My second Download with my first being 2 years ago in 2023. I won't go into what happened on the Wednesday and Thursday other than to say it was really just one big catch up and good times.
Friday
Friday is was the first day of music in the arena and first up...
Starset - I have seen Starset twice before. The first time supporting Shinedown where I got into them and then the second time at their own headline show. Initially today on the Opus stage (second biggest stage) the sound didn't seem quite right and there was a lot of feedback but they soon sorted that out. Being a festival they also didn't have the same setup as usual with the visuals. But they more than made up for it with their set with personal favourites Trials, Manifest and set closer My Demons. The two string members also weren't as prominent as they usually are but still a great set.
Dead Pony - Next up was Dead Pony in the Avanlanche Tent (3rd stage), this is a band a parkrun buddy put me onto last year and I watched their set on TV from Trnsmt last year and thought they were really good. But to be honest I didn't think I would get to see them today as it was tight fitting in Starset, Dead Pony and the next band. But we did and they delivered. It was their first time playing Download and they really delivered. They made us feel at home as well as they come from Glasgow. Lead singer Anna Sheilds really connected well with the crowd with great stage presence and good in between song quips.
Boston Manor - It was then a quick turnaround to watch Boston Manor on the Apex stage (main stage). I've seen them 4 times in the last 3 years and they have been one of my favourite bands over the last 5 years. So I was very much looking forward to this. It's always great seeing a band and you know every word, to every song. Their set spanned a range of albums and EPs, playing their biggest song to what in their opinion was the biggest crowd they have ever played to.
Myles Kennedy - It was then onto another of my favourite artists of recent years. Myles Kennedy on the Opus stage. He is also lead singer of Alter Bridge and lead singer in Slash's band too. He has been on the go for a fair number of years now so knows exactly what he is doing. And now he has 3 solo albums has a good selection of tracks to choose from to deliver a fine set.
Opeth - Next up was Opeth on the Opus stage. I had heard Opeth a bit before I went to the festival this year and was intrigued by them. I wasn't sure if I would like them as I thought some of it would be a bit growly for me. Unforentuatley I didn't get a fuller experience as their set was cut short as they had technical difficulties in getting set up before they came on. But once it got going it was good and they played so much of their more melodic stuff I didn't actually mind when they did the more growly stuff.
Weezer - Next up was Weezer on the Apex stage. I have never seen Weezer live but knew all the hits from when I was younger. Their was a slight overlap between Opeth and Weezer but we caught most of their set. They played all their hits like "Islands in the Sun", "Say it ain't so", "Beverly Hills" and most importantly (because it's a classic) - "Buddy Holly". I didn't recoginise everything they played as they do have an extensive back catalogue now but a great set all the same.
Green Day - I saw Green Day last year at Bellahouston Park on their own headline tour and if you go back a few blogs you will see a full review for that gig. My history with Green Day is a weird one. I was into them when I was younger in the sense I watched their videos on MTV2 and Kerrang. But I never bought an album as my family were all into music and we never bought the same albums. So my brother bought the Green Day albums. But the thing was although our music tastes did overlap my brother and I never really swapped albums that much from what I can remember. Certainly was the case for Green Day. So it wasn't till recent years I started to listen more to Green Day albums. Anyway onto Download, this was an epic set and very much a best of. A shorter set than Bellahouston I think because it was a festival but still just as good. "Basket case", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday", "American Idiot", "When I come around" I could go on. One great moment was when they played "Wake me up when September ends" when Billie was singing "Here comes the rain again, falling from the stars", not only was it dark at this point but it also started raining! You couldn't make it up, goosebump moment. Ponchos were out but it wasn't enough to turn it into a mud fest.
Saturday
Trivium - We saw a post on Facebook implying there was a secret set at 11am which was posted by the lead singer of Trvium to play at 11am on the Opus stage. We got there at 10.30 and waited only to find out that wasn't the case at all. Not sure what happened but a false rumour was spread.
Sophie Lloyd - So first act of the day was Sophie Lloyd on the Opus stage. Sophie is a very talented rock gutarist who I'd seen a few videos on You tube beforehand. She had 2 singers with her who were were pretty good. But Sophie made sure she was the one at centre stage with her fine guitar work. Which is difficult as it's the lead singers job really to connect with the crowd. And in this case it looks like Sophie brings in vocalists from other bands to help her live. A good start to the day though.
Hatebreed - Next up was Hatebread on the main stage. Not a band I was familiar with before I went but expected it to be heavy and it was. Not for me but others enjoyed it.
Poppy - Next was Poppy on the main stage. I have listened to quite a few of her songs before going and her stuff seemed quite varied so I was intrigued. She had good energy and I would put this in the ok category
Polaris - Then it was time to set up camp at the Opus stage. First up was Australian band Polaris. Again not a band I was familiar with but again an ok set.
Eagles of Death Metal - Another band I wasn't familiar with but I knew they had a connection with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Turns out Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme co founded the band and the band got the name from a joke that the band would sound something like a cross between The Eagles and Death metal. Although this is a fully fleged band now and Josh Homme is a key contributor, he doesn't really tour with the band much due to other commitments. To be honest I absolutley loved their set and it was my find of the weekend. It was more classic rock and roll than death metal.
The Darkness - I've seen The Darkness once before when they did a co-headline tour with Black stone cherry a few years back. Today they played the opus stage which is always a fun time, even though I don't really like Justin Hawkins vocals that much.
Sex Pistols with Frank Carter - 4th band in a row to see on the Opus stage. I know some of their hits but in reality a before my time band. Obviously not the orignal line up with Frank Carter taking over vocals from John Lydon. He certainly did him justice not only in the vocal department but his whole punk attitude. Furthermore for the way he gave the rest of the band the spotlight as if to say these guys are the real legends while him, himself delivering a hell of a performance.
Sleep Token - Then on to tonights headliners on the Apex stage Sleep Token. A band I was never really into until their most recent album "Even in Arcadia" came out. This really grabbed me and still love listening to it. Although they had a sold out UK tour last year, Download have to book artists well in advance. To put it mildly booking Sleep Token for a headline slot at Download was a gamble especially as they wouldn't have completley exploded onto the scene at the time of booking. Not only this but although they are put in the metal genre many people feel they are wrongly put in there and have ended up quite a devisive band because of this. But Holy moly did they deliver tonight, they had an amazing stage set up and I even enjoyed the older stuff which I wasn't as familar with. They played my favourite song "Damocles" which I was delighted with. Only critism which a few others mentioned too was the screens didn't really show what was happening on stage and as their is so many folk at Download you need that. But on the other hand the place was very busy for them so a well justified headline slot and also a great light show. The other thing was that they just played the songs and didn't talk to the crowd at all, not even to say goodbye, they just left the stage. But it's like fair enough they let their music do the talking tonight and I reckon other festivals will be making a note now to have them headline elsewhere in the future.
Sunday
Did not happen for me and I just had a lazy day in camp. I had pretty much decided this after Sleep Token but I was slightly dehydrated which I didn't appreciate at the time.
But overall a great weekend, great memories and good times.
Thanks to Colin, Fraser and Campbell for being great company over the weekend.
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