The latest issue of the Full Pelt Magazine is here, and you can download your copy for free below!
Volume 20 features cover stars Enter Shikari as they prepare their arena tour with a new collaboration with Jason Butler! We also have album reviews for Green Day and Neck Deep, an EP review for Jarki Monno and a live review of Bring Me The Horizon in London.
Our News Report has all the latest music news including live announcements from Gaz Coombes, Robert Plant, Resolve, Cassyette, Cro Cro Land, Maid of Stone, Steelhouse, Burn It Down, Takedown and Brits Week!
Plus all the best new releases including James, Emily Barker, The Sleeping Souls, Yard Act, IDLES, Greywind, Yours Truly, The Dandy Warhols, Chelsea Wolfe, Mad Caddies, The K’s, P.O.D., NOTHING MORE, Neck Deep, PET NEEDS, Joanne Shaw Taylor, DragonForce, LANDMVRKS, South of Salem, Mother Mother, New Model Army, Saxon and Cassyette!
Finally, we round up the latest additions to our âDiscoverâ New Music Playlist with Comastatic, Crushed By Waves and Noah and the Loners!
Our News Report now looks at the best new releases from the past week and up first are Greta Van Fleet.
The group this week debuted new single, ‘Farewell For Now’, which you can check out above.
The single comes from upcoming new album, ‘Starcatcher’, which is out on July 21st.
âOn âFarewell For Nowâ we express the sentiment of our longing to stay on stage and savour the magic created by the audience-music phenomena,â notes bassist Sam Kiszka. âBut we must pack up and go to the next place to do it all over again; as always, weâll be back soon.â
Ahead of new album, ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’, PJ Harvey has shared new single, ‘I Inside The Old I Dying’, which you can check out above.
The album is set for releases on July 7th, and to celebrate Harvey has revealed new tour dates.
On the single PJ Harvey says: âThis delicate and beautiful song eluded us until the very last day in the studio. Over the previous five weeks we had tried so many times to capture it and failed, and/but then John reinvented the feel of the guitar pattern.  As he was demonstrating it in the control room, Flood handed me a microphone and pressed record whilst I sat next to John trying to work out how to sing to it. The result somehow captures the ethereal and melancholic longing I was looking for.
In the lyric everyone is waiting for the savior to reappear â everyone and everything anticipates the arrival of this figure of love and transformation.There is a sense of sexual longing and awakening and of moving from one realm into another â from child to adult, from life to death and the eternal.â
This week saw K.Flay announced that new album, ‘Mono’, will be released on September 15th.
Accompanying the news was new single, ‘Shy’, which you can check out above.
On the single, K.Flay says, âIn my music, Iâm so comfortable being loud and brazen, but in my personal life, I can be a bit shy. Especially when it comes to romantic relationships. I wrote this song after Iâd just met my (now) girlfriend. And I sent it to her out of the blue. I guess I only know how to flirt through songs? It worked though.  âDave Hammer produced this one and he and I have this crazy energy between us. I think when we get together to make music we’re able to disregard the ‘shoulds’ and be purely creative together. A lot of the guitar parts were just freestyle takes, us messing around, but there was a wildness to them that hit us both in the right places.âÂ
On the album, âI started making this record as a person with two working ears. I finished it with only one and this is also the first record for which, from start to finish, I was sober. Â âMONO is about navigating loss, about looking your aloneness in the eye and deciding not to drink or vape or have sex or watch a television show, but to stand there and accept it, to understand its power. There is only one person on this earth with your mind, your creativity, your perspective. You’re a first and last pressing, a 1 of 1, and 1 is a scary number, but life is scary and funny. And sad. And beautiful. I hope this record is a reminder of that, and how we are all experiencing our aloneness together.â
Our News Report continues with new music from former The Temperance Movement frontman Philip Seth Campbell.
This week Campbell debuted new single, ‘Magical West’, which you can check out above.
Campbell has announced that his new album, ‘City Lights’, will be released on September 1st and a UK Tour will take place later this year.
Support for the tour comes from Alice Faye.
Speaking of the new record, Campbell explains: ââCity Lightsâ is everything I know. The album flowed naturally, each song informing the next. Itâs half new songs and half older unfinished pieces. Iâve been writing it since I was 16, all through my 20s and my years in London, through moving home to The Temperance Movement, touring, resting and having a family.â
Speaking of his varied career and the bumpy road heâs traversed to get to this point, Campbell adds: “A new band here, a new project there, a change of direction again and again until, suddenly there was calm and the time to think. In a small studio just outside Glasgow, with pictures of Bowie, Jagger, Neil Young and Tom Waits, I recorded an album about my whole life. I had no desire to shed my skin. I was perfectly comfortable in it for the very first time.âÂ
‘Discover’ New Music Podcast alumni James and the Cold Gun have shared their latest single, ‘Bittersweet’, which you can check out above.
The track features on upcoming their self-titled debut album, which is out on July 21st.
Speaking on the album, frontman James Joseph says, âWe can’t wait to get this album out into the world, it’s a no frills rock and roll ripper recorded ourselves in the garage where we first started jamming as a band, we think it’s a great introduction to what we’re about at our core, loud, energetic guitar rock…â
Grove Street share, ‘The Path to Righteousness’, the title-track of their debut album.
“The Path to Righteousness represents and explores escapism & the importance of having outlets or vices to help forget about the struggles of life, and the paradoxical irony of how escaping every day life improves every day life,” says guitarist Sandy.
While drummer, Josh, adds, âthe track itself came together pretty organically in the practice room. I remember listening to Suicidal Tendencies and Power Trip at the time and wanted to capture a hybrid of groove and fast thrashy vibes. We wanted the last section to build and then finish strong and heavy. The repetitive vocal hook was added last minute in the studio, but it fast became my favourite part!âÂ
Rituals – ‘Living Blind’
Rituals share their new single, ‘Living Blind’.
On the track, the band says:
âThe release of Living Blind feels like a turning point in Rituals. Lyrically based on the lack of awareness for others issues, problems and grief. Living in a world in which people only take and fail to give to one an another. With our debut Download Festival performance, tours in the UK and Ireland and our biggest ever sold-out headline in NewcastleâŚThere’s never been a better time for the band to be releasing this track.â
Any Given Sin – ‘Cold Bones’
Any Given Sin share ‘Cold Bones’ from debut album, ‘War Within’.
As a military vet often faced with the horrible news of duty’s permanent scars, frontman Victor Richie dug deep inside himself for the lyrics. “I wrote it by myself on the piano,” he recalls. “I was in the military for seven years, and I had a lot of friends commit suicide. We lost too many of our buddies in Iraq and Afghanistan. This song is about those people, but it could be for anyone who has lost a friend under similar circumstances.”
