Festival Review: Download Festival Pilot 2021
Download 2021. Who would have thought, after the past year, that anyone would be writing a live review of a festival? And Download no less? One of the most iconic festivals to ever grace the circuit?
Yet on Friday 18th June 2021, after over two years of deafening silence, 10,000 metalheads, rockers, dreamers and optimists descended on the hallowed ground of Donington Park for the next phase of the Government’s hesitant pilot scheme to assess whether it is safe for live events to return; namely, how much of a threat festivals pose to the safety of the attendees. Covid safety measures were put in place as they arrived — chiefly the requirement of a negative test — but after that, there was no social distancing and no masks. And it was glorious, even if it was bucketing it down.
Bursting onto the stage at 17:00 on Friday, the very first band of the weekend, were Death Blooms. Their explosive set was the perfect welcoming for the crowd of anxious attendees, jolting them into mosh pits born as much from camaraderie and sheer joy as it was catharsis. With a set seeming to mirror the general thoughts of their audience — Anger, Fuck Everything, Life is Pain — there couldn’t have been a more suitable opening to the Pilot.
Meanwhile, on the main stage, Hot Milk were preparing to begin. And here comes one of the best things of the weekend — no clashes. You might miss the start or end of a song when moving between the two stages, but that’s about it. Missing a band becomes a choice rather than an inevitability, and as such every band was able to play to a substantial crowd! And boy did Hot Milk own that. Co-vocalists Hannah Mee and James Shaw put on a hell of a show, with people moshing to their hearts’ content and even climbing onto each others’ shoulders, in true festival fashion.
Hot Milk - Photo credit: Matt Eachus
That might not seem notable for a festival, but in a year of minimal human content, seeing it was magical.
And here was my first evidence of how beautiful the Download community is. If people fell, everyone stopped to help them up. There was a Shrek-hat-wearing man with what seemed like a jock strap and overalls wielding a blow up chainsaw making the pit his home, and no one batted an eyelid. Majestic might seem out of place but there was some strange, unassailable magic to it all.
My next slot was Boston Manor, after desperately needing to rehydrate and rest after two years of deafening silence and seated gigs, if any. Having reviewed their album Glue last year, and having seen them at Slam Dunk, I thought I knew what to expect. But knowing an album and hearing it live from a band waiting over a year to debut it are two different things. The galvanising energy of opener Everything is Ordinary only served to set the tone of the set as the band tore through songs old and new; from fan favourite Laika to the chillingly furious You, Me & The Class War, every song was screamed along from fans deprived of Boston Manor for far too long. Sure, their live from lockdown stream was incredible, but it’s a far cry from the screaming adoration of thousands. Meanwhile, a rueful chuckle of Henry Cox before the ‘weird time signature breakdown’ of Playing God reflected a man loving life, while triumphant closer Halo seemed almost poignant in its return to the Download stage three years later. Even Henry’s realisation that he’d been playing with his flies undone the entire set couldn’t damper his spirits. A true joy to watch.
Holding Absence - Photo credit: Matt Eachus
Next were Holding Absence. For such unassuming guys, they packed a hefty punch live. From Lucas’s tremendously powerful vocals — the guy can hold a note, that’s for sure — and Scott and Ashley’s ferociously tight instrumentals rose a rousing performance that had the packed tent screaming along with every word — particularly with crowd favourites Like a Shadow and Afterlife — which is truly an incredible feat given that nearly half of the songs came out barely two months ago. The waves of energy emanating from the visibly ecstatic trio washed across the crowd and only served to heighten every drop of enjoyment. Even some technical issues and time constraints couldn’t stop the lads from owning their time in the limelight. And it won’t be long before the next, that’s for sure.
Yet on the main stage, the crowd were neck deep in trouble as Ben Barlow and his compatriots took the stage.
See what I did there?
