It's the second day of Download 2013 and everyone's feeling great. Not just because they're hilariously drunk or the fact that Slipknot were unbelievable last night, but thankfully the weather's looking a lot brighter today.
Mid-afternoon at the Pepsi Max stage, recently-signed Heart Of A Coward [9/10] from Milton Keynes are preparing for the most important show of their career so far. Whilst clashing with Alice In Chains is going to make it difficult for them to reach a more metal-experienced fan base, they are met with deafening cheers by their few dedicated fans who have shown up, and it's not long until everyone else in the tent is joining in. With ease they get the whole crowd jumping and headbanging, vocalist Jamie Graham showing more aggression and hostility than many of the bigger bands. Eventually the tent is overflowing as people are tempted in by their unique sound, intelligent lyrics and stunningly heavy breakdowns. Around A Girl (In 80 Days) and Shade receive insanely positive reactions from the crowd, and when they play the track that signed them, Deadweight, the place shakes like a bomb has been dropped. If there's any justice in the world, Heart Of A Coward will be a lot higher on the lineup next year.
Following them are Bury Tomorrow [8/10] from Southampton, who are slowly working their way up to main stage with their catchy choruses and exceptional breakdowns. Adrenaline pulsing after Heart Of A Coward, the crowd looks like a tornado of band shirts, beanies and muddy wellies mere seconds into fan-favourite Lionheart. Vocalists Dan Winter-Bates and Jason Cameron barely let anyone pause for breath, influencing everyone to mosh like it's the last day of your life by comparing each side of the tent, and telling one that they're not doing it hard enough. This little competition results in riots during You & I and Royal Blood, as well as a sit down and jump up tribute to last night's headliners Slipknot. The thunderous crowd singalong to An Honourable Reign doesn't really seem worth mentioning after all the bedlam. With their refreshing sound, along with their uncanny enthusiasm, Bury Tomorrow show that the British metal scene is still very much alive.
Over at the Zippo Encore stage are Jimmy Eat World [7/10], who provide a pleasant break from all the craziness with their happy and upbeat melodies that you can't help but sing along to. They may seem tame compared to the bands usually on stage here, but they show exactly why they deserve the slot with classics such as Bleed American and The Middle to which everyone knows the words. Their cheerful, friendly persona also keeps keeps the crowd amused, and with the sun shining down you almost forget that you're actually at a metal festival in the UK. They cover a good setlist consisting of their most well known songs and show a lot of spirit; the exact two qualities that you want at a festival.
Second stage headliners Enter Shikari [9/10] may seem like an odd choice surrounding all the heavy metal and deathcore bands with their electronic drum and bass sound, but they put on a spectacular show to possibly the most hectic crowd yet. When they come on stage to System... Rou Reynolds is almost inaudible due to the whole crowd chanting along and when ...Meltdown kicks in the energy that many people must have been conserving all day is released in the form of several gigantic and chaotic circle pits. They only break off for a moment so that people can clap along to Sorry, You're Not A Winner and then continue again at full force. Later this all proves to be the calm before the storm, as during Juggernauts and Gandhi Mate, Gandhi there are such an overwhelming number of crowd surfers that security are gasping for breath and you're lucky if you don't take a wellington to the face. When they debut their new song, Radiate, you can't even tell that no one has heard it before, because everything is just as insane.
Infamous for being, well, absolutely mental live, the band also keep everyone visually entertained with several antics: Rou jumps into the crowd not once, but twice, Rory gets people to balance him on top of his guitar and throws his One Direction cake at them after everyone sings "happy birthday". By the time they finish their set with Zzzonked the crowd has significantly decreased in size due to most people crowd surfing or being too scared to subject themselves to the carnage, but it's still a workout to move your arms and Enter Shikari still manage to blow things up all over again, more than exceeding their reputation as one of the best live bands today.
Of course, after such an ecstatic performance, everyone is wondering just how crazy main stage headliners Iron Maiden [9/10] are going to be, and they set expectations high by flying a real RAF Spitfire over the crowd before the show. Twenty-five years after they headlined Donnington Monsters Of Rock in 1988, naturally their setlist is a slightly updated version of Maiden England which they played back then. They helped define the metal genre for millions, and watching them walk on stage is a surreal and unforgettable experience to which the roar of the crowd is agonisingly loud, and remains it for some time. Consisting of classics such as Number Of The Beast and 2 Minutes To Midnight, Iron Maiden prove why they are so highly regarded by both bands and fans, and equally that there is no age limit on metal. The crowd ranges from old metalheads who reminisce of seeing them back in the day, to teenagers pitting out of respect for the band that shaped the bands they love, to kids in oversized Iron Maiden shirts on their parents' shoulders. All of them know the words, and all of them know why. This band are massive, and seeing them live is a truly special experience. The singalong to Fear Of The Dark is particularly entrancing and hypnotic; it feels like everyone is part of one big family.
Of course, them being headliners, the show is spectacular too. Not to mention the Spitfire, there are plenty of costume changes, lots of pyrotechnics, several appearance from their icon Eddie, as well as Bruce Dickinson running around the stage with a Union Jack, demonstrating pride and a sense of unity to everyone here. He's still passionate and still a great frontman, and for those who don't know the band all that well his theatrical moves provide comedy value.
Their encore of Aces High, The Evil That Men Do and Running Free following a patriotic speech by Winston Churchill is simply epic, showing everyone exactly why they are still relevant as headliners. Of course, Maiden being Maiden, they would be brilliant either way considering their status, but despite a few initial sound issues they put on an absolutely incredible performance showing everyone that they definitely have still got it.
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