Review – Download Festival 2012 – Donington Park – Sunday 10th June 2012

Following a massive, ever reliable performance from Metallica last night, today has a lot to live up to, and as Kobra & The Lotus kick things off on the second stage, it is clear that today is going to be another day of quality metal entertainment, culminating in a hotly anticipated headline set from the originators of the craft, Black Sabbath.

Kobra & The Lotus put in a solid shift, but with very little time to play with as the opening act, they are up against time constraints that only allow them to play a handful of songs. Backed by Gene Simmons for greater things, and with a gorgeous and vocal powerhouse front woman in Kobra Paige, they have a lot in their locker, but a 25 minute set hardly allows them much time to operate. They will have more chances, and they could well move on to bigger and better things when their next album drops in the coming months. They do well though here today, and put in a solid opening set.

Over on the main stage shortly after, DevilDriver do what DevilDriver do best; and that is incite festival mayhem with a brief but powerful set that shows them at their optimum force. They encourage circle pits to set up all over the place, and Dez Fafara conducts the orchestra and acts as the ringleader in chief throughout, as dusts flies up everyone on the floor.

They never fail to entertain at a festival, and here at Download, they always go down a storm year after year. A colossal Clouds Over California bookends a set of sheer metal perfection and headbanging glory, with the likes of I Could Care Less and End of the Line acting as the perfect hangover recovery, allowing all in attendance to blow away any cobwebs, and break into their first sweat of the day.

Kyuss Lives! follows, and are pretty uninspiring to the uninitiated. Their set of stoner-desert rock comes across as a little dull in comparison to the velocity of the preceding DevilDriver set. If you are into this sort of thing, then they clearly do a good job today, but it all feels a little pedestrian and workmanlike to the more casual listener.

It doesn’t help that they appear to be lacking in killer tunes to lift their set here today out of the doldrums.

On the other hand, August Burns Red show some fire in their belly over on the second stage, a dramatic and thrilling rendition of Empire kicking off a solid set of powerful metalcore, the band capitalizing on their recent run of mainstream success over in the States, and throwing down hard on their return to UK shores.

The pit in front of them duly obliges, setting up in a number of places, to go hand in hand with their dominant and anthemic songs. They mix soaring melodies with throaty screams, and inject some much needed energy into proceedings following the dismal showing of Kyuss Lives! over on the main stage.

Edguy go down a storm over on the Pepsi Max stage too, and although frontman Tobias Sammet doesn’t appear too happy at a slot on one of the smaller stages, the band give their all, and have some brilliant tunes at their disposal; power metal at its absolute finest.

Although Sammet constantly refers to the brevity of their set today, it still doesn’t stop him continuing to chatter when the band should be squeezing in a couple of extra songs, but all in all, Edguy are on top form today and their next stint over on these shores on a headline run will be unmissable.

They may only get 5 songs to show their power metal brilliance, but the closing triplet of Superheroes, Lavatory Love Machine and the closing King of Fools are particularly spectacular.

Heading back over to the main stage, Black Label Society attract a big crowd, and are as solid as you would expect, led from the front by the dominant and ever imposing Zakk Wylde. His guitar histrionics are spectacular, and in front of a welcoming metal audience, the band go down a storm; however, it is clear from their 45 minute set that as ever proficient as they are, they are also lacking in truly killer metal tunes, in comparison to some of their peers; however, Zakk Wylde is Zakk Wylde, and you wouldn’t argue with him or indeed dare to miss the band’s set here today. The man is a 6-string behemoth.

Following them are Lamb Of God, another staple here at Download who never fail to smash it on the main stage. They cause chaos in the pits, and incite sheer mayhem amongst a crowd pumped to have them back over here.

Given the chance to throw out an 8 song set means it is full metal hits all the way, and the closing four set of Now You’ve Got Something To Die For, Laid To Rest, Redneck and Black Label is ample encouragement to get every one in front of them headbanging to within an inch of their lives. It is a powerhouse performance, from veterans of the scene, and they never disappoint.

