From Donington To Download

by Ian Carroll

  The stage was really big, the stage sound was really good and everyone that was working the stage was really cool.

  I have known about Download for a while; we were going to do it in ’06 but something happened and we couldn’t come over, so we were really pleased to play it in ’09 and it was awesome and I’d love to do it again.

  We had to watch Whitesnake, ZZ Top and Journey. I was surprised that Motley Crue were headlining on the second stage that seemed like a bit of a step down. I was star struck as hell when Nikki Sixx walked by.

  On the Saturday I had been at the Jagermeister area all day long and I swear, I probably drank about 60 shots of Jager, but I didn’t pay for a shot; Tom was really cool and he just kept giving us wristbands with 5 free shots on it and it every time we finished, it was like ‘hey, can we get another wristband?’.

  I was so drunk that I didn’t get into a conversation with anyone for about 5 minutes and then said ‘bye’ and went down the front to watch Slipknot.”

  Mark Heylmun (Suicide Silence – Guitar)

  “The best day of my life, ever.

  Mum, if you are reading this, I have taken some drugs and it was nowhere as good as the day at Download was; the best high I’ve ever had.”

  Baron Kev Von Thresh Meister Silo Stench Chisel Marbels

  (Lawnmower Deth- guitar)

  “Mum, you know that I’ve done drugs and the magic mushrooms, that was why I destroyed the house; but it was unbelievable, it really was THE best thing that I have ever done. It was like ‘from work’ to ‘that’, it was phenominal, absolutely phenominal. I was absolutely buzzing.”

  Concorde Faceripper (Lawnmower Deth- guitar)

  “I was absolutely knackered after playing Download and we’d love to come back again; it was absolutely amazing, thoroughly enjoyed it.”

  Explodin' Dr Jaggers Flymo (Lawnmower Deth- Drums)

  “Everything was brilliant and Mr Flymo could hear for once what we were doing and I kept nodding to him, but I could hear absolutely ‘jack’.”

  Mightymo Destructimo (Lawnmower Deth- Bass)

  “It was an honour. I enjoyed every second, the only thing that made it better was that Rainbow were headlining??!!

  It was the bollocks, it was absolutely brilliant.”

  Qualcast Mutilator (Lawnmower Deth- Vocals)

  “The UK is definitely its own kind of world in terms of the history, enthusiasm, the press and media; there’s a lot of hype, so to be a band that’s not necessarily the flavour of the week, it’s still gratifying.

  I was excited; if you have a good performance at Download it reverberates beyond the day. Some bands have ‘exploded’ just because they had a good performance at Download; you play in front of 20-30,000, that’s a whole ‘metal community’, it’s just insane.”

  Doc Coyle (God Forbid – Guitar)

  “I played in the tent with Manraze, in the Tuborg tent, which was cool; I think I was the only artist to play it twice this year. The tent was massive, big for camping in.

  With Manraze we can go off on a tangent, but Def Leppard is very structured. As a three piece, we can do what we want, but I do get to ‘groove’ more in Def Leppard.

  In Manraze I don’t get a second break, it’s either singing, solos or changing guitars; I’m just getting into that and I’m really enjoying it. I learnt how to sing properly when we were rehearsing for Download. We’d be rehearsing twice a day in Dublin; I’d be rehearsing with Manraze in the morning, then Def Leppard at night and then vice versa, zooming across town to a little rehearsal place and then going up to Joe’s house to rehearse. I was trying not to put my voice out, so I learnt how to pull it back a bit, which was interesting.”

  Phil Collen (Manraze – Guitar)

  “Last summer one of our dreams came true and that was to play the Download Festival at Donington.

  We played on the Red Bull stage, which was one of the smaller stages, but we were just thrilled to be there and be part of it; part of the whole event of Download.

  What’s really great about Download, is that we thought we weren’t ‘metal’ enough or of a certain style, because we are one of those crossover bands; we use electronics, we use a rock sound, use a bit of metal sound and merge it together and that’s what’s become great about Download, people coming to the festival are open minded enough to enjoy the way that music has evolved.

  It dicked on ‘T In The Park’; we were on a smaller stage, but it’s good to compare it to other festivals that we’ve done and Download was just leagues ahead in the reaction and the whole vibe of the festival.

  I just love the way that the festival has evolved and the whole atmosphere of the festival.”

  Laurence René (My Passion – Vocals)

  “Playing Donington festival was a great experience.

  Since my childhood we grew up with it being THE big festival to play, the only one basically; when I was little it was the only one I wanted to go to and you’d watch the bands and you be like ‘god that’s what I want to do’.

  It was unbelievable, we were sat backstage and we had our own dressing room and for us that was like ‘WOW’; we saw our name on the door and it was crazy, we were there! Chris Cornell had his dressing room next to ours and it was unbelievable.

  After we had done our press we had 15 minutes before we were due to go on stage and we were sitting there in our dressing room saying ‘we’re just about to play Download’ and it was just the biggest thing for us.

  We had only just started getting press and we walked on stage to do line checks and the tent was pretty empty, to be fair, apart from a few die hard fans down the front. So we went off and then when we came back on ten minutes later the tent was packed and we couldn’t believe it.

