Seriously, still not going to get used to saying this but - G'Day from the UK!!
Wall Of Sound has well and truly hit the ground running on our assault at the OG Download Festival in Donnington, where the massive musical gathering is celebrating it's 20th incarnation with a gigantic lineup that is awe-inspiring even to comprehend being present for - more on that soon.
We arrived and stupidly bypassed the trolley hire, lugging our Aussie-based baggage what seemed like 5km over hills and rocky terrain before setting up camp and running straight into the main arena for the final few songs of Jinjer... However, NOTHING could prepare us for the sheer scale of how big this festival is.
Picture the most recent run of Knotfest Australia, with 30,000 punters attending each show up our East Coast - put ALL of those people in this venue, and then add an additional 20,000 and you'll have the capacity of this year's event - 110,000 metalheads of ALL ages living it up in the sun with some of the best sound I've ever experienced at a music festival. Period.
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The merch line had us waiting 2 hours - meaning we missed a bunch of bands in the process - but you HAD to grab some of what was on offer, for the memories you know, but Halestorm took to the stage leading with a rockin' rendition of 2014's iconic 'I Miss The Misery', with frontwoman Lzzy Hale commanding the crowd with her melodic dulcet tones and roaring riffs.
After a long walk back to the tent (to grab some warmer gear) we arrived in time for Alter Bridge to tear up the stage, with frontman Myles Kennedy - addressing the crowd, thanking the legion of rockers for supporting the genre and the greats, Metallica, for letting them use their infamous snakepit stage. The crowd of both older and younger generations got into it with a rapturous applause ending their set and getting us excited as fuck for the next set to come.
The time was 8:50pm local, and the setting felt more like a breezy afternoon around 3 or 4 back down under, meaning Metallica hit the stage as the sun was going down, creating a mesmerising experience for those who managed to get into the front mosh - and you better believe that's where we parked ourselves.
Opening with 'Creeping Death', the crowd around us got stuck into cheering and screaming along as James, Lars, Kirk and Rob prowled the stage for 2 and a bit hours of prime cuts and fresh meat from their latest album 72 Seasons. Because the band brought their snakepit (a circular catwalk into the crowd, all four members took time to perform at different vantage points, including Lars who had a second kit pop up out of nowhere about 20 meters from where we were positioned. He also managed to break one of his snares mid-way through, with James having a laugh, keeping the show going as if nothing happened.
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Rob's charismatic prowess followed him everywhere he stalked the stage as he flung his braided hair about in a menacing way, while Kirk, the shredmaster himself, strutted about fingering his strings faster than an annoyed Karen tapping her nails on the counter as she waits for the manger.
Highlights from the set included new songs 'Lux Æterna' leading into 'Screaming Suicide', with deep cuts such as 'Orion', 'King Nothing' and 'Harvester of Sorrow' resulting in the older fans losing their minds. Several circlepits commenced, but one glaring difference between Australia and the UK, was that the circlepits remained empty after the pushing and running about had ended. Down under, the free space is filled almost immediately, but here, there was plenty of room to sway and inch closer to the stage if you wanted a closer angle.
Massive sing-a-longs for 'Nothing Else Matters', 'Sad But True', 'The Day That Never Comes' and 'Fuel' started to round out the climax of the set, with 'Sad But True' and 'Master of Puppets' bringing the freezing night to an end, with an uproar from the attendees that would no doubt be heard from the neighbouring community in East Midlands.
An EPIC first day, and as we gear up for round two today, with headliners Bring Me The Horizon set to perform their biggest show to date, all we can say is - wow. Cannot believe we're here, but we'll deliver all the action to you across our socials - including catching Aussie acts Stand Atlantic and Redhook tearing up stages too.
Review by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul
