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Download Festival 2023 - Saturday Review! Metallica, Disturbed, Ice Nine Kills and more!
23 Plays1 year ago
Daria and Laz headed to Donington Park for Download Festival 2023! They went for the Saturday to see the mighty Metallica along with a host of other great bands! They recount their day, review the bands and share their Download experience!
You can also watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7mfJVCp_TzbPNZNMMemJuw
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Transcript
Introduction and Festival Plans
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to Minds of Metal, my name is Daria. And I'm Laz and together we're a husband and wife team, both pro musicians. Hello and welcome back to Minds of Metal, my name is Daria.
00:00:26
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to Minds of Metal. My name is Daria. And I'm Laz. And together we're a husband and wife team, both pro musicians talking all things heavy metal. And today we're bringing you our thoughts on Download Festival because we went there on Saturday. That's right. Yeah, we had day tickets to see the Mighty Metallica and the Saturday of all was Download Festival's 20th anniversary.
00:00:46
Speaker
that's why they were calling it download 20.
Journey and Arrival Experience
00:00:48
Speaker
So our day started off pretty early didn't we? We'd heard a lot about the traffic and the issues with parking and getting on site and everything. My friend of mine said it was a six-hour process getting from London to his parking space and for those who don't live in England it should not be that long to go from London to Donlington Park and park up. So we got there nice and early and it takes an hour for us but it was a breeze for us we just went straight through
00:01:12
Speaker
couple of cars in front of us but no way in and we parked the car we went all the way to the end of the car park to make sure we were near the exit so it would be easy when we get out but more on that later and then parked up walked over to the arena and then we went through. Yeah so it was about 10am we went into the arena and we found this great spot to watch Metallica
00:01:36
Speaker
eight years, eight hours later basically. So there is a spot, there's an area just right by the stage where all the mush pits usually happen and then there's a barrier and then there's another set of barriers just literally like 10 meters after this one, after the first one
00:01:54
Speaker
And we stood then to a couple of pics. I'm going to leave the pics here for you guys to see. And we thought, you know, well, that's pretty great view. Yeah, you can see it from the video, but she's much shorter than she looks. I am very sure. Look at the photo we put on YouTube and you'll see I'm not sure. So anyone who's your height or taller. Yeah.
00:02:14
Speaker
obstructs her view. So whenever we get to gigs, you can't, no, because anyone who's the same height as you is taller, you can't see. Oh, right. So whenever we go to gigs, she can't see
Band Discoveries and Highlights
00:02:23
Speaker
anything. So we actually had, we were at the barriers with two meters of space before the crazy section, as Dash said, started, we could see the stage and we're like, we've got to stay here. And we had wanted to go and see other bands on other stages, but mainly we were there for Metallica. Um, and so we thought, should we just camp here for the day?
00:02:40
Speaker
add to that it was 28 degrees celsius it was boiling hot and we didn't really fancy walking up and down the field because it was just sweltering yeah really really hot um so we we laid our base there we made our camp it's so sweet
00:02:57
Speaker
And we stayed at the Barriers for the day, and it turned out to be a really good decision. Yeah. Because I think we saw a bunch of bands that we wanted to see. We wanted to see Polaris, we wanted to see Disturbed, we wanted to see Ice Nine Kills, and we wanted to see Metallica. So we got all of them as well. But we also got some other, you know, new bands that we hadn't heard. We'll get into a bit later.
00:03:19
Speaker
So the first band that was on at 12 o'clock I think was Polaris and I was familiar with them just a little bit because you showed me a couple of their music videos you guys should check them out they're really great music videos they're so creative like so different from anything I've ever seen before
00:03:36
Speaker
I'll leave the links below for you to check out. And I really loved this set, you know. I really loved it. It was full of energy. And you know, I really felt that you told me that you said that it was like their first big gig, like huge gig festival. Well, they were labeling this as their biggest ever gig. You know, they posted on Instagram and they said this is the biggest gig of our career. And they were recommended to me by my best mate, who suggested they're a really good band.
00:04:04
Speaker
and really enjoyed it. I don't even know how you class them, are they Deathcore or something, whatever. But really, really interesting band, really great stage presence, great music and really enjoyable set. Following that was a band called Fever 333. Never heard of them before. No, me neither. And they were kind of like Rage Against the Machine meets Lincoln Park. They were a band full of black musicians, all five of them, and they promote
00:04:35
Speaker
Equality. Inclusivity. Inclusivity, equality and justice in that sense for black people and people of colour and other minorities. And it was quite entertaining. I don't think I listened to them casually, but having seen them, the singer was full of energy, wasn't he? Wow, he was crazy. Like in a good way. And the bass player, she was very, what's the word, emotive when she was performing, always dancing, moving around.
