Xfm At Download - Day Three
It's the final day of rock at the UK's biggest and best metal fest. Lostprophets round it all of with a stormer, Exit 10 point the way to a brighter Brit future and Municipal Waste put in the performance of the weekend.
Day three, we're knackered, we've got tinitus and if someone else asks us, in a loud, shouty American accent, 'HOW'S IT F**KING GOING DOWNLOAD?', we're liable to turn to the dark side and pledge allegiance to David Gray, the Haye On Wye festival of literature and quiet nights in with the Sky Plus box.
12.30 True to form, Municipal Waste take a few seconds to ask us how it's gong. As we start heading towards the easy listening racks of HMV, they drop the line of the festival, 'We wrote this song about a shark. BEWARE THE TERROR SHARK!!!'. From thereon in, we're hooked. The Virginian four piece's staggering gonzo thrash has us spellbound. Party music at 300mph, it's in turns side-splittingly hilarious and devastatingly powerful. Sharks crowd surf, beer gets lobbed to the punters and an enormous circle pit threatens to take up the entire space in front of the second stage. We can't talk this up any more, folks. The Waste were absolutely incredible. We down fifteen pints to celebrate and stagger to the merch stall to buy one of their amazing t-shirts.
Listen to their interview now. It's Hilarious.
13:30 Black Stone Cherry get our attention briefly. There's something there, but we're buggered if we can tell above the good ole' boy bluster that they seem to have perfected. Lethal Bizzle, on the other hand, is excellent. A real triumph in the face of adversity - jeering, flying bottles - Bizzle shows the metal kids that power and fury isn't just the sole preserve of long-haired kidz with guitarz.
2pm Exit Ten are blinding. The years spend honing their craft and tirelessly slogging it out on the underground pays off fully today. The third stage is rammed, riffage is precise and singer Ryan Redman is the consummate show man. It's a truly awesome display from the Reading mob. Red faces on the the bigger stages abound and we head off to William Hill, staking a tenner on a main stage appearance next year.
2.45pm Briefly check out Apocalyptica. Classic music gone metal. Over-blown, and over the top, we don't quite see the attraction of widdling on a cello. We sack it off for a beer.
16:30 In Flames hit the main stage. It's a precise and typically brutal performance from the Swedes. Is it a crime to be disappointed about that? Bugger it. We are.
16:50 Kids In Glass Houses struggle today. Where their performances are usually frenetic and visceral, this is a touch subdued for our liking. Possibly intimidated by the occasion, or put off by the steady hail of bottles, Kids cower and turn in a below par show. It's a shame.
Listen to KIGH' pre-show interview
19:05 Jimmy Eat World are amazing. taking up barely a third of the stage, their no frills performance let the songs do the talking, and the songs talk in decibels that a million Marshals would fail to reach. The crowd are spellbound.
9pm Lostprophet Ian Watkins won't stop talking about how people think his band shouldn't headline. Ferchrissakes man, you're putting doubt in more people's minds! Not less! Honestly, stage craft. It's all about stage craft. Well refreshed by now, we tell the man next to us about stage craft and he begins to inch away. We're clearly too metal for him. Lostprophets, on the other hand, are plenty metal enough to headline Download. Pyrotechnics, great tunes, breast flashing from the crowd... it's a fitting end to a great weekend. The boyos done good.
Listen to drummer Ilan Rubin's far more confident approach to the show
9:45Facing fierce competition from the side stages, we quickly dash off and catch Jonathan Davis sitting down and stripping back to an acoustic vibe.
We caught up with Jonathan beforehand where he told us about putting Korn on ice. Oooh! News!
Causing an uproar on the second stage was Max and Iggor Cavalera, re-united in the cause of metal. Sadly, we didn't get a chance to catch them, but we did thrust a microphone in front of Iggor's face. Very interesting it was, too