FESTIVAL REVIEW: Download Festival 2019 – Sunday
The last day of a festival can be tough. The days of drinking are catching up with you, your body aches and the impending doom of returning to reality looms on the horizon. But, as in any case with a festival, the last day can be a fully enjoyable experience; with one final bout of class bands before you make the long journey home. Download Festival is no different, with the Sunday of this year’s festival boasting a bill just as strong as the Friday and Saturday. And so, we donned our wellies for one final trek into the arena, let our coverage from day three begin.
HEART OF A COWARD – The Avalanche Stage
With a rejuvenated lineup and a new album to boot, HEART OF A COWARD intend to remind everyone at Download Festival why they are so cherished in the UK scene and as they batter The Avalanche Stage with a bountiful offering of bass-driven riffing and hardcore-leaning vocal blasts from new boy Kaan Tasan, who certainly appears more than capable of fronting the band, very quickly, it becomes apparent just how adored the band are as the crowd welcome them with open arms. New material from The Disconnect goes down a treat, with the up tempo flurries of Collapse injecting surge of adrenaline at the midway point of the set, but it with their older material that the band receive a rapturous response. Deadweight packs one hell of a punch and with a legion of fans screaming “I DON’T GIVE A FUCK!” on command, it confirms that one, HEART OF A COWARD are back, and two, they are back with a vengeance.
Rating: 8/10
Words: James Weaver
BLACK PEAKS – The Avalanche Stage
It was almost a foregone conclusion that BLACK PEAKS would turn up, play a set of great songs with fantastic energy and great musicianship, then go home as one of the highlights. What nobody at The Avalanche Stage expected, however, was pyro. As flames shoot up around the Brighton upstarts during the likes of the aptly-titled Electric Fires and Say You Will, it’s clearer more than ever that they need to play rooms that can accommodate such effects. This isn’t just a highlight of the whole festival, it’s a coming-of-age performance and an utter triumph.
Rating: 10/10
Words: Elliot Leaver
CRYSTAL LAKE – The Dogtooth Stage
Travelling from the land of the rising sun, CRYSTAL LAKE benefit from being arguably the most organised band of the weekend. Their sound check performance does nothing to allude to the carnage that will eventually follow, but seconds into Hail To The Fire it becomes apparent that CRYSTAL LAKE are here purely to cause as much chaos as possible. Their set is relentless, with every band proving themselves to be utterly proficient in their instruments whilst frontman Ryo Kinoshita does his best to get the most he can out the eager crowd. Aeon is a brutal, glitchy highlight of the set, and whilst the final moments of the set don’t match the pitch achieved earlier, this is a frantically brilliant set for everyone present.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Eddie Sims
AMON AMARTH – Main Stage
Having successfully conquered the British Isles numerous times over their lengthy career, Viking warriors AMON AMARTH intend to remind everyone at Download that another triumph awaits as they roar into life with the irresistibly catchy The Pursuit of Vikings. With an elaborate stage set up, featuring everything from Viking battles to an arsenal of pyro, the band keep the swelling crowd’s attention fixated firmly towards the stage. Johan Hegg may posses one hell of an intimidating roar but his warm and inviting stage banter draws a lot of laughs, and when he and his bandmates are getting down to business, it’s fantastic. Guardians of Asgard‘s battle-ready beat works in perfect synch to the blasts of pyro, Raise Your Horns draws perhaps one of the biggest raising of devil horns all weekend and a scorching rendition of Twilight of The Thunder God, complete with a eye-catching strike of Mjolnir, closes the set on an utter high. They came, they saw, they conquered.
Rating: 8/10
Words: James Weaver
BEARTOOTH – Zippo Encore Stage
BEARTOOTH are no strangers to Download Festival having played the Main Stage in 2017. Here, much higher up the bill and on the Zippo Encore Stage, the Columbus, Ohio band use the time, space and more importantly, the crowd to their advantage. Having recently released third album Disease the band plough through a showcase of all three albums starting with the pummelling Bad Listener which the crowd digest with a rabid intensity singing along to the chorus and sublime lyrics with Download Festival summed up in the lyrics; “There’s no degree in Rock N’ Roll/Say its a waste of time/Say I’ll never get a real shot/I’ll be banging my head till my brain rots”. With the likes of SLAYER coming up shortly after them, they couldn’t be more right. This band are just going to continue climbing the ranks of this festival.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Craig Huntley
ALCEST – The Dogtooth Stage
With The Dogtooth Stage practically bursting at the seams, a running them across the Download Festival weekend, it warrants just how adored ALCEST are in our world. Their placement between the Main Stage action of AMON AMARTH and LAMB OF GOD worked a treat as their shoegaze-driven melodies and beautifully delivered vocals from bandleader Neige washed over the packed tent, giving many wearing festival-goers time for respite. In fact, their performance was executed so effortlessly, it was a spectacle to behold. The more metallic edge of their sound awoke in opening number Kodama whilst a simply gorgeous rendition of Autre Temps bore witness to many teary eyes. Their soundscape inviting and captivating, ALCEST delivered one of the most gripping and emotionally moving sets of the entire weekend.