Neck Deep are a special band. They might be generic pop punk, but they know it, they damn well own it, and are all the better because of it. With long hair, a fuzzy beard, and an Ozzy Osbourne tour shirt from 1996, Ben seemed to encapsulate the lockdown spirit — and with his near disbelief at the crowd watching, the reality of it all comes crashing down. “When I’ve been sat at home watching The Office for the 10th time in a row, all I’ve wanted is this” he exclaims, as the band tear through their 12 song set. From the surprisingly emotional Motion Sickness, about appreciating life, to the powerful and pressing Don’t Wait — in which Ben does a genuinely decent approximation of Sam Carter’s guest vocals — the band exude fun. And after a year of doom and gloom, what could be better?
Sleep Token - Photo credit: Matt Eachus
Now came Sleep Token. Emerging on stage in their signature masks and hooded cloaks, fashionably late, came these enigmatic, elusive figures to deliver what was comfortably the most mesmerising, enchanting, incredible set I have ever seen. It was part theatrics, part prog metal; part celestial, part demonic. With what seemed like dummies at the back of the stage behind microphones, ‘front-person’ Vessel struck a hypnotic figure upon which you found yourself unable to look away from. Piano bled into drums bled into Vessel’s ethereally, hauntingly beautiful vocals as they tore through songs old and and new; so new, in fact, that one (Alkaline) had only been released that day. Even the technical issues, which left the band coming on about fifteen minutes late, only served to heighten the excitement and anticipation.
Not to take away from any of the other bands of the weekend, but Sleep Token were comfortably a highlight.
Finally, we have Frank. Having seen Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes a few times, there seems a direct correlation of the distance between Frank’s coiled, lithe body and his adoring crowd; with a reduced camera pit and shorter ledges, the distance seemed brief enough that Frank could go all out. Breaking immediately into Blossom favourite Trouble and diving straight onto the crowd, Frank held nothing back in his quest to prove that his headliner status was not unfounded and, in fact, was long overdue. Strutting across the stage, full of confidence, the man was a rockstar made flesh, and his incredible band — not least the inimitable Dean Richardson — were likewise triumphant.
After playing a Melody VR show live from Brixton Academy back in November, there were some hints to what the set might consist of. A little less ‘End of Suffering’ era tracks and a few more older friends from the early days for starters, with fan favourite Fangs deserving every moment of vitriolic passion pouring from the crowd; elsewhere, Kitty Sucker — restarted from an accident in the crowd — led Frank to show his caring side: “We’ve got to look after each other. Can we do this one from the top? It’s about how good I am at eating pussy.”
But the surprises in the set truly made it. The invitation to Joe Talbot from Idles on stage for recent explosive single My Town might not have been the most unexpected appearance, particularly for anyone who was there at their soundcheck at the start of the day, but the appearances of Sunday downloader Cassyette on stage — described by Frank as ‘the future legend, the future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’ — as well as the chaotically brilliant Lynks, and an exemplary cover of Motörhead’s Ace Of Spades, truly cemented this headline slot as one to remember. That it was the first headline set of the (hopefully) sole Download Pilot weekend and was history in the making is only the icing on the cake.
Franker Carter & The Rattlesnakes - Photo credit: Matt Eachus
Onto Day Two. Saturday started in brighter spirits; the rain had ceased for the moment, the sun was coming out, little by little — at one point getting warm enough that I had to take off one of my jumpers — and the mud hadn’t yet taken full ownership of the ground. Yet despite all this, the first few bands had a bit of a challenge in front of them, as everyone was hungover and exhausted.
How easily both Lotus Eater on the second stage and Conjurer on the main one conquered the broken crowd was laughable.
The Glaswegian metal men Lotus Eater were first, before noon had even hit, and quickly riled the crowd up into a maelstrom of brutality. The sheer density of their music left no room for the crowd to relax, as they were thrust into pit after pit, breakdown after breakdown. Even outside of the tent you could feel the riffs in your bones, their heart-palpitating, blood curdling screams.
Meanwhile Conjurer’s slow, seething rage left the crowd almost in a deafened stupor before working them up into a frenzy. People went down of course — being outside meant that this pit was now more a quagmire — but for the most part people were left transfixed as their set flew by.
