Battlecross - Download 2014

Fuck the big stages, fuck the head-liners, the Red Bull Studio Stage was the place to be on Friday night at Download 2014, for a small half hour slot by a little band from Michigan called Battlecross, who do nothing but impress during their sadly short 30 minute set.

(Photo by Kevin Gaughan)

Fronted by Gumby (Kyle Gunther), who has possibly the best voice I've heard since Randy Blythe, and backed by guitars from Tony Asta and Hiran Deraniyagala,without doubt two of the most talented new musicians in their genre. Then there is Don Slater on the bass, who has long been one of my idols, dispelling any hint of the myth that metal bass is nothing but plectrum wielding root note players, he combines incredibly composed bass-lines with a range of outstanding playing techniques, making players like Les Claypool sound like your gran!

(Photo by Kevin Gaughan)

They seized their first opportunity at Download, filling the stage and consistently embracing their audience, making their performance feel personal while still being completely brutal. Unfortunately though, the sound engineer was pretty useless and large amounts of the vocals were totally lost in the mix, a great shame, but the those in the crowd that knew the songs made up for it by passionately singing (or shouting) along.

My personal highlights were Kaleb, which Gumby explained was written about his son and therefore dedicated it to him for father’s day, Beast from their most recent album War of Will, and their opening song Push Pull Destroy; the song responsible for their European following. 

(Photo by Kevin Gaughan)

It is performances like this that maintain Download as one of the best festivals in the world, giving us fans an insight into the future of our beloved genre.

I remember seeing Trivium in 2005, a little band with pretty much a child on vocals, and knowing I was watching something special, one of Download's great "I was there" moments.

This was another of those moments and I guarantee in a few years the couple of hundred people that ventured into the Red Bull Studio Stage to watch Battlecross’s first Download appearance will be boasting that they were there when Gumby and gang performed their half hour set.
Absolutely incredible and without doubt, the best performance of the entire weekend!

Check out Battlecross live at Download 2014:
(Footage by Kevin Gaughan)

Find them here: http://battlecrossmetal.com/
or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/battlecrossmetal?fref=ts

Battlecross also won my band of the weekend, and were used in an official promo video:
(Official footage from Download Festival, used on Sky Arts. Battlecross footage by Kevin Gaughan)

This summer brings new and extremely exciting opportunities! My first out-of-England festival experience will be at the unbeatable HELLFEST. 

Held at Clisson – France on June 20th - 22nd, the open air ‘extreme’ music festival, now in its 14^th year, has hosted some of the biggest names in Rock, Punk and Metal including Korn, Machine Head, Ozzy Osbourne and Motörhead.

This year nonetheless, has an almost unbelievable line up, comprising of bands such as Opeth, Slayer, Trivium and Soulfly, to name but a few.

However the real, irresistible selling point of 2014’s Hellfest is the bands that grace the main stage; Rob Zombie and Iron Maiden head up Friday, with Status Quo, Deep Purple and Aerosmith on Saturday, and on Sunday…no other than my all-time favourite band – BLACK SABBATH, supported by Soundgarden and Megadeth. Still not enough? Well here is the full line up, it truly is astounding: 

If you’re there, come say hello (and bring me a beer)…if you’re not there, sort your life out and buy a ticket – A line up as strong as this is a rarity in the modern music scene, not one to be missed! 

More info at the official HellFest website: http://www.hellfest.fr/ 

The Lost Souls Club - Son, You Look Like You Need Jesus [SINGLE]

Son, You Look Like You Need Jesus is the follow up single of The Lost Souls Club's EP - High Noon 

With sounds reminiscent of those the genre lays its foundations - the Southampton quartet have created a depiction of modern day Rock and Roll; distinguished heavy riffs, pumping bass, solid drums and melodic vocal lines amalgamate into an outstanding composition.

Clever use of instrumentation adds the needed dynamic shifts throughout and inspired vocals perfectly complete this ‘unturnoffable’ song. 

The Single is available as a 'Name your price' download from here: http://thelostsoulsclub.bandcamp.com/

Low Sea - Remote Viewing [SINGLE]

The Title track from Low Sea’s first full album – Remote Viewing – is one you should definitely introduce to your ears.

The duo have created a ‘European’ Synth-Pop masterpiece; the smashing compressed snare drum pulls the listener through a whirlwind of strings, pipes and layer upon layer of synths. Dramatic dynamic shifts add musical emotion, emphasising the cinematic vocal melodies, all compiling to an extremely pleasing composition; I look forward to hearing the rest of their album. 

Watch the video here:

Download Festival - BLACK SABBATH

So for those of you who don't know me...Black Sabbath are idols of mine! Huge Huge love for everything they have ever done, and Ozzy Osbourne - I worship the man like he's a God! This, however, was the first time I have seen them (not through lack of trying!) So my excitement was over whelming, a tear almost came to my eye as they started playing, and I had to take regular breaks from jumping around to baske in what was happening! This was THE musical highlight of my life to date! 

[Unfortunatly writing for a magazine withdraws me from swooning and just letting my hands orgasm on the keys]

And to top it off, I ended up with Ozzy's water bottle after the show! :D Pride and Place atop my book shelf.

BLACK SABBATH

A black veil covers the main stage to the masses, adding total mystery to what Black Sabbath had in store.

After a long wait the veil finally falls and with a huge cheer the minimalist stage is presented; a drum kit, a couple of relatively small amps and a microphone make for a “return to roots” feeling set up.

Ok, we were all excited about a complete Black Sabbath line up, but with Bill Ward pulling out in late May, it fell upon Ozzy’s drummer Tommy Crufetos to sit in. However, this still left us with three of the most important figures in heavy metal....right there...a few feet in front of me...oh my!