  We watched Slipknot, I’m a huge fan and their stageshow was out of this world.”

  John Be (My Passion – Guitar)

  “Download was one of those things where we couldn’t believe we were there. It was like a military operation, we just had so much adrenaline that we were going so mad; the shame was it seemed like it only lasted 30 seconds for me, it was so quick and we did have half an hour.

  It was to be able to show other people that we could play Download and that we can play to people who like metal and people who like rock and they can still get into it.”

  Jonathan Gaskin (My Passion – Drums / Synthesizer)

  “I am a big fan of festivals; I cannot remember when we first made our business contacts at festivals, made friends with people from other bands and how many people we played in front of, but all in all to be back at Download was great.

  It’s the best opportunity for a small unsigned band to get a gig at a sponsored stage. You may think that people wouldn’t give a shit, but they are drunk and happy and curious about stuff; maybe it’s me getting old, but I can’t imagine why people are curious about anything at eleven in the morning, but it’s a very good sign and it makes me happy.

  But I remember what it was like 20 years ago and we would play gigs at 11am for a sandwich to 100 people and we would be so happy.”

  Nicke Borg (Backyard Babies – Vocals/Guitar)

  “We headlined the Red Bull stage on the Sunday.

  It was our first ever Download Festival experience and I had never been to the festival before, let alone played it, so it was a wicked experience for me to just go and see what it was like; then on top of it that, to play it as well was amazing. We played on the Sunday, so we played as the last band on the last day.

  We arrived on the Friday morning; we camped, hung around all weekend and watched a lot of bands. At first I thought that I would prefer to have played on the first day, get it over with and then hang out, but I quite like the ‘hype’. While we were there we hyped it up throughout the weekend and the last thing we did was play it, which was really cool.

  I saw a lot of bands; Limp Bizkit were wicked and Faith No More were awesome. The Saturday was the best day in my opinion; got to see Hatebreed who were amazing, Slipk
not were incredible, Architects were really good and You Me At Six were really good on the massive 2nd stage.

  It was so hot; we got back to camp not realising how hot I was. When I got up in the morning I was completely red and had to play that night, burning up on stage.

  We had a lot of press to do on the day on the Sunday and then we had to load in and get ready at our stage. We watched a bit of Twin Atlantic who are our good friends.

  It was awesome.”

  Dan Brown (We Are The Ocean – Vocals)

  “I had been to 2 or 3 Readings, but this was my first Download experience. It was pretty similar, but the bands were a lot heavier, which has its advantages and disadvantages.

  I party a bit too hard and missed a lot of bands that I wanted to see. I woke up on the Saturday night at midnight having missed both Slipknot and Architects.

  I actually got dumped at Download, but I don’t think I can really blame the organisers of Download festival for that, but it’s just a warning; if you are in a relationship and got to Download Festival, ‘just beware’. But I have also been dumped at Reading, so maybe it’s just me.

  I thought the Red Bull stage was a great addition and there are some really good bands coming through, so I spent a lot of time there; Fall From Grace I discovered there. When a lot of bands play Download they are playing big stages and the sound gets lost, so to play a small tent, where it’s much more intimate is good and the sound in there was awesome. Crowd wise, we couldn’t have gone on the 2nd or 3rd stage, but the tent was great and a good opportunity for smaller bands.

  Friday and Saturday, when I was sober I spent a lot of time at the mainstage and also saw Journey on the mainstage on the Sunday.

  If I had to compare it with Reading; I have a much softer taste in music, but Reading doesn’t have enough heavy music, but Download doesn’t have much ‘softer’ music in case you want to chill, so I’d say combine them! It would be called Redload or Downing.”

  Jack Spence (We Are The Ocean – Bass)

  “We set ourselves up for a rubbish show, as it wasn’t the reception we were after last year, so we thought we’ll tell ourselves that no one is going to be there, so whatever happens is going to be good. We were on at the same as Meshuggah, Faith No More and Motley Crue and we still got a good crowd, which was awesome as that meant that people who go to Download are there for everything, they’re not just there for the headliners.

  For such a small band to play the ‘brand new’ 4th stage, it was just so amazing that so many people came to see us. So my main overall experiences of Download are amazing, apart from camping, I’m just not a fan. Camping aside, Download is a great festival; I love it.”

  Richard Carter (Blackhole – Vocals)

  “We headlined the 4th stage and it was just a great show. We were a bit nervous beforehand because of the year before and we were clashing with Faith No More and Motley Crue; I was pretty bummed out because I wanted to watch them.

  We thought that we were playing against these big bands and no one would come to see us, but we filled up the tent and it was really just a good show.

  WE stayed all weekend and left at about midday on Sunday; we caught Slipknot on Saturday might, Bring Me The Horizon, Youmeatsix; we saw a lot of bands, it was a really good festival.”

  Nick Mitchell (Blackhole – Guitar)

  “This years Download was a highlight of our summer. We played Friday night because we had the chance to enjoy the rest of the festival and to check out loads of other bands over the whole weekend. One of the best bands I saw was Slipknot, they were quality and at one point they managed to get everybody to sit down that was epic. We also had a lot of our friends playing the same stage on the Friday, so it was a great experience.”