Missing the last moments of the Lamb of God set to get in place ready for the opening salvo of the Shinedown set over on the second stage, from very early on, it is clear to see exactly why they should be over on the festival’s main stage, and why so many people have turned out to see them. They start late though, so their set is unceremoniously curtailed, but over a 40 minute spell, it is hard rock anthems all the way, as the Floridian rockers return to these shores following their triumphant headline run earlier in the year.

Sound of Madness kicks things off, before the Expendables sound tracking Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay-Boom-Lay-Boom) kicks things up a notch, with an epic call and response between crowd and band alike. Enemies and a rampant Devour are equally hard hitting, the only sour note of a rapturously received set being that it ends too soon. With a closing one-two of Second Chance and Bully proving effective, it ends their set on a high, even if it does leave the crowd wanting so much more. Next time they, simply HAVE to be over on the main stage . . .and they need more time!! It is an awesome showing nonetheless.

Although the crowd thins down surprisingly for the UK return of one of the most talked about reformations of the year, Refused still kill it. Although they should not have followed Shinedown, they put in an impassioned performance, that shows they are truly grateful of their chance to come back and do things the right way, after garnering critical acclaim only following their demise.

They are back to show off The Shape Of Punk To Come in all its glory, and they put in a dazzling performance, with lead singer Dennis Lyxzen showing some of the coolest hipster moves all weekend, with his sharply dressed band mates clearly having a wail of at time as he leads them through their paces.

It is a great set, utterly captivating, and although the most rapturous applause comes for their set closing signature track New Noise, the crowd give them a warm welcome on their Donington debut. Lyxzen is a fireball throughout, full of energy  and Jagger-esque dance moves. He is gifted with a natural born stage presence. As he closes the set held aloft by the front row of the audience on which he kneels upon, it is a jubilant moment for the band who, after so many years, get to enjoy the fruits of their labour. They finally (and justly) receive the credit they deserve for changing the game back in 1998, with a sound that was ultimately massively ahead of its time. Their sound has often been copied, and very rarely bettered, and they get their just desserts here this afternoon.

Back over on the festival’s main stage, Soundgarden make a long anticipated return on these shores to a packed crowd enjoying some unexpected early evening sunshine. Chris Cornell has one of the voices of a generation, but over the course of a 75 minute set, and as accomplished as it is, unless you are grossly familiar with their catalogue, it is a solid and reliable set, if remarkably unspectacular.

Black Hole Sun is of course the highlight for the more casual listener, and although they are perhaps one of the main attractions of the weekend if you are a fan, for those who know very little of their extensive catalogue (myself included), they fail to ignite or take things up a notch. They do go down well though, and are solid and watchable enough throughout.

It is of course fairly difficult to make a fair comparison without being a particularly big grunge fan, and to the uninitiated, 75 minutes is a relatively long set time, which plods in places; Cornell’s voice is, however, majestic throughout, and the huge crowd who collectively watch them seem thrilled to have them back on the scene.

Cornell openly admits to them being stoked about playing before Sabbath, perhaps even moreso than playing themselves, and that sentiment is echoed ten fold by arguably the biggest crowd of the entire weekend, to see the masters in action.

Black Sabbath are, without a doubt, the most iconic metal band ever; synonymous with the sound and the look of the entire scene, and often credited (rightly so) with being the creators and the originators of the sound. Without Sabbath, we wouldn’t have the scene we have today, and we certainly wouldn’t have the likes of Download Festival; the fact that the festival enjoys its tenth year in existence in rudimental health is indirectly due to the impact this band has had on the music world.

With Metallica playing an immense set the evening before, and after Prodigy’s beat down on Friday night, Download ends in the only way it could; with a triumphant return from the masters, made ever more memorable with it being the only European show on Sabbath’s run (save for an intimate warm up at Birmingham Academy), their full tour run being cut short due to Tony Iommi’s cancer treatment.