As Everything Unfolds, then, had a slightly easier time of it. Their crowd was already hyped, already happily starting the process of battering each other. But despite this, they refused to let up. Lead singer Charlie Rolfe tore through her vocal cords like the audience tore through the mud, flying into piercing screams before diving into near guttural bellows, with a host of energetic melodies in between. Having released their full-length debut back in March, one couldn’t ask for a better format for a live debut than Download, and between Stranger in the Mirror, One Last Time and closer On The Inside, As Everything Unfolds grasped every shred of its potential.
Speaking of shred, Bleed From Within were next. Drummer Ali Richardson was on first, running to the front of the stage and jumping up and down to hype up the crowd, not that they weren’t already trembling with pent up energy. And the minute the band started playing, it was unleashed. You could feel the drums pounding your heart, even through earplugs. They were fire. As was the actual fire, with Bleed From Within being the first band (to my knowledge) of the weekend to use pyrotechnics!
Bleed Within - Photo credit: Matt Eachus
Plus, I think there was cowbell. And it is widely known that cowbell makes everything infinitely better.
The end of the set saw the entire band headbanging over those same stage wide pyrotechnics; even the afore mentioned Ali was giving it a go, at the risk of smashing his head into a cymbal. The already bolstered good spirits for the Scottish band, after the rather clutch 0-0 draw the night before, simply grew in closer The End of All We Know — a very deserved spot on the main stage.
The hotly tipped Wargasm were next on the main stage. After being a finalist for Best UK Breakthrough Act for the Heavy Music Awards (the voting of which is still open!) and playing a socially distanced show in Birmingham with Death Blooms the day before, the thousands strong crowd expected big things. Milkie the manic metal pixie, alongside the spiky red haired and rage-fuelled Sam, were only too happy to deliver. “By the end of this set you’re gonna be afraid of how much you love me”, Milkie screams, her soft Northern Irish accent a stark contrast to the angsty, vitriolic cries emanating from the stage a few seconds later; and it is with no real surprise that people, days later, still spoke with reverence about their explosive (if brief) display. The only thing matching their energy was their excitement — the two seemed as much fans with instruments as they did bona fide rockstars.
Wargasm - Photo credit: Matt Eachus
Meanwhile, on the second stage, Tigercub were preparing to take the stage. Having just released their second album — literally the day before — many people in the tent were unfamiliar with much of their music, and there were some perplexed looks when the band started playing. There were fewer brutal breakdowns than the other bands so far playing; fewer blood curdling screams. But what they did have were baselines galore. Their set oozed control, restraint, and sheer musical prowess as they meandered through tune after ethereal tune, slithering through the tent as an insidious moment of calm one second and channeling heavy riffs and resounding drum beats.
“Are there any Tigercub fans in the house”, Jamie asks, after recent single Stop Beating on my Heart (Like a Bass Drum); a scattering of passionate cheers erupted. “F*ck yeah lads, we’re doing it, little by little”.
One can only think there would have been a hell of a lot more cheers if that was asked again at the end!
Back on the main stage, one of the most fun sets of the weekend was about to begin.
But let me just preface this by lamenting on how annoying the band’s name is from a personal point of view. Have you ever tried to look up a band called ‘A’?? Weirdly enough, there are a few bands with that letter in their title!
A-nyway, back to the band.
Self-described as ‘always the most happy, cheery, poppy, swing your arms around-y, children’s presenter-y band’ to be playing Download, A were a sight to behold. For one, singer Jason Perry was wearing a Deliveroo bag on his back, for reasons never discussed. Perhaps, with this being their eighth time playing Download (by their count), you can always count on them to deliver? Between an ‘age appropriate’ walking circle pit after the resounding reply to his asking who had had two vaccines, and a quip concerning anti-vaxxers and a literal wall of death, A prove that even in the darkest of circumstances you can still have fun.
Important to mention, the novelty of an age appropriate walking circle pit is possibly the best recorded way to ever grow a crowd — everyone wanted, everyone needed to take part.
