Download Festival Day Two Review

A NEW day, a new set of (dry) clothes and a new hope that the rain would stay away - how wrong that last one was.

But the rain from above and rising mud from underneath failed to dampen my spirits as I went on to take in 17 bands across the course of another fantastic day of music.

I started the day (with a beer and) Shvpes - and the Birmingham boys bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the early slot in the Maverick tent. A decent start to the day.

Photo credit:

 

Ben Gibson

But things were ramped up even further on the Lemmy Stage as Beartooth - themselves in the Maverick tent last year - let rip.

They started with hit The Lines and never looked back as Caleb Shomo led the band through an excellent set that really connected with the crowd.

I then took in a bit of Black Peaks back in the Maverick who were also really good. There really is a big bunch of super-talented, heavy British bands emerging.

A bit past it, and taking me on a bit of a downer, were Atreyu on the Lemmy Stage. Their sing-along tracks offer nothing fresh or exciting. They weren't terrible, but they just didn't get my juices flowing like the earlier bands did.

It was the same with Danko Jones and Sixx:AM. Having caught a little, but not enough, of Turbowolf, I switched between DJ on the Maverick and Nikki Sixx's gang on the Lemmy Stage. The fact I did shows that neither did enough to capture my attention. Surely there is better than this.

But I was pulled out of my funk by a dose of Bury Tomorrow on the Encore Zippo Stage. The band came out to the Champions League theme music and then delivered a Champions League performance.

They killed it; each song connecting with the crowd. Frontman Daniel Winter-Bates' offer wait behind after to shake the hand of each and every audience member sealed Bury Tomorrow's place as a Download Festival favourite. Awesome stuff.

Things were a little mixed after that for yours truly. Escape The Fate were OK, Megadeth - with or without WWE legend Triple H - aren't my cup of tea, while Anti-Flag and Neck Deep offered something a little more exciting.

In between that latter two I had hoped to see the highly-rated Architects. But they were forced to pull out and while replacements Against The Current were solid, it wasn't what I had hoped to see at that time.

There were, however, highlights to come. Deftones - like they did at Sonisphere two years ago - absolutely slayed it with a superb performance on the Lemmy Stage. And Skindred are always enjoyable and made me for get about the rain - a little - over on the Zippo Encore.

I would return there after a short dabble watching England v Russia in Euro 2016 for a touch of NOFX, but then it was on to see Black Sabbath headline.

Like the night before, it was a little underwhelming. They played the hits. The musicianship is mindblowing and despite not always hitting the tune, Ozzy is still a force full of charisma.

But I was left feeling that the decision to wind things up after this one last tour is probably for the best. 

Jane's Addiction among 36 additions to Download

JANE'S Addiction, NOFX and Sixx:AM are among a batch of 36 bands have been added to the line-up for this year's Download Festival.

Alien Ant Farm, Amon Amarth, Anti-Flag and Bury Tomorrow will also join them at the three-day event at Donington Park in June.

Escape The Fate, Monster Truck, Graveyard, Municipal Waste, Hill Valley High, Turbowolf and Ashestoangels are also among those added to the bill.

This summer's festival will be headlined by Rammstein, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, with the likes of Korn, Disturbed and Deftones also playing.

Download's organisers have confirmed that Motorhead will now longer be playing following the sad death of frontman Lemmy Kilmister.

But they have named the main stage The Lemmy Stage and are working with the band's management on a tribute to the rock legend for what would have been Motorhead's slot on Friday, June 10th.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now, visit downloadfestival.co.uk for more.

Korn, Deftones and Disturbed added to Download bill

SIX more huge names have been announced for Download Festival 2016 incuding Korn, Deftones and Disturbed.

They were revealed by Radio 1's Dan Carter along with Motörhead, Nightwish and Megadeth.

Nu-metal legends Korn will support Rammstein on the festival's Friday night along with Lemmy and Co, while Deftones and Megadeth will precede Black Sabbath on Saturday.

