Download Festival 2012 - Review

Hey guys, I went to Download Festival 2012 over the weekend and I've decided to make a review of all the bands that I saw - I'm aware some of these aren't metal enough to make it into this subreddit, but I think a review of the festival and the bands that played there may be useful for people planning on going to gigs in the future or to this festival at some point.

So here goes with the bands I saw/wanted to see:

Day 1

Rise to Remain - Main Stage

Cancelled :'(

Cancer Bats - Main Stage

Same as above, minus the :'(

The Jellycats - Red Bull Bedroom Jam Tent

A strange pop-punk/ska act who we went to see because one of my friends back home knows them and told us to go say hi on his behalf. They were fun, the crowd danced which made the experience a lot of fun, but all their songs started to sound the same after about 15 minutes.

Tightness: 8/10 - there were a couple of mistakes, but it was still good

Fun Factor: 6/10 - At first it was a load of fun listening to a bit of music I don't usually listen to but, as stated above, it sounded too samey and lost it's appeal quickly.

Recommendation: I recommend seeing these guys only if they are a supporting act, even if you don't like ska-punk. It will be fun, but I don't think they're headline material.

NOFX - Main Stage

If you haven't heard of these guys, you've probably been living underneath a rock at some point in your life. These guys play proper punk rock with some added spice here and there, with some reggae and a bit of trumpet every so often. The main reason to see these guys is not the quality of their music, I mean; they have the exact same drum beat in damn near every song as well as the same chord sequence. The reason you see these guys is because they are funny and make sure the audience has a good time.

Tightness: 9/10 - A few times where the vocals came in late and 1 or 2 missed bass drum hits, but pretty damn solid.

Fun Factor: 9/10 - You can mosh to these guys or just listen and enjoy their jokes, either way you're almost certain to enjoy the show (at least in a festival environment)

Recommendation: If these guys are on at a festival and they are not clashing with anyone else you want to see, go.

Billy Talent - Main Stage

I absolutely love these guys, they are unique both musically and vocally. I don't know any other band who can replicate their sound. Despite that, I didn't enjoy the set as much as I could have done. 1. It wasn't the best setlist they could have played; it was good, but not great. 2. The sound was absolutely terrible, I blame download for this as it was true from the whole of the main stage that day, and for a band like this, to actually hear the heaviness of the riffs in songs like Devil In the Midnight Mass requires you to actually be able to hear the guitar. 

I was upset that their set was eaten into by the **Cancer Bats** who played one song, Hell Destroyer, because Talent, being the nice band they are, let them play because they were cancelled (despite the fact that they were moved to a different stage whereas **Rise to Remain** were cancelled outright... Sorry I really wanted to see R2R)

Tightness: 10/10 - Not much to say, they were perfectly tight as always with these guys

Fun Factor: 7/10 - The volume of the music seemed to fluctuate between inaudible guitar, only bass guitar and distinct lack of vocals. This really put a downer on the crowd reaction, but the pits were still lively for Viking Death March and Devil in the Midnight Mass

Recommendation: See these guys if you can, you will not be disappointed by their live show. They interact with the crowd well, they play well and most importantly, playing fucking great songs

Machine Fucking Head - Main Stage

These guys need no introduction, but for those of you who don't know these guys, please just listen to this and be aware that they are awesome. Unfortunately, the sound ruined these guys. As said before with Billy Talent these guys need to be loud to appreciate (heck most metal does) but when you can't hear the guitars over the bass or the drums over the bass, or the vocals over the bass... you get the point. Despite this, they played a great show.

Tightness: 8/10 - it wouldn't be a Machine Head gig if they didn't miss a few notes  here and there, but nothing major

Fun factor: 8/10 - The sound limited my ability to have fun and they didn't play Davidian, but the pits during Halo somewhat mitigated my annoyance.

Recommendation: If you like them even a small amount, see them live. They hold the world record for the largest number of pits in one song for a reason (Sonisphere 2009... I was there too, it was epic)

Slash ft Myles Kennedy - Encore Zippo (2nd) Stage 

If you don't know who slash is, there is no hope for you. The Power of Myles Kennedy's voice (of Alter Bridge) only helps to push forward slash's songs. He completely beats Axl Rose on every front, from crowd interaction, to actual voice quality. This is shown best when they play Guns n' Roses classics like Sweet Child O' Mine as well as Slither by Velvet Revolver. 

Tightness: 10/10 - If they weren't perfect slash wouldn't have them in his band, they were great.

Fun Factor: 9/10 - compared to the main stage, this stage was loud as all hell, which made it much more enjoyable. The only reason I can't give it a 10 is that I hadn't heard enough of Slash's solo stuff to be familiar with his whole set.