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
We start this week with the return of Greta Van Fleet, who have shared new single ‘Meeting the Master’, which you can check out above.
The track will feature on their newly announced upcoming album, ‘Starcatcher’, which will be released July 21st.
On the single, the band notes, ââMeeting The Masterâ peers into an esoteric world heeded by the word of a wise teacher. Sung in the voice of a devout believer, and eventual group exclamation, the song details the love these fervent followers have for their teacher and their firm belief in his vision. Itâs an exotic spiritual journey. A dark comedy that inevitably ends in chaos.â
With regards to the album, âWe didnât really have to force or be intense about writing, because everything that happened was very instinctual,â Jake says. âIf anything, the record is our perspective, and sums up where we are as a group and individually as musicians.â
Throughout the ten-song collection the band explores the duality of fantasy versus reality and the contrast between light and darkness. âWe had this idea that we wanted to tell these stories to build a universe,â says Wagner. âWe wanted to introduce characters and motifs and these ideas that would come about here and there throughout our careers through this world.â
The band took multiple concepts from critically acclaimed second album The Battle at Gardenâs Gate and brought them into Starcatcher, although Samâs take on the new recordâs big ideas hint instead at new beginnings. âWhen I imagine the world of Starcatcher, I think of the cosmos,â he says. âIt makes me ask a lot of questions, like âWhere did we come from?â or âWhat are we doing here?â But itâs also questions like, âWhat is this consciousness that we have, and where did it come from?ââ
This week also saw Peter Gabriel share the latest taste of new album, ‘i/o’, with the release of the title-track.
Speaking about the new track, Gabriel says:
âThis month the song is “i/o” and “i/o” means input / output. You see it on the back of a lot of electrical equipment and it just triggered some ideas about the stuff we put in and pull out of ourselves, in physical and non-physical ways. That was the starting point of this idea and then trying to talk about the interconnectedness of everything. The older I get, I probably don’t get any smarter, but I have learned a few things and it makes a lot of sense to me that we are not these independent islands that we like to think we are, that we are part of a whole. If we can see ourselves as better connected, still messed up individuals, but as part of a whole, then maybe there’s something to learn?”
‘i/o’ as a potential album title has long-been known within fan circles, and is now the name of the current project, the album and the forthcoming tour, but as Gabriel says, âIt’s been around for a long time as a title for this project. I always knew I was going to write a song called “i/o”, but the title came first.â
Therapy? continue to build to the release of new album, ‘Hard Cold Fire’ on May 5th. This week saw the band share new single, ‘Poundland of Hope and Glory’, which you can check out above.
The band say, âThis track started out as a hard take on how people lose themselves in narratives to the point that the myth takes on greater importance than the fact. Just like the old adage about the liar repeating the lie so much that they eventually believe it themselves, the culture around us is bursting with fairy stories we tell ourselves.â
There was also new music to savour this week from Holding Absence as they debuted their latest single, ‘A Crooked Melody’, which you can check out above.
Like Moths To Flames debut ‘Predestination Paradox’
Like Moths To Flames – ‘Predestination Paradox’
Like Moths To Flames have released their first new music in two years with return single ‘Predestination Paradox’, which you can check out above.
“I think there are a lot of things that we all commit to, where we know how it will end,” says LMTF’s Chris Roetter. “This song is meant to portray the experience of learning that almost everything has an inevitable expiration date. We never know how much time we are offered or how much time is left, yet we still immerse ourselves in these deep relationships.”
2000trees announce Soft Play as their final headliner!
We move our News Report on now to the best festival announcements from the past week and up first is 2000trees.
This week saw a wave of additions to the line-up including headliners Soft Play making their live return. Also added to the line-up were Dinosaur Pile-Up, Hell Is For Heroes, Gaffa Tape Sandy, Haggard Cat and more.
They join the likes of Bullet For My Valentine, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, Bob Vylan, Holding Absence, Deaf Havana, Hundred Reasons, Skindred and many more.
The second wave of acts for Y Not Festival were revealed this week including Sea Girls, The Pigeon Detectives, Yonaka, Cassyette, Gengahr, Feet, Peaness, The Hara, DEADLETTER, Daisy Brain and more.
They join a bill featuring the likes of Royal Blood, Kasabian, Paul Weller, The Wombats, James, DMA’s, The Charlatans, KT Tunstall, The Murder Capital, Kid Kapichi, Beans On Toast and many more.
Our News Report looks now at the best live announcements of the past week and we kick off with Royal Blood who have revealed two intimate warm-up shows in amongst their packed summer.
Bristol-based rock multi-instrumentalist Lucky Thief shares his new single, ‘Silencer’.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the single, Lucky Thief explains, âSilencer is about being unable to control how we speak. So many people have opinions that are narrow minded, selfish and ill-considered; This song airs my frustration with them. It also looks at how hard it is for me to stay quiet, if I feel something deserves to be said, I will not be silenced.â
Harker – ‘Wasting Time’
Brighton, UK punk rock powerhouse Harker have released a new single titled ‘Wasting Time’.
The band comment, “‘Wasting Time’ is about the breakdown of communication in modern life – it’s easy to misunderstand and mislead when you only talk through a digital screen. Talk to your loved ones in person, debate face to face, and know when to set your boundaries if it’s not working. ‘Wasting Time’ is a back to basics, 4 chord postpunk pop ruckus track – heavy hooks and fuzzed out guitar walls, just how we like it.”
Cape Crush – ‘Sandwich Wars’
Cape Crush, hailing from Massachusetts, have unveiled their new single, ‘Sandwich Wars’.
Vocalist Ali Lipman, says “‘Sandwich Wars” is an emo pop anthem I wrote about not apologizing for yourself. I wrote it from the point of view of giving advice to a younger version of yourself. It was inspired by the advice of my former roommate Chelsea who left earth too soon about not being so quick to blame yourself. Our house was called Club Sammich, which is where the Sandwich Wars title comes from. It’s got some personal imagery in, but hopefully it conveys that your mistakes don’t define the person you become. I think Sandwich Wars is the band’s favorite song on the EP. This came together as a full band song with James really driving home the riffs and all those little musical moments that keep you listening (like the car crash), Jake’s bass and backing vocals in the last chorus, and Cody’s energetic beats. We love playing this one and we hope people enjoy listening!”
Watch Episode 42 of our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast with guests ANGER PARTY!
‘Discover’ New Music Podcast – Episode 42 – ANGER PARTY
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
We start this week with a handful of festival announcements and one of the line-ups that got a little bigger this week was the above, belonging to Bearded Theory!
Fresh names include Pretenders, Billy Bragg, Jealous Nostril, Witch Fever and more.
