by Ian Carroll
Troy McLawhorn (Seether - Guitar)
“I used to be all about festivals. I loved to get fucked up in a tent, so much in fact that I used to drag people to any field on the way home, put up the tent and continue the fun. Sometimes, of course, the weather was so bad that we'd just leave the tent standing at the festival. That’s what UK festivals mean to me, get so fucked up that it doesn't matter about the shitty weather. The Wildhearts appearance in 2008 was a magic moment for me. I had a feeling that we were gonna play great, something that I don't normally associate with the variable sound problems at festivals shows, go down great with the crowd and leave a lasting impression. I didn't think we'd go down SO well that a mini-riot would ensue, forcing the organisers to cut our sound in a bid to calm the crowd down. I was so proud of every single person watching that show. They showed me that The Wildhearts are still very loved in the UK and gave us more than enough reason to stick around and continue making music.” Ginger (The Wildhearts – Vocals/Guitar)
“The show was really, really cool; really eventful! Probably one of the ‘funnest’ shows I’ve ever done.
It was kind of shakey at the start, I didn’t know what the fuck was going on when I saw all the bottles flying and stuff, but I blocked that out of my mind and I came to do what I got paid to do and that was rock the crowd and I think that I did that at the end of the 35 minutes!
It was really fun, I really enjoyed it.
I wanted to check out BFMV and Fightstar, but they played a different day, but I checked out Lostprophets.
I really find watching bands is really inspirational for me, especially live. I take tips and nick a few things and then put them into my hip-hop show and that makes it kind of unique from everyone else.
It was an eventful week for me, with load of controversy about me doing the show; I don’t think I am ever going to forget that day.”
Lethal Bizzle (Lethal Bizzle – Vocals)
“Playing Download felt like a massive achievement for us.
We were actually meant to be playing one of the smaller stages and for some reason one of the bands pulled out or got taken off the mainstage. I can’t remember basically how it happened, but our agent called us up and offered us the slot. I remember I was on the phone to all the lads and we were going through the idea that people might not like us as we’re not a metal band.
So we’d got the opportunity to play the mainstage, it would be the same money and we were trying to weigh up if it was going to be a better gig or a worse gig. We could have played the mainstage and the ‘vibe’ wouldn’t be there or people wouldn’t know us, as we were a new band trying to make our name and we weren’t big or anything. The main conclusion that we came to when we were given the offer was, if we pass it up there’s a million bands who’d say ‘well we’ll do it then, if Beat Union don’t we will’.
So we thought that we’d be dick-heads to pass the opportunity up, so we ended up playing it.
It was a tough show; we were on early in the day, but we got up there. There were a few hecklers in the front who wanted some metal, but 70% of the people towards the back were just listening, their day just started and probably half enjoying our set and thinking this is alright.
So even the hecklers didn’t bother me; you’ve just got to have a laugh about it. I think that if I was a metalhead and I went to a festival and I’m getting pissed off early in the morning, it doesn’t mean that you hate the band and you want to send them ‘death threats’, you just want to have a laugh and some lads get a bit lairy and have a few beers, they’re probably having a wicked time; if they’re getting a bit drunk and a bit loony to our show, you can’t really blame them.
We left that evening as we had another show the next day, so it was drive in, play the show watch Kiss and then we left that night.”
Dave Warsop (Beat Union – Vocals/Guitar)
“We didn’t know what to expect as we had never played there and we had heard it was quite a big festival.
We were on tour at the time and had played a few headline shows around the UK, the shows went really good.
When started it was three times bigger a crowd than we’d ever played to before.
We were there two days before we played and the bus was parked about three kilometres away and it sucked, but after the show we had a really good feeling and a good vibe.”
Jaska Raatikainen (Children of Bodom – Drums)
“We were here to see Kiss for the first time and we were very excited.
We a very extreme band, sometimes going at 2000 miles an hour, so I like the opportunity to scare the normal people in the crowd and this opportunity is the best thing to ask for.
Music of the pariah; skeletons, death metal, horror; bad people like us!! But a lot of people like it out there, so it’s a good opportunity for us to speak for ‘Extreme Metal’.”
Trevor Strnad (The Black Dahlia Murder – Vocals)
“It was awesome.
We played early in the day and I was very stoked at the amount of people who came to see us, even though there were thousands of people still coming in.
We did a signing at the Kerrang! tent afterwards and a lot of people were complaining that they didn’t get to see us.
We left for Switzerland ten minutes after as we were playing the Greenfield Festival, so it was a bummer that I didn’t get to see any bands at all.
I loved the amount of kids walking around in Kiss face paint as it made me feel like I did, when I was a kid.”
Ben Osmundson (Zebrahead - Bass)
“Download 2008 was fucking incredible.
We were all really stoked to have an opportunity to play 2 years in a row. So to the people that made that possible, THANK YOU!
Both years that we have played Download have been some of my favorite weekends I've had on tour. The vibe of the fest is fucking awesome and everyone¹s there to rage and have fun.