Opening with the supernatural ‘Black Sabbath’ from their self titled album 42 years ago, Ozzy and crew are evidently as hyped as we are for their return to Donington.

Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler stood fairly motionless throughout the set, like true gents, letting their musical talent speak for itself while Ozzy, with his wiggly run, used the full stage to engage with his army of metal followers.

The set was packed with absolute brilliance, a journey through the creation of heavy metal; ‘N.I.B’, ‘Snowblind’, War Pigs’, ‘The Wizard’, the list goes on! All a reminder that without these guys the world of metal would be a whole different place.

Ozzy Osbourne reminds us that Tony Iommi is “the real Iron Man” and the crowd roar with heart-warming respect for the guitar legend.

The Birmingham boys leave the stage and the masses take a chance to breathe while awaiting the inevitable encore. When they return; the intro to ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ builds up to the enormous ‘Paranoid’. A perfect finisher for truly one of the best moments of my life, what better way for Download to celebrate their 10year anniversary? Sabbath...We Love You!

Download Festival - Sunday - August Burns Red, Black Label Society, Lamb of God, Megadeth, Soundgarden.

Finally a day with some sun! No longer do we have sit in puddles and sink beyond our wellys! Let the music begin :)

AUGUST BURNS RED

August Burns Red do a fine job at waking up Download’s sleepy faces; a slightly lethargic start to a set with some passive nodding from the crowd is soon smashed to pieces with August Burns Red’s powerful break downs kicking us all in the teeth. The ever growing crowd are drawn in by the huge volumes this band creates and with Jake Luhrs constantly thanking the audience for their attendance; the crowd make this a very pleasing set.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY

On to the big guns! Black Label Society brings the start of what promises to be a historical evening of Download goodness.

Hmm...Wylde, obviously an absolute legend, but, in all honesty seeming a little uninterested in his main stage appearance. I suppose the length of a daytime set never really lends itself to the huge bands with years of albums to chose from, especially when they use a large proportion of it for a fairly mediocre guitar solo.

Don’t get me wrong, BLS’s songs couldn’t have a bad word said against them, all brilliantly performed and got the crowd really pumped. It just felt like the boys never really let go, no real personality came through and they were easily forgotten once they left the stage. A real shame as it was band I was very excited to see.

LAMB OF GOD

A huge buzz fills the main stage as we await Lamb of God. The anticipation is apparent; the keen Download’ers creating a circle pit before the band even takes to the stage, showing the love this crowd have for one of the top heavy metal bands.

‘Desolation’ begins Lamb of God’s set and the circle pits grow and grow. “Brutal” doesn’t even begin to explain it; Lamb of God tears the crowd to pieces with their sheer power and brute force. Songs from all eras of the bands career keep fans new and old very happy and the bone smashing ‘Laid to Rest’ along with ‘Redneck’ ensure absolute butchery in the pits. The set closes with ‘Black Label’ sealing the deal that Lamb of God are untouchable when it comes to crowd battering metal.

MEGADETH

A slightly more weathered looking than usual Megadeth hit the stage with their never failing top flight sound. As tight as tight can be MegaDave and crew sound perfect doing exactly what is expected of them; mixing the newness of ‘Public enemy No.1’ with many classics including ‘Hanger 18’ making for an amazing set and a welcome vocal cord warm up for hugeness we have to follow.

SOUNDGARDEN

Over 15 years we have waited for this musical giant to grace our British shores and what an event they have chosen to make it happen! Vocalist Chris Cornell 'greets' the crowd with a walk around the stage, judging his surroundings and taking in the enormous number of eager fans.

Cornell’s voice is nothing but perfect, incredible power and prowess hold each of the bands brilliant songs with style all backed by the bands instrumental master class.

Soundgarden have huge flexibility which has been shown through their many years of class albums, and we got to see it all. From the revelation of Grunge with songs like ‘The Day I Tried To Live’ to the more modern rockier stuff of ‘Outshined’ and ‘Jesus Christ Pose’ the band play hit after hit keeping the whole crowd entranced. ‘Rusty Cage’ and ‘Black Hole Sun’ being possibly the bands most well known songs went down an absolute storm, with the hundred thousand strong crowd all singing along.

Download Festival - Metallica

METALLICA

Metallica are Metallica, and we are mere mortals!

A long awaited set from the metal heroes, with a promise to play the classic ‘Black Album’ back to back.

They (of course) did not disappoint, hitting the stage with an interesting opener. ‘Hit The Lights’ is a song that dates right back to Metallica’s creation in the early 80’s, following up with ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘Four Horsemen’. Making for an excellent build up to the treat the band had in store for us. 

A curious decision to play their self title album not in the original order, but who really cares what order we hear them in? The songs had a real good feel; especially those we haven’t been blessed with hearing live for many years. Stick some impressive solos and an inspiring connection with the crowd and we have a performance that’s going to be remembered for many years to come. Especially as we are now all part of ‘Metallica’s family’, which James Hetfield felt the need to remind us of...a lot!

Now let’s be honest, not many rate Metallica’s Black Album as one of the greats, yes it is amazing, but also a little hit or miss with songs and this was made pretty obvious with the crowd reactions throughout the set, people seemingly saving themselves for the big songs on this album, which (conveniently) playing the album backwards meant these songs were saved for the later part of the set. Therefore when the big number came, my word they were good! The huge ‘Holier Than Thou’, ‘The Unforgiven’, ‘Wherever I may Roam’ and of course ‘Nothing Else Matters’ were flawless and the powerful ‘Sad But True’ got every single person in the enormous crowd pumping their fists and straining their vocal chords,

An excessive pyro and laser show back an equally impressive rendition of ‘One’ for the bands encore with a couple more quality songs to bring a good day at Download to a close.