It's a typical rainy June day in Derbyshire and 90000 people are crammed into a muddy field . This can only mean one thing: Download Festival is back for another year of moshing, headbanging and chaos.
After being unable to perform last year due to the diabolical weather conditions,
Rise To Remain [6/10] finally get the opportunity to open the main stage today and consequently the entire festival, and they do a pretty good job. Whilst most people in the crowd aren't here for them, Austin Dickinson's positive attitude encourages no hesitance to open up several mosh pits within the first few lines of
Heartless. He embraces the crowd as friends, and openly admits his awareness that the majority of them do not know any of their songs. He is not perturbed by this aspect in the slightest and his optimism encourages most people to chant the words "over and over" along to their new song,
Over and Over. By no means does their performance stand out as anything special, but it's enough to get everyone hyped for the next three days and anxious to release more energy.
Second come Brighton boys,
Architects [7/10], who walk on stage and burst straight into
Alpha Omega. No strangers to the British metal scene, the band are greeted with the acclamation of mosh pits to which vocalist Sam Carter is delighted. Things get even more crazy when the band debut the live version of their new stunningly heavy track
Black Blood and all hell breaks lose. Every song that follows is also performed with as much force and malevolence, making their sole 30 minutes on stage unforgettable. Whilst Sam's stage persona remains aggressive as is typical of the genre, he comes across as a very genuine guy and shows his appreciation by sincerely thanking the crowd for their enthusiasm after they play their final song,
These Colours Don't Run, where the crowd energetically show that they haven't yet released all their mentality.
Performing for the first time on the main stage,
Asking Alexandria [6/10] prove that they are now certainly worthy of this position. Danny Worsnop's vocals seem to improve with every show and he also seems genuinely happy to be here. A definite bonus coming from an infamous egomaniac. The crowds' shouts along to their lyrics are deafening, being particularly energetic when they play their most recognised hit,
The Final Episode and lyrical beauty
Someone, Somewhere. Things get even more exciting when they play their new, more mature songs
The Death Of Me and
Run Free, as more people are influenced to join in the excitement. Their only fault is the lack of heavier crowd favourites
Not The American Average and
A Prophecy, a definite mistake in front of a crowd consisting of a lot of older metalheads who are reluctant to be convinced that the likes of Asking Alexandria are to be taken seriously.
Over at the smaller Pepsi Max stage,
Motionless In White [6/10] grace the stage in the late afternoon to a surprisingly small crowd, despite the number of people around sporting their t-shirts. Thankfully Chris Motionless is no man to be disheartened by such a thing and the band pack as much punch as if they were playing the final night of a headlining, sold-out arena tour. They open with
Devil's Night, instantly exciting the crowd, resulting in the muddy ground shaking and the bass violently echoing outside of the tent. Other favourites such as
Abigail are also delivered with passion and received brilliantly by the crowd, and everyone is satisfied, if worn out, when they end with the final chords of
Immaculate Misconception.
Of course, it would be difficult for any band to open for main stage headliners Slipknot, but
Bullet For My Valentine [8/10] do so perfectly. This being their seventh time playing Download Festival, they are welcomed by the dedicated Donnington crowd. With their chugging guitar riffs, flawless breakdowns and Matt Tuck's stylised metal vocals, they subsequently demonstrate to everyone that they themselves are more than ready to headline in the near future. They control the crowd easily; providing material for both old and new fans, their setlist varies from classic
Waking The Demon to title track of their newest album
Temper Temper. Needless to say, when the band end their set with
Tears Don't Fall the crowd chanting along is deafening and almost mesmerising.
During the interlude between Bullet and Slipknot, a few tears are shed as the fans pay tribute to the fallen of the last year including Mitch Lucker, Ray Manzarek, Jeff Hanneman and Chi Cheng; all who are met with ear-splitting applause and cheers. Just another example that, unlike at other festivals, the crowd are here because they honestly love the music.
A huge white curtain hiding the stage from sight whilst Slipknot's haven is constructed, everyone's becoming a bit restless with anticipation. When an obscure, country tune (Billie Jo Spears'
Get Behind Me Satan And Push)
starts to play, many people seem a bit confused, but as the curtain falls the roar of the crowd is agonising as
Slipknot [10/10] walk on stage to
Disasterpiece for the first time since 2009. An explosion of fireworks, flames and masked members running around each other going mental, it's impossible to decide where to look, or what to do except jump, scream and hope you don't get crushed by the 7ft bearded man moshing beside you.
Their epic 1 hour 50 minutes set consisting of 20 songs makes everyone else seem a bit mediocre, but it's the devoted crowd who truly make their performance. The singalongs to anthems such as
Wait and Bleed,
Before I Forget and
Pulse Of The Maggots are loud and chaotic, and on two occasions things get so insane that the barricade is broken. Rather than continuing because he's too metal to interrupt his show for the sake of a barrier, Corey Taylor instantly stops, insisting that no one will be hurt as long as he's around and gets everyone to shut up and step back so that Geoffrey the security guy can fix it. Often regarded as the "God of Download", he is the only frontman who holds this much power. He speaks and 90000 people revert to silence. But he respects them as much as they respect him, and talks to them as old friends. He even connects with everyone emotionally, as he tells the crowd that they're going to sing a song for their lost brother, Paul Gray, who is there with them all tonight and he dedicates
Duality to him, which receives the biggest and most beautiful singalong of the weekend.
Naturally, some of the famous highlights from their incredible 2009 headlining set are repeated, including the rampageous "jump the fuck up" at the beginning of
Spit It Out. Everything is so hectic and exciting that nobody even minds when it starts to rain during
Psychosocial, in fact it's somewhat surreal. When the band walk off stage leaving nothing but a hypnotic, burning Slipknot 'S', everyone is absolutely overwhelmed by what they've just experienced but it doesn't take the adrenaline-fueled crowd long to realise that they want more and the "SLIPKNOT, SLIPKNOT, SLIPKNOT" chants echo around the arena. They return and blow the place up with
(sic),
People =Shit and
Surfacing leaving everyone feeling euphoric before Corey tells the fans that Slipknot will see them again, a lot sooner than they think.
Slipknot were simply legendary, and successfully left people wondering what the other headliners could possibly do to be as good as them. They smashed Donnington to pieces, an immaculate opening to the weekend resulting in an uncontrollable ecstasy for the next few days.
