Friday 13th June 2008

 

In days gone by, Donington Park's 'Monsters of Rock' was the ultimate heavy metal festival, but nowadays Download festival caters for all things alternative, with rockers, death metallers, emos and even indies, all having something to look forward to on the bill. For metalheads like myself, there was certainly enough to keep entertained for the 3 days.

 

The first job of the festival was to find the 3rd stage, this year entitled the Gibson stage. This was of course to witness the performance of Greek metallers FIREWIND, the only power metal band to make it onto this year's bill. With young virtuoso guitarist Gus G on the top of his game, FIREWIND were always going to impress and with only 25 minutes, they still managed to leave their mark on the festival with a terrific performance, rounded off by the spellbinding 'Till The End of Time'.

 

With news that KID ROCK had pulled out due to illness, the DISTURBED main stage performance was moved forward. With a brand new layout for the festival this year, the main stage sits at the bottom of a sloped field, which makes for a cool natural amphitheatre. As for DISTURBED, well, they're a band who have always sounded a little too one dimensional for my liking, but the mosh-pit for 'Down With The Sickness' was going to take some beating.

 

Next up were the mighty MOTORHEAD. There isn't a lot you can say about a MOTORHEAD live show that hasn't already been said. It was fast, it was raw and in its simplest form, this was pure 'rock'n'roll'. All the most important classics were present in the set, with former guitarist Wurzel joining the band for a rip-roaring performance of 'Ace of Spades'.

 

"The Priest is back" - those were the words of frontman Rob Halford as British metal titans JUDAS PRIEST returned for their first Donington show in 28 years. With their grandiose new concept album 'Nostradamus' hitting the streets just a few days after the gig, this was a perfect chance for the band to regain some spotlight, and they duly succeeded in doing so after delivering a blistering set.

 

The likes of 'Breaking the Law' and 'You've Got Another Thing Comin' had everybody singing along - but also, some of the lesser played classics like 'Hell Patrol' and 'Dissident Aggressor' sounded awesome through the huge Donington PA. It goes without saying that Halford returned to the stage for the encore riding a motorcycle, with 'Hell Bent For Leather' soon to follow. A great show from the priest, and judging by the quality of the 2 new songs played in the set, 'Nostradamus' is certainly going to be a CD worth picking up.

 

It was now time for the ultimate live band. KISS are the kind of band that define the word legendary, and even though only 2 original members remain, they are still one of the biggest crowd-pulling rock bands on the planet. This European tour is to celebrate the band's 35 year anniversary, and to mark the occasion, the classic 1974 live album 'Alive' is being performed in it's entirety.

 

After the 'Alive' set was brought to a close with 'Rock 'n' Roll All Nite' - the band returned to perform numerous more songs, taking the setlist well past the 2 hour mark. As can be expected from KISS, the stage show was absolutely awesome. Of course, we had Gene Simmon's spitting blood and fire-breathing, Tommy Thayer doing his best Ace Frehley impression, shooting rockets out of his guitar, and then the best of all, Paul Stanley flying into the crowd to perform 'Love Gun' from the top of the sound desk. These are the kind of stunts that you'll never get bored of seeing, and ultimately they are what make a KISS show what it is.

 

As darkness set in, 'Detroit Rock City' brought a rousing close to day 1 of the festival. As a headline act, KISS cannot be topped. Donington wanted the best, and they damn well got it!

 

Saturday 14th June 2008

 

The early part of Saturday's line-up didn't have much to offer to metal fans, with it being the middle of the afternoon when AMON AMARTH took to the Tuborg stage to deliver their pummeling brand of Viking death metal. Under the new lay out, the Tuborg stage is now fully outdoor, sitting on the huge tarmac ground where Donington market is usually held - this was much better than the sweat box that was last year's Dimebag Darrell stage.

 

This was easily the biggest show AMON AMARTH had ever played in the UK, and although their music was undoubtedly too heavy for some, the melodies of the likes of 'Death in Fire' and 'Cry of the Blackbird' cannot be faulted. After saluting the crowd with their Viking horns, the band were probably off to find the nearest pub to watch their beloved Swedish football team in action, who had just kicked off a Euro 2008 game against Spain.

 

Staying put at the Tuborg stage, it was now time for the second dose of KISS style rock'n'roll, with original 'spaceman' guitarist ACE FREHELY performing with his solo band. The set was a good mix of Frehley-penned KISS classics like 'Cold Gin' and 'Parasite' - plus the best of Frehley's solo career, with 'Snowblind' particularly impressive, alongside the sing-a-long moment of 'New York Groove'.

 

Throughout the set, Frehley resisted commenting on the fact that he was playing at the same festival as KISS and instead concentrated on delivering a top drawer show, rounded off with 'Shock Me' and the legendary guitar solo with the smoking guitar effect. Frehley is a true legend, and it's a genuine shame that he wasn't on the main stage 18 hours earlier!

 

Next up it was a trip down to the Gibson stage to see SAXON, whilst managing to catch the last couple of songs of the BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE main stage set on route - and judging by the amount of dust flying above the front of the crowd, I can only imagine what carnage was caused in the mosh pits. A real shame that they clashed with Ace - oh well, there'll never be a multi-stage festival where you'll get to see every band you want to!

 

Within minutes of SAXON being on stage, you could tell that they were absolutely loving being back at Donington. This is the only band who've actually written a song about the Donington festival, after performing at 'Monsters of Rock' in 1980 and 1982. That song was 'And The Band's Played On', which was unsurprisingly chosen to end tonight's (far too brief) 40 minute set - in front of what was a massive third stage crowd. A more surpising choice was set opener 'Atilla the Hun' - which was one of 2 songs played from 2007's 'Inner Sanctum' album. The rest of the set was of course made up of the essential classics, with 'Princess of the Night' being a major highlight.

 

SAXON are a good, honest British heavy metal band - and it was absolutely awesome to see them back at such a major festival. The tour with MOTORHEAD later in the year should be a real spectacle, with both bands offering great sets to the Donington crowd.

 

The Gibson stage's headline act tonight were thrash metal legends TESTAMENT, who were a hundred times more appealing than OFFSPRING who were the main stage headline. Given their 20+ year history, it was amazing to think that this was the first time TESTAMENT had performed at Donington - but with an outstanding new album out, TESTAMENT are on top form, and were certainly intending to make-up for lost time.

 

With 'Into the Pit' appearing early in the set, the crowd quickly stirred up into a moshing frenzy - and the madness continued through the likes of 'Practice What You Preach' and 'Disciples of the Watch'. The magnificent 'Alone In The Dark' brought a close to the set 75 minute set - and the Gibson tent ended up looking like a battle field. This was definitely the most intense show of the weekend, and the only people who left day 2 without severe neck ache, were those who had chosen not to witness the destruction of the mighty TESTAMENT.

 

Sunday 15th June 2008

 

In terms of the schedule, Sunday was definitely going to be the busiest day, with good rock and metal bands dominating the main stage and Tuborg stage line-ups. For those who had recovered from the TESTAMENT set in time, the day started with more break-neck trash metal, provided on the Tuborg stage by MUNICIPAL WASTE. With a strong punk influence also prevalent in their music, the 'Waste really do rip through their songs at an alarming speed. The highlight of the set was when the surf board was thrown into the audience, and some brave (or just very drunken) fools, starting surfing above the crowd. It was all a great bit of fun, and MUNICIPAL WASTE certainly kept up their reputation as a killer festival band.

 

Resisting the lure of throwing bottles at rapper LETHAL BIZZLE, it was a quick dash to the main stage for BLACK STONE CHERRY - one of the most promising young bands to come out of the USA in recent years. Their set went down an absolute storm, with a huge crowd present. Set closer 'Lonely Train' was one of the songs of the weekend, and with a make-or-break second album due this year - these are exciting times for BLACK STONE CHERRY.

 

It was then back to the Tuborg to see aging Aussie rockers ROSE TATTOO, who's half an hour set was warmly received, with Angry Anderson as amusing as ever with his between songs chit chat. Even if you're not familiar with ROSE TATTOO's material, it's very easy to get into it, and you quickly find yourself singing along to the choruses of the likes of 'Bad Boy For Love' and 'Nice Boys Don't Play Rock 'n' Roll'. This was a very enjoyable set, and ROSE TATTOO are a great feel-good rock band to have on at a festival.

 

After performing on the second stage for a few times in the past, it was now time for Dowload to give Dutch symphonic metallers WITHIN TEMPTATION a chance to impress on the main stage. The stage set was almost as expansive as that of KISS, with two burning torches, and numerous black angel statues - WITHIN TEMPTATION were certainly not taking this show lightly!

