Metal For The Masses: The Stereoboard Download Setlist
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Written by Matt Williams
This weekend, Download returns to the hallowed grounds of Donington Park for a feast of metal, mayhem and, we expect, beer. The line up balances old and new, ushering in Avenged Sevenfold for their shot at becoming a bona-fide festival draw while providing UK fans a rare chance to see Aerosmith strut the stuff that’s made them legends.
Here we take a look through just some of the bands that we’re excited about seeing, but as ever it’s worth having a root through the bill in order to meticulously ensure that your rock quota is being filled at every possible moment.
Avenged Sevenfold - Stephen Sutton Main Stage, Friday
If we’re being perfectly honest with one another, it’s becoming more and more difficult to book headliners for major festivals. The established crew are getting older and the young guns are still a little green, leaving Avenged Sevenfold with a coveted chance to make the step up. Their latest album, ‘Hail To The King’ topped the Billboard 200 and the UK album chart and last November they sold out an arena tour on these shores. This is a massive stage for them, and it’ll be fascinating to see if they can pull off a victory for the underdog.
Bad Religion - Zippo Encore Stage, Friday
The Offspring are flying Download’s punk flag this time around - they’ll perform ‘Smash’ in full to headline this stage - but it’s Bad Religion who are the must-see. ‘True North’, released last year, proved that Greg Graffin and friends remain as potent a force as they ever have been, mixing their razor-sharp SoCalhardcore with more verbose yet incisive lyrics. Fuck age, fuck trends: Bad Religion are still the ones to beat.
Trivium - Zippo Encore Stage, Sunday
The Floridianmetallers have a special connection with Download and to celebrate it, this year they’ll play an identical set to their 2005 appearance. When we caught up with the band’s bassist, PaoloGregoletto, back in February, he had this to say: “We hold it so highly because that was the start for us, we'd been touring for about a year before that. We'd been in the van over in the States, and we'd just been enjoying being a signed band out on the road. That Download moment was life-changing, and anyone who's ever had a moment like that with a career, with a relationship, with anything – it's something that you always remember.”
Rival Sons - Zippo Encore Stage, Friday
Standing up for classic rock ‘n’ roll, Rival Sons will take the stage with plenty of wind in their sails following the release of their fourth album, ‘Great Western Valkyrie’, just this week. Continuing their infatuation with massive riffs and driving rhythms, it’s a contender for the year’s finest rock record. As our review said: “Rival Sons may dislike the retro tag, but they should wear it as a badge of honour. The unvarnished honesty, spectacularly realised ambition and resounding quality of 'Great Western Valkyrie' pisses all over the polished, safe emptiness that infects so much contemporary music.”
Dillinger Escape Plan - Pepsi Max Stage, Sunday
It’s Sunday, you’re tired and you’ve got mud/shit in your hair. What’s that? You’re going to have a sit down? No way. Get yourself over to the Pepsi Max Stage, stop whining and let Dillinger Escape Plan crush you. ‘One Of Us Is The Killer’ was further proof that this is a metal band of the highest order, a record that pushed boundaries while remaining ferociously melodic and heavy as all hell.
Against Me! - Pepsi Max Stage, Sunday
‘TransgenderDysphoria Blues’ is one of the year’s best albums, but as yet we’ve had little chance to enjoy Against Me!’s latest live. Laura Jane Grace and the band are currently in the midst of a string of European festival shows so this is an opportunity to put that right. With Atom Willard and Inge Johansson joining Grace and James Bowman this is a settled line-up of the band and one that’s set to deliver a thrilling show if recent setlists are anything to go by.
Opeth - Pepsi Max Stage, Friday
With their latest record, ‘Pale Communion’, having been pushed back until August, this set will act as your fix of atmospheric prog-metal. Led by the legendary MikaelÅkerfeldt, Opeth will top the bill on the Pepsi Max Stage on Friday night, bringing a sense of grandeur and some long-awaited new material with them.
Quicksand - Pepsi Max Stage, Friday
‘Slip’ is now over 20 years old, but still sounds as fresh as a daisy. Quicksand have been playing more regularly in recent years, following another welcome return for Walter Schreifels’ Rival Schools, but this remains a golden egg, a window to experience a band under-appreciated in their time but absolutely vital to the landscape of post-hardcore as we know it.
Linkin Park - Stephen Sutton Main Stage, Saturday
Yes, fine. Shut up. Linkin Park will be playing ‘Hybrid Theory’ in full on Saturday night, and it’s going to be fun. Even if you weren’t a nu-metal kid - some of us dodged that bullet - you still know all of these songs; you sat in front of MTV2 while they played and saw the band plastered all over the cover of every music mag going. Chances are, you owned some baggy jeans and may, at one stage of another, have worn a wallet chain. BREAK!
Download Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Friday June 13 2014 - DERBY Donington Park
Click here to compare & buy Download Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
