From Donington To Download

by Ian Carroll

  “It’s just a big thank for everyone that made this happen, it’s been the day of my life, absolutely awesome. Can’t wait to come back! Keep the metal running!” Joe Copcutt (Rise To Remain – Bass)

  "Download for us was a great experience, we'd been partying hard since the Thursday night and checking out all the fuckin’ awesome bands that were on offer.

  Then Saturday night came and our hearts were pounding with excitement like a 7yr old on Xmas eve. The feeling being out on a stage that big in front of that many people can only be described as "fuckin mint"!

  We just went out there, did what we do and had good fun; the crowd seemed to as well which is what matters most.

  For most of us we've been coming to Download for years and it was great to be on the other side of the barrier. For Chris it was his first time at Download and I don’t think many people can say on their first time there, they stepped out on mainstage.

  All this said and done, Download is, and hopefully will continue to be, the best metal festival in the world."

  Davey Death (Glamour Of The Kill – Vocals/Bass)

  “It was one of those shows that started off as a ‘stand off’, like any good duel does, but as the intensity grew and grew, by the end of the show it was incredible, awesome, with a great vibe. People were very supportive, but I think that they were a little freaked out by the concrete underneath them. But is was fun, people were very loud and responsive, with horns in the air! I wish that I had seen Rolo Tomassi, the line up is very diverse and very cool.” Andrew Forsman (Fall Of Troy – Drums)

  “We have been coming since Download was Donington and this year we got to play and it was just phenomenal.

  The crowd was huge; we opened the second stage at eleven o’clock and we had thousands and thousands and thousands of people there and as soon as we ‘cracked in’ they went absolutely berserk!

  For me, that’s what Donington is all about, its people who have come out and they want to see bands; they’re not just worried about the headliners, they want to check out the other stages.

  The fact that we are British is a really big thing to me, I am really proud of the heritage of the music scene in this country and I think that it’s growing and growing and growing. There were so many British bands on the bill that were getting really good turnouts, which is really healthy for the country and for our music scene.”

  Dale Butler (Malefice – Vocals)

  “To me it’s the pinnacle of everything that we had worked at over the last couple of years. It’s a bit surreal from when you start out in someones bedroom, just jamming and playing some covers, to going to play at THE biggest metal festival in England.

  You can’t really describe it. It’s like a birthday and Christmas for ten years, all rolled into one; it’s just phenominal.

  We thought that it would be tough, being the first band on, having to work to get the crowd going, but as soon as it kicked in they went fuckin’ mental!

  Basically, it’s five English guys, no bullshit, who like Heavy Metal, no gimmicks, in front of a crowd of people who felt the same.”

  Alex Vuskans (Malefice – Guitar)

  “This year was cool and very fun to play. We had a really good monitor guy and he gave us a very good sound.

  The Download Festival is one of the best festivals that we have been to and not many of them have such a nice backstage area.”

  Christian Wibe (Animal Alpha – Guitar)

  “Just looking forward to look at the Smörgåsbord.”

  Agnete Maria Kjølsrud (Animal Alpha – Vocals)

  “We played the Gibson stage at 3:35pm on the Sunday afternoon. It was amazing and we had an excellent time. We managed to get the lovely ladies from Area 51 to do a little boogie to one of our remix songs as an intro and we got our good friend Nick Barker who was in Dimmu Borgir, Testament and Cradle of Filth to introduce us, which was another really exciting moment.

  We were so excited that there were so many people in the tent to watch us and the fact that there was a big circle pit, we were really ‘over the moon’ and well happy!

  We just had a crazy time, arrived on the Friday and got mangled for two days. We had all our crew and we camped, all our friends were on our crew, so it was really like a family event. We had a ten man tent so we all stayed together, drinking all hours and going crazy; to have our boys with us was the best.

  I’ve been going to the festival since ’95, since I was a kid I had wanted to go from ’93, it’s just amazing.

  I used to go every year and the first year was Metallica, White Zombie, Skid Row and Corrosion Of Conformity, it was wicked, so it’s a pretty big deal; we never thought that we would get to play there.