00:05:00
Speaker
listen, all of them were and it was a really fantastic performance. So much so that the singer jumped off stage, crowd surfed to, says, yeah, we had the front section, a little gap, then our section and that was the rest of the crowd behind us. He crowd surfed on the front section, jumped into the little gap in front of us, made his way round to where all the lights are and he climbed up the ladder. Must have been
00:05:23
Speaker
30 feet high, I reckon. And he sort of wrapped his arm around one of the metal poles and just sang off the edge of it. The whole crowd just like turned around. And it was really good, really entertaining. So after Fever 333 came about called Ice Nine Kills, who again were recommended to me by one of my best mates,
00:05:48
Speaker
And he told me that they're a band who write a lot of music based on horror films. And this came across on the stage for them. Oh, that showed. That showed. They were very loud. They were much louder than the bands before. And after. And after. They were very loud. I love the fact that they wear suits on stage. That was really cool. Like they have one look.
00:06:10
Speaker
as a band, which is really brilliant. And they had actors coming on, playing parts from the movies that they were writing their songs about, and the singer had Freddy Krueger's nail hand. Listen, I don't watch horror movies, so if it isn't Freddy Krueger, I think it is. I know a little bit about Jason, there's Freddy Krueger, there's a bunch of them. But yeah, he had those metal hands, a knife as well, where he was sort of pretending to stab the actress.
00:06:36
Speaker
No one's condoning this, but it was just that they were on stage replicating the horror movies that they're singing about. And I thought it was really good. I enjoyed, when my friend recommended them to me, I listened to them and I couldn't really get past his clean vocals because I don't really like that kind of, I don't know, Escape the Fate, Pierce the Veil, Black Veil Brides, that kind of emo-esque clean vocals. But having heard it live with the streams, with the rest of the music,
00:07:06
Speaker
I actually, I got past it and I really enjoyed it and they're actually one of my highlights for the day and I think I'm going to go back and listen to them. The next band we saw were Clutch. A band I actually never heard of before. Well, I think I've seen Clutch before but I didn't remember having seen them when we saw them on Saturday. There's an argument that they're not really metal. You could call them kind of hard rock and it was a bit bluesy every now and then.
00:07:32
Speaker
almost a bit grungy in a sense as well yeah but really good and really entertaining as well and the funny thing about them is their look because you've got Polaris who have all that long hair they look like a technical metal band, Fever 333, obviously they all look different but they have big tattoos you know head banging
00:07:52
Speaker
Iceman Kale was all in the suits, kind of sort of styling the same kind of haircut. And then you've got these guys with big bellies dressed in normal t-shirts, jeans and sort of skater shoes. Look, they look like they were a pub band. And that would be an insult if they didn't sound so good. They sound amazing. They were really good, really entertaining. They got the song that they ended with, which is their famous one, which is...
00:08:17
Speaker
and everyone knows that one and it's kind of like when that song came on and when they sang that chorus that's when we were like oh yeah we know but leading up to that song the set was really good they had a few sound issues as well they had to change radio packs but the singer's a really funny guy he's kind of famous
00:08:33
Speaker
In the metal world, I'm not sure of his name, but I've seen him before. I've seen him being interviewed in magazines and everything. But yeah, Clutch were highly enjoyable. I don't know if I'd go and listen to their music, but if I saw them on the bill at a festival, I'd be like, yes, we have to go and see Clutch. The next band we saw were Alexis on Fire. And to be honest, they just sounded really same-ish to me, you know, throughout the whole set. And unfortunately, they just weren't the highlight of my day.
00:09:03
Speaker
Yeah, they're a band that I'd heard of. I hadn't heard any of their music, but people sort of said things to me. And I was a little disappointed, to be honest. They didn't live up to the hype, I thought. And as you said, they did sound quite samey. I don't know what I was expecting. I was expecting bigger things. But each song kind of followed a very similar structure. You know, screams from the main singer, followed by some clean vocals from the guitarist. And it was all, I don't remember there being any fast songs,
00:09:32
Speaker
They all kind of just plodded along. But we don't want to listen. We're not here to criticise bands to that extent. Listen, at a festival, there are going to be bands that you don't like or that aren't for you. And unfortunately, Alexis on Fire were that for us on Saturday.
Emotional Performances and Personal Impact
00:09:48
Speaker
The next band we saw were Disturbed. And oh my goodness, how great was their set? It's great, yeah. People behind us, we had like five gentlemen all in their 50s and 60s talking about how last year, Corn, or not last year, but the last festival, Corn overtook the headliners and did a better set. And they were all saying, I wonder if Disturbed are going to do that today.