They join a packed line-up including Interpol, Primal Scream, Gogol Bordello, Flogging Molly, Gary Numan, Yard Act, The Mysterines, Pigs x7, The Undertones, Beans On Toast, Grace Petrie, Skinny Lister, Millie Manders and the Shutup, Pet Needs and many more.
Also making several line-up additions this week was Suffolk’s Latitude Festival which will see headliners Pulp, Paolo Nutini and George Ezra take to Henham Park in July.
This week has seen James, Yard Act and more join a bill that now includes The Kooks, Paul Heaton + Jacqui Abbott, The Big Moon, Lightning Seeds, The Proclaimers, The Murder Capital, Bob Vylan and many more.
The Boardmasters line-up grew exponentially this week including Lorde joining the already announced Liam Gallagher and Florence + The Machine as a headline act.
The full line-up now includes Cypress Hill, Bob Vylan, Yard Act, Nova Twins, Kid Kapichi, Lottery Winners, Cassyette, Black Honey, Squid and more.
Live At Leeds: In The Park has this week revealed the final acts joining their 2023 line-up set to be headlined by Two Door Cinema Club.
New additions Maximo Park, Kate Nash and Lottery Winners join a bill featuring DMA’s, The Hives, Black Honey, Gengahr, Low Hummer and many more.
Speaking about joining the Live At Leeds: In The Park lineup and Live At Leeds memories of years gone by, Lottery Winners said:
âLive at Leeds is always one of my favourite festival line ups. Itâs always crammed with all of my favourite bands, so Iâm almost more excited to just go than to play. But I am proper excited to play – might even do a crowd surf.â
Speaking about the final names added to Live At Leeds: In The Park, Festival Promoter Joe Hubbard said:
âCan it be May already? Weâre delighted to add even more names to the Live At Leeds: In The Park 2023 lineup – really bringing together an amazing array of names from across Live At Leedsâ history whilst remaining true to that core belief we all have to champion and support the most exciting new names in modern guitar music.
Having the likes of Maximo Park and Kate Nash (who have soundtracked countless memories and influenced a ridiculous amount of artists) alongside the likes of acts like Lottery Winners, James Marriott and Medicine Cabinet really nails what Live At Leeds is all about – and these names joining an already packed bill makes me very excited indeed. All coming together on one day, itâs going to be a special party indeed. Weâll see you there!â
A new festival is coming to Chelmsford as Hideaway Festival reveals its inaugural line-up including headliners Clean Bandit and Bastille.
They’ll be joined by the likes of James Bay, Texas and Jake Bugg.
Speaking about the first ever Hideaway festival, organiser Roy Trickett said: âEveryone on the Hideaway team is so excited to bring this family friendly, boutique Festival to Chelmsford. Headliners have all been hand-selected for their unmissable performances and the venue provides a perfect escape in a central Essex location. Weâre very proud to be hosting the first ever music festival in this unique space – and have a few surprises in store for our festival guests!â
We move our News Report on now towards the best live announcements from the past week.
Having already confirmed support acts for their first sold out Wembley Stadium date this summer, Blur have now confirmed they’ll be joined on their second date by Paul Weller and The Selecter.
This summer promises to be a packed full of great live music and this week Placebo added another night to the mix. The band has confirmed that they will play Dreamland in Margate this June.
Tigercub have just announced that their third album, ‘The Perfume of Decay’ will be out on June 2nd. You can listen to their brand new single, ‘Play My Favourite Song’, below.
The also revealed a full UK tour set for this autumn.
Tigercub – ‘Play My Favourite Song’
Speaking on the single, frontman Jamie Hall says, âI realised that without music I am alone, without sounds to occupy my brain intrusive thoughts begin to swirl and unease and sadness rises within me, so play my favourite song because silence makes me feel low.â
The next tour announcement in our News Report comes from the iconic Glenn Hughes, who will be hitting the road this October. The special shows will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of classic Deep Purple album, ‘Burn’.
This week Blood Red Shoes revealed that they will be playing a run of club shows including a date at the famous 100 Club in London.
The band said: “We decided it ain’t right that we’ve never played the 100 Club in London. So we booked it! And then it spiralled and we turned it into a 25 date tour of smaller punk venues, in 9 different countries”.
The final tour announcement in our News Report this week comes from Pet Needs who will be out and about playing acoustically over the next couple of months.
Our News Report heads now across to the best new releases from the past week and we begin with Blind Channel.
Following the release last year of their ‘Lifestyles of the Sick & Dangerous’ album, Finlandâs Blind Channel are kicking off 2023 with their new standalone single ‘FLATLINE’.
âThis is the beginning of the next chapter of our career,âsay the band.âFlatline is Blind Channel on steroids. We captured the energy of last yearâs 130 shows into one song and threw it to a Berlin rave. The song was written with songwriting duo Blyne and itâs one of the heaviest tracks weâve ever made. This is pretty unique from scratch. If youâre sick and tired of ups and downs, this song might help you.â
Next up in our News Report are Canadians Softcult, who this week shared their latest single, ‘Love Song’, which you can check out above. The single comes ahead of new EP, ‘see you in the dark’, which is out on March 24th.
“This is an anxious love song,” Mercedes explains. “Itâs about loving someone so intensely that you find yourself in constant fear of losing them. Sometimes love and happiness can feel like these unattainable things that are too good to be true. Once weâve finally found something our hearts have been yearning for, itâs hard to shake the thought that we will inevitably have to let it go. But these gnawing thoughts can get in the way of us allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, or enjoying our relationships for fear that they wonât last.”
On the video Mercedes says, “We wanted the video to tell the story in a different way, focussing more on getting carried away with our own imaginations when it comes to falling in love. We filmed in a small legion hall and tried to make the ambiance a little depressing and mundane. Our main character is an elderly man whoâs sort of given up hope. Heâs there having a beer alone while everyone else is playing bingo. When he lays eyes on Gina, his co-star, he gets lost in fantasy, imagining not only the love they might have together but the type of person he could be if he had love in his life.”
Alternative Horror Rock band ANGER PARTY are back with their sophomore single âHad Enoughâ!
“Everyday we wake up and have the same conversations, with the same people, on the same subjects, with no purpose or profound effect on our lives. We create a state of perpetual monotony and anxiety, while wearing masks to hide our every emotion. All this is done to make prying onlookers think that everything is fine. âHad Enoughâ reflects on the deepest, darkest ways to break this cycle and exercise our true feelings on the world. It shows our desire to remove the mask, wipe away the make-up and reveal our true fears, frustrations, aggressions and vulnerabilityâ –Lead Vocalist, Ashley Wilson
Militarie Gun – ‘Do It Faster’
Los Angeles’ Militarie Gun share a thrilling new single in ‘Do It Faster’.