 

For me, Sharon den Adel has the most angelic voice in metal, and she was in fine form today, looking sparkling in her red stage outfit. Again 40 minutes was not enough for such a great band, but they made what they could of it, with brilliant songs like 'The Heart of Everything' sending shivers down my spine. The only disappointing moment of the set was the performance of 'What Have You Done' with Keith Caputo's vocals on a backing tape, with a video of him singing on the big screens. For me this wasn't exactly very 'rock 'n' roll, and if one of the male members of the band can't have a go at it, then they should play a different song.

 

Following swiftly on the main stage were Gothenburg's finest IN FLAMES - kicking off with the excellent 'Cloud Connected'. This is band who have done very well in the UK in recent years, and such popularity was evident with the number of fists in the air as fans screamed out the choruses. For me they're not the best band in the world, but they are a band who consistently put out decent albums, and consistently put on great live gigs - with today being no exception.

 

With the main stage done and dusted for me, it was a trek over to the Tuborg stage to watch the final three acts of the weekend - the first of which were Geordie rockers THE WILDHEARTS - returning to Donington, 14 years after their last appearance headlining the 2nd stage at the first ever multi-stage Donington festival. Today's show was a bit weird. Frontman Ginger had obviously had a drink of something strong before the show as he babbled on for minutes at a time in between songs, and although what he was saying was funny, the chit chat severely cut into the set time, and ultimately the band were switched off and pulled off stage half way just moments into their final song.

 

Throughout the set, Ginger encouraged fans to "throw anything you have on to the stage" - and much to the security's despair, the crowd duly obliged. Ginger really must be a gluten for punishment! Anyway, while all this was going on, the WILDHEARTS did manage to play a bit of music, and while it lasted, the fast paced party rock of 'Caffeine Bomb' and 'I Wanna Go Where The People Go' were worthy of a big thumbs up!

 

After the stage was cleaned up, CHILDREN OF BODOM arrived, armed with a 50 minute set of the very best in Finish melodic death metal. Frontman and lead guitar shredder supreme, Alexi Laiho was in sparkling form, reveling in performing in front of such a massive UK crowd. Fortunately, the sound was really good for the set, and the technicalities in songs like 'Hate Crew Deathroll' and the haunting 'Angels Don't Kill' were picked up for all to hear.

 

There was a great moment in the set where the opening part of JOURNEY's 'Don't Stop Believin' was played, and although the band probably only did it to take the piss, the crowd actually loved it with many people singing along. This preceded the final song of the set, with traditional set closer 'Downfall' signing off Bodom's impressive show.

 

So on to the final band of Download 2008 - and although we may never see a fully blown SEPULTURA reunion, this might be a close as we ever do get. CAVALERA CONSIPIRACY brings back together the legendary Cavalera brothers, Max and Igor - and with a great album under their belt, this headline show promised to be a spectacle and half. SEPULTURA fans really were in heaven for the next hour and a half.

 

The setlist was awesome, with all the best songs from the 'Inflikted' album present - all of which worked really well live. Then of course, we had a huge array of SEPULTURA classics, ranging their entire Max Cavalera era career. 'Troops of Doom', 'Arise', 'Refuse-Resist', 'Territory', 'Propaganda' - you name it, they all seemed to be in there. This really was great stuff, and it was impossible to keep your head still during the set.

 

The biggest mosh-pit of the weekend was left to the very last song as a pit almost the size of a football pitch opened up for 'Roots Bloody Roots'. What a way to end the festival, a festival that had once again enjoyed great weather, a great crowd, and some memorable performances from some of the world's top bands. Many a metalhead critic will say that the line-up has been too saturated now with bands like LOSTPROPHETS headlining - but ultimately the Download festival is still a great weekend out. This scribe for sure is going home well and truly satisfied.

  

Festival Rating: 4.5/5.0

 

Best Bands:

 

KISS: 4.9/5.0

TESTAMENT: 4.8/5.0

JUDAS PRIEST: 4.8/5.0

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY: 4.7/5.0

WITHIN TEMPTATION: 4.6/5.0

 

Review by James Allman

 

Photography by Alexander Shaw

 

Saturday 14th June 2008

 

TESTAMENT

 

 

SAXON

 

 

ACE FREHLEY

 

 

AMON AMARTH

 

 

Sunday 15th June 2008

 

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY

 

 

THE WILDHEARTS

 

 

ROSE TATTOO