Rating: 9/10
Words: James Weaver
LAMB OF GOD – Main Stage
Virginia’s finest are no strangers to Download Festival, having performed at Donington’s hallowed ground many times over their illustrious career, and hitting the Main Stage on the final day, LAMB OF GOD give an incendiary performance, one in which is soaring with energy throughout. Covering a wide chunk of their career, Randy Blythe‘s effortless enthusiasm rubs off on the crowd who respond accordingly whilst his bandmates excel in their respective departments. From Walk With Me In Hell‘s anthemic chorus that is bellowed back to the band, 512‘s gut-punching chug or a resoundingly emphatic finale with Redneck, LAMB OF GOD ensure that the adrenaline never dips for a moment. Dedicating a portion of their set to SLAYER, who would later take to the stage on last time on UK soil, was a touching moment and with the trash titans set to retire, judging from the reaction from a packed crowd, LAMB OF GOD look set to step up to take their place.
Rating: 8/10
Words: James Weaver
WHITECHAPEL – The Dogtooth Stage
Deathcore kings WHITECHAPEL deliver a short but ultimately sweet set on The Dogtooth Stage. And if you were concerned that the band’s slight dip into a more melodic tone on new record The Valley would result in a decline of live intensity, your fears would soon be squashed here. Frontman Phil Bozeman boats one of the gnarliest growls in the business and that’s no more evident then in the opening throat kick of Brimstone. With that said though, it’s actually the melodic chorus of When A Demon Defiles A Witch that gets the best response here, and WHITECHAPEL are an example of how a deathcore band can experiment without alienating their existing fanbase. It’s disappointing that The Saw Is The Law and The Elitist Ones are omitted from the set, but with a limited time, and a crushing set in other areas – all is forgiven.
Rating: 7/10
Words: Kris Pugh
FEVER 333 – The Avalanche Stage
FEVER 333 have a message that their is strength in numbers. Since their beginnings, the rise of fans who are standing up and paying attention to what they have to say is definitely multiplying quicker than we can blink. Their performance at Download Festival proved why this is happened and certainly displayed that people are listening to what they have to say. Not only was there a hefty amount of energy on the stage with back-flips off amps and constant running round, there was a beautiful energy coming from the music that FEVER 333 played. As tracks such as Burn It Down and Made An America tore through the tent, people were grasping onto every word that uttered out of vocalist Jason Aalon Butler‘s mouth. Speeches on supporting the LGBTQ+ communities, people of colour, women, the poor, they took their chance with both hands and held onto it. This band played Download the year prior in the smaller Dogtooth stage, there’s a reason they was invited back to do it all over again on the bigger Avalanche stage. Sound-wise it was outstanding, but energy wise it was a whole new level and at this rate there’s no stopping them.