After being accosted by a guy trying to buy my Download hoodie, as the merch tables had run out, and passing a group of guys dressed as crabs making Zoidberg noises and pouring drinks into each other’s mouths, it was time for Vukovi. Tearing straight into Violent Minds and Claudia, two of the most successful singles from 2020’s Fall Better, Vukovi set a new bar for crowd energy. Janine, looking almost satanic in a leather jacket with Devil over an inverted crucifix emblazoned on the back, with literal chains around her neck, looked chaos made flesh, broken free from the chains of lockdown to wreck havoc; in the form of huge circle pits, legions of crowd surfers and a massive wall of death at the end, that chaos sure was wrecked. The mid-set appearance of recent single SLO, with its bridge of ‘I lost control but I liked it’ seems as much an interview answer after the set as it does a key component, while the blisteringly mad La Di Da only caused the crowd to lose their collective minds as well as their control. But it was in the almost Anime-esque bridge of Run/Hide that the band really made their mark on the festival, as the inevitable bruises in the near tent-wide pit would attest.
Hot on their heels came the wildly popular Yonaka on the main stage. Flying straight in with Seize The Power, a manic song about self-affirmation, you could see why. Even some technical gremlins couldn’t put a stop to their long overdue stint on the main stage; rather, the loss of sound during second track Punchbag, about being literal punchbags for external forces, seemed almost poignant. Rather than letting it derail them, however, Yonaka ascended from the would-be ashes of their set and thundered through their tracks like people possessed. The only real threat of a ruined set was in Theresa’s refusal to down her drink before new track Raise Your Glass — and when that’s the only downside you can think of, they must be doing something right.
Yonaka - Photo Credit: James Bridle
But as well loved the new songs were, it was in closers Rockstar and FWTB that really saw the crowd come alive. More than a few listeners were likely thinking of a different word (or name) for B than Boss while shouting with anger, but there is no question as to who they were listening to.
Flocking on stage, Those Damn Crows seemed overwhelmed. “Do you know how lucky we are to be here?” asks frontman Shane Greenhall at one point, to a packed out second stage; referring not just to the audience who had struggled for tickets to the limited event, or even the bands lucky enough to play what was often their first show in over a year, but to anyone fortunate enough to have made it unscathed through a global pandemic. Chants of ‘F*CK YOU COVID’ explode throughout the tent at various points, in a set suddenly turned bittersweet, and rightfully so. But the band wouldn’t let it get the better of them. Vibrating with energy, the band refused to stay still after a year of being inside — Shane especially spent much of the set jumping around the stage, jumping into the crowd, or just generally acting like a ridiculously good-natured and beautifully raspy pogo stick. Songs like Sin on Skin or Who Did It were embraced by a crowd desperate to sing along, while closer Rock ‘n’ Roll ain’t Dead perfectly summed up a set heaving with Shane’s classic-rock-oriented voice.
The similarly oriented Stone Broken soon followed. The inimitably likeable Rich Moss and his band had seen a lot of representation from the crowd over the weekend, with many a Stone Broken tour shirt adorning the Download wardrobe, and you could quickly see why. As well as tremendous songs, such as soon-to-come track The Devil You Know or Worth Fighting For, the rock quartet regaled is with bashful yet brilliant stories, such as having Let Me See It All be picked up by people who set the music for American strip clubs and almost inevitably finding out that it peaked at number one, the most played song across the US. Perhaps not the most prestigious accolade but certainly one that will always stick with you!
But it was when his solitary figure took to the centre of the stage with just his guitar to play the emotionally beautiful Wait For You that the set really peaked, with people nearly in tears as they sang the chorus back. Couldn’t have asked for a better set!
No-one would have been surprised if While She Sleeps had been named headliners. If their riotous sell out of Brixton Academy at the start of 2020 hadn’t been an indication, these metalcore masters, these screaming virtuosos, are incredible to behold. Breaking straight into the rousing Sleeps Society, a track referring both to their newly released album and to their intimate fan collective, Loz Taylor and co burned with pent up emotion, literal stars giving off explosive heat and shining light. This new album, many of which were debuted then and there — NERVOUS, YOU ARE ALL YOU NEED — are made for stunning the arenas, the headline slots of the world; older songs such as Four Walls seemed almost intimate in the sheer pathos of the crowd roaring the words back to them. But if the songs are formed ready made for the crowds, the effortlessly talented quintet seem natural on stage, bound to happen as it was. You had to wonder whether they would have got the same placement in a normal Download — now you have to wonder whether they’ll get an even higher one in the next.