Speaking about the song, vocalist Ian Shelton states: “It is about my overall impatience with life. The agonising wait for things to materialise⌠so before resigning to do it myself, Iâm imploring the world to just move faster.â
De’Lour – ‘No One
South Wales based band DeâLour share their staggering new single âNo Oneâ.
“No One was one of the first songs we wrote together as a band in a room and not remotely. We got together at the first opportunity we could when lockdown was lifted in 2020. When we wrote No One, we wanted to express our thoughts on society’s lack of self reflection. We all worry about what everyone else thinks of us, but when you boil it down, no one is paying attention, no one really cares. People are only really concerned with what’s going on in their world, inside their own heads. So we wanted to express the feeling that we shouldn’t care about what other people think, we should just go for it if it’s what we want or what we think is best.â – Deâlour
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
This week we begin with festival announcements and start off with the incredible first line-up reveal for 2000trees Festival.
Headlining the Saturday night will be Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. They’ll be joined across the weekend by the likes of Hundred Reasons, Rival Schools, The Wonder Years, Bob Vylan, Holding Absence, Cancer Bats, Dream State, No Devotion, Saint Agnes, Press To Meco and many more!
We move our News Report on now to the best tour announcements from the past week and begin with the iconic Duran Duran.
The group have announced a run of UK and Ireland Arena shows for next year.
Simon Le Bon said: â2022 has been an extraordinary year for Duran Duran – mainly down to the incredible fans we have around the world. In July we celebrated our years together at Hyde Park as part of the British Summer Time Festival. Next Spring we will be back on home soil once again to continue the party. Itâs remarkable to me that as a band, we are still hitting new milestones, still able to introduce the sound of DD to new generations of music lovers. We are truly grateful that we get to do what we do on a daily basis, and that we still love our job as much as we did when we started out some four decades ago.”
The final tour announcement in our News Report comes from The Sherlocks who will be out on the road later in the year with an October/November tour revealed this week.
We turn our attention now to the best new releases from the past week in our News Report. Just the one to highlight this week with the new single, ‘On The Up’ from Sean McGowan.
Listen to the track above, and head here for more.
Scotland’s Dancing On Tables have released their debut album, ‘Colour In The Grey’, including the single, ‘So What’!
The band says, “It feels like the last 3 years of our life have all been building up to this album. You can hear the journey that weâve been on as a group as you go through the tracks, with stories of love, happiness, loss and frustration sang on top of a sound that we have worked hard to define by combining our original rock influences with our favourite modern music alt-pop styles.
The album is a collection of songs that were put together over a time where as musicians, we were suddenly stuck at home after being used to being on the road for most of the year. Like most people, it was tough for us to stay motivated during this, but working together (remotely) on music was the highlight of each day and left us with over 70 tracks to choose from for this album.
For us, writing and recording this album really was the ‘colour in the grey’ of every day life at this point.”
Humour – ‘Jeans’
Fellow Scots Humour have released, ‘Jeans’, the final single from their EP, ‘Pure Misery’.
The band had the following to say about the single:
“Jeans is about a character who is internally trying to build himself up and convince himself that heâs a successful and confident no-nonsense man. But he periodically has lapses in this forced self-assuredness and realises that he is not any of those things and is in fact quite a sad, pathetic and laughable character. Much like myself.”
Jamie Beale – ‘Champagne People’
Jamie Beale has released debut album, ‘Hello Nimbus’ featuring the single ‘Champagne People’.
Speaking about the inspiration for the single, Jamie says: â I feel that we are living in this weird age where people are willing to do anything for fame. You see it all the time on social media – itâs so easy to put up a veil and hide all the realities and imperfections of life that ultimately make us human. Quite often, in these industries that promote the idea of fame as success, people surround themselves with an entourage of fake people; people that are only really there to further their own careers. On the outside looking in, it seems that no-one in these circles are truly content, but instead are lonely and looking to fill that void with possessions or short lived moments of attention and gratification.
âI guess I canât help but feel for these people, so I wrote a song about someone whoâs trying to climb the social ladder, and ends up alone, hiding behind a pretty picture of how they want their life to look.â
Outside the venue its wet, miserable and 2022 is kicking our ass. Once inside Alexandra Palace in London however, well, its summer 2001, weâre with our friends and we donât have a care in the world!
Yes, tonight the venue plays host to not just headliners Sum 41 but also special guests Simple Plan as we all get to relive our youth. But up first, some fresh blood and local artist Cassyette, who has been busy making a name for herself over the past couple of years.
With tonightâs show sold out well in advance, there is a decent crowd in early for her to impress and impress she does. Owning the stage like a seasoned veteran, she is able to stir up that early crowd and get them engaged fully in proceedings.
Tracks such as âDear Gothâ and âMayhemâ sound huge in this large venue and intimate that hers is a name that will become more familiar for the masses in the future.
WATCH ‘DEAR GOTH’ ON YOUTUBE
Cassyette – ‘Dear Goth’
After a short gap, Simple Plan are ready to launch into a barrage of pop punk goodness. With a full production behind them, and the audience lapping up every moment, youâd be forgiven for thinking that Simple Plan were the headliners tonight.
All the fan favourites are present as the band commence our journey back in time. This is an immensely fun show that reinforces just how iconic Simple Plan are in their field.
Finally itâs time for headliners Sum 41 to arrive on stage to huge levels of expectation. With the band celebrating the anniversaries of their first two albums, âAll Killer No Fillerâ and âDoes This Look Infected?â, fans are ready for a party.
And itâs a party that they get with barely any lull in pace or atmosphere. Fan favourites such as âMotivationâ, âThe Hell Songâ, âWeâre All to Blameâ, âWarâ and âUnderclass Heroâ dominate the setlist.
Whilst those two early albums are focused on, itâs a career spanning set from the band. Add to this pyro galore and you have a sensational show. âIn Too Deepâ, âPiecesâ and âStill Waitingâ all feature later in a relentlessly good set.
By the time the evening ends with âFat Lipâ, the band have succeeded in removing all our cares and have done their legacy justice.
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report, where we roundup the best news from the past week. This week we start off with tour announcements and the above run of dates from You Me At Six.
The band will be joined by Waterparks, The Maine and Bears In Trees for the tour that finishes up at Alexandra Palace in London.
The fantastic Beans On Toast this week revealed another lengthy trek around the UK for early next year.
Speaking about the upcoming tour Beans says:
âFolk music is an age-old art form, and itâs more relevant than ever in these wild and crazy modern times. You can expect an inspiring and entertaining gig, a relaxed and fun affair that leaves you feeling like you’ve met up with an old friend, and you’re all the better for it.â
Kodaline have announced a special intimate run of UK shows in support of their forthcoming stripped-back live album ‘Our Roots Run Deep’, out October 14th.
