Review by Sheri Bicheno for MPM
Saturday is here and it is GLORIOUS sunshine.
Going by a vague post sparking rumours from Matt Heafy’s instagram stories, the couple of hours space at the Opus stage opened up heavy speculation that we were gonna get a monumental secret set this morning…
And behold, thousands gathered… and left Trvium – less haha.
So off i popped to the Apex stage to go and kickstart my day with Liverpool metalcore innovators Loathe.
Though the guys were delayed getting on stage, they took no time in blistering through their set loaded with winding synths and thundering riffs.
Melting into tech infused chuggy guitars and blasting double pedals, New Faces In The Dark introduced the main stage with some of the best modern metal out there today.
Heavy Is The Head That Falls With the Weight of a Thousand Thoughts throws a battering ram of energy that blends jawdropping frenzied blast beats morphing into groove infused techniques from sticksman Sean Radcliffe.
Kadeem France whirls across the stage and delivers snarling vocals that make the ground shake. He has a vocal range that melts faces ranging from guttural intensity to growling screams… couple this with hammers of tech drenched riffs wielded by Erik Bickerstaffe, we open up the morning with neckbreaking beats slamming into the mosh pit below their feet.
Gifted Every Strength is a goooorgeously bass fulled offering where Feisal El-Khazragi is front and centre with low frequency chugging undertones that provide the glue to the ridiculously heavy slabs of riffs. In between these moments, we’re taken to some light tones amongst the darker moods with clean vocals and epic harmonies.
These mold together with the pummeling riffs in places and Kadeem gets everyone to put their hands into the air.
The guys are loving being on stage here, full of smiles and emitting a chilled aura when interacting with the crowd.
My second time seeing Loathe and second time, a stunning set.
Heading towards the Dogtooth, i took some time to catch legends Hatebreed on the Apex stage on my way.
Hatebreed have always delivered a blistering set anytime I’ve seen them and I just love the inferno of energy they give when performing.
Chugging riffs and Jasta’s intense vocals rip through the air introducing To The Threshold.
The pit has gone absolutely insane down the front of the stage and a tonne of headbanging noggin’s can be seen far and wide.
In Ashes They Shall Reap is a pure hardcore, evil sounding offering from the self titled album. With a punchy offset, the mood from the stage to crowd is feral and absorbing. These guys are incredible at churning out some of the most vicious energy on stage. Every. Single. Time.
With Last Breath honing in on some of the melodic hardcore side, we’re taken down a heavy path of slamming bassnotes and chuggy riffs amongst a moving tribute to Trevor Strnad.
At The Dogtooth Stage, a crowd had gathered in front of a blue smokey and futuristic stage set up with a screened mirror encased in wood. Winding synths and melodic harmonies stretching out to the crowd, Zetra appears amongst the mist.
Toning in with rays of light shining, synth keys and electronic melodies, Gaia kicks off the emotion of this set.
Beautiful keys powerfully outline the harmonies in this track amongst gorgeous gothic style, melancholic riffs that loop into eachother.
Clean, haunting vocals glimmer through the guitars and really highlight the melodics that Zetra carve into their styles.
Sacrifice is a stunning electronica meets gothic rock offering full of soul touching notes and deep rooted ambience. The soul of this song in its live setting is big synths and huge riffs alongside eachother about halfway through that are akin to Type O Negative in their October Rust era but with lighter synths.
Bit stunning, that!
The crowd is moving and a huge cheers for favourite Starfall greets the soaring echoes of riffs and keys. A melancholic synth pop number with beautiful soundscapes whilst brand new single So brings about the shoegaze elements in Zetra.
Stunning dreamy synths mixed with catchy guitars amongst airy vocals take you off into a cosmic place with beautiful moods and ripples of light. Loved this set!
Back to the Apex, Poppy brought an experimental mix of pop rock and industrial elements.
Futuristic notes and riffs churn out into the crowd and Poppy emerges in red complete with her band in balaclavas.
Have you had enough? warms up the crowd with upbeat catchy vibes whilst BLOOD MONEY hammers into the crowd as an industrial heavyweight bulldozer with twists of distorted groove infused guitars and unhinged drum beats.
Poppy’s vocal range goes from 0 to 60 in 1 second of sugar sweet clean tones to chaotic screams and depths of churning roars.