While She Sleeps - Photo credit: Matt Eachus
Many people around me were worried whether headliners Enter Shikari would be able to match their level of frenzy, their effortless command of the crowd. They needn’t have bothered. From the opening notes of an instrumental Live Outside, recorded by Rou Reynolds in the days prior on his trusty trumpet, the crowd were raring to go.
With a career spanning set, ranging from the earliest tones of Mothership or the fan favourite Sorry You’re Not A Winner, to the existential The Great Unknown — particularly poignant, with the first words of the set being “Is this a new beginning/ or are we close to the end” — Enter Shikari became a journey, a voyage through the void to some of the best and most eccentric rock music of the past 15 years; the set seems a long time coming. A frantic crowd showed the band what they had been missing the past year, even with a headline set in Five4Five last year — Paddington Frisk is powered by circle pits, don’t you know? — while confetti-specked gin on stage seemed to keep Rou going. Nevertheless, moments of peace dripped into the manic set as if from the very Anaesthetist called for in 2015’s The Mindsweep; The Last Garrison, for instance, saw Rou crouched almost vulnerably out in front of the stage, in front of a screen, while the intro to closer Live Outside reflected a band still as fresh faced as ever (despite first playing Download back in 2006), with Rou near begging his enraptured fans to “be weird, be wild, be curious, be a child”. That final chorus of Live Outside, then, came across as a heartfelt plea as much as it does the anthemic finale of a headline set. And in a slowly dying world, entranced by technology and having been denied meaningful social contact for a year, the message is more meaningful than ever.
Enter Shikari - Photo Credit: James Bridle
After all of this, Day Three seemed almost bittersweet. The weekend was ending, the closest thing to normalcy felt in over a year was merely a blip in the face of national lockdowns, self isolation, and overwhelming loss. But Static Dress refused to let people dwell on this. Striking a crouched pose at the front of the stage for most of the set, lead singer Olli Appleyard screamed over riffs, swung microphone stands and generally lived his best life in front of the thousands-strong crowd in the second tent; brutal live stalwarts such as sweet, clean or safeword helped drive the hungover, bone-chilled and exhausted crowd to ferocious moshes before the clock had even struck noon. But even there it could be felt, an almost desperate desire to stave away the sure-to-be particularly disastrous festival blues; a conscious lack of crowd interaction made sure to keep the energy as well stocked as possible, flying through track after chaotically enraging track.
But outside of the tent, punters were widely subdued, trying to muster up whatever dregs of energy remained for the rest of the day. With the ground looking like you’d expect from a Download — squelching mud bedazzled with bootprints and coated liberally with empty bottles and cans, it seemed a harsh revelation that this was it.
With their bassist in corpse paint (self described as ‘horror’), their guitarist in a skeleton shirt, their drummer in almost Texas Chainsaw- Overalls, and lead vocalist Kitty A Austin all in black with an inverted crucifix hanging from a choker, smudged lipstick, and looking like Death incarnate, Saint Agnes were a sight to behold back in the main stage. “Welcome to our Sunday sermon”, Kitty near-whispers into the mic before the band tear through a litany of songs, such as the haunting ‘I’m with you everywhere you go’; the band oozed menace which the quickly growing crowd lapped up like the darkness-deprived Downloaders they are.
‘You call me evil but baby I’m so much worse’, she cries, breaking into This World Ain’t Big Enough, and truly putting on a hell of a show: even smashing her guitar at the climax before coating herself in blood and screaming ‘Repent’ at the delighted onlookers.
“Let’s get down”, she cries during their final song. “I see you in the back, I’ll come out and get you! Unless you can’t get down”, she chuckles almost ruefully, “in which case it’s fine”. A moment of humanity from the band that shows just how much they’re enjoying themselves, and rightfully so.