00:10:12
Speaker
and let me tell you they came mighty close because obviously Metallica and Metallica they stole the show but Disturbed put on an incredible performance they played all of their hits yeah if you want to call them that all their famous songs everyone knew as well as a couple of acoustic tracks now you
00:10:31
Speaker
you talk about one of them because you you know you teach your students yeah so I had a student who sang this before it's called a reason to fight the song it's like a ballad-y type song and it's very emotional because it's about addiction and depression and the singer of disturbed he actually talked about it didn't he he was very emotional for him he cried even a bit he teared up and he said that he misses you know Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell and that he literally said I'm sick of
00:11:01
Speaker
watching my friends die. Yeah, really, really emotional. Like, I've got to be careful what I say. Sometimes when you see performers put place emotions in the songs, it doesn't always feel genuine. Sometimes you feel like they're doing it for, not attention, but for the performance, for the show. But David Draymond at the end of that's also called
00:11:24
Speaker
A reason to fight. At the end of that, as he sings the last note, the camera just zooms in slowly on him, and these tears forming his eyes, and then he sort of closes his eyes, bows his head, and you see the tears come down. And just in a split second, my heart just sank. I was like, oh, God. And I didn't even know what the song was about. And then afterwards, like you said, he goes on, he talks about depression, talks about anxiety, talks about addiction.
00:11:47
Speaker
And then he, that was the moment where he goes, he literally says, I miss Chester, I miss Chris. And that was, I get goosebumps thinking about it now, because it's very emotional. But it's emotions and moments like that that take festival performances from this level to this level, because it all changes. You can be, you can put on a great show, you can play the music really well, you can have everyone singing back the chorus of your famous song.
00:12:09
Speaker
But when you bring the audience with you on a journey that's heartfelt and emotional, that really stands out and disturbed are amazing. They did Land of Confusion, the Genesis song, which is brilliant. They did The Sound of Silence, which unfortunately I'm not a fan of. But in the moment on the Download Festival stage, it was fantastic. 10,000 fists with 10,000 fists literally in the air.
00:12:33
Speaker
Indestructible they did as well. Oh, just brilliant. And then of course down to the sickness, which is brilliant. If it wasn't for Metallica, Disturbed will undoubtedly be the band of the day. Phenomenal performance.
Metallica's Epic Anniversary Performance
00:12:48
Speaker
And obviously the highlight of the day was Metallica. And it's so special for me because this guy got me download tickets this year for my birthday. It was full of reason for you to see Metallica. To see Metallica for the first time. I've never seen Metallica before.
00:13:06
Speaker
All of the other bands of the day were bonuses. The reason we were there was to see Metallica for your birthday. Yeah, and I'd never seen them before, and it was a dream of mine, and you made it come true, thank you very much. And it was just absolutely fantastic. I honestly, guys, it's like two days later, I still can't believe this happened. You notice like it hasn't sunk in yet. Yeah, still. It was absolutely phenomenal. Just singing the songs that you love.
00:13:33
Speaker
When they're there. They're right there. I'm like, wow. Yeah, it was brilliant. It was a very emotional and poignant gig for me as well, because I've seen Metallica, I think, four times up until this point. And I just had this feeling. I've said to you my vinyl review of 72 Seasons, the link's just there, that when I saw these photos of them, for the first time I looked at them, I thought, these guys are old. They're getting really old.
00:14:02
Speaker
And I don't know how much longer they've got left. And so I just have this feeling when I was buying these tickets that this could be my last time seeing Metallica. Ticket prices are becoming unaffordable here in the UK. I don't know if it's the same worldwide, but because of certain political implications of decisions made over the past few years, bands are struggling to afford to come and tour the UK.
00:14:24
Speaker
if Metallica retire, if they don't do a massive UK tour again, if I can't afford the tickets, I don't want to see them again. So I treated this like it was my last time seeing Metallica and it was really special, really phenomenal. It's more special that you're there with me because we kind of experienced it together. But they played
00:14:41
Speaker
They've been doing two sets on this tour because they've been doing a no repeats, two nights in one city, night on, night off, second night. I've been following the set list and the set list that I wanted them to play on our night was the one they played. So I got battery, I got one, we got whiskey in the jar, we got until it sleeps, we got boom the bell tolls, we got ride the lining.
00:15:03
Speaker
it was phenomenal and it just it doesn't surprise me because they're professionals but it just still baffles me at how good they are at what they do. I said you know I watched them play the show, not I wasn't out glassing them but I watched the performance and that was that's a while ago now a good
00:15:20
Speaker
maybe 10 years ago they headlined Glastonbury and even then little mistakes were creeping in into Kirk's guitar solo you know the accuracy wasn't 100% there and it was the same on Saturday night the performance if you isolate each instrument from that gig and listen to it it wasn't perfect
00:15:35
Speaker
but what Metallica make up for with any tiny mistakes like that, they give 10 times back with performance and execution. They're such a great band to watch. And I really enjoyed the sound mix. It was brilliant. I didn't feel like I was festival.