Clearly that means Nightwish and Disturbed will be joining the bill for the Sunday night with Iron Maiden headlining at Donington in June.

You can get more details, including ticketing info, at download.co.uk

Sonisphere - Day Two review

Deftones' Chino says 'hi' to the crowd

SO day two quickly arrives and from first thing in the morning one thing is very evident - Maiden are definitely playing tonight.

At least every second person is wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt. I feel out of place. I knew they were big, but this is more - this is a cult.

But Tesseract are the opening band of the day on Apollo and with founding vocalist Daniel Tompkins back after a three-year break they tentatively build into good little set. They are then followed on the Saturn stage opposite by Scottish pirate metallers Alestorm - and by then the hangovers are blown away.

Babymetal win some new fans

Then comes the bizarre back on the Apollo - Japanese outfit Babymetal. Three dancing frontwomen with very high-pitched voices backed by chugging guitars. Nuts. Batshit crazy. The festival-goers I spoke to were split. Some thought it was awesome, others not so keen. Pokemon metal is the term I settled on.

But as the heavens opened I took my leave to the Bohemia tent to take in Calling All Cars and Voodoo Six - sorry Chas n Dave, but it was dry in there. 

Both bands did plenty to keep my interest though and it was a successful if previously unplanned diversion. That's what festivals are all about, right? Finding new bands too.

Anyway, the crazy continued on the Apollo as next up were costumed, Swedish doom merchants Ghost. They really don't float my boat so I quickly decided it was time for  lunch and drinks before a bit of Anthrax and next up after that for me was Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls.

Ghost - not a musical of the Patrick Swayze film

Frank was a weird fit to the weekend - which he admitted himself - with his acoustic country/folk/rock jangles out of place against many of the other chugging guitars and screaming vocals of many others on the bill.

He even jokingly introduced the crowd to an acoustic guitar.

He mentioned in the build-up to the festival and during his set that he is a massive Iron Maiden fan and grew up listening to metal and rock music - maybe he offered to do the gig for free in return for playing alongside his heroes. In any case, his set did come as a break from what had gone before and was coming later. Namely, mayhem.

Taking things back up a notch first were Hundred Reasons - back on the line-up two years after their cancelled appearance for the 10th anniversary of their Ideas Above Our Station album. They did the album in full and after a shaky start they found their groove.

In a day with a few oddities, another was soon upon us. Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and his Great War Display Team re-enacted a World War One dogfight in the skies above Knebworth for a full 15 minutes, complete with commentary. Maiden mascot Eddie was supposedly one of the rear gunners, but my eyesight wasn't up to the job of confirming that.

Frank Turner and his acoustic

The display was ended by the Band and Bugles of The Rifles playing the Last Post - and just a minute or so later Deftones were on the same stage blaring into their track Diamond Eyes.

They may have been a bit bemused, but Chino Moreno didn't let it show and put in a ferocious performance as he stalked the stage rasping out his vocals. It was a great set, but I was disappointed that my personal favourites Back To School and You've Seen The Butcher didn't feature. No matter.

Now we're into the business end of the evening and as Slayer played the Saturn stage, I stayed nearer the Apollo to get a good viewing spot for the big one - Iron Maiden.

Now. I'll be honest, I'm not a massive Maiden fan. I don't own any albums and don't really have the inclination to go buy any. But I appreciate their status as one of the iconic bands of rock and metal music. And from the vastly swollen crowd from the previous day, it was evident this was going to be one to remember.

Soon, a grounded Bruce was out on the stage as they opened with Moonchild, swiftly followed by Can I Play With Madness. The crowd was madness personified and Dickinson seemed to cover every inch of the stage as The Prisoner and 2 Minutes To Midnight followed.

Maiden ended up playing for around two hours - including three-song encore ending in Sanctuary. It was awesome.