Back on the other stage, the crowd were amped up for relative newcomer Cassyette. After her moments on the main stage with Frank on Friday (and featuring in the same song in the yet to be announced album), it seems that Cassyette felt like she had something to prove. And with a limited discography released to sing along to, there’s always the question of whether an act can retain audience focus over their set. With Cassyette — only three songs out, and one of those only coming out in the past week or so — there was always that faint worry, especially when second single Jean was absent. But my god was it unfounded, as she tore through unreleased song after unreleased song, adored by her crowd. And it was undeniably *hers*. From the first moment guitarist Tylr (in a bondage harness no less) and Cassy take the stage, everything was already set in stone — the exemplary set was merely a garnish. An electrifying, invigorating performance, only made better by the sheer range of talent and genre splicing employed on stage — of particular note was the venomous rap portion of fan favourite Dear Goth!
Needing a short recharge — a travesty given the past year of nothing but recharging — the next band seen were another candidate for best UK breakthrough act — Loathe.
The first thought that came to mind when the metal outfit walked on stage was ‘well shit, people are going over’. The mud from pits gone by would undoubtedly trip a fair few up. The next thought was ‘well shit, I understand now why these guys have such a good reputation’. Often compared to Deftones, which is high praise even at the worst of times, Loathe are ridiculously tight live; and despite perhaps not having Chino’s range — and who does? — vocalist Kadeem’s voice is beautifully vitriolic in the verses while guitarist and second vocalist Eric’s clean vocals provide a brilliant and steady contrast.
Mid set, Kadeem ventures into the crowd, almost angelic, simply for the crowd to touch him and for him to touch the crowd. This might seem weird in non-Covid times but today, the last day of the Pilot, it makes total sense. This is the last chance for a while for any of us to have any semblance of normality.
However, during the final song Two-Way Mirror, disaster nearly struck. The microphone kept cutting out, and in an attempt to fix it, the instruments cut out too. Instead of ending their set early, though, it led to one of the most magical moments of the weekend, with Kadeem left singing an entirely acapella and entirely transcendent second section of the song, helped by the Download crowd.
Weirdly, during their set, I am reminded of how amazing the Download community is. There’s a guy in a Lost Forever/ Lost Together Architects shirt and a propellor hat, near a guy with a Pokémon suit on.
After another short rest — the rest of the weekend starting to catch up with me — came Lonely the Brave. The recently returned outfit, with new lead singer Jack Bennet (formerly Grumble Bee) had a rocky start to the set, with sound issues running throughout opener Black Mire. But they quickly sorted themselves out for newer single Keeper, the first of the set featuring Jack’s vocals rather than David’s for the studio version. It’s hard to compare the two; both have fantastic voices, both are very different. But Jack’s are certainly stronger for the songs that he helped to write and produce — Keeper, Bound, Bright Eyes, The Harrow — while easily holding their own in older outfits such as Backroads. Jittery like a sugared-up pre-teen, Jack was a manic presence on stage, full of trembling nerves but a full heart as he roared and bellowed through a set perfect for a Sunday afternoon. There were even a fair few laughs, usually from a self-depreciating Jack; “ooo f*cling hell, a vegan talking about being vegan’ after a series of cheers when asking if there were any other vegans in the crowd being a particular highlight. The only downside were some crowd favourites left out of the set, but that was for the only Lonely The Brave. The new one is only just starting to begin.
Now, being born in 1999, I never got to see Elvis Presley, nor did I get to see Nirvana. In 2021... well, I still haven’t, but at Download festival, I saw Elvana from (dis) Graceland, and they were a hell of a lot of fun. With a set comprising a mish mash of some of the best Nirvana and Elvis songs — Nirvana music presented by the ‘King of rock and roll’, the Geordie band played the greats. Before the set, some were grumbling that the slot could have gone to a more ‘serious’ band. But where’s the fun in that? Where else could you mosh to Smells like Teen Spirit and then have an ‘Elvis Presley circle pit’ to Blue Suede Shoes, all while both paying homage to and taking the piss out of two of the greatest rock and roll icons to have ever graced the planet? Not to mention, with the day beginning to draw to a close, the insanity of the concept helped distract from the ending of the weekend!