  I prefer the tent, so I was so pleased that we played in the tent. We spoke to Biff from Saxon who gave us a lot of inspiration. He was saying that when he wrote that song about Donington (And the Bands Played On) it was because they were so excited to play Donington.

  They layout was a lot different this year and quite intense, I preferred it in the racetrack.

  We were so lucky that we got a chance to play there, especially for such a relatively small band as us.”

  Luca Grandi (Ted Maul – Guitar)

  “This year was brilliant because I was it was my group, rather than with someone else’s that did it.

  I only turned up on the Sunday and left about four or five hours after we’d played, so I didn’t have a massive Download experience.

  I remember thinking the layout was a bit weird, but it was good.”

  Casino Brown (Ted Maul - Keyboards)

  “Download for me is different as I come from a different country, I lived in Gibraltar and I used to read in the magazines thought ‘shit I want to go’, seeing the bands that were playing.

  I finally came over to England and with my cousin Stuart Cavilla the bass player in Breed 77, they played three years in a row so I went with them. I had the best time of my life.

  This year has been a bit different getting used to it, this year wasn’t so much like a festival, more like you were in a car park.

  The gig was amazing, we were so excited to see such a big crowd, it was the best for us, the best day of my life.”

  Solomon J. Lucifer Christ (Ted Maul – Vocals)

  “I remember seeing Pendulum and they were absolutely banging. Everyone was there. It was the end of Bullet For My Valentine and everyone was leaving the mainstage to go and see them.”

  Mikey Serpico (Serpico – Vocals)

  “I remember we played the Gibson stage and it was the first proper festival we’d ever played. It was quite something to walk out onto a massive stage, with proper big monitors and side fills; it was quite something at the time.

  Even though we were the first ones on there, there were quite a few people there and the gig went pretty well considering it was our first at a festival.

  I then remember a couple of bands later, there were all these chicks with bikinis on, like lap dancing on the stage; of the course the tent was then flooded with hundreds and hundreds of guys and whoever came out after that, it was a good fucking ploy!

  We went to a bar afterwards and it was a good party atmosphere.”

  Logan (Sons Of Albion – Vocals)

  “The great thing about the Gibson stage was that behind Gibson had loads of amps and stuff so you could try them out and guitars and shit and a drum kit set up there as well and a bass. So we could plug in there and have a warm up before we went on, which was cool.”

  Gones (Sons Of Albion – Bass)

  “The merch just got misplaced, I guess, with all the excitement of being our first festival. We were gathering everything up to leave after we had been to the backstage bar and we got back to the tent too late and we lost about 50 t-shirts; but it was our managers fault.

  So that was our first experience at a festival, look after the merch.”

  Nuno Miguel (Sons Of Albion – Guitar)

  “Download, WOW…! The day just blew us
all away. No matter how many gigs you play, you always strive for a slot on the bill at the “Mecca of Metal” & we snatched it up with open arms.

  From the minute we were in through the gates until we went on stage everything seemed a blur and when our time finally came the adrenalin was at fever pitch. The atmosphere back stage was totally electric as our intro kicked in, each of us straining at the leash to be let free to rip the stage up, hearing our anthem fire up in such an awesome rig!

  I doubt we’ll ever forget the moment when each of us proudly marched on stage to the roar of the crowd. It made us all stand a foot taller & set fire to our souls.

  Playing the set was very surreal, the 30 minutes was over in a flash & the left us walking round in a daze for the rest of the day. Each of us has now taken a sip from the Holy Grail…”

  Ade Carloss (Hostile – Vocals)

  “We played our first festival, in the thousands; we were really pleased to be there and the sun came out!

  There were lots of massive acts there and they all looked so pleased, from the looks on their faces, to be there.

  We played the Gibson tent and we were sandwiched in between two quite heavy bands. We are a rock band, but not a metal band, so we felt that we had to win over quite a difficult crowd, but we did and we aren’t signed, but we put a lot into the music and we feel that it is starting to pay off.”