Speaking about the tour the band say, âWe canât wait to be back in the UK to bring you some super intimate shows to celebrate the release of Our Roots Run Deep with some of our favourite Independent Music stores around the country. These will be some of the smallest shows weâve done in a long time and we cannot wait to see you there.â
Marking the announcement they have also released the new single âWherever You Areâ taken from the album. You can check it our below.
Kodaline – ‘Wherever You Are’
Regarding âWherever You Areâ vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Steve Garrigan says, ââWherever You Areâ is a song I originally wrote as a present for my girlfriend. Itâs a newer song from our fourth album One Day At A Time. Itâs connected with a lot of people around the world and has been fun to play live at festivals and full band shows. It was great to hear the crowd singing along to this acoustic version in such an intimate setting. Itâs a moment we wonât forget.â
Continuing about the album the band say, âThis album is something weâve wanted to do for a very long time, itâs also something entirely new to us. Itâs a stripped-down acoustic show with no click, which basically means, itâs very raw and unfiltered. We wanted to try and capture the energy and atmosphere of the night as best we could. It was an intimate show recorded in one of our favourite venues in the world, in Dublin City at home in Ireland. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed playing it.â
Burn It Down Festival adds Wargasm as special guests
Our News Report turns now to festivals and Torquay event Burn It Down, who this week added Wargasm as special guests.
They join a stunning line-up featuring Trash Boat, Deaf Havana, Static Dress, Our Hollow Our Home, Cassyette, VUKOVI, Tigercub, Death Blooms, As December Falls, Salem, Haggard Cat, IOTA and many more!
Smith/Kotzen announce new release ‘Better Days… And Nights’
Smith/Kotzen – ‘Hate and Love’ (Live)
New music releases now as our News Report continues. We start with the Smith/Kotzen collaboration and their news this week that they will be releasing ‘Better Days… And Nights’ on September 16th!
The release will comprise five previously unreleased live tracks, plus for the first time ever on CD, the four studio tracks featured on their sold out, limited edition 12â vinyl EP, ‘Better Days’, released in conjunction with Record Store Day in November 2021.
Adrian Smith comments, âI think everyone in the band was extremely happy with how our very first tour turned out. We were all naturally a little anxious as weâd never played live together before but once we got out there, everything fell into place really easily and we all had a tremendous amount of fun. I canât wait until we can do it again and get to play in many more places next time round.â
Richie Kotzen adds, âWe spent a lot of time discussing which of the songs from the live show to include on this CD. We wanted to capture an accurate snapshot of the special vibe we all felt on the tour and I think weâve achieved this in the songs weâve selected, and hope our fans will agree. Weâre looking forward to seeing everybody again on future tours.â
The Hunna have announced their brand new self-titled album to be released on October 28th. The album is preceded by new single, ‘Trash’, which you can listen to above.
âWe had so much fun writing the lyrics,â recalls vocalist and guitarist Ryan Potter. âAll of us were together, joking around and letting loads out. Even though it has got an angst to it, we donât take life too seriously, weâre just having fun.
âWeâre not calling anyone specific out, itâs just overall industry suckiness. It highlights things weâve experienced in the industry over the years and things we see going on and hear about now. Thereâs a lot of bad shit that still goes on in the industry and a lot of it gets swept under the rug. But weâre in the position where weâre on our fourth album, we feel refreshed and confident and this is what weâre going to say. You either like it or you donât, itâs cool either way. We are who we are.â
Charlotte Wessels shares new single ‘Human To Ruin’
Charlotte Wessels – ‘Human To Ruin’
Charlotte Wessels will release her new album, ‘Tales From Six Feet Under Vol II’ on October 7th. This week saw Wessels share the second single from the album, ‘Human To Ruin’, which you can check out above.
On the song, Charlotte comments,
âWith ‘Human To Ruin’ I wanted to make a song that has an old school symphonic feel to it, but at the same time doesnât get too polished or âprettyâ to reflect the theme of the track. The vocal processing on the choruses is inspired by 90âs grunge and the instrumental middle part gives off something psychedelic, all in all itâs quite eclectic.
Thematically, the words in ‘Human To Ruin’ are the things you say to yourself when you feel undeserving of love, or when you feel like you want love just for selfish reasons. I felt compelled to indulge in this feeling without nuancing it, because when you exaggerate a feeling like that, or make it larger than life in a song, it allows you to shout out the frustration on the one hand but it also reminds you that it is probably not all THAT bad in reality.â
Next in our News Report, we head to The Wonder Years, who continue to build towards their new album, ‘The Hum Goes On Forever’, which is released on September 23rd.
This week the band shared their latest single, ‘Low Tide’, which you can listen to above.
“This is my pandemic depression song. I feel like everyone gets one.”. The Wonder Years vocalist Dan Campbell describes the band’s new song out today with unflinching honesty.
“Itâs searching for some semblance of normalcy through small, newly formed rituals. Itâs being unsure if Iâll ever get to do the thing I love again, if live music will ever come back. Itâs deciding to just give up and then deciding not to give up and then deciding to give up again in alternating intervals. Itâs watching old movies and unconsciously thinking âOh my god, where are your masks?â when people are in public places because a deep anxiety now exists within me that may never fully leave. You know, all the normal stuff.”
Glaswegian rockers Gun have this week released a brand new version of their seminal single, ‘Word Up’, which you can listen to above.
Itâs the latest track to be cut from their upcoming album, âThe Calton Songsâ, out 14th October.
Jools Gizzi says of the album:
âWhen the pandemic hit we realised that it was the perfect time to try and counteract the bleakness that was all around. It felt like we couldnât write anything, or of course tour. Out of that darkness came a desire to completely rework these songs that we know the fans love, and bring a different, stripped down vibeâ.
Whilst Dante Gizzi adds:
âItâs ironic that those feelings of negativity led to something so positive, a celebration of our career up to nowâ.
noyou have shared the first single, ‘The Way You See Me’, from their upcoming debut EP, ‘This Game We Started’!
“‘The Way You See Me’ tells a story of long lost relationships and their eventual reunion, from the perspective of a not so perfect person. Friends, Family & lovers, will things be the same after time has had its way with us? Or has the distance changed us too much?â- NOYOU front man Connor Jobes.
Final Stair – ‘Headgames’
Final Stair release their very intimate single, ‘Headgames’.
The band comments: âIstvan, the band’s singer, fell into a severe life crisis a few years ago and suffered from extreme panic attacks and an intense anxiety disorder that took complete control of his body, soul and everyday life. He was guided only by the fear of fear. This vicious circle ended in alcohol and depression and in mind games that made him a helpless person. He developed into a small, helpless boy who could no longer cope with his life.