After another guilt-inducing rest, we found ourselves at the second stage for St Albans based punk-rock heroes Trash Boat, one of the final acts of the weekend. Their introduction to the stage came with the classic Thin Lizzy number, The Boys are Back In Town, complete with the almost karaoke magic of the packed out tent screaming along with the chorus — even the most serious members of security couldn’t help but mouth along with the chorus — before Tobi and the gang ran on, with Tobi wearing what looked to be a Kevlar vest. Opener Silence Is Golden (a horribly misleading song title at a Download festival) set the scene, giving the same security guards who were just relaxing an idea of what they were in for, as they cast sidelong glances at each other. One even fake flexed; who needs the gym when you’re carrying hundreds of people over the barrier?
The highlight of the set came later on however. The band had got it into their heads that they were only playing a 30 minute set, rather than a 50 minute one. So they had decided to throw someone in that they never usually got to play.
Their cover of Given Up, for Songs that Saved My Life.
Trash Boat - Photo credit: Matt Eachus
After a heartfelt tribute to Chester, the band launched into the explosive song that saw at least someone over the barrier every four seconds; and even if Dani was disappointed that he hadn’t managed to achieve Chester’s feat — “f*ck man, imagine if I’d made the scream” — it was incredible nevertheless.
“On three, I want you to shout out the name of your favourite band this weekend”, Tobi asks the crowd in a moment of peace. The cacophony of names screamed in answer reflects the truth of the weekend — every band has been loved. The crowd have adored every second of relative freedom, and can’t bear for it to end. Yet after roaring through new single Don’t You Feel Amazing and announcing a new tour for next year, we were all one step closer.
But first, before either headliner, came the inimitable Skindred. Coming on stage to a remixed Imperial March from Star Wars, with a black and white Union Flag, was Benji and the crew; in a red sequin coat, black sequin trousers and spiked sunglasses — sparkling all over the place — the ridiculously charismatic frontman of the most exciting metal band there is was a joy to behold.
Soon came a genuinely ridiculous amount of crowd participation, with a focus on unity rather than competition. As one singular crowd extending from the stage to the bars and food kiosks, everyone swayed their hands when told or screamed when commanded. And commanded is an appropriate word — the audience were understandably enraptured, with the crowd even full on bowing, worshipping at Skindred’s feet; even undressing for them later into the set with the infamous Newport helicopter.
And between dancing like a robot, encouraging the crowd to show him their kung fu moves, carrying a small child with ear defenders across the stage, and playing Jump (Van Halen) on a tiny electronic keyboard, Benji was the bat shit ringleader of the whole affair.
Insane.
The penultimate act of the night was an interesting choice for the weekend, as ‘Irredeemable Sh*tlub Indie Folk Singer Frank Turner’ took the stage for show #2526. “I want the penultimate reserve of energy you have left”, the acoustic, folksy Winchester resident shouted to the crowd, a stark contrast to anyone else from the weekend: a fact he was keen to drive home, claiming his set to be the first time we’d seen an acoustic guitar over the weekend — or, as he described it, a “weapon of great power.” But a metal head in his soul, having previously fronted a post-hardcore band, he was well welcomed. A mixture of gentle ballads — I Am Disappeared, The Ballad of Me and My Friends — went hand in hand with the rowdy — The Road, If Ever I Stray — and the (comparatively) heavy — such as a new, metal version of Little Changes — as Frank and the Sleeping Souls tore through anthem after anthem. Yet the crowd were careful not to mistake gentle with weak. The depression-battling Get Better or the politicised 1933, for instance, provided a more realistic, cynical counterpoint to the optimistic, music-conquers-all I Still Believe from 2010’s England, Keep My Bones, while the lyricism ensured poignancy and power beyond simple sing-alongs. A final speech celebrating the behind the crew scenes of the music life — without whom they’d be “five prancing idiots on a raised platform” — and a shout out to the We Make Events campaign preceded a crowd wide dance, twirling through each other like ephemeral ghosts during Four Little Words, and then that was that.
Bullet For My Valentine - Photo credit: Matt Eachus
Now it was just Bullet.