I spent a lot of time drinking ridiculous amounts of beer and liquor over the weekend. I also spent a lot of time hung-over, which isn't that big of a deal because there were plenty of kickass bands to watch as I stumbled trying to find someone to buy me the first beer of the day.
We had the pleasure of playing on the main stage which honestly was rather intimidating. We had never played for a crowd of that size and I was a bit uneasy. But as soon as we started playing it was pretty badass.
The crowd was awesome and a lot of fun to play in front of. Despite a couple technical difficulties I felt pretty good about it.
After we played we got to party with our good friends in High On Fire and Children Of Bodom.
The performance that absolutely stood out to me was Dillinger Escape Plan. Every time I¹ve seen them they¹ve been fucking intense.
So all in all, Download is the shit. I hope that we get another chance to play as soon as possible.”
Bobby Thompson (Job For A Cowboy – Guitar)
“I watched 2008 from computer I remember watching Kiss and it was just like ‘I wish we could be there’. Download is just one of those festivals that you want to play every year, it’s like ‘I wish I could play it again’.”
Chris Howorth (In This Moment – Guitar)
“When I was told that we were going to go to the UK to do Download, it was like ‘awesome another festival’. It sounded familiar and then everyone said ‘that is THE Festival’ and it was like wow!!
It is definitely an insane festival and we got to watch Judas Priest and Kiss and hang out.
We were all nervous and we are not a mainstream metal band, we are more of a younger ‘metal-core’ band, so we weren’t sure how we were going to be viewed, but it was awesome.
People were respectful and people came to our stage, it was good.”
Mike Hranica (The Devil Wears Prada – Vocals)
“Download was awesome and the show went a million times better than we expected it go.
We really had a blast and watched the Offspring, because I grew up listening to them and have
all their cd’s.
I really can’t wait to come back to the UK.”
Daniel Williams (The Devil Wears Prada – Drums)
“We went this year, as fans and watched some bands and hung out, it was great.”
Tom Searle (Architects – Guitar)
“The vibe of the festival was a little different in 2008. Everyone seemed a little discombobulated, everyone didn’t seem to know where everything was.
We got up on that stage and it was the most people who had watched us ever and the stage seemed bigger than the mainstage! The amount of people that were there, they were right back past the amusement arcade rides.
It was cool. I think this show had a different feeling. We got up on stage did our thing and we got a great response. We got a circle pit to go round the soundboard.
When I got off the stage I felt that it was the most humbling thing we had done as a band; I think it was because we were so pleased how that many people had come out to see Bleeding Through. We never had aspirations about being a ‘mega rockstar band’ ever, but we know where we sit with kids and fans and so I thought that the performance was one of the pinnacles of the band.
I stayed there all weekend, arriving just before Kiss played and they were awesome! I had also wanted to see Municipal Waste, but I woke up at 2:20pm; I was so bummed that I missed them.
The weekend was just as magical as the other year we played, great bands and meeting up with good friends.”
Brandan Schieppati (Bleeding Through - Vocals)
“We played the second stage; it was a big outdoor stage, we would have been happier to play the second stage like we did before, when it was in a tent. The tent was more fun and it pushes the crowd in to the stage and gives you a much better live show.
But it was crazy, we came out with Throwdown and played back to back (I believe), it was a lot of fun.
I thought it was cool to play. Festivals tend to be a bit of a rush and kind of a mess for the bands, but it was awesome, it’s one of the biggest crowds that we get to play in front of.
One of the highlights for me was Cavalera Conspiracy, that was awesome; I watched Kiss a little bit, I’m not a great fan of Kiss, I kind of enjoy them, sort of?
One of the best shows that I saw there though was The Dillinger Escape Plan and also Testament were great.
The whole trip out we saw Testament a few times and seeing them was one of the highlights of our trip.
The layout was kind of bizarre, with the second stage being so far from the rest of the show, you really had to walk to get the second one.”
Derek Youngsma (Bleeding Through – Drums)
“I was super excited the first time I got to play download festival! It was with one of my former bands, Bleeding Through and it was the first show on my first European tour with the band.
We arrived quite early on the first day (one day before we were scheduled to play) and we were sharing a bus with Throwdown. Everyone was starving but we were all broke, the food at the festival was too expensive and we weren’t allowed to have any meal tickets as it wasn’t our show day. Everyone on the bus emptied out their backpacks and between about 13 people we had one Clif Bar, a Belgian waffle and a few assorted candies. I remember all laughing with hunger pains as we watched Dave Peters (Throwdown) trying to cut a tiny Belgian waffle into 9 pieces so it could be shared around!
The next day we raced to the catering tent and made our one meal ticket stretch over the next two days by piling up spare plates full of food to keep on the bus.
The show itself was amazing and one I’ll remember forever! After a few first show technical difficulties we ripped into an awesome set and the crowd loved it. Brandan (Schieppati/Bleeding Through) commanded that the whole audience run a circle pit around the sound tent and they did it! It was insane watching what must have been 1000 fans running in this huge 100 meter radius circle. It was also one of the first times I took advantage of the 'ladder like' stage rigging and climbed to the top to give the fans something to remember.
