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iamjustacopyofa · 10 years

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I'm not a very punctual person at all, but six months after a night of frenzy I finally motivated myself to write a review of Trivium and Killswitch Engage's co-headlining gig at the O2 Academy in Glasgow.

If you really want to get your opinions on society by reading internet comments, you would come to the conclusion that metal fans in UK are a bunch of ungrateful bastards when it comes to gigs and festivals. While one would like to believe it’s the minority that publish their moaning online, I do feel promoted to say that UK gigs and festivals have become the envy for many people elsewhere in the world, with many wishing they could attend events such as Download and Bloodstock festival. Meanwhile metalheads here want to rant and moan because Bring Me the Horizon get announced play the main stage at a festival known for featuring lots of commercially successful rock bands playing to thousands of people.

But I think most metal fans from the country that birthed the genre itself realise how good we have it and are grateful, and most of all, if a good gig comes our way, all punters will put all their energy and passion into singing along and moving to the bands that tour to make the gig the best experience it can possibly be. And to give you proof of this, I need to go back to the fourth of February this year, the night that Trivium and Killswitch Engage tore the O2 Academy apart in one night.

Clearly, we’re in a privileged position to be metal fans in the UK when two of the biggest and most critically acclaimed metal bands of the past decade take part in a co-headlining tour. My initial thought when the tour was first announced last October was basically a statement of how great it was to be alive right now. Two incredible bands playing together, at a time when both were revelling in widespread buzz based around new music from each artist, Killswitch having pulled off 2013’s best comeback album with Disarm the Descent and Trivium having released the best Disturbed album with Vengeance Falls.

That buzz echoes around the corners of the Academy tonight, with many punters returning to the venue following Lamb of God’s long-awaited and triumphant gig in January, alongside some younger audience members looking slightly tense, suggesting this may be their first metal gig, an eternal reminder of how my first mosh pit was to Trivium in 2011 at this same building. For those kids tonight will be life-changing.

A lot of keen interest is paid to the first band on stage Battlecross. Their sound is a perfect blend of old school heavy metal and pounding metalcore as squealing guitar solos twist their way around beefy breakdowns. And while ripping through killer songs is more important to this band than emphasising technical ability onstage, many are keen to point out the lighting paced drumming and that the man behind the kit is prolific American player Shannon Lucas, whose chops have appeared on albums by All That Remains and The Black Dahlia Murder and has collaborated with many other musicians stateside. It’s a refreshing surprise to have a known figure opening up a show like this and for the entire band to really hold the interest of the crowd like they did for their position as openers at a gig.

But not every evening can be perfect through and through and a noticeable lull takes place across the academy throughout Miss May I’s performance. For most people, this probably wasn’t surprising, but it has to be said their half hour onstage is a disappointing one. There seemed to be a perception before the show that the band was moving away from their reputation as a generic metalcore band, forever destined to share stages with Of Mice & Men and Asking Alexandria with 2012’s At Heart giving them more recognition in metal magazines and then-unreleased fourth album Rise of the Lion set to forever move them from Warped Tour to Wacken. However, by the time that frontman Levi Benton spent his time onstage proving why Jarrod Alonge’s ‘Every Metalcore Vocalist’ is a genuinely relevant video, the majority of crowd momentum has been lost. It’s not to suggest the band don’t have the songs that could get a venue like the Academy chanting along, as they show when they unleash material from their latest opus and close with the monstrous Hey Mister, but the crowd reaction is perhaps the most minimal reaction I’ve seen to any metal band. The one conclusion drawn from their set is that trying to move away from the musical scene that got them recognition in the first place isn’t going to work for them. This truth is fully realised four months later when the response to them opening the main stage at Download is also fairly sparse.