This song tells the story of this disease on the one hand, but also contains the strength to overcome it and to learn to live with it. With this song, the band wants to draw attention to the fact that there are many people among us who suffer from depression and similar illnesses. With “Headgames” they want to say: you are not alone!â
Oxbowlake – ‘Louis Theroux’
Oxbowlake unleash their latest track, ‘Louis Theroux’, on the world.
“Our latest single âLouis Therouxâ was released Friday 22nd July.
We wrote it in lockdown 2020 and it was inspired by the thought of partners not coping spending too much time together and arguing over watching too much TV! When some of their most magical moments were probably snuggled up watching TV together!
Recorded and produced by George Marriot of Pet Needs and includes group chants of âTheroux Therouxâ by Johnny Marriot, their partners and ourselves.”
Welcome one and all to another edition of our weekly music News Report! This week we are starting with the latest tour announcements, so where else to begin, but with Volbeat!
This week saw the group announce a huge UK and European Tour that is set to take place later this year with the UK portion happening in December.
Volbeatcomment, âFinally, after so much time away, weâre thrilled to be able to bring a proper Volbeat headline tour to our friends across mainland Europe and the UK. We are so excited and cannot wait to see everyone out there! Weâre extremely lucky to be able to bring Skindred, Napalm Death, and Bad Wolves along for the ride and share this experience with three incredible bands that we are fortunate enough to call friends.â
Support for the UK dates comes from Skindred and Napalm Death.
Killing Joke announced this week that they will be taking over the Royal Albert Hall next March to play their first two albums live!
âWe are living in the most dangerous period in human history in which extinction from nuclear war could happen in the next twelve months. If we make it, then Killing Joke at the Albert hall in 2023 will give great meaning and comfort to all of us. Come share a moment in history with the prophetic and legendary Killing Joke.â – Dr. Jaz Coleman
This week Yungblud revealed a special run of intimate dates to road test his new material. Those dates inevitably sold out instantaneously with a tease of more dates yet to materialise.
A singular festival announcement in our News Report this week, and it comes from Leicestershire event 110 Above.
The festival this week added The Pigeon Detectives, Lauran Hibberd, The Lottery Winners and more to their 2022 event.
Also playing are The Amazons, Everything Everything, Sea Girls, Vistas, Spector, The Mysterines, Deco, Cassyette, Noisy, The Royston Club, The Native and plenty more.
Next, we move onto the new releases section of our News Report, and this week we start with Bad Wolves.
The band have debuted their latest track, ‘The Body’, which you can listen to above.
âWhen we were writing this song we had a goal of trying new things,â said drummer John Boecklin. âThe slap bass and clavichord instantly was new territory for Bad Wolves. It feels good to know this track sounds like nothing we have ever done before. Itâs a fun track that feels like a mix of Faith no more with a dash of Daft Punk. Enjoy!â
Fusion metal pioneers Dub War have released a new single titled, ‘Get Back Up’, the fourth track to be taken from their first album of all-new material in over 25 years, ‘Westgate Under Fire’.
Speaking on the new single, Webbe says, “Iâve always wanted to empower and lift those who are going through a tough time, and in days like this, who isnât.. This is what ‘Get Back Up’ was created for.
I called Mike Bordin about him playing on this particular Dub War track. Mike has been a Dub War fan from way back. He eventually called me back and, with passion, said “Iâm in”âŚ
Together with us, Mike really set the pace for all the other drummers on the album. The style and sound of Bordin strikes hard and shines though on ‘Get Back Up’.”
Also speaking on the track Mike Bordin says, “In this time of isolation/alienation, it was such a pleasure to be able to groove and flow with my old friend, the mighty Mr. Benji Webbe. Welcome back Dub War, and thanks for bringing me along on your ride.
Webbeâs lyrics are on time and strongly on point, encouraging and inspirational in a time when we can all use a lift. Being asked to play on this Dub War song ‘Get Back Up’ couldnât have come at a better time. This album ‘Westgate Under Fire’ is truly bringing the fireâŚâ
You can listen to the track above, and pre-order your album here.
The final new release in this week’s News Report comes from form Delain vocalist Charlotte Wessels. Wessels has debuted new single, ‘Against All Odds’, which you can listen to above.
The track will feature on new album, ‘Tales From Six Feet Under Vol II’, which is out October 7th.
Wessels states: âSince May 2020, Iâve been writing and recording a new song every month down in my basement âSix Feet Under Studioâ, fueled by – and released to – my tight-knit Patreon community. This album wouldnât be there without them. Iâm excited to team up with Napalm Records again to release a new collection of these tracks with a wider audience.
With ‘Tales From Six Feet Under’, I released my favorite tracks of the first year of this endeavor onto the world in 2021, and ‘Tales From Six Feet Under Vol II’ is its counterpart, with my favorite tracks from the second year. There are definitely differences between the two, with the second leaning more towards the heavier side, but they do belong together.
Together they represent a time of introspection and solitary songwriting in the basement. A time that has taught me a lot and has been very meaningful to me, but also a time that, as I started this project in the middle of Covid quarantine, has already – thankfully – started changing. Not because I wonât be writing and recording Six Feet Under anymore, but because as the world is opening up again, I too will come out of the basement and out of my shell again with live concerts, and collaborations are on the horizon.â
France based pop/rock trio, Oakman have shared their brand new single, ‘Murder’.
âThe meaning of this song is deep and quite tricky to explain. Itâs about sexual abuse and everything that is related to it,â says lead singer, Marine.
âI know that âMurderâ is a strong word, but I wanted to represent through it the hatred, anger and sadness that the trauma of rape or sexual abuse can leave on a life. The character in the song finds herself constantly imprisoned by her traumas, which end up killing her from the inside.
So in her dreams, she hopes to kill her abuser the same way that he ‘killed’ her. Very often, the extent of such acts is underestimated or even ignored for the abuser, while the victim will have to live with it all their life. I think this song can speak to anyone who has experienced a traumatic situation where they were the victim. The topic doesn’t matter. It’s your life, your experience. We all have dark times in our lives.â
CAT SFX – ‘Binman’
CAT SFX tread toward more infectious territory with their latest single ‘Binman’.
Of the new single, the bandâs lead vocalist Cat Speranza explains:
â”Binman’ is about a toxic relationship: the one between me and alcohol. It’s about the fights that you have with your loved one because youâre so drunk again and have caused carnage, and youâre trying to pick up the pieces the next day. And you make up all these excuses, to yourself, to others. So Iâm the Binman. Iâm the trash that needs taking out.â
Grave Goods – ‘Come’
Grave Goods share new single âComeâ which is a song about revolution.
Singer Lois Macdonald says on the track, âThis is one of the first tracks we wrote, and for me the one that helped to cement the feel of the music we make. I wanted to use the guitar in a percussive way, and I wanted the track to feel stressful and furious.