The only real downsides to the festival (aside from trekking through mud and rubbish) were starving half the time and having to walk around the entire outer perimeter of the festival to get backstage due to Kiss's security not allowing anybody anywhere near the main stage.”
Jona Weinhofen (Bleeding Through – Guitar)
“Our set was incredible this year, I have zero complaints and the kids were awesome.
The way that everything was set up this year was a little bit different and I heard that from a lot of people, but we still had a great time.
But, I was a little disappointed in the lack of metal on this years line-up in general.
For a band that has travelled thousands of miles to get here, we really couldn’t ask for anything more because of all the people here with a positive attitude. You play big clubs in New York City or LA, but what comes with that is the sense of people becoming a little jaded; but the whole thing about Download is that it’s not just another show but a great experience and someone in five years will remember the whole weekend of Download and I appreciate that too.
I like being at a festival as a fan as well; I like to get all our business out of the way so that we can watch bands. There were some bands that I was excited to see this year, especially HIM, I am a massive fan and love their songs.
The cool thing about festivals in general, especially Download, is that there’s no pretension in the festival crowd; everyone is just there to watch all these bands and they are very receptive and very excited.”
Dave Peters (Throwdown - Vocals)
“I love the UK and the weather was really nice. I walked around a bit and the stages were really huge.
I am really into new Metal, so I hoped to see Simple Plan.
We played on the second stage. We had hoped to draw more that Kiss; we should probably have headlined all three stages as the kids can’t get enough of us.
We got like a million dollars to play, it was crazy!! But we don’t care about money…….”
Neil Westfall (A Day To Remember – Guitar)
“We should have played three times on each stage; but we’re really here just to do it for the kids.”
Alex Shelnutt (A Day To Remember – Drums)
“It was chaotic! From getting the right entrance, to getting the right passes, the usual conundrums, but it was really good fun.
The three of us had been in a band (The Ga Ga’s) for three years prior to the 2008 festival and we’d played there, but it was a long road to get back. It really felt good to be back on that stage again, but the crowd were fantastic and they really warmed to us.
It’s always ‘hit or miss’ as to how you are going to go down, whether people are going to judge you to be ‘heavy enough’, but they were really responsive and we had a fucking good time!
What threw us was the new layout and we got lost a bit, but the vibe there was really great and the family friendly vibe was amazing. To have such a massive festival that the rock community can come to; hopefully next time we will be on a bigger stage.
We had a gig the next day so we had to split, but we saw Kiss.”
Tommy Gleeson (Slaves To Gravity – Vocals/Guitar)
“We didn’t really know what to expect, but we were really happy with the way it went.
We got there in the morning, we were third on and when we began to play it started raining so everyone came into the tent which was a bit of luck for us because everyone stayed in there to watch. Even when the rain stopped, a lot of people still stayed on. There were people who really wouldn’t like our music, being a metal festival, but I think we went down really well and the crowd gave a great response; if I told them to put their hands in the air, they did it, so they were quite receptive in that respect.
At one point when we were playing I could see a stall called ‘Weed World’ and just for a laugh I said ‘if you want to come and say hi, you will probably find us in Weed World’ later on and everyone started cheering.
When I got off stage this guy came up to me and said ‘you mentioned Weed World’ onstage mate, come with me I’ll sort you out’ and he gave me a big bag, which as I don’t smoke I gave it to Johnny Truant!
We’ve got some mates in a metal band called Johnny Truant and they were there, they were playing that night and we were going to camp with them and watch them, but we got offered another gig in Yeovil so we had to ‘up and leave’ straight after. But Johnny Truant watched us from the side of the stage and it was a great experience and we can’t wait to do it again.
So next year we would like to hang out and get hammered.”
James Matthews (Go:Audio - Vocals)
“Download was really good fun. We’d wanted to watch Kids In Glass Houses as we had just done a tour with them, but we had to leave to go to a show in Yeovil.
Our sound was good and we had a great time
We hung out and ate some chicken curry baguettes.”
Joshua Wilkinson (Go:Audio - Keyboards)
“When we got to Download we were all a bit scared, because we were a bit more ‘pop’ than most of the bands on that stage. We arrived and there was some really heavy music going on and we were all getting a bit worried about that. I think Trigger The Bloodshed were going to be on after us and we were on after Rise To Remain, so with all these bands names we were like ‘oh dear, what are we doing??’
I did a couple of shots of vodka before I went on. We got there about nine in the morning so I had a few tipples, but luckily it didn’t knock me out for the gig.
But it was a good experience playing on that stage, in front of that crowd. We played it with no bottles thrown, which we were expecting. But it went smoothly and was a great gig in the end. The rain helped us, because everyone pile in the tent. I think that it rained during one of the most ‘pop’ songs in our set and everyone came in and we thought ‘oh no, this is a bad point to come in’, but it all went really well and we were happy with it.