To be expected, things take a turn for the chaotic when the first of tonight’s headliners take to the stage, boasting a very impressive set which features two T-shaped sculptures and a backdrop resembling the Vengeance Falls artwork, Trivium make their third appearance at the Academy in the pace of four years, riling up the audience as a cacophonous section of classical music plays over the speakers, before the real noise of the night begins in the form of Brave This Storm. The juddering grooves that Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu sends the crowd into a spiral of circle pits that only grows during a varied set of material, that brings out Drowned and Torn Asunder and Pull Harder On the Strings of Your Martyr from 2005’s essential work of modern metal Ascendency. Even Entrance of the Conflagration from the ever-polarising Crusade album is aired, and more popularly, Down from the Sky gets everyone throwing horns and banging heads vigorously. Of course, the highlight, as is forever destined to be at any Trivium show now comes as the instantly high pitched shrill that opens instrumental intro Capsizing the Sea chimes through the speakers, letting the standing crowd form a megalith of a circle pit. As someone in that circle, it’s an absolute thrill to stand in a congregation of people making their place in the circle waiting for the right moment to begin moving. To be standing there beside some of my best friends makes it so much more endearing. We’re metal fans, this is our version of a lad’s night out and standing at the forefront of this circle pit, waiting for the instrumental to transcend into what has become a modern anthem, feeling your blood pumping and being overwhelmed by adrenaline is more memorable than any evening at a nightclub downing vodka shots, but the feeling we all have is just as dizzying.

And that buildup of energy, ecstasy and adrenaline, like the feeling of cheap vodka hitting the back of one’s throat is unleashed in two words: “IIIINN WAAAAAAAAAAVESSSS.”

That nicely formed circle instantly collapsed into itself, as person after person charged into the centre of the nice space that had formed into the centre of the Academy to mosh. The view must have just been a shapeless mass of black T-shirts and the occasional limb sticking out in one of the biggest mosh pits the venue must have witnessed in a very long time, even when considering it had been less than a month since Lamb of God’s barrage. Trivium have long-since proven themselves worthy of spots on big stages and big festivals, but when you consider their ability to get the crowds moving like that, you can see why people despair that they haven’t headlined Download by now.

However, an answer can be provided in the next occurrence of the evening as the crowd is reminded that there are still bands with a more legendary status that remain after fourteen years and changes and controversies within the lineup a huge force to be reckoned with. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor plays over the speakers. The crowd laugh at the absurdity of having a cheesy 80’s rock song playing as a band as established as Killswitch Engage take to the stage, while Trivium used a genuinely dramatic piece of orchestra instead. But that’s because Killswitch know the power they have over the audience and the audience recognise it too. They don’t need any dramatic intro music, they actually have the ability to get the audience laughing instead of riling up tensions, because as soon as they begin their set with the first notes of A Bid Farewell, everyone in the audience blood begins to boil. Friends look at friends with a face of determination and begin moving closer to the nearest circle pit to feed their appetite for destruction. As the song hits its first big riff and Jesse Leach steely scream whips the song into action, the Academy becomes at its most cataclysmic, people are already crowdsurfing, people in the balconies are jumping, I get punched in the nose (Not on purpose obviously), it becomes displaced for the next week and a half. It’s some of the finest responses at a metal gig I’ve ever witnessed.

It’s a testament to just how adored a band Killswitch Engage have become, and it’s taken a while for this fact about them to be noticed. They are a band that so many people know the songs to and have planned out the kind of moshing and movements they want to do to the songs, because over time they have become that iconic. It’s the same reason why seeing Metallica, Slayer or Slipknot for the first time has become a monumental event for metal fans and without it being fully acknowledged, Killswitch has fallen into that same category. People are more than ready to begin running in circles during Rose of Sharyn, know the exact frequency they have to jump to during My Last Serenade and of course, the years spent listening and learning the words and meanings to My Curse comes into full effect for the end of the gig. But perhaps unlike Metallica and Slayer, there’s a similar passion for the new stuff as well. Disarm the Descent is still less than a year old at this stage, but everyone wants to leap to In Due Time, run in rings to Beyond the Flames and have their hearts broken to Always.