I felt frustrated at the time and had so much to express. I wanted the lyrics to reflect all this, and to come from the gut. The best noise I could imagine for this is âUghâ which I use towards the end – it represents frustration, disgust and sex.â
Welcome one and all to another edition of our weekly music News Report, where we roundup the best news from the past week. We start off this week with the best tour announcements.
Up first are Shinedown who have announced a UK Tour for later this year which will include a date at Wembley Arena. Support comes from Asking Alexandria and Zero 9:36.
Frontman Brent Smith states, âWe have always been inspired by the UK and European audiences. Their passion for music is extraordinary. We are beyond excited to be returning as headliners, with our biggest show yet!”
“We are overwhelmed by the love and support of our new album, ‘Planet Zero’ and look forward to sharing our new songs, along with all of your Shinedown favorites!!! Cheers!!!â
Music Venue Trust reveal new wave of #ReviveLive shows
As the music industry continues to strive for a return to pre-pandemic levels of attendance, the incredible Music Venue Trust has announced another wave of #ReviveLive shows.
With support from The National Lottery attendees can bring a friend for free to a plethora of newly revealed shows.
Acts taking part this go around include Everything Everything, Paolo Nutini, The Amazons, The Coral, Baby Dave, Coach Party, Sick Joy, The Goa Express and Thumper!
Inglorious will also be touring later this year with a lengthy trek planned in across the UK. Support comes from A New Tomorrow.
Frontman, Nathan James, comments âI am so excited to get back out on tour with the guys . Over the pandemic we were not able to tour as much as we usually would, but we were able to release albums. So we did! We recorded the We Will Ride album, The Heroine all female covers album and the 1st ever Inglorious live album and dvd. It’s amazing now to be able to pick songs from all of those albums to make the ultimate inglorious set.
On this tour we will be bringing something totally different set wise and we’re really looking forward to playing songs from across all of our albums. Inglorious has always been a strong live act and now more so than ever. Tighter, harder and more determined to show people what we are about.
We hope to see everyone on the âUntil We Die 2022 UK Tourâ and cannot wait make some noise for you all again.â
Burn It Down Festival takes over Torquay again this September and the event has confirmed their stacked line-up for this year.
Headliners Trash Boat and Deaf Havana will be joined by the likes of Static Dress, Our Hollow Our Home, Haggard Cat, Cassyette, VUKOVI, Tigercub, Salem, As December Falls, Death Blooms, Pupil Slicer and more.
We move our News Report on now to the latest new releases, and we start with Deaf Havana.
As the band gear up to release their sixth studio album, ‘The Present Is A Foreign Land’, on 15th July they have debuted new track, ‘Nevermind’, which you can check out above.
LIFE continue to gear up for the release of ‘North East Coastal Town’ on August 19th. You can listen to their new single, ‘The Drug’, above.
Speaking on the new single vocalist Mez Green says: âThe Drug is a love song. I wrote the lyrics in the cold mountains of Italy before taking them into the room with the band. ‘The Drug’ I needed has always been here, the drug I needed has always been near” is, for me, realising that loved ones and those that love you, no matter where you are, can always be present.
I’d never really believed this before and whilst this purity is at the lyrical heart of the song musically the band decided to inject flecks of dance, pop, harmonics, and dirty pulses to give the song drive, repetition and jerk-ability.â
Norway’s Sløtface return with the news that the group’s figurehead Haley Shea will now be leading the band, with Lasse and Tor-Arne leaving to focus on new passions outside the group.
To signal this era beginning they have released a double a-side of ‘Beta’, and ‘Come Hell Or Whatever’. You Can listen to ‘Beta’ above.
“”Beta” was the very first song Mikhael and I worked on together in his studio. It should be listened to while wearing sunglasses, even on cloudy days!
The song is about wanting to connect with people on a deeper level, but feeling like social media sometimes gets in the way, with things becoming somewhat intimidating, shallow and superficial. The song is a confidence booster for myself where Iâm trying to be cooler than I am. It was written at a time when I really, really missed the rush of playing live, and I needed to find some of that spark and edge in myself that only really comes out on stage.”
Finally, this week Twister shared their latest single, ‘Own Worst Enemy’, which you can listen to above.
Singer and guitarist Stevie Stoker comments: âTwister are evolving and progressing with every release and the momentum weâre building on the road is really driving us to bigger and better things in the studio. Itâs such an exciting time.â
Indie rock band Sunsleeper have shared their newest track, ‘Blemishes’.
ââBlemishesâ is about the slow unraveling of a deeply important friendship, as well as the acceptance of the relationshipâs end,â shares vocalist Jeffery Mudgett. âThe freedom in letting go of a toxic relationship is underrated. Sometimes thereâs no need to mourn the end, but rather we should celebrate leaving that toxicity behind.â
cheerbleederz – ‘notes app apologies’
London indie punk trio cheerbleederz reveal their latest single ânotes app apologiesâ.
Commenting on the track and video, the band say: âThis song is about letting go of an abusive relationship. Thereâs a lot of fear and doubt that comes with separating yourself from somebody who manipulates you, and it leaves behind feelings of anger, as well as guilt and doubt.
You end up questioning everything while simultaneously harbouring a lot of resentment for the person who treated you that way. We wanted this song to feel cathartic and unapologeticâit ultimately feels very healing.â
MODES – ‘Infamous’
Kent’s MODES deliver their new single, ‘Infamous’.
MODES frontman Ted Berry reveals that the new singleâInfamous is a song we wrote to reflect on anger and past trauma that we have experienced. We wanted to put this into words to help others feel understood and seen. It’s only human to have been in situations that lead to feeling hurt, angry, and even disappointed in how you have been treated by others.â
With the pandemic taking a hold back in early 2020, Download Festival became one of the first major festival victims. It was perhaps fitting therefore that the small Pilot version of the event was the first step on the road back to normality last year.
That does mean though that as we head into Donington Park in 2022, it is the first fully fledged festival since the 2019 edition. After three long years, it is finally time for rock and metal fans to convene again on these hallowed grounds.
There are a number of changes this year to the layout of the festival but the best change is the installation of a strange golden orb in the sky. The usual brown flooring has also been painted green. Yes, goodbye Drownload and hello sunburn!
The main changes to the festival relate to the layout of the campsites, parking and transport hubs. Given these new changes, a little extra signage may have assisted seasoned attendees finding their way around, but in general the changes work well. There is a lot of walking required, however there always is at Donington Park however the event is laid out.
Once inside the area the setup is pretty standard if a little cut back with smaller stages, fewer food stalls and no wrestling or other extra areas. But, itâs Download and everyone is just glad to be here.