Day 2

**Note:**

My tent was destroyed by the wind on Friday evening (it tore the METAL poles apart) so my friends and I slept in a flat tent and spent Saturday morning dealing with the wreckage so we missed  some bands who would have been great to see, but I'll give you my other friend's take on them:

As I Lay Dying - Main Stage

"They were great, I'd never seen them before and they are really heavy  - I only went because my brother told me to go and I'm glad he did I recommend seeing them if they play a show near you if it's not too expensive" 

Don Broco - Pepsi Max Tent

"Probably the best band of the weekend, I went because you (my friend referring to me) told me to go. Thank fuck you did. They are one of the best live bands I've ever seen ThugWorkout was insane. To anyone who hasn't seen them before, see them... NOW before they get too big, because they will, so you can't have the same experience"

I will add my own note to this See these guys!!! As I've supported these guys live 3 times and seen them subsequently a few times, I feel as though I'm in a position to say they are amazing and will make it big. See them. Honestly, you will LOVE IT!!!

Aaaaaanyway  - back to my review

Trivium - Main Stage 

I'm aware these guys don't get much love on the r/metal subreddit, but I really liked both The Crusade and Shogun as albums (the first being Thrash Metal, the second being more standard metal) Despite the fact that they only played one song from the 2 albums combined, which they ending with (Throes ofPerdition for those wondering - great song) All their other songs either came from their new album In Waves, or their older album.  The sound on this stage was now loud enough to go mental to, as it should have been the previous day

Tightness: 10/10 - They were tight as fuck.

Fun factor: 9/10 - Despite them not playing many of my favourite songs, opening to In Waves immediately got the crowd moving, and crowd interaction was decent considering it was main stage.

Steel Panther - Main Stage 

These guys are a parody of 80s Glam. And they do it so well that they were one of my favourite bands of the entire weekend. If you haven't heard of them, Listen now

Tightness: 10/10 - these guys nailed it, like they nailed all 17 girls in a row 

Fun Factor: 10/10 - The crowd interaction and banter was incredible, plus the level of boobs on display was on par with that of a 14 year old's fantasy. Oh and Corey Taylor (Of Slipknot and Stone Sour) came on stage too for the song that I linked above. It was a great show!

Recommendation: see them... if not for the music, for the great live act and almost certainly large number of boobs.

Tenacious D (The D) - Main Stage

After watching Pick of Destiny a fair few times, I felt it was only right to go and see these guys. They were good, but not great. They had a hard act to follow. Steel Panther had already set the comedy bar so high, The D just couldn't compare. 

Tightness: 8/10 - There were a few times, here or there, where Jack Black missed a few notes (guitarwise, not vocally) or a came in late vocally, but it was pretty solid.

Fun Factor: 7/10 - Unless you are already a big fan of these guys, there's not much fun to be had. Their live show mainly consists of just sing along to all their songs if you know them. If you don't, look at a giant penis phoenix. 

Recommendation: Don't bother seeing these guys unless you already know their stuff pretty well.

Biffy Clyro - Main Stage

I think that playing before Metallica was a very big ask for these guys but usually I'd say they would be able to pull it off, as they have some very high quality songs... saying that, they played the worst set I've seen them play (I've seen them a few times) and it definitely wasn't the right set for the crowd, considering they played both God & Satan and Many of Horror, 2 of their softest songs. Doing this at a Metal festival shows their lack of ability to gauge a crowd more than anything. They also played 2 new songs, both were ok, but at a festival for a band already playing soft songs you wanted to hear songs you know so you could get moving again, not being annoyed that you missed either LostAlone or Skindred

Tightness: 10/10 - despite choosing a poor set, they were tight as a Jew during a recession.

Fun factor: 4/10 - They were a big disappointment, especially after having seen them twice before, both times being great gigs.

Recommendation: based of this one performance, I'd have to say you shouldn't see them, but I've seen them before and at their own gig they are insane and worth seeing. Only for true fans though, if you're on the fence, I'd suggest siding on not going given that it may disappoint.

Killswitch Engage - 2nd Stage 

These guys make sci-fi almost a reality with their epic laser sounding pinch harmonics all over the place. Revitalised with the comeback of their old singer Jesse (after Howard left the band) they played a great gig with a set that, were I to choose a song list, was pretty much perfect. From Arms of Sorrow, to My Curse, to their fantastic cover of Dio's Holy Diver, it was all there. 

Tightness: 10/10 - They are as big as they are for a reason, they play good songs, and they do it well

fun factor: 9/10 - A small amount of crowd banter helped me enjoy the show even more than I was already. The crowd went mental for these guys and it was great.