Naturally, it also wouldn’t be a Killswitch gig without the effortless charisma from Leach and Adam Dutkiewicz who amongst his juggernaut riffs takes the time to tell the crowd, while dressed in denim cut-offs and a safety helmet that he’ll “slap your girlfriend’s tits like a pair of unwanted children.” Two of my friends in committed relationships cheer at this announcement. Such is the power of Adam D.

This combination of continually ferocious songwriting and decent onstage banter is another factor that makes Killswitch such a revered band. It’s the reason the crowd makes a huge circle pit around two crowd members wearing tuxedos both perched on the shoulders of a man-mountain wearing a beanie hat shaped like a panda’s head. Everyone here also knows that metal gigs don’t have to be about wearing black shirts, patch jackets and corpse paint, although all three items are in appearance tonight.

The total combination of these factors makes Killswitch Engage’s headlining set fun, it makes it passionate and it makes it a total celebration for metal fans that have held on to the music into its modern position where good metalcore reigns supreme. There isn’t anyone that wants to shy away from mosh pits or helping others crowdsurf because for everyone here tonight, Killswitch have been too legendary a band to shy away from. And that’s why metal fans in the UK are actually a grateful bunch in spite of what some forums and comment boards might suggest. It’s our prerogative to go hard as we possibly can at gigs and when bands like Killswitch Engage and Trivium are touring together and delivering the strongest sets of their career, it would be a catastrophic mistake not to express that gratitude in the circle pit.

#O2 Academy Glasgow #Killswitch Engage #Trivium #Miss May I #Battlecross

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iamjustacopyofa · 10 years

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Download 2014 - Top 10 bands

Before I head off to Sonisphere Festival next weekend, it seems only right that I reflect on my time at Download Festival 2014, which I visited two weeks ago with three very good friends. It was my second Download following the monolithic 2013 festival headlined by Slipknot, Iron Maiden and Rammstein and that year, I mostly stayed at the main stage since I loved every band playing. For this year’s festival, I took a different approach, as bands I wanted to see where scattered all over the place. So attending Download as a massive rock and metal nerd this year allowed me to see 27 different bands, three of them not so great, and the other 24 all amazing.

However, these ten sets were the defining sets of Download 2014, here’s what I thought of them and some very amateur photos I took during them as well.

10. Crossfaith

Two years ago, Japan’s new metal representatives Crossfaith first made a name for themselves on these shores when supporting the band that appears at the top of this list. Back then, crowds were unfazed when they first stepped onstage, until halfway through their set when they unleashed a cover of The Prodigy’s smash hit Omen. After that everyone realised this wasn’t a standard metalcore-with-synths band. This was rave music with downtuned guitars and screamed vocals and it’s great to mosh to. What followed was the releases of EP Zion and full length album Apocalyze which continued the heart-racing combination of luminous rave music and pummelling groove metal and made them a pretty big deal. And this time, when they were the second act on the main stage on Friday, everyone watching knew who they were and what they were capable of. And that’s why during their hits We Are the Future (An accurate statement if ever there was one) and Monolith, the main stage got their first circle pits of the weekend. And by the time the Omen struck once more and two circle pits broke into one giant one, there was no going back. The perfect first pits for a perfect weekend.

9. Suicide Silence

There was a tense atmosphere in the crowd before Suicide Silence walked onstage. It was their first live performance in the UK after a series of events that I’m sure I don’t have to explain anymore. But considering they could easily pull off a show on the main stage, but instead chose to play in the Pepsi Max tent for a longer time showed off their intentions to have a more intense live experience. And that’s exactly what they got. They played a set that seemed quite chronological of their career up to now, starting with established classics Unanswered and No Pity for a Coward then making their way through cuts from 2011’s The Black Crown. However, the fact that the biggest circle pit, which saw fans sprinting around the two pillars holding up the tent, occurred during their latest single Cease to Exist is evidence that those going to see them live know that when the band officially come back into action following next month’s release of You Can’t Stop Me they’ll be as strong, nay stronger than they were before 2012. And without even a whisper of the name ‘Mitch’ from the band or the crowd, rather screams of ‘Eddie’, everyone is ready for the future. You can’t stop them.