Bad Omens collab V.A.N is a hard hitting riff fuelled industrial piece with pyro flames shooting to the rafters and The Cost of Giving Up embosses an upbeat heart wrenching aura with moments of groove laden guitars and some of Poppy’s most diverse vocals.
My favourite live Poppy track as this is a killer example of the light and darkness she uses.
“HEY DOWNLOAD! I’m Poppy!”
The crowd absolutely adores her – a huge cheer erupts before the tempo switches up into an utterly contrast to the earlier half of the set.
They’re All Around Us is a brutal inferno of double pedal techniques of the kit and slamming guitars that mash up with some of the chuggiest backbone of bass to this set. It’s hardcore meets industrial and is absolutely GLORIOUS.
Poppy’s vocals reach a range of intense screams amongst angelic sections – coupled with some stunning technical riffs, this is another favourite!
A killer example of another artist that blends the genres without making it confusing. Really enjoyed this first time seeing Poppy.
Polaris see’s a ginormous filled Opus stage… and rightly so, the Sydney flag wavers for metalcore have grafted their way into favourites of core lovers globally through years of crafting some of the tightest and most magnetic modern metal today.
Landmine opened the set and through the packed out crowd, a pit opened up from the get go – bodies flying everywhere.
Jamie Hails’ barking vocals and bloodthirsty screams knock you for six whilst Daniel Furnari absolutely annihilates the stage with his exceptional kit skills.
One of the best drummers of modern music, his speed and tempo change along with infusions of technical groove notes and djent style frequencies are mind blowing. Hand in hand with the stunning musicianship behind the storming riffs and depths of bassnotes, this is absolutely head smashingly tight.
Lucid serves as a nostalgic powerful mash up of filthy breakdowns and beautiful melodic moments whilst Masochist buries deep into the emotions of the crowd with its touch upon mental health ans self questioning. This has a powerful aura in its live setting. The intensity is tenfold carried by the rhythmic guitars and clean vocal sections that input a feeling of catharsis amongst the thought provoking message.
Hypermania has the pit going absolutely BANANAS. Neckbreaking tempos and feral vocals churn out with some jawdropping bassnotes that entwine with intense breakdowns.
With a tribute to Ryan Siew and singing Happy Birthday to their sound guy, Polaris prove that they are decent not only in their craft but with an inclusive attitude that gives a glimpse into the frankly, bloody lovely personality of these guys – not something you always get to see on stage.
Back to the Dogtooth and i was so ready to see Birmingham blackened Death Metal legends Annal Nathrakh.
Having interviewed and seen these guys pre-covid, I knew to expect out of the ordinary and was looking forward to seeing what was in store as its rare to see these guys play the UK at the moment.
Right off the bat –
“Right. A pit IMMEDIATELY!” Dave Hunt wastes no time in setting the pace.
Acheronta Movebimus introduces the set in a stunning echo of riffs of pure evil levels winding and climbing into dimensions of melodics and crushing drum sections.
The pit dust kicks up as Unleash pummels the absolute HELL into the crowd.
Dave unfurls some of the most filthiest and intense vocals of the day with high screeches and guttural injections amongst wailing spoken pieces.
The rawness here is ever present with grindcore elements and purely filthy kit techniques of spiteful blast beats.
Bella Omnium Contra Omnes is the next offering and sees the whole Dogtooth Stage as a WARZONE.
The dust from the pit rises and people are actually conjoined… witnessing this was absolutely WILD.
Blackened guitars and blasting beats annihilate the crowd with crowd surfers aplenty making their way down to the barriers before next favourite Forward!
Danger filled guitars with tech drenched drums filled the air and gave people absolute whiplash whilst The One Thing Needful saw a speed bullet of blast beats rain down on wailing operatic vocal ranges that flit between snarls and cleans.
Phew!
Staying at The Dogtooth, Canada’s long awaited comeback for groove metal nostalgics Kittie delivered a mindblowing set kicking off with a newer offering Fire, title track of 2024’s come back album.
Facemelting. Right from the start.
Morgan Lander emits vocals that rip through your soul with high end gutturals backed by Mercedes Lander’s softening sections.
Morgan and Tara McLeod work stunning fretwork with danger filled riff sections and subtle breakdowns that build some of the most intense inputs amongst the signature chugging bassnotes of Ivy Jenkins.
I’m sorry, what hiatus??
Cut Throat weighs in with some nu metal bringing centre stage crunching riffs and catchy beats whilst Spit was a trip down nostalgia lane – and one that I finally tick off my live bucket list after my inner teen screaming her head off.