00:15:51
Speaker
There was a lot of complaints about Thursday night that Kirk's guitar couldn't be heard. His Boris Karloff, the mummy guitar, we couldn't hear that. Every other guitar he used, his Les Paul, the other one with the Ouija board on it, we heard that fine. But one of the guitars just wasn't as loud. But again, other than that, the mids was fantastic. And the light show around them, the screens up either side. And normally what you have a download is you have the stage, you have a screen of the stage.
00:16:18
Speaker
and the next screen and then as you go further back into the audience you've got a tent that has all the lights and the mixing desk and then they put a big screen on the back of that so that people all the way at the back of the field can see the screen but that always is in the way it's too big of a screen and it obstructs the view so what Metallica did is they bought these rounded screens that they put on really high pylons up into the sky and there was like six of them around so everyone from wherever you were in the field could see
Reflections and Overall Experience
00:16:47
Speaker
it
00:16:47
Speaker
And it was ingenious. It was so clever. So yeah, you're going to put a picture of that one, right? Yeah. So that just added to the effect of Metallica right here. And as always, they're going to bring their specialness to download.
00:17:02
Speaker
So as usual with Download Festival, there was like one or two negatives and the one negative that happens every year is the getting out of the parking at the end of the night. We were, like I said at the start of the video, we were parked like eight cars from the exit in terms of rows of cars. So we got there pretty quickly. As soon as they finished then to Sam and we were out of there and there wasn't many people ahead of us getting into the cars. We got into the car, I pulled out onto the main track of road and there was eight cars between us and the exit.
00:17:32
Speaker
but it took an hour and 15 minutes to get to the exit. Because of traffic outside on the main road, we were trying to leave a field because of people coming up the other sides of the parking lot and sort of slotting in one after the other. It's always just such a mess there and it's just
00:17:49
Speaker
it didn't by any means ruin the day but you just kind of sat there like oh I've just seen Metallica and I'm sitting in his car and I feel bad for people behind us oh yeah because there were there have been hours waiting because each you've got to try and get a car in there you sit there for 10 minutes then they go forward another car comes in it's a nightmare but we got out and we were staying in an accommodation it was just 10 minutes down the road so actually it wasn't it wasn't that bad um what else did any other positives you want to say
00:18:14
Speaker
Because I wouldn't say that. I think about the guards. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So in between the two rows that we were talking about, not the rows, the what do you call it? The crowd section. So there were guards stood by the safety guards and oh, they were absolutely brilliant. So helpful. There was drinking water in abundance for everyone.
00:18:35
Speaker
Yeah, well, it was 28 degrees, so they had massive barrels of cold water positioned every sort of 10 meters up this line. And all you have to do is if you're in the barrier and you're getting hot, you say, sorry, I just have two cups, please. I say, yeah, go and get your cups. There's your cups of water. And people were filling bottles up. People were pouring it on their heads. I was.
00:18:53
Speaker
But further than that, you know, that is their job to look after us, look after the fans and make sure we stay hydrated. Our safety is their priority. But they were lovely about it. They were lovely guys. Women as well. I'm just saying guys in the sense, you know, the collective term.
00:19:11
Speaker
things like you know one of them came and he said you know we're waiting half an hour for the next band he goes do you like magic and he pulled out a pack of cards needs some magic tricks another guy just kept pulling sweets out of his pocket and he'd throw them up and we'd try and sort of capture them in our house like that really entertaining and i just haven't been to a festival where the guards where there was security personnel with that
00:19:31
Speaker
I didn't say involved, but just nice. It felt like they actually really like enjoy their job. They love what they're doing. We saw half of them singing along to Anderson man. There was one of them that was stood under the screen of the main stage doing like, um, sort of putting his arms up in the air and the crowd was sort of going, yeah, responding like Mexican waves and everything. It was just, it just made the event. When you're in an event and you're looking at pissed off security guards who don't want to help you,
00:20:01
Speaker
and who don't want to, you know, who aren't interested and keep, you know, anytime you ask for something, they moan about it, whatever. It just takes a little bit of niceness off the event, but to have security personnel that was so lovely, so enthusiastic, and just good at their jobs, it really made a huge difference. So download whatever company you used, use them again, because it was phenomenal.
00:20:24
Speaker
Thank you so much you guys for joining us for this video. I hope you enjoyed it. Please let us know if you were a downloader this year.
00:20:32
Speaker
Please let us know what day you were there, maybe you went to the whole weekend, did you count? Let us know your thoughts and yeah, we'll see you in the next video. Yeah, we heard lots of great stuff about the bands that came on, obviously Metallica on Thursday night were again phenomenal, bringing the horizon, we're meant to have literally brought it, you know, their stage show was meant to be impeccable and Slipknot, they never failed to deliver. So, as Dash said, let us know in the comments.
00:20:57
Speaker
Which day were you there? Which bands did you see and did you have a good time? So see you on the next video and have a mental day. Have a lovely day. We'll see you very soon.