8. Letlive

Everyone remembers the scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in which Mr Wonka makes his first appearance as he hobbles to the front of the factory gates holding a cane, appearing as a broken man, before performing a forward roll and delighting the children with his good health. Letlive had a similar situation for their set, as Jason Aalon Butler slowly emerged onstage with a crutch and splint sustained from a leg injury he got at an earlier show. But instead of a forward roll, what followed was a blistering 40 minute set of energetic and emotional hardcore punk delirium. And despite clearly being in pain, Butler fought on through the set, leaping across the stage before climbing the Pepsi Max stage’s supports as the show concluded. While the rest of the band smashed through modern punk anthems crafted on Fake History and last year’s all-conquering The Blackest Beautiful, Butler’s fight through the pain was the most commendable performance of the weekend. And it made for better watching than a chocolate factory tour anyday. But seriously, you should rest now Jason.

7. Linkin Park

As positive as this list is intended to be I have to be balanced when talking about Linkin Park’s headlining Saturday set. There was an hour and a half of their set, which truthfully felt weak. It’s not to say that the songs weren’t good, or that the band weren’t lacking in passion as they played. This hour and a half featured charged performances of tracks like Given Up and Bleed It Out, as well as songs from the recently released The Hunting Party sounding huge. Even Rob Bourdon had his time to shine with a mass drum solo, showcasing his skills that are often hidden in a band that isn’t so reliant on virtuosic tendencies. But in spite of this, this entire hour and a half seemed lacking, as though something had happened before it which marred the impact of this part of the set.

Because that’s exactly what happened. As everyone knows, the main event of this show took place in the first half hour when the band played Hybrid Theory, their debut album and perhaps one of the most important milestones in modern commercial rock music in existence today. It’s sold over 10 million copies in the US. In fact, it’s the best-selling album of the 21st Century. The majority of younger bands that played this weekend will have grown up with this album in their lives, particularly the band at number five in this list. People from all over the world bought day tickets for this event. Basically, hearing Hybrid Theory performed in full live is a pretty big deal. And the album’s legacy was measured on the Saturday night as everyone in the crowd reacted in some way or other for that 12-track run through from Papercut to Pushing Me Away. Monster pits broke out during One Step Closer and By Myself, a loving formation of punters congregated for giant sing-alongs to Crawling and In the End and most people were taking out cameras to record specific songs, to create a memento they could watch over and over and show to their friends and families. Beyond that, the songs just sounded amazing. Drops made the grounds shake, riffs were beefy sounding and the band sounded as vibrant performing them as they would have in 2000. And despite the rest of the show paling in comparison, hearing Hybrid Theory in full made a half-good show as amazing as many of the fully great sets of the weekend.

6. Bury Tomorrow

I won’t have as much to say about this set as I will for Linkin Park, but sometimes a short set gives a band to chance simply come on stage, fuck shit up, then leave, and make audience wonder what the Hell they just saw. Even at their full headlining gigs, Bury Tomorrow have been receiving that kind of reaction from everyone, only this time, they did it to their biggest crowd ever. Having gotten fairly huge with the release of third album Runes, there was a fair gathering of metalcore lovers that approached the main stage, and what they got was a quick set consistent in tough songs, huge breakdowns and pits to follow from the start of widespread anthem Man on Fire and through songs that have now become essential for their live sets including An Honourable Reign and Royal Blood. And to see the band onstage was watching a band revelling in the opportunity to play to a crowd this big, as brothers Dani and Davyd Winter-Bates got male and female punters to out-chant each other, which Dani concluded by stating “Of course the guys were going to chant more, everyone knows that metal shows are total sausage fests.” All the cliché live show tricks were performed with the bands tongues firmly inserted in their cheeks, but the fun they had reflected off the audience, making them react strongly till the very end, in which, despite the constant restrictions on encouraging the crowd to do any extreme movements, they might hold Download 2014’s record for most crowdsurfers when they concluded with the perfect Lionheart. The band’s rapid incline continues.