Having bought the album Spit as one of my very first ventures into new music at the age of 13, Kittie helped carve the way for my younger self of discovering new corners of metal on from my upbringing of ACDC, Motörhead, Metallica and so on.
Not just nu metal, one of my earlier tastes of groove metal in its evolved form and its live setting was even more face splitting and unhinged.
Stunning bass techniques with low frequencies ebbing into raw breakdowns and the chaotic guitar riffs amongst aggressive drum shifts saw the crowd go feral.
Vocally, Morgan’s range has developed with more intensity and depth over the years but here it’s the year 2000 all over again.
I am BLOWN AWAY.
“It’s been 15 years since we’ve been here! Let’s make up for lost time!”
Crowd goes nuts. Totally nuts.
Eyes Wide Open taken from the latest album turns the heat up with huge guitar riffs entwined with winding melodies amongst stunning gutturals and spiking breakdowns, whilst Vultures serves as one of the heaviest tracks of the set.
Morgan displays some of the most soul ripping vocals with raw and trembling gutturals turned screams amongst an absorbing rainfall of riffs ans harmonies on layers of filthy bass sections.
Finishing on another slice of nostalgia with slam infused Brackish and We Are The Lamb that brings thrashy guitars and groove splitting drum beats, i come away absolutely mind blown by Kittie.
I’ve always wanted to see them and so far, this has been the best set of the day for me.
Pure and utterly unfiltered, raw and everything you’d want in a face melting set.
Heading now over to the Opus Stage for the final time today, one of the biggest crowds at the stage had formed, waiting for an anticipated and curious appearance of Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter.
Pink and yellow of course, the stage is set and the clouds ahead start rolling in for a very apt opening of Holidays In The Sun.
Hyping the crowd up with single drums beats before launching into the upbeat tirade of guitars, the heavens open and makes for one hell of an intro for this set.
Typical British weather setting for a band considered as a national British treasure.
The crowd doesn’t let it dampen their time with these guys at all. The spirit of Punk beckons to throw two fingers in the air and crack on with enjoying the energy.
Frank Carter makes his way down to the barriers and climbs into the crowd centre stage, people make a path and he stops mid crowd to create absolute scenes that will go down in the history of Download..
“Excuse me, move back! Stop taking f*cking selfies, get out of it.” he’s chuckling away and the banter is strong!
“It needs to be much bigger than this, move back! Now I promised the Pistols something spectacular. BIGGER THAN THAT, F*CKING MOVE!”
The space opens up around him and he stands in the middle, mic stand in hand.
“That’s better, let’s do this!” And on his signal, the riffs start up and the crowd around him already gets rowdy.
He stops it to move people back again and he banters with them threatening to start smacking chops with his mic stand if they dont make it the biggest pit at Download.
The crowd obliged and he tells them if someone falls down, you pick them up!
Standing in the middle of chaos, the crowd start circle pitting around him as the riff starts up again launching into the iconic intro of Pretty Vacant.
Almost lost in a sea of bodies, Frank belts out the first few lines and its not long until he (along with mic stand) is vaulted up above heads and makes his way crowd surfing along the front.
Stopping to make sure people that have fallen are picked up, Frank makes his way to the barriers and hoists over the edge.
“That was f*cking carnage. Is everyone still alive?”
Someone’s shoe has gone to Download heaven and lost in the abyss… grinning, he starts the song from the top.
The energy between stage and crowd is truly something to behold. Pretty Vacant start to finish was a memory that will stick. Steve Jones and Paul Matlock work together to bring the strings the nostlagic rhythms and Cookie’s kitwork smacked full the untamed bounce.
Working through Bodies, Silly Thing and God Save The Queen, British punk shows it’s still very much alive and loved… with the return of Sex Pistols and Frank Carter’s gruff, unhinged vocals making new waves on memories, boding with the rawkus moods, people here were having a killer time… and that shoe could be seen flying through the air on occasion.
To the Opus, adorned in a full black willowing curtain to conceal the stage, ambience surrounded the crowd with howling winds through the speakers before the stunning echoes of keys churned out to build up the deep moods beginning our journey with Sleep Token.
Look To Windward intro builds the peak of anticipation with the black curtain still flowing.
Vessel’s beautiful vocals ring singularly out for the build up as the intro heightens then simmers to whisper
“Will you halt this eclipse in… MEEEE!”