Rating: 10/10
Words: Jessica Howkins
SMASHING PUMPKINS – Main Stage
For their first time at Download Festival, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS held nothing back, adorning the stage with towering and beautiful Russian doll inspired mannequins. Huge and yet oddly vulnerable is how they looked, and that is the perfect metaphor for the PUMPKINS‘ sound. Their grunge sensibilities has made them the unspoken heroes of the genre, with enough riffs from Bullet with Butterfly Wings, and Cherub Rock to inject plenty of energy for the massive crowd to lap up, but it is the slower numbers that utilise Billy Corgan’s pained vocals, that steal the show. THE SMASHING PUMPKINS prove themselves to be far from slowing nearly 30 years into their career, as the interludes between songs show a band still inspired by the want to entertain during their performances, and what concludes is an incredible performance from a truly epic band. THE SMASHING PUMPKINS made themselves immensely comfortable at Download Festival and the question of when they will return next should be on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Eddie Sims
MUNICIPAL WASTE – The Dogtooth Stage
There’s no band in existence that are better suited as a warm up set for SLAYER than MUNICIPAL WASTE. The Richmond Virginia thrash/punk legends close The Dogtooth Stage on Sunday with a set of chaotic speed punk which was engulfed by a ravenous crowd. Chants of “We’re gonna fuck you up, MUNICIPAL WASTE!” bellow out before the band even take to the stage. There’s circle pits, beer in the air, and even a guy in a wheelchair crowdsurfing – it’s utter chaos. Tracks like Beer Pressure and Breathe Grease encompass everything that this set is meant to be – a full throttle sprint of riffs and thrash energy. The double kick pedal of Dave Whitte hits you in the chest like it’s just been released from a cannon, and the relentless riffs of Nick Poulos and Ryan Waste are as frenetic as they are pummelling. MUNICIPAL WASTE are the perfect underground thrash kings, a band that never take themselves too seriously but have the musical acumen to create a storm. They’re a quartet that have achieved legendary status without ever having to reach the biggest stages across the world, and this headline set is a perfect example of why.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Kris Pugh
ENTER SHIKARI – The Avalanche Stage
ENTER SHIKARI play by their own rules. They could have had an hour on the Main Stage or another headline slot on the Zippo Encore, but they’ve decided to come and perform in the confines of The Avalanche Stage, bringing an intimacy to their show that you wouldn’t get in the open air. It pays off handsomely. Opener The Appeal and the Mindsweep I sends the tent into raptures and even sees two brave souls scale one of the tent supports to get a better view. “Yo bruv, I respect your attempt and all, but if you don’t get down they’re pulling the plug” comes the response from Rou Reynolds and the pair are swiftly back on the ground. But it’s just the start of a pulverising display from SHIKARI, who give rare airings to Quelle Surprise and the chaotic Slipshod, debut the 2019 remix of No Sleep Tonight during their now-customary ‘Quick Fire Round’ and set off so much confetti during Take My Country Back and Juggernauts it more or less covers up the mud beneath everyone’s feet. They’ve always been a force to be reckoned with on the live circuit, but this is even better than that; it’s a sensational showing from a band who have pretty much done everything over the years except get the Number One album they so richly deserve, but as long as they keep destroying venues with spectacles like this, nobody will care one bit.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Elliot Leaver
SLAYER – Zippo Encore Stage
SLAYERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. The last time most of us will ever get to bellow that name out again in front of the band unless we travel until the very end. Download‘s Zippo Encore Stage saw us bid farewell to the thrash titans SLAYER on their last ever UK show. This band have been there for so many of us, no matter the generation we come from, we all belt out Raining Blood with absolute fury. The intensity at which SLAYER played on Sunday night was at a neck-breaking pace. From Repentless to War Ensemble to Seasons In The Abyss right down to Angel of Death and Raining Blood there was no let up from the band, every track was given 110%. A key moment was Dead Skin Mask, a much loved gem but often overlooked in SLAYER‘s back-catalogue, it was a moment when everyone went from 10 to 11, and knew that time was drawing to a close for their performance. After Angel of Death closed the show there was absolute chaos in the air, but also hinged with sadness. Each member stood and said their goodbyes, but as Tom Araya stayed for the longest time taking in the atmosphere, it put tears in the eyes of many. At this moment, anyone who has seen SLAYER before know how special it is, but to stand and appreciate just what this band have done in their career for the music scene was put into perspective. Without this magnificent band, we might not have had others that we love today, and we most certainly wouldn’t have formed the bonds we have without them. Thank you SLAYER and may you Reign In Blood.
Rating: 10/10
Words: Jessica Howkins
TOOL – Main Stage
Where does one even begin with TOOL? The band haven’t played a show on our shores since 2007, and haven’t released any new music since 2006, and yet here they are headlining the last day of Download Festival. TOOL have a cult like status, and it is in the literal first seconds of the opening Anima that proves why they are so revered. The sound is perfect, better than the album almost, with the band also delivering what is comfortable the most technically proficient performance most people present will ever experience outside of MESHUGGAH. The set opens perfectly, The Pot and Parabola offering another two quality cuts from their back catalogue, all before Britain’s first taste of new TOOL is delivered. The song unfolds slowly, but takes the audience through a full spectrum of emotions, from curiosity, to understanding, to sheer and utter awe as the percussive final moments ring out. This is all before the halfway mark, and with their second new track being even better than the first, it offers the best excuse as to why the band have been so vacant for so long. When you combine the trippy and conceptual movies played on the screens alongside every song, and what you have is a captivating, flawless, and utterly bewildering set of music so layered that people are still discovering meanings in songs released nearly two decades later. TOOL wasn’t just a headline slot, and more like a musical experience that comes about once in a blue moon.
Rating: 10/10
Words: Eddie Sims
And with that, our coverage of this year’s Download Festival draws to a close. We had an absolute blast at this year’s festival, despite the mud, and we’re already counting down the days until we return to the hallowed grounds of Donington for Download Festival 2020!