5. Bring Me the Horizon

Anyone that went to Download this year will know of the excruciating rule that technically, band members were discouraged from telling crowds they want to see circle pits going. While most bands managed to anyway, via non-subtle double-entendres, potentially immense pits felt compromised, like they couldn’t reach their full potential. It’s why Killswitch Engage’s set is just out with this list. Bring Me the Horizon’s set is perhaps the greatest example of what can be achieved when the rules are broken. The rest of the band strolled onto the stage as the instantly recognisable intro of Shadow Moses seeped its way through the speakers, before the skinny tattooed figure of Oli Sykes strutted across the main stage catwalk stating one demand: Circle pits. What followed was an hour of anarchy led by the anarchic as sections of audience seemed to simply collapse and move aside just to make bigger pits. While the set of mostly reliant on material from the all-conquering Sempiternal, Donnington’s ground may be permanently shaken by the impact of a hot and bothered group of maniacs moshing to Diamonds Aren’t Forever and everyone who was fifteen in 2008’s undying anthem Chelsea Smile. But newer material got the crowds singing and moving like they were Sykes’ personal flock. And the memory of standing in the sunlight as an eerie synthesizer interlude built up into the opening of Can You Feel My Heart is an endearing one. And thankfully, everyone was able to enjoy it while they could because the chances of them being asked to return seem slim after breaking the whole anti-circle-pit-encouragement rule. Damn.

4. Fall Out Boy

Back in November, I received a phone call from a dear friend that attended the festival with me, in which he said: “Fall Out Boy. Fall Out Boy are playing Download before Linkin Park. How disgusting is that?” I told him that it was the best news I had heard all day and I couldn’t contain my excitement. To get personal once more FOB are very much a band I’ve held close to me since first discovering modern rock music ten years ago. I listened to them before becoming a metal fan, and constant exposure to Kerrang! and Scuzz TV meant their music’s never left my consciousness and very much improved with age. Of course by the time I was old enough to realise I could go to gigs, they were well into their hiatus and I thought the event that took place between 19:10 and 20:20 on Saturday 14th June would never happen. Then of course, they returned, they saved rock n’ roll, and played two Glasgow shows, both of which I missed. So I had been waiting a long time for this moment.

And as soon as the suavely dressed Patrick Stump, naturally complete with trilby flung his head towards his microphone and led the chants of “Put on your warpaint!” as the band opened with The Phoenix, it was obvious this was worth the wait. The rest of the set was a triumphant assembly of pop punk hits that so many people here grew up with, with the majority belting out the words to bangers like This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race, Dance, Dance the ever stunning Sugar We’re Going Down which had crowds leaping all the way to the back rows and a healthy selections of glossily produced new material, including Death Valley, Young Volcanoes and the irresistible My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark. Even the generally disapproved cover of Michael Jackson’s Beat It got a huge reaction, especially from those less familiar with the band’s work. (Very much a minority in this audience.) What could have been a nerve-racking and challenging set for the band, was 80,000 people having the time of their lives and the band joining them in as Pete Wentz bound across all angles of the stage. The set can essentially be described as an hour and ten minutes of pure joy. Looking back at it still makes me smile. And if that’s what disgusting means to some people, then yeah, I guess it was pretty gross. Incredible.

3. Aerosmith

After a hefty day of leaping in and out of mosh pits to hardcore and groove metal bands, immersing oneself in the most colourful and flamboyant rock n’ roll show in the world was the perfect way to end the perfect weekend. There’s a lot of points to discuss when considering the event of watching Aerosmith live. For myself, and everyone I went with, watching Aerosmith live is a once-in-a-lifetime event. There’s really no more telling how many years the band have left in them so for us, this was very important to see. I know they’re also playing at Hard Rock Calling, but my friends and I are from Scotland. We’ll never get to see them again. I get to tell my Dad that I saw Aerosmith live while he didn’t which is pretty amusing. Essentially, the fact that I watched this set is a huge statement alone if you like to brag about things arrogantly, which I most certainly do.

