weirdness despite the river running in front of them. Say what you want, but theyre technically very good and theyre hard not to watch. Their show has polish and charm and they let the music talk, which is precisely the opposite of what obnoxious Killswitch Engage didnt do. Theyd have been great if they didnt act like such a-holes.
With the rain biting, the tents offered perfect respite, with the monumentally talented Kadavar warming up for the always brilliant Wildhearts (easily the best back to back of the day). That meant missing the Lemmy Tribute on the main stage, but we all have Youtube to rewatch that disappointing video package.
And before the pyros and industrial metal from Germany hit the main stage, it fell to Korn to beat off the rain enough to inspire everyone for the headliners. If youve seen Korn in the past few years youll know they did so incredibly well. Theyre showmen supreme, their musicianship is accomplished and they lost nothing in the rain or wind in terms of sound.
As for Rammstein? Fiery, fearsome, unfettered by the rain. Click here for our Rammstein Headliner review.
Click next for our full Saturday review...