Download 2010 Reviewed

TWO BOYS, ONE FESTIVAL

Stephane: Something or someone tried to jinx me and stop me from going to Download this year. Firstly my ticket almost fell through and then my ride up to Donnington was stolen. Argh! Thankfully a replacement was found.

Oz: The general consensus from the fans this year was that the line-up was a disappointment, which is not too hard to grasp seeing as last year’s was a 14 year old’s wet-dream. 2010 also brought a year marked by the passing of many rock legends such as Ronnie James Dio, Paul Grey and Pete Steele. There was a moving memorial to all the lost metal heroes on the main stage on the Friday night which probably got a louder applause than any of the bands managed to acheieve.

Stephane: Excitement begins to pump as we reach the campsite and set up for the weekend of mayhem. The first night began pretty heavily as we all got into the spirit of things and once the guest bar had opened we were rolling in the booze. I don’t recall heading to bed but I’m sure daylight was coming up once I had crashed. Friday morning was a good start. Considering I hardly slept I felt pretty good and decided to have a look around. How, I don’t know, but managed to sneak to the main stage before everything kicked off for the day, and caught a glimpse of AC/DC’s stage. They seriously went all out. The bell was up. So was the train and not to mention those cannons and a sound system double that of the main stage.

Stephane: The first day didn’t kick off till 3pm. Unearth started off which I missed… too busy eating. But I caught 36 Crazyfists. Having been a fan for many years it was great that they didn’t disappoint, playing all the hits including their well know Slit Wrist Theory. Brock Lindow’s vocals kicked ass and got that crowd moshing like 14 year old kids! Things only got better when Howard Jones from Killswitch Engage joined Brock on stage for a song. Guess it seemed logical, as KE were the next band after and what I saw was impressive work. They seem to get tighter every time I watch them and Howard always rocks out with a smile on his face. After the crowd went metal during My Curse, screaming away to the lyrics, guitarist Adam opened their last song with a fitting tribute to Ronnie James Dio.

Oz: Bullet For My Valentine headlined the second stage on the Friday and put on a rather disappointing performance. Compared to Trivium’s Sunday night slot last year, I expected more from them. In the middle of their set I was comfortable standing with a friend, sipping a beer smack bang in the middle of a huge circle pit. The pit consisted of three teenagers flailing their arms about, and my friend and I sipping our drinks slowly, discussing in a quiet tone how much more we were expecting. Being able to stand unmoved in a mosh pit for a whole show sums up how muted the crowd response was, however not much can be said about the band’s performance. It was tight and relatively energetic, just looks like the crowd weren’t in the mood for it!

Stephane: I’ve never seen AC/DC before and was seriously excited finally get the chance to witness pure musical magic! With all the stage props I knew this was going to be a hell of a show. The opener started off with (quite kinky) animated visuals of the train. Talk about the excitement and tension. There must have been just over half of the Download punters there going mental. The fireworks and smoke machines went off and Rock N’ Roll Train is the opener with more explosions, smoke and fireworks and huge train appearing on the stage, a truly amazing thing to witness! Angus Young strolls out in his trademark outfit and dance moves and everyone chants his name while vocalist Brian Johnson runs onto the extended stage like a teen on acid. When halfway through the set the giant bell lowers down we all knew what was coming… Brian charges towards the bell, he lunges and swings from the rope and Hells Bells starts. By nightfall the stage looked even more impressive with the insane amount of lighting and smoke machines and they give a great ending with those crazy cannons that filled the sky with confetti.

Stephane: By Saturday festival spirit was high. Caught a glimpse of Flyleaf as I made my way to the second stage to catch My Passion. Can’t say I was very impressed with Flyleaf. The crowd seemed small and the sound (mainly the vocals) just didn’t do it for me. My Passion, on the other hand, really did take me by surprise. They put on a show full of energy and excitement, looking honestly happy to be there. They didn’t have the biggest crowd but those that were there were going insane. All of them played exceptionally well and lead vocalist Laurence even gave a show of his private areas as his leather pants tore when he did mid air splits. None of the female crowd seemed to complain though.

Stephane: I chose to stick around for Cancer Bats knowing from previous experience they have put on some awesome shows. But for some reason I felt a tad let down by it. Musically they played well but their performance felt a little halfhearted, lacking that fury they usually possess. Heading back to the main stage for some serious metal, Lamb of God was just raw. Power aggression and to top it off I was hitting that mosh pit. This is metal at its purest.

Stephane: Another highlight was the Deftones. I ended up watching the set alone and I’m glad I drifted in my own world of melodic guitar riffs and vocal effects. They switched from the old harder sound to their newer melodic style and it really set off some emotional moods around me. Everyone was loving the new tracks, but it was definitely mostly the White Pony album tracks people were longing for.

Oz: Rage Against The Machine were the highlight of the festival for me and probably for many others. Their irrevocable brand of revolutionary Rap-Metal struck a chord on Saturday night with the thousands of fans that braved the cold to watch their whole set. Zack de la Rocha’s speech focussed on Israel and the Palestinians, with a bold call for people to rise up against Israeli aggression and for the freedom of Gaza. They were encouraged by huge cheers from the crowd showing their message is still as potent today as it was 10 years ago.

Stephane: By Sunday my body was giving up on me. I had no energy left to really party out so I watched Cinderella – who had a good crowd going although most were probably 20 years older than me – and Slash from further back. Slash played well, getting though of his G’n'R classics, however it didn’t feel like a solo gig, more like just another band that Slash plays guitar in, not helped by the impression that Miles Kennedy (former Alter Bridge vocalist and Slash’s touring vocalist) and Slash were competing.

Oz: Stone Sour were also worth noting as they headlined the second stage on the Sunday night. Corey Taylor was often drowned out by the chants of “Paul Grey” by thousands of fans still in mourning over the shocking death of the Slipknot bassist. Taylor was clearly moved and broke down in tears several times during his performance. Looking up to the sky and stating “this is for my friend” he sang Bother on stage alone, crying throughout the whole song and it was literally the most moving performance I have ever witnessed, moving many of the crowd to tears.

Stephane: This weekend we were told it was going to rain. When it didn’t it was like a blessing. Spoke too soon. By the time Billy Idol came on the skies had opened and a shower of rain poured for hours on end flooding everything in sight. Spent the next four hours hoping it would stop. Never did and my ride back decided it was time to leave. So I was home tucked in bed before Aerosmith even finished. Pretty gutted about that. But there is always next time I guess and bring on Download 2011!

Words by Stephane Chaveau and Oz Katerji