The show itself was of a quality that left everyone beaming, glowing and smug about what they had just watched, like for a few hours Download Festival was the envy of the world. The band rocked us through a two hour set of some of hard rock’s most recognisable anthems. Seriously, any one you can think of, they played it. Walk This Way, Dude Looks Like a Lady, Love in an Elevator, Cryin’, even I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, which I guarantee everyone was filming on their phones. I guess the real appeal for a lot of the show was how different it was compared to any other set of the entire weekend. After watching frontman getting angry and implying that they want mosh pits to start, here we have Steven Tyler, rock and roll’s nucleus, prancing across the stage, bending into the audience and kissing girls that take their tops off for him. I mean, during Dream On a white grand piano emerged at the front of the stage’s catwalk, which Tyler started playing, before Joe Perry stood on top of the instrument while shredding on guitar before confetti starting bursting all over the stage and into the audience. You just don’t get that kind of pomposity at a Feed the Rhino gig. By the time they finished way past curfew (As Tyler let us know by leading a rousing chant of “Fuck curfew!”) with a swinging rendition of Mama Kin, the weekend of music felt like it had reached a perfect conclusion. With a stunning performance of anthemic classic rock tunes that still hits hard and refuses to stand down or compromise. They were the oldest band on the bill and the perfect embodiment of what a festival like Download should stand for. I feel pretty bad for not making them number one. But what can I say, the next set was amazing and extremely important to me…

2. Avenged Sevenfold

I knew before even heading to Download 2013 that Avenged Sevenfold would headline this year, despite all the backlash the announcement would get, it was going to happen. They’ve become one of the biggest metal bands on the planet with a devoted fanbase that have held onto their music from a young age and are only getting bigger. And the point that Metal Hammer Editor Alexander Milas made nails it as well: this current generation of metal fans need a headliner from their time. Last generation got Slipknot, which is obviously an upgrade, but people who got into metal during the 2000’s and even 2010’s need a band to represent them on the main stage headlining spot. People like me, whose first metal purchase at HMV in Dundee was City of Evil, before embarking on a journey to the depths of punk, metal and classic rock and gaining the kind of music taste that makes Download Festival the best weekend ever.

And Avenged’s set was one to make this generation proud. Having never seen them live before, it ticked all the boxes for what any fan would have wanted. Absolute classics were played with overwhelming crowd reactions. (Some of the pits that occurred during Bat Country will stick in my mind forever. But it was as heartfelt as it was aggressive. Needless to say, halfway through the set, M. Shadows delivered a tribute to their fallen drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan before playing a touching rendition of So Far Away. To be more personal, the best part of watching Avenged live is because I grew up listening to their music, the element of nostalgia is there, but not fully there enough to be the main factor of the show’s enjoyment. And while I’m generally adverse to bands letting their guitarists do a ten minute guitar or drum solo mid set, Synyster Gates can get away with it, because aged 14 and 15, I genuinely believed he was the greatest guitarist, and seeing him swan about the stage widdling on guitar was a delight, even if he did start playing God Save the Queen midway through the solo.

Avenged’s set was everything you’d want it to be as a fan. Big, bold, awash with fire and skulls and filled with songs that anyone who got into metal after 2004 would have grown up listening to. It showed why they’ve gained the fanbase they have, and why they’ve become big enough to headline an event like this. As part of the generation of metal bands they led, I was left proud.

