Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Well, it is time once again. The Chaoszine team travelled to the UK once again to report for you from this year’s edition of Download Festival. While the days before the event have been rainy and windy, Friday has treated us to quite some good weather, or at least without rain.
The first band that I had the pleasure of seeing in Donington Park was Pendulum, and frankly one that I’ve been so excited about. After seeing them headline Tuska Festival in Helsinki two years ago, I was very glad to see them again. And while their performance in Finland was overall better and more entertaining, they didn’t disappoint here either. One can argue that their music probably doesn’t belong in a heavy metal festival, but we’ve come to know that Download isn’t stricly a heavy metal reign, so I was so glad to see them play there. Even though 50 minutes is clearly not enough time to my liking for a band like them, it was very enjoyable to see them and I can’t wait to see them again, maybe as headliners.
Photo: Niko Sihvonen.
There are certain bands that are too iconic and too memorable to be ignored. And Halestorm is definitely one of them! While I’ve seen them twice already, this performance was just as excellent as the other times. They headlined the Opus stage, and that’s something very well deserved. From Lzzy’s incredible voice to Arejay’s thunderous drumming, this band is just mind-blowing. I particularly loved their rendition of “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga and Arejay’s drum solo with the huge drumsticks. That cover and their song “can u see me in the dark?” featuring I Prevail were performed in the UK for the first time here at Download, which makes this performance extra special. Their set ended with the fantastic “Here’s To Us“, which is a rock n roll anthem if there ever was one. Once again, a solid performance from the American lads!
Photo: Niko Sihvonen.
If you’ve been following Chaoszine for a little while, you’d know that me and my colleague were at Download last year as well. And as we stepped into the arena on Friday, we felt there were more people than last year. And it looks like we were right, as the event was close to 100,000 people this weekend. I would imagine that many (or most) of them were here for Limp Bizkit, as I’ve never seen the Apex stage so tightly packed. It was pratically impossible to move around, and to get from there to anywhere took at least 20 minutes. But well, I now know how much the UK loves Limp Bizkit. They are basically considered as highly as gods, and their showed proved why. They performed “Break Stuff” twice, at the beginning and at the end of their set, which was absolutely unexpected and yet I wouldn’t have picked anything better than this. They also shared a touching photo remembering the late Sam Rivers and their crew member Dougie Miller before starting their set. I really enjoyed the guests on stage, starting from Lauren Sanderson during “Hot Dog” and some audience members during “Full Nelson“. Later in the set, “My Way” was cut short due to someone in the crowd needing help, but all’s good if it ends well. Wes Borland is very underrated as guitarist, and he was carrying the whole rhytmic section on his shoulders. And wow, what a fabulous start for this Download Festival.
Photo: Niko Sihvonen.