  Andreas Yiasoumi (Blackhole – Guitar)

  “We played at Download before in 2006 & 2007, so this was our third time and yet again the response was amazing. The tent was really packed out.

  You always worry before you go on stage if there are going to be as many people there as before and will they be ‘into it’ and sometimes with an English audience they can be slightly reserved, but at Download you always get a good response. Everyone was happy, it was the first day and the weather was really good, everything was on our side and we had a great time; the crowd were great and we stayed around all weekend.

  We watched Faith No More, Leppard and Journey, all these ‘old school’ bands that we all look up to.”

  Lauren Harris (Lauren Harris – Vocals)

  “There were a lot of great bands at Download 2009 and we had a lot to live up to. It almost makes you more focused and driven, as we want to fill those shoes; you just want to go out there and give it your best shot because of those amazing bands that were playing.

  The people were great, the weather was great and the first day is always the best in my opinion, because everyone had just got there and they were all ready to get mashed off their faces.

  I think that 2009 was different from the last two times that we had played there, as we had a new album to come out, so we were showcasing what was to come and it was a bit more personal.”

  Richie Faulkner (Lauren Harris – Guitar)

  “It was an early show, but there were about 5,000 people in the audience, so it was good. Considering that everyone is really drunk in the evenings and had to get their ass up that early, RESPECT!!

  It was really good for my first time at Download, as I am a new member of the band, since Thomas Silver left and it’s been awesome all the way.

  We came on the Friday in the afternoon and checked out bands all day. I watched Faith No More & Backyard Babies. Then I went around eating really expensive food that didn’t taste of much, but I’m not complaining!

  Download is everything I expected and more.”

  Vic Zino (Hardcore Superstar – Guitar)

  “We were lucky enough to play the 2nd stage, I heard that a couple of years ago it was used as the mainstage. We were honoured to be playing that 2nd stage, regardless of how big it was and that it had TV screens either side of the stage. We had played Hammerfest and a few shows in Europe, which were big shows, but nothing on the scale of that stage.

  We were all a bit nervous, but full of anticipation for what was going to happen. We were playing the Sunday and everyone was very hung-over. We played very early, we were the second band on, so we on at 11:45am and we were a bit dubious about anyone turning up to see us that early, but it was packed! You couldn’t see the end of the crowd and I guess that there were about 6-7,000 people there, I couldn’t believe it.

  Everything that we get we’re blown away by because we’re not one of those bands that are in it for the ‘scene’, we’re in it for nothing else but the music. So when people actually turn up to appreciate what we are doing, especially as we are so extreme, it’s an HONOUR, because when you have bands like Slipknot, Limp Bizkit and like ‘girly’ Def Leppard and all the really big bands, the fact that people take the time out of their day when they could be watching Tesla, who were on at the same time as us, to check out what we’re doing is incredible.

  So we were overwhelmed by the response we got and it was a great experience for us.”

  Rob Purnell (Trigger The Bloodshed – Guitar)

  “I had butterflies all week until we got there. I was nervous because it’s ‘THE’ metal, epic, rock ‘n’ roll festival in the entire world; it really is.

  To be called back for a second time is just epic. You could see people as far back as you could see and the energy was out of friggin’ control!

  This time that we played it was a bigger stage and a bigger crowd.

  We stayed until the end of Friday, then left and came back on Sunday.

  There is such a different calibre of bands and nowhere else in the world would you get so many epic bands together.”

  Maria Brink – (In This Moment - Vocals/Piano)

  “To get invited back in 2009 was huge and we were so excited to get the news that we were pl
aying it, it was amazing. The second stage was bigger and had more people and it filled out completely when we played. It was nearly as big as the mainstage; it was killer.

  We were the second band on. We threw out balloons and we tried to make an impact and make it something that people would remember; it was really cool.

  You even get small bands playing the small stages that no one really knows about and that was us in 2007.”

  Chris Howorth (In This Moment – Guitar)

  “We were really excited to come to Download as we are an ‘independent band’ and it was a lot of work and lot of people helped to make it happen.

  We are signed to Corey Taylor’s independent imprint ‘Great Big Mouth Records’ and he was obviously a great supporter; being able to play on the same day as Slipknot, two Des Moines in one day at Download was a pretty unique thing to happen and we were certainly very honoured and proud to be a part of that for sure.

  Everything was fun and the crowd was great.

  We stayed the whole time and Faith No More! They are a main vein in the band; we’d all loved them since we were teenagers.”

  Fred Missouri (Facecage – Bass)

  “I was just really excited to be there and to see Faith No More obviously, but I wasn’t able to see Meshuggah my 2nd favourite band of all time, I had to watch Faith No More as it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I hope that it wasn’t.

  We played probably the best that we had ever played, thanks to the energy that we felt from the crowd. It was really positive and it was just a great, great experience. We pulled the crowd in, they just kept coming in.

  It was just great to be at Download with my friends; to be there was just an honour.”