But it wasn’t the best set of the weekend. The best set was by a band who I will always be extremely biased about…

1. While She Sleeps

So, what it is, is that While She Sleeps is the best band to have formed in the past ten years. Please try and tell me otherwise and I will disagree with you. Their debut full length This is the Six is the best album of 2012 and the mini album The North Stands for Nothing was evidence that this band was clearly going to change the metalcore game, actually, make that the metal game, being the most passionate and intense metal band to make it big mainstream when it seemed that constant breakdowns and synthesizers were the only way to become a beloved metal band. Their music is a combination of working-class grit, blood soaked determination, fierce pride and cataclysmic songwriting where the right riffs hit at the right moments, breakdowns follow perfectly constructed buildups and good god, is it heavy. Needless to say, I was more excited for this set than any of the headlining sets.

Anyone following the band will know that their 40 minute Download set was only their second show they played following frontman Loz Taylor’s extensive throat surgery, so admittedly throughout the set there was more constraint on his vocals than previous shows have had. Doesn’t really matter, the set was still perfect because the songs were so perfect and I like to think I did an okay job of singing along to every word regardless. Opening with Death Toll, the band had the crowd reeling in excitement and had pits moving from the off.

At this point I have to take a separate paragraph to discuss the moment the band played This is the Six’s opening track Dead Behind the Eyes. Call me absurd, or say that I need to be introduced to better music if you want, but it’s honestly one of my favourite songs ever. Among all the classic anthems produced in history, no song leaves me feeling excited like this. I definitely couldn’t go a week without hearing it at least once. So when they played it second in their set, the crowd lost it, but there was one weird child who went especially off his nut. This kid leapt into the middle of a circle pit on his own as the song was leading up to its legendary breakdown in the middle, and as it started, jumped up like gravity had given up on Download before landing headfirst onto some guy’s crotch, then essentially leading the huge mosh pit, while still retaining the energy to violently scream to every word. Yeah, it was me.

If anything this set felt more like a celebration for the fans and the return of Taylor’s good health and the lack of real compromise it’s made on the bands performance. You could see it in the crowds, in fact, there was a moment where we turned round to see several flags with the band’s WSS logo embedded on them, and the amount of people cheering Loz’s name proved this was a monumental occasion that months of anticipation had gone into watching this set, and it was worth it all. And even if Loz’s vocals were being toned down, his energy was unbound, as the show reached it’s close during Our Courage, Our Cancer he lept into the crowd and climbed to the top of one of the stands behind the audience. This written description isn’t completely doing justice of what we saw, but if you don’t think that’s the coolest thing ever, you’re wrong.

So maybe there is some bias behind my number one choice, but While She Sleep’s set was the conquering moment of the weekend. They played amazing songs with a sense of fury and determination to conquer more punters than ever before while making a comeback from a throat injury that could have spelled the end of their career early on. The performance mixed with the crowd reaction just made the set victorious all round. And the way I felt when watching them will stay in my mind forever, and will be the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about the time I went to Download Festival in 2014. That’s why it was the best set of the weekend.

Plus, I crowdsurfed during Seven Hills and if I crowdsurf, that generally puts any festival set at the number one spot in a list.

So that was Download 2014 for me. A plethora of great performances, great songs, great pits and great banter elsewhere across the festival. I’ve got to say I had a great time seeing every band I watched, and I can’t not reference the fact that I also saw wicked sets from Turbowolf, Skindred, Quicksand, Royal Blood, Dying Fetus, Fozzy, Killswitch Engage, Skillet, Thy Art is Murder, Feed the Rhino (who were at least on par with Crossfaith), Sepultura, Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals, Against Me! and Alter Bridge. Next stop is Sonisphere festival, where I think I’ll revert to a Download 2013 state of not leaving the main stage, except when Slayer headlines the second stage. Needless to say, watching Glastonbury last night is causing me to lose my head over the fact that I’ll finally be seeing Metallica live as well. Truly, I’m the luckiest kid in the world.

#Download 2014 #While She Sleeps #Avenged Sevenfold #Aerosmith #Fall Out Boy #Bring Me the Horizon #Bury Tomorrow #Linkin Park #letlive #Suicide Silence #Crossfaith

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