In the run up to the showing, questions about Iommi’s health were a big concern, and the much publicized fall out with drummer Bill Ward left question marks over whether stand in drummer Tommy Clufetos could hang with the icons; both are answered early in the band’s set here tonight as it is clear that Iommi is in good spirits and good health (all things considered) and Clufetos fits in seamlessly, playing solidly behind the rest of the members, making it impossible to notice anything untoward.

The band are tight, Ozzy is in a playful mood, and the set goes down incredibly well with the masses; the immortal “Black Sabbath” opens their festival closing set, and what follows is a masterclass, trailing through the greatest hits of the seminal grandfathers of the scene.

The Wizard, N.I.B and Into The Void all come out early, and War Pigs and Iron Man prove to be inevitable highlights of a set that may well prove to be one of the last one we ever get to see from the band.

Nobody takes that fact for granted, and the band are treated like heroes, with even Ozzy declaring Iommi the “real iron man” following his return to the stage after his lymphoma diagnosis. It is a truly fantastic way to close the tenth anniversary of the Download Festival, and as fireworks erupt following a thrilling climax of the unforgettable Paranoid, it is clear that no-one in attendance is ever going to forget this moment; all we can now do is hope that this is not the last time that we get to see Sabbath in action.

If it is, it’s a worthy tribute to their defining legacy, and a remarkable way to bow out of action; there will never be another Sabbath . . . we should enjoy seeing them while it lasts.

 . . . and with the fireworks left to ignite the sky long after the band’s departure from the stage, the doors close on a completely unforgettable tenth anniversary of the incredible Download Festival.

There’s only 363 days before we get to do it all again; I, for one, cannot wait!!

Setlist – DevilDriver - End of the Line / Horn of Betrayal / Head on to Heartache (Let Them Rot) / Dead to Rights / I Could Care Less / Not All Who Wander Are Lost / Clouds Over California

Setlist – Kyuss Lives! – Hurricane / One Inch Man / Gardenia / Asteroid / Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop / Thumb / Green Machine / El Rodeo / 100°

Setlist – August Burns Red – Empire / The Truth of a Liar / Internal Cannon / Back Burner / Marianas Trench / White Washed / Composure

Setlist – Edguy – Intro / Nobody's Hero / The Arcane Guild / Superheroes / Lavatory Love Machine / King of Fools

Setlist – Black Label Society - New Religion / Crazy Horse / Funeral Bell / Overlord / Parade of the Dead / Fire it Up / Guitar Solo / Godspeed Hell Bound / Concrete Jungle / Stillborn

Setlist – Lamb Of God – Desolation / Ghost Walking / Walk With Me in Hell / Set to Fail / Now You've Got Something to Die For / Laid to Rest / Redneck / Black Label

Setlist – Shinedown - Sound of Madness / Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom) / Enemies / Devour / Unity / Second Chance / Bully

Setlist - Refused - Worms of the Senses / Faculties of the Skull / The Refused Party Program / Liberation Frequency / Rather Be Dead / Coup d'état / Summerholidays vs. Punkroutine / The Deadly Rhythm / Refused Are Fucking Dead / The Shape of Punk to Come / New Noise

Setlist – Soundgarden - Searching With My Good Eye Closed (Intro) / Spoonman / Let Me Drown / Gun / Outshined / Jesus Christ Pose / Drawing Flies / Hunted Down / Ugly Truth / Fell on Black Days / My Wave / The Day I Tried to Live / Rusty Cage / Black Hole Sun / Beyond the Wheel

Setlist – Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath / The Wizard / Behind the Wall of Sleep / N.I.B. / Into the Void / Under the Sun / Snowblind / War Pigs / Sweet Leaf / Symptom of the Universe (instrumental) / Drum Solo / Iron Man / Fairies Wear Boots / Tomorrow's Dream / Dirty Women / Children of the Grave / Paranoid (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath intro)