Download Festival 2016 Top 10 Performances

That's it! Ive officially been going to Donington for a decade and as always music festivals are a wonderful experience, Download being one of the best with three days and four stages of heavy and hard music to get stuck into. This years was the most subdued of all Ive been to, the rain came down as heavy as the metal and really affected the freedom to rock out, head bang and mosh to your hearts content, at least if your me and are not fond of being soaking wet and cold. So cocooned in my waterproofs and ponchos I did my best to stay dry while enjoying some great performances.

(10) Ho99o9

Hailed as a Hip Hop / Punk crossover Ho99o9 are often talked about with Death Grips in mind. This duo take their raps to dark, noisy and aggressive places with sampled punk guitars and a crazy rebellious persona. I only got to catch half there set on the forth stage but it was a blinding riot of aggression, noise and attitude that blew me away.

(9) Rammstein

 Not the first time Ive seen them live and probably not the last. You can count on Rammstein to put on a good show fueled by fire, pyrotechnics and an absurd amounts of fireworks. They were fantastic however I wasn't keen on their cover of Depeche Mode's "Stripped". An energetic show loaded with their classics.

(8) Megadeth

 

Thrash legends Megadeth came out playing a solid set with a few tracks from their latest album "Dystopia" which sounded fantastic live. Loaded with classics like "Hanger 18", "Trust" and "Countdown To Extinction" there was little they could do wrong.

(7) Havok

A classic Thrash Metal band I had not heard of before spotting them on the lineup. Glad I chose to watch them, very fast and energetic thrash like a cross between Slayer and Testament with many climatic and intense moments in their songs to head bang to.

(6) Amon Amarth

An undeniably great Viking Metal band of which Ive never quite clicked with. Their latest record "Jomsviking" was a decent listen and seeing them certainly helped me appreciate them more. Fantastic stage presences with dragons heads and rune stones plus plenty of fire!

(5) Korn

I've not been in the mood for Korn in a while but when they walked on stage I was sucked in. Playing a few more songs than usual from 2003's "Take A Look In The Mirror" their set felt a bit chunkier than usual and I enjoyed every minute of there performance. So good to hear them again.

(4) Periphery

This band well and truly won me over with last years double release of "Alpha" and "Omega". Their performance was tight and flawless with a thick and dense wall of Djemt coming from the four guitarists. It was an infectious performance of groovy head banging that sounded to big for the stage. Set was a little short but that's just because I didn't want it to stop!

(3) Deftones

Probably both the best and worst performance of download but at no fault of the band. Promoting their new record "Gore" I caught them a week back at Wembly warming up for the big stage and they sounded fantastic. On the day though the rain poured and soured what would of been a memorable show, Deftones lined up their more emotional and atmospheric tracks for the sunset slot on the main stage and in the downpour it still sounded fantastic but the weather sucked the life out of the crowd.

(2) Babymetal

Babymetal also suffered the rain with bursts of heavy showers delaying their set for over half an hour. When they finally took to the stage the crowd loved it and so did I! They are even better as a live act and the bands modern compression heavy production sounded sublime on the big stage. The girls danced along with metallic choreography and smiles to fire up everyone's spirits. Definitely would of been in the pit if it wasn't for the mud and rain.

(1) Black Sabbath

The most influential and important band in Metal history would always make it a historic occasion when they play, as part of their farewell tour the band get ready to close the curtains on their history spanning six decades. It was a flawless performance with Ozzy who can barely string a sentence together having no issues hitting all the words and notes while inspiring the crowd with momentary bursts of energy before shuffling back to center stage. Toni Iommi and Gezzer Buttler sounded sublime with the best guitar tones to grace the stage. The stand in drummer got a fair spotlight with a tame and lengthy set of drum solos leading into Iron Man and hearing "Into The Void" really made my evening. It was one to cross off the bucket list and I'm so very glad I waited out the rain at the front of the crowd to see them.

Amon Amarth "Jomsviking" (2016)

Given the ever growing hype around Amon Amarth and there continual rise in the Metal scene I decided to pick this one up. Its the Swedish groups 10th full length in over twenty years as a group. With themes of Norse mythology and viking warfare they have been hailed by some as thee Viking Metal band. Amon have unfortunately never done much to captivate my attention as other bands in the genre had. I can hear whats distinct and unique about this band but it doesn't get me fired up or create an atmosphere I can absorb.

After many listens the same flat, mediocrity of neutrality emerges. I find myself feeling rather indifferent to its presence. "Jomsviking" is aesthetically soft and sterile with crisp guitar distortions, dense baselines and punchy, balanced drums forming a warm and approachable mix of crunchy toned down Melodic Death Metal. Hegg's vocals are the heaviest aspect of their sound, he growls and bellows meaty screams with a vibrant texture that doesn't get overbearing, probably an easier tone for a newcomer to digest.

This album progress through the motions with simple song structures and prominent guitar riffs that outline the songs directions and build the Norse themes. As much as I can hear "it", their is no stir of emotion within me in response to their riffing style. The guitar leads drop into particular tracks with bright colorful tones and melodies sometimes reminiscent of Iron Maiden. Together they steer the ship with a sense of destination in sight. The themes however are particularly uninteresting to me with a lack of poetry or sense of scale delivered in the lyrics. They often culminate with a simple use of words and basic rhyming pattern that has the words steered by matching rhymes in favor of visionary word play.

Its all a matter of preference and as much as Id like to get into this record It just doesn't stir me. Looking forward to seeing them at download though, seeing a band live can help it "click" which is yet to happen for me. Ill stay neutral on this one, there is a couple of tracks with a bit of spark but equally some that bore me too. One thing I can say is nothing here felt out of place or obscene, its a well rounded record.

Favorite Track: Wanderer, Raise Your Horns

Rating: 5/10