My plan had been to follow this by attending the Kerrang disco starting at 1am. But after two days of booze, sun, seemingly infinite walking and loads of good music, I needed a rest. Plus there was another full day of music to come. But today would take some beating.

Click here to read my review of Day One if you missed it, or carry on to Day Three.

HIM and Anthrax added to Sonisphere line-up

THE powers that be have added another 16 bands to the bill for this year's Sonisphere festival - including a UK-exclusive performance from Finnish metallers HIM.

And bass player Mige is really pepped for the show. He said: "It'll be fun and possibly out of control, you'll see. There will be smoke, lights and psychedelia. Sweat and zealotry. Men will cry. It's going to be fucking emotionado."

Thrash legends Anthrax have also announced they will be playing an additional set at the festival in July.

Also added to the bill are Comeback Kid, Sweet Savage, October File, Eureka Machines, The Bots, Straight Lines, Zico Chain, Black Dogs, Love Zombies and Stormzone.

 
Brighton math rockers Shrine are also excited about signing up. They said: "We are so stoked that we will be playing this years Sonisphere Festival along with some of our favourite bands!”

New Zealand's Rival State, The Wild Lies, The Raven Age and Empire Kill make up the new actors on the bill.

The festival takes place at Knebworth Park on July 4th to 6th with The Prodigy, Iron Maiden and Metallica headlining with the likes of Limp Bizkit, Deftones and Alice In Chains in support.

For the full line-up and ticket details visit sonisphere.co.uk

14 more acts added to Sonisphere line-up

Gary Numan

SONISPHERE 2014 is building up to be one of the festivals of the year and another 14 acts have been added to the bill.

Gary Numan is the latest star name to join the line-up for the three-day rock fest at Knebworth in July and he will be joined by Band Of Skulls, New Model Army, Gallows, Carcass, The Winery Dogs, The Bronx and Sebastian Bach.

Chiodos, 65daysofstatic, Bam Margera, Little Matador, The Lounge Kittens and Anti-Nowhere League will also be playing the event.

Little Matador singer Nathan Connolly said: "Knebworth is such an iconic place and to be part of the 40 years of rock history will be an honour. We promise to crank it up as loud as we can."

Iron Maiden, Metallica and The Prodigy headline Sonisphere 2014 alongside Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Alice In Chains and many more.

You can get the full line-up and ticketing details at sonisphere.co.uk

Deftones and Frank Turner join Sonisphere bill

AS Sonisphere 2014 gets ever nearer on the horizon, the organisers of the festival have added another draft of acts to the bill including the awesome Deftones.

The band's drummer Abe Cunningham said: "We are absolutely stoked to be part of Sonisphere's return and, of course, to have a chance to once again play a show with Iron Maiden - especially on the hallowed grounds of Knebworth."

Also added to the line-up are Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, along with Reel Big Fish, Protest The Hero, Alestorm, Truckfighters, Kerbdog, Only Crime, Blitz Kids, Itch, Max Raptor and Hounds.

Turner, who answered questions on Iron Maiden on his Celebrity Mastermind appearance earlier this year, said: "I'm super excited to be playing the same stage as the first band I ever fell in love with - Iron Maiden."

Sonisphere 2014 takes place at Knebworth on July 4th to 6th and for more details, visit sonisphere.co.uk

Six new acts added to Reading and Leeds line up

SIX new acts have been confirmed for this year's Reading and Leeds Festival.

Radio 1's Zane Lowe was given the exclusive announcement of Biffy Clyro signing up as headliners for the festival - the only one the Scottish trio will play in the UK this year.

The band recently launched their double-album Opposites.

Festival organisers have also secured two major US bands with both System Of A Down and the newly reformed Fall Out Boy also added to the line up, along with Foals, Jake Bugg and Bring Me The Horizon.

They join a number of other artists confirmed for the festival on August 23-25 including headliner Eminem, Alt-J, Deftones, Boy Better Know and Sub Focus, with more acts yet to come.

Tickets are available from www.readingfestival.com or www.leedsfestival.com