  Leo (Caimbo – Vocals)

  “When started playing there was a full tent and the crowd just got bigger. We were expecting cups being thrown or anything; it’s Download anything could have happened!!

  But everyone was really nice and it was great.”

  Piers (Caimbo – Guitar)

  “Download is the playground of Rock. It covers all aspects from metal right through to more indie. They have huge mainstream bands playing right next to smaller upcoming bands, yet they are both treated the same from the crowd, with great respect! In fact I would have to say that Download is the most respectful festival out there, everyone looks out for each other, and you don't get any drunken lads trying to ruin it for others. Year after year they continue to have one of the strongest line ups in the world. To be honest we were all a bit anxious to see how we would be received by the audience, as we were one of the lighter rock bands playing at the festival. Although all nerves vanished as soon as we stepped on stage. The crowd were brilliant and made us feel right at home. Download has definitely earned its place as one of our favorite festivals. There was a lot of alcohol at the festival. So combine vast quantities of that with some of the backstage facilities, mainly the tattoo parlour, you can imagine it was a very eventful day. Although at the end of the night, a couple of random fans wanted to party on, so they hopped on our bus and came back to our hotel... which was 50 miles away. After 1 minute of being there and panic starting to set in, they jumped in a cab back to the festival. And what a party they missed!” James Cairns (The Haze – Vocals)

  “Download is an amazing festival for seeing musicians who can genuinely play. The heavy nature of the music that's being presented always brings out the best in the guitarists and drummers. It's extremely humbling to be on a bill where the best of the best play. I think two bands had already been bottled off by the time we hit the stage. Not being the heaviest or most well known band on the bill I was slightly concerned what would eventuate. Shouldn’t have worried, the gig was awesome; we won a lot of new fans and were wrapped to be part of a great day. Our guitar tech, Bozza, is the biggest metal fan on the planet and was totally in his element. He saw his hero, max Cavalera, back stage and cautiously approached him. "Max, we need a photo," "sure" Max replied. Bozza turned to him and said “Now look more metal than you've ever looked before!!!" Max did, Bozza did. End result a classic pic.” Johnny Galvatron (The Galvatrons – Vocals/Guitar)

  “It was great to see Simple Plan headlining the second stage in 2008 as I remember them opening for Bowling For Soup when they released their debut album. Bowling For Soup’s bus is always the party bus and is usually the scene of some surreal sights like their drum tech serenading a perplexed Dimebag with a Michael MacDonald/Aaron Neville/Meatloaf medley! Each year I know I’m going to head home on Monday morning exhausted, but with some great memories.”

  Emma Watson (PR – Bowling For Soup/MC Lars/Zebrahead)

  “A new site. The Infield had been redeveloped as a motocross course, so it wasn't available to use. A new site had been located to the west of the circuit where the Sunday Markets are held.

  Kiss were announced as headliners, which was ok. But the other two headliners were The Offspring and Lostprophets, and that didn't go down well. Not quite as bad as MCR the year before. Metallica & Slipknot had been expected on the bill, but Reading/Leeds had snagged them.

  For us in RIP, the new site was well located, as the entrance was 2 minutes away. From the main campsites on the east of the circuit, it was about a mile. Quite a hike. I found the layout ok, but it was just missing that sense of ‘epicness’ that had always been in the air.

  2008 was probably one of the least successful years - not as good a layout, headliners not what people really wanted. But it was still a good weekend, and still had plenty of gems tucked away on the bill. Saxon had a triumphant return, KISS put on their best Donington show ever. But I'll not linger here.”

  Phil Hull (Download Forum Administrator)

  “This was the year Kiss went for the world record for the most Kiss face painted people in one place world record. I didn’t play. Kiss played a great set, the highlight being when Gene Simmons was winched up into the rigging and played ‘I Love It Loud’.

  The Offspring were good on Saturday along with Biffy and Bullet on the main stage, but Sunday was a better day when I saw Coheed and Cambria for the first time live and Claudio Sanchez’s massive hair.