I say ‘just’ very loosely. Bullet For My Valentine are never simply ‘just’ Bullet For My Valentine. Even the staging — a huge array of 80 additional lights across the stage — screamed ‘HEADLINERS’, as they backlit the band, leaving them as four elusive shadows before they even started playing.
But then they started playing.
Some bands rely on audience participation to succeed. Skindred, for instance; they would be great without it, but truly ascend with it. Some almost seem to refuse to involve the crowd, and can suffer heavily. Bullet For My Valentine are neither. There is a bare minimum of crowd participation for the first five or six songs — because they don’t need it. They rely on their stunning light show, their dirty riffs, the fury of Jason Bowd’s drums, Matt Tuck’s intense vocals, and the sheer adoration emanating from the crowd for each and every song they play, and each and every thing that they do. Why talk when you can let the music do that for you? And it is music. Brutal, chaotic, often violent music, but stunningly crafted music. The flattening force of Your Betrayal precedes the anthemic You Want A Battle (Here’s A War), as the crowd celebrate Bullet finally achieving the undeniably deserved Download headliner status, if in different circumstances than first expected.
Partway through the set, a man approaches me from the pit. Missing a few teeth, bleeding from the lip; stabbed in the lip, it turns out. He smiles. ‘Download things’, he croaks to me, and then heads back in. That’s the magic of Download — the music numbs the pain and celebrates the community, two things which have been in short supply recently.
The ‘final’ song (as the only headliner to schedule an encore) was a particular highlight. As Benji from Skindred strides on stage, reverberating drums begin to clatter, as the distinct guitar chords of Iron Maiden’s Run To The Hills begin to break out. And, even if Benji needed a lyric sheet (and still managed to get them wrong at points) to keep up, he managed to achieve a ridiculously good homage to the legendary Bruce Dickinson’s vocals.
With ten minutes left, Bullet For My Valentine triumphantly re-emerge to the ecstatic crowd.
Tears Don’t Fall. Hand Of Blood. And Waking The Demon.
And then that’s that. An insane set to end an insane weekend.
Every act was fantastic. Even the handful I missed had people around me crowing about them for days to come. Every act was genuinely brilliant, and it is a credit to them that they all were able to perform.
Notably, the sheer amount of female talent on stage over the weekend proves that festivals can do better but just choose not to, instead citing a lack of names in whichever genres they represent. Bullsh*t. If metal can do it, there’s no excuse. Saint Agnes and Cassyette helping to start the Sunday are prime examples, as are Hot Milk, As Everything Unfolds, Yonaka, Vukovi, Wargasm, Creeper and a host of other names over the rest of the weekend. That everything was arranged in a matter of days, and a typically male-dominated genre had a rather decent proportion of representation, is amazing. Everyone else: do better.
Some might call it a little too hopeful for festivals to happen, even as part of a Pilot scheme, especially in the wake of the recent extension of measures. But Download and their loyal subjects were ready and willing to take the risk, to stand up and put themselves on the line for the sake of an industry crippled over the past year. No test can be 100% accurate; the results of the festival are yet to be seen. But anyone and everyone attending — from the bands to the crew, from the security to the press, and particularly the campers — was willing to risk it for the music. And what beautiful music it was, with the best and brightest of the British rock scene making an appearance.
But there’s one more thing, that hasn’t received nearly enough attention. On a news broadcast yesterday, Andy Copping revealed that the bands on the lineup were not getting paid, bar the covering of their expenses. Let that sink in. The bands, from the arena smashing Bullet For My Valentine or Enter Shikari to the up-and-coming Loathe or Vukovi, were performing (largely) for free. Performing simply to perform, simply to show that music was alive and well and to give just a glimmer of hope to every other festival organiser or potential attendee or artist that maybe things might turn out okay. Live Nation even made a rather significant loss on the event — but the fact that it happened was the main thing.
If there’s one thing to take away from Download 2021, it’s that. It happened. And despite perhaps being a little more pessimistic than Frank Turner’s I Still Believe would suggest, something as simple as rock and roll may still save us all.
Words by James O’Sullivan
Photos provided by LD Communications