Metallica - Main Stage

They were set to play the whole of the Black album in its entirety when. Everybody there that I knew assumed they'd play that and then bring on some of the epic tunes from their first 4 albums. But Metallica being the gods that they are decided to open with Hit The Lights, Master of Puppets, Four Horsemen and For Whom The Bell Tolls before playing a new song Hell and Back from their EP Beyond Magnetic. They then played the Black album in reverse and had an encore of Battery, One and Seek and Destroy.  To say that I love these guys would be an understatement. This was easily the best band of the whole weekend, both performance-wise and musically.

Tightness: 6/10 - Lars (unsurprisingly) was sloppy as fuck with his dynamics and James, uncharacteristically, messed up a bit during Master of Puppets. Despite that, they delivered a great performance

Fun Factor: 10/10 - their live show is one of the greatest I've seen, this is now the 3rd time I've seen them and it was just as incredible as ever. The crowd go mental, the band clearly still love what they do after all these years and I caught a pick that Kirk Hammet threw my way after they finished. Of course my reaction was dignified

Recommendation: Need I say more?? If you can afford it, see them.

Day 3 

This was the day I was least fussed about, I only really wanted to see a few bands, and they were on later that day, so I just jammed out in the, finally, sunny weather listening to some bands I'd never heard before apart from...

Anthrax - Main Stage

To be honest, I know I'll get a bit harassed by people for this, but these guys are nowhere near as good as their reputation would suggest. I like maybe 3 songs by them but I'd thought I'd see them (a 2nd time, I saw them at Reading 2010 which I enjoyed because of their great front man) but due to having a different vocalist, who couldn't really sing very well, it was nothing special.

Tightness: 6/10 - they were sloppier than the last time I saw them. Also the vocalist missed a fair few notes

Fun Factor: 5/10 - they were really bog standard metal, nothing special about it in any way shape or form (In My Opinion) the vocalist didn't really interact with the crowd and watching Scott Ian running around doing most of the work just made me think "I would have preferred to see The Damned Things" 

Recommendation: I wouldn't

Rival Sons - 2nd stage

These guys are a bog standard rock band. They were nice to listen to, but were nothing special. The crowd seemed to be singing along to 1 or 2 songs but other than that it was a bid dead.

Tightness: 9/10 - I heard 1 or 2 mistakes (or at least they sounded that way, not knowing the band I can't be sure) but they were pretty tight

Fun Factor: 7/10 - Listening to some classic rock whilst in the sun is always nice, I imagine if the weather were as bad as it was for the previous few days though that they would have been nothing special.

Recommendation: If you haven't heard them and aren't into classic rock, don't listen to them. If you are into classic rock, give them a listen but they won't blow your mind.

Sebastian Bach - 2nd Stage

Similar to the Rival Sons above really, I'd never heard these guys before and they seemed pretty good at ballads but the vocalist couldn't really sing when it came to heavier songs. It was almost as if he had 2 tones, really nice beautiful vocals for the softer parts then screech for the heavier sections.

Tightness: 8/10 - the singer brought the band down in this regard, missing a lot of notes and going out of key a bit.

Fun Factor: 6/10 - again laying in the sun listening to a bit of rock is always nice, but the screechy vocals brought me out of my relaxation too often.

Recommendation: Not too sure about these guys. I'd give them a miss.

Ugly Kid Joe - 2nd Stage

I had never heard these guys before, but they definitely knew how to get the crowd going and know how to write a catchy song. by the end I was singing along with all the other people there.

Tightness: 10/10 - I couldn't hear anything wrong with it at all

Fun Factor: 8/10 - For a sing along rock band, these guys are great. These guys just loved playing music and they were grateful that they've been able to do it for so long. The weather was perfect for them, the only thing limiting my fun was that I didn't know any of their songs. 

Recommendation: look these guys up if you see them supporting a band you like or, considering how long they've been going, if they're headlining a gig near you and it's not overpriced.

Shinedown

The first band of the day I was actually looking forward to, I've never been the biggest fan of theirs, mainly because I haven't given them a proper listening to, but after seeing them live, that has changed. They were one of the best bands of the weekend, with fantastic stage presence, speeches to the audience and their songs  have the epic feel about them so that you can both sing along and mosh. When they played Devour the crowd truly went wild.

Tightness: 10/10 - Absolutely perfect, every damn note on every instrument and vocally.

Fun Factor: 10/10 - the crowd reaction mixed with the band's stage presence made this one of the most fun bands of the weekend

Recommendation: If you like heavy rock with some softer undertones. Epic vocals over great riffs, or even some nice slower songs, then give these guys a lookup. 

