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.

Megadeth "Dystopia" (2016)

Its hard to believe it but Dave Mustain's Megadeth have been at it for over thirty years now. Once of Metallica, Dave was dismissed by the band in bad circumstances that left him soar and on quest of retribution to out Metal the giants of the genre. In the late 80s and early 90s the group saw a commercial peak with a string of well received records. In recent years Dave has been touring and pumping out record after record every two to three years. "Dystopia" is the groups fifteenth and I only decided to check it out due to requests to do so. I'm glad I did, its a solid, enjoyable Megadeth record that shows little sign of the group tiring however this meant the record had little new to offer.

If your familiar with Megadeth's sound its distinctive as ever on a tightly produced record. The distortion guitars have flair and speed, electric blazing lead tones and the rhythm sounds a touch Djenty and maybe over compressed. They sound fantastic when synchronizing with the sturdy bass kick drums which thud away mechanically with precision force. The bass guitar for the most part hides under the guitar, a common disappointment with records that don't utilize its potential. Dave's voice is often a turn off for potential fans and their is no break from his nazel tone. The age can be heard in his voice which can still be adventurous but the limits in his range and occasional gruffer vocals are apparent in moments where he sounds a step behind the instrumental intensity.

For the songs and music its typically metal, attitude and aggression circling around wild and excitable riffs, often busting out into lightning paced guitar leads. The record is held together with themes of societal disillusion, paranoia and government conspiracy. There is really little to fault and some of the opening songs would fit in well between the classics in a live show. On a personal level I don't feel like I'm getting any new spice or flavor which probably reflects my current apatite for new sounds as opposed to the monstrous amounts of Metal Ive consumed over the years. Solid record, wish I had been more in the mood to enjoy it.

Rating: 6/10