So then, on to the music! Opening the main stage on Friday are NWOCR favourites Wayward Sons who make the most of their short time on stage. They are quickly followed by Canadians Theory (of a Deadman) who also only have a short time to show their stuff. Thankfully for them they are able to call upon some festival-perfect material as the crowd sing along to âBitch Came Backâ, âHate My Lifeâ and âBad Girlfriendâ.
Recently rejigged Bury Tomorrow follow on the main stage and bring the first real taste of heavy to the festival. The band are clearly honoured by the opportunity and try their best to win over the audience, with our first pyro of the weekend helping to add to the occasion. By the time the band leave the stage and a pile of bodies in the audience, the set has to be considered a success.
We go walkabout next and visit first the second stage for a man who has already played Download Festival with both Alter Bridge and Slash, Myles Kennedy. With two solo albums now to his name, Kennedy only grows his legacy with another top class performance.
Secondly we head to the Avalanche Stage for something new. American pop-punk band Meet Me @ the Altar have intensifying hype around them, and keeping with the tone of the day they are able to grasp this opportunity with both hands. Expect bigger things from the band in the near future.
As day one begins to draw to a close with catch two of Downloadâs house bands with Skindred on the main stage and Airbourne over on the second stage. Both bands attract big crowds, because fans know what to expect from them. High energy, entertaining rock shows are delivered by both as fans get to revel in what they have missed over the last three years.
Having delivered an incredible headlining performance at the Pilot event last summer, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes return to Donington Park next to headline the second stage. Carter and co show the crowd what they missed last year with another stunning performance. This band must be considered one of the best live bands on the planet and who would put it past them headlining the main stage in the future.
Download Festival after all needs to begin focusing on that next generation of headline acts, because many of the old guard are saying farewell. It is the âEnd of the Roadâ for KISS, but not before one final triumphant showcase this year.
The band are able to deliver all the pageantry of a KISS show with every party trick played with precision. As the fans walk away with âRock and Roll All Niteâ stuck in their heads, the band have brought the party and night one is closed out in style.
SATURDAY REVIEW
Day 2 at Donington Park in full swing now with @theravenage tearing up the main stage!
Saturday morning brings a fresh day with the sun still shining bright, but early risers at the main stage are left waiting with opening act The Raven Age almost forty minutes late. When the band do arrive they are able to show their continued growth with a matured performance.
This delay subsequently leads to a 30+ minute lag on main stage times throughout the rest of the day which plays havoc with fans carefully curated schedules. It does mean however that we can head to the second stage and catch the energetic Cassyette who is capitalising on the momentum earned over the last year.
Itâs then back to the main stage for the classic rock sounds of Those Damn Crows and Monster Truck. Both bands continue the impressive start to the festival. Clearly every act is out to cast off the shackles of recent years and make an impression.
Both of these bands leave the fans wanting more, which is all a band can do with these early festival slots. Itâs probably a good thing then, that these two bands will be touring the UK together later this year!
Up next for us is one of the performances of the weekend from Holding Absence over on the Avalanche stage. With songs like âAfterlifeâ and âWiltâ seemingly made for festival crowds to sing along to, the band completely own the packed tent during their time on stage.
Shinedown are also a band that knows how to control a crowd, and they have a large crowd to play with next on the main stage. With a new album on the way, the band incorporate new tracks âThe Saints of Violence and Innuendoâ and âPlanet Zeroâ into their tried and tested, crowd pleasing set.
Itâs then back to the Avalanche stage for another standout performance. This time itâs Creeper on the stage, the band again showing an innate ability to hold the audience in the palm of their hands. Creeper continue to grow and evolve and it will be interesting to see where the band head next.
We stick next to the Avalanche stage for headliners Funeral For A Friend. Perhaps itâs the fact that weâve just witnessed two fantastic performances on this stage from Holding Absence and Creeper but something feels a little off for this set. Itâs not a lacklustre performance as the band give it their all, but on a weekend full of great performances what is probably a really good one feels a little underwhelming.
There is never anything underwhelming however about Iron Maiden. The band are icons for a reason and their current stage show is possibly their best ever. With Maiden on form and a packed Donington Park in fine voice, this headline set was always going to be one for the ages, and it doesnât disappoint.
Now onto Sunday morning, with hangovers taking hold, feet aching and staminaâs waning. Itâs up to Wargasm to blow away any cobwebs as they open the main stage, and thatâs just what they do. The band are developing into something of a marmite band, but there is no doubting the passion and energy that they put into every performance; and judging by the reaction they go down very well this morning.
Sidetracking from the music for a moment, we commented in our Neck of the Woods Festival review about the cost of food and drink this year. There are no surprises therefore that prices are high at Download Festival, but the quality on offer at that price is disappointing. Inflation is one thing, but shrinkflation begins to rub, and more than one meal this weekend leaves a sour taste in our mouth (figuratively and literally in one case!).
Well, if the amenities on offer are disappointing, thankfully the music isnât. As we have said, the quality of performances this weekend is consistently high. Both The Velveteers in the Dogtooth tent and The Last Internationale on the second stage are fine examples of this quality from top to bottom.
Massive Wagons follow on the second stage and again appear on top form. As many bands have this weekend, they tailor their set list perfectly for their time on stage and itâs wall to wall bangers as the kids would say.
Tremonti next are more methodical as they display their technical prowess. Mark Tremonti and co are mightily impressive and the audience are equally receptive.
We shoot then across to the main stage where Rise Against are another band that fail to meet expectations. The band are an incredible force, but sadly today they struggle to translate from the stage for whatever reason.
Volbeat have no problems though as they are instantly able to grab the audience. They deliver a career spanning setlist to the delight of the field, which shows just why they have established themselves as potential future headliners.
We then find time to dart across to the Avalanche stage one last time as Trash Boat showcase one of the albums of last year, âDonât You Feel Amazing?â. Trash Boat have really come into their own and have the entire tent bouncing along.
Korn are the penultimate band to play the main stage this weekend and they make the most of their position with one of the best performances of the festival. The band are longtime Download Festival favourites and they evidence today just why that is.
There is another look at the future next as Yonaka pack out the Dogtooth tent. Those that have made the effort to catch the band are rewarded by an incredible performance from one of the most exciting young rock bands around.
Last but certainly not least with have Biffy Clyro who are one of the biggest rock bands in the UK, but seemingly another marmite band amongst regular Download Festival goers.
One thing for certain is that those that chose to the stay until the end are rewarded by way of a sublime headlining performance. Biffy Clyro are another level live act and tonight they deliver a superb closing show fitting of closing this event.
Consistent high calibre performances have encapsulated the return of Download Festival this weekend. The event has a special place in the hearts of its fan base and will celebrate next year with a special four day 20th anniversary celebration. We canât wait!