Megadeth – Main Stage

These guys also need no introduction, everyone reading a review of a metal festival (especially if you've read this far) must know them, I mean, it's the original guitarist from Metallica, they are one of the big 4 metal bands and for all that... they still disappointed. The crowd were a bit dead, Dave barely spoke with the crowd and his whiney voice, which I can usually bare on record, was far worse live. 

Tightness: 8/10 - playing they were on point, vocally... not so much

Fun Factor: 6/10 - I like some of their songs so I had a bit of fun, but if you were any further back it would have been boring as hell.

Recommendation: Based on this performance, I wouldn't recommend seeing them, though my friends assured me that they are better at their own gig.

Dropkick Murpheys - 2nd stage

I really didn't want to see Soundgarden so instead my friends who are in a punk band took me to see these guys. And they were quite fun. It definitely took me out of my music comfort zone but was worth a lookup. I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again or listen to them, but if they come on I wouldn't turn them off. 

Tightness: 9/10 - pretty tight apart from a blip in the vocals in a couple places

Fun Factor: 8/10 - the dance pits were a lot of fun, with some square dancing going on. The only thing is that there was next to no band-crowd interaction. they just played and left.

Recommendation: as above, if they're on don't turn them off, but I wouldn't go actively listening to them as they start to sound very very samey after a bit 

Rise Against - 2nd Stage

Now this band really blew me away, I'm actually glad I missed the start of Black Sabbath for these guys, honestly, they were just incredible. They played extended versions of both Saviour and Prayer for the Refugee. The band were crazy, the crowd were crazier and the experience was awesome!

Tightness: 10/10 - they were tight as a baby's arsehole

Fun factor: 10/10 - This and Shinedown easily made my day. I need to see these guys live again. I really do.

Recommendation: Listen to them on CD/online, and then see them live, you won't regret it if you like their music. 

Black Sabbath - Main Stage 

This is obvious... they were Sabbath with Ozzy. You can't ask for much more. After seeing Ozzy solo last year I thought I was lucky, but this was cool. It was a bit sad though, as I felt as though Ozzy was going to keel over and die on stage as you saw him shuffle along the large stage, a mere shadow of what he once was. Despite that I enjoyed the show.

Tightness: 9/10 - Ozzy missed a few cues, not sure if that was because of him throwing water on the crowd, or just because he was to frail to get back to the mic in time.

Fun Factor: 7/10 - After seeing Rise Against, the slow sludgy riffs just didn't seem as epic as they should have been.

Boasting/namedrop factor for the festival: 10/10 - I got to see Slash, Metallica and Black Sabbath within 3 days of each other. Not many people I know can say that. 

Overall Review of the festival:

So basically, the walking from camp site to arena is far too long (at least 30 minutes). This is when compared to other festivals I've been to like Reading or Sonisphere, where it only took about 10-15 minutes maximum. This means that if you want to see a band, then want to go back to your tent for food/beer/weed/find someone you can't without missing at least one act. I found this out to my detriment by missing Nightwish on the first day. 

The organisation of the festival as a whole is easily the worst that I've seen, with a forecast of heavy rain being touted by all reliable sources, they still had not prepared for any rain whatsoever. By the end of the first day of earlybird visits (Wednesday) 90% of the campsite and village became an almost impossible to walk on, swamp-like terrain. This was only corrected by the Sunday... when it was sunny. Due to this lack of planning and poor organisation the first 2 acts, Rise To Remain and Cancer Bats were cancelled whilst they were trying to clean the Arena, even though when we got in it was as if they'd not done any cleaning... or anything for that matter. And none of the staff had been informed of what was happening or how it would effect set times. It was a real planning disaster really put me off going to this festival ever again.

Despite this, I still had a great time during the days as people from all over the UK as well as others from Europe and Canada were really friendly and made the most bands enjoyable to watch.

If you're ever considering going to Download festival in the future when there's a thought in your mind that Reading/Leed or Sonisphere might have a line-up that is just as good. go to one the other festivals, as Download really isn't as good as the others and relies heavily on its reputation for bringing in great bands. 

Festival rating: 

Bands: 9/10 - Some really great acts, but there were times, mainly on Sunday, where there weren't any acts I was crazy about seeing.

Sound: 7/10 - The Main Stage sound was really poor the first day and only improved in volume, but not mix on the Saturday and Sunday. The other stages were loud, but often had far too much bass at any one time. You'd think that at a festival like this, they'd have really skilled sound engineers for their main acts.

Organisation: 4/10 - There was next to no level of organisation in terms of having the staff know what is going on/where things are etc. Whenever something was changed the staff seemed to hear about it at the same time as the fans... which was after it had happened.

Overall rating: 7/10 - It was the worst festival I've been to, comparing this to the very first Sonisphere (2009) or Reading 2010 & 2011 I'd say that's an easy decision to make.