DOWNLOAD 2019
FRIDAY
After a couple of years off, the monsoon season has returned to turn the hallowed turf of Donington into its customary quagmire. Mother nature might not be doing her bit, but the folks who book the festival are, with one of the strongest-looking Download line-ups in years on paper. Geared up to battle the elements from the second Zippo Encore stage are SKID ROW, who may just have rescued their reputation by recruiting ex-Dragonforce vocalist ZP Theart. They sound snotty, potent and full of veteran swagger once more. Remember when KVELERTAK were one of the most exciting new bands in our scene? New vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen has brought back some much-needed punk energy to revitalise the band. And stubs a cigarette out on his hand too. Well hard! DELAIN often find themselves lost in the symphonic crowd, and while there’s real grit embedded in the The Glory And The Scum, their twinklier tracks are too paper-thin to compete with the genre heavyweights.
are the perfect band for any festival you care to mention. Their Main Stage set is dominated by new material that still goes over effortlessly, with Neil Fallon’s bonkers lyrics never failing to elicit a smile. The crowd is bursting’s sludgy, riff-fuelled hatecore takes hold, wide-eyed responses acknowledging that this is one of the best young bands on planet Earth. Electronic-industrial duo also raise the tent’s roof as their eponymous frontwoman adds a sinister sass to true crimes soundbites from real-life conspiracies. A breath of fresh yet enticingly intimidating air. get royally buggered for the first couple of songs as their guitars are non-existent in the mix but ultimately they’re a typically enjoyable old-school thrash-a-thon.