Curtain drops on the final note and IV’s guitar thunders along with II’s kit to bring a stunning ambience with the visuals of the stage adorned in pink and purple lighting and the platform embossing an ancient style temple complete with waterfall.
Pink confetti bursts out of the stage onto the crowd and honestly – this all is absolutely beautiful to behold.
Espera are bewitching standing entities upon a pedestal unifying beautiful soaring vocals over III and IV’s djent fuelled riffs that plant deep moods as Vessel makes his way from a doorway in the face of the awesome filled build on stage.
His vocals range seamlessly from striking rap sections and gorgeous high notes to absolute despair in his roars alongside IV’s gutturals.
Mixing elements of hip hop and djent, we’re blown away from the intro to the set before we’ve even started.
Synth keys tick tock out introducing The Offering before Vessel’s affectionately known ‘Dancy Dance’ takes over the stage as he sweeps the space with skips and hops along to the pummeling drums of II in the groove beats. Thus, the a part of the personality that Sleep Token are so loved for is shown.
III and IV are playful on stage and whilst churning out some of the sickest riffs and basslines, whirl across stage and interact with their front row.
Vore serves as a heavy, crunching offering that embodies all of the intenseness of Sleep Token. The pure anger and pain that seeps through the intense soundscapes of this track is emitted through the encapsulating moods of these emotions in the delivery of the drums technical notes and Vessel’s screams.
Lulling notes pull you into a false sense of security rippling through the heaviness of despair with gentle vocals in places and chiming keys. This track is an emotional masterpiece in its own right and feeling it live pulls the ground from beneath you.
Anticipated deliverance of one of the new (and my favourite new) tracks of Sleep Token, Emergence sees the audience roar at it’s introduction of beautiful tonal keys and stunning unified vocals.
As soon as the hip hop notes hit with groove metal guitars (HUH, WOOP!), everyone around me is absolutely vibing and shouting the lyrics back to the stage.
The live sax playing is an exceptional touch to this live offering and has everyone totally entranced.
A celestial sort of feeling comes over the stage lit up by a screen of a cherry blossomed laden doorway with a short tranquil interlude before all goes blue and rings out the synths that bring in Alkaline.
Dimensional and mood shifting, there are both sensual and thought provoking depths to the deliverance of the light and darkness of this song.
I’m stood and totally submerged.
Rain sees an intro of a piano piece that includes Unforgotten from Halo 2 before launching into an Orange drenched stage for genre bending Caramel.
A powerful display of emotion and hurt from having others reflect their negativity and toxicity, this is another fantastic piece from new album Even In Arcadia that flows through Pop and crosses into progressive metal.
The crowd sings along to this back to the stage and it feels like this audience hear the vulnerable message that Vessel conjures in this track and are here for support.
This is so raw in its live setting.
Taken through some of the defining points of Sleep Tokens growth, The Summoning and Granite are up as diversity with use of the light and dark tones of clean vocals and catchy notes within the songwriting.
The Love You Want is almost anthemic and offers a resonating message harbouring beautiful heights of vocals from Vessel and powerful drum notes of II. Pulling back into some deep rooted moods that represent two souls drifting from eachother.
The stage lights in shimmering teals glimmers in for Damocles and the stunning atmosphere it creates with simple keys and beautiful vocals.
Closing the set, Thread The Needle offers tempo entwining bass notes and djent guided frets that emits huge cosmic energy amongst clean vocals and sees the crowd pitting one last time before the stage goes quiet.
Subtle ripples of keys ring out amongst echoing beautiful vocals.
My favourite Sleep Token track, for many reasons, Take Me Back To Eden is just stunning from start to finish.
Haunting notes talking to us of navigating through loss and grief with powerful tones between hip hop and melodic groove metal bursts from this song in moods that reflect heartbreaking situations and determination for peaceful times. Espera are heard with their stunning chimes amongst the beautiful chaos of this track as we’re taken into the vortex of breakdowns concluding the set.
Vessel drops to his knees and everyone joins the stage to hold eachother up. Promting Espera to join them, it’s clear exactly what this means to Sleep Token as they take in the crowd they’ve just shared this raw and stunning performance with.
Throwing personal items into the crowd as offerings, Sleep Token have just proved that young music can achieve great things and that they do not take their growth and supporters for granted.
A fully deserved headline slot – and the full field of Download speaks volumes.
What an experience i just witnessed.
Photography by Download Festival