  I became a fan of two other bands that day Municipal Waste and Airbourne. “Municipal Waste are going to fuck you up” was the random chant of guys I went with (who included my mate’s 10 year old son) for the rest of the day.”

  Mike Horton (Plymouth)

  “Well, I am 18. From the age of about 14 I was dying to experience download festival in all its glory. When I hit 17 I was finally granted this by my parents, my exams finished early and all was clear. That year I received the best birthday present ever. A ticket to my first festival, Download 2008.

  I couldn't stop talking about it until the time came, my best friend at the time also had a ticket and a few of my other friends managed to get some. First festival for us all and boy did we learn a lot!

  We over packed on random things, under packed on alcohol. We brought too much food. Sensible packing didn't help much when we got there! Luckily, as is the way of Download, we met some people as silly as us in Red Camp who had over packed beer, but under packed food so trading was at hand! Between the 2 camps we managed to get by well. Me and my friend Savage decided we would stay out all night, every night, and not return until morning. It amazed us how easy it was to find people to talk to and things to do there, everyone was friendly and we sat down with many campsites for a 'chill session'.

  Overall I’ll never forget Download 08, been back 09 and returning in 10 again. The bands were amazing, but it's the community and people who make the place so brilliant, a holiday you'll never forget, a home away from home. Download Festival, Donington Park, THE wildest party you'll ever go to.”

  Craig How (Milton Keynes)

  Quiet, comfortable, sensible, light-hearted and enlightening. These are just a few words that don’t describe the Download Festival. Hardcore, psycho, wild, extreme and outrageous on the other hand are words you could use. My brother in metal, Scuba Steve, describes it as “the world’s biggest party, with 100,000 of your best mates.”

  Our festival team seems to expand every year. Kat and Steve flew all the way from Australia again and also brought two legendary mates, Shannon and Evan. Our friend Lisa also joined us, plus we met up with some of the crazy cats from last year, including Neil, the god
of Download. He has been every year since 1984 and that is something us mere mortals can only aspire to. As word spreads of the levels of fun that is had, more and more people seem to join. So ALL my friends that are into rock and metal, next year, it’s on like Donkey Kong.

  It’s difficult to describe the festival in words. It’s basically a week of camping in the biggest field you have ever seen, with three days of the biggest bands in rock and heavy metal at the end.

  We saw bands such as Kiss, Judas Priest, Disturbed, Children of Bodom, Cavalera Conspiracy, Saxon and Testament. Plus, Aussie legends, Rose Tattoo and Airbourne. The band line up was not as strong as last year but that didn’t stop us going mental when the opportunities arose.

  Front row for CC was a clear highlight for Steve and me, with chairs and two litre milk bottles narrowly missing our heads, and then Steve getting the set list off the stage at the end. It was pretty crazy and is certainly up there with some of the more special gig moments we’ve had.

  On the Sunday of the festival our whole group wore Aussie flags as capes, superman style, and in a fit of much awesomeness, when Airbourne were playing; the lead singer jumped down off the stage and took Lisa’s flag off her. He then climbed back on stage and hung it over his monstrous Marshall stack. Now that, as a story, would have been pretty cool, but what happened next was legendary.

  After a very short, non-existent, chat with health and safety, the singer, with his guitar over his shoulder, took the flag off the amp, took a swig from his bottle of Jack Daniel’s and proceeded to scale the side of the stage. He then tied our flag to the roof of the arena before breaking out into a guitar solo hanging by his legs from the scaffolding. I’d like to see Justin Timberlake do that!

  Earlier in the week we had met a guy named Joel, who was by himself but offered us beer at a time when we did not have access to our own. This, at Download, is seen in the same light as laying down your life and so we took him in and repaid our debt. Joel was good fun all weekend but on the last night, Joel realised that he had too much left over alcohol. Some would share it, some would give it to strangers and some would just try and lug it all home. Not Joel. He drank it. All of it. And landed about three feet from where he took his last sip. We really felt sorry for him and so we did the only honourable thing we could do. We buried him under all the camp site rubbish.