In With The Old, In With The New (Download Festival Feature)
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Written by Heather McDaid
Many festivals grow beyond their initial boundaries to become iconic. It's not surprising, then, that bills around the world are packed out by the giants of the music world. On June 14, Download gets underway at Donington Park, and this year's line up is diverse and exciting, with bands old and new set to complement each other perfectly.
Iron Maiden, Saturday's headliners, tick the 'classic' box for 2013. Though the heavy metal titans have inspired many copycat bands over the years, the Download line-up displays a mix of artists who have taken a dose of their classic style and given it their own spin. Welsh metallers Bullet For My Valentine have openly cited Maiden as a big influence, and that much is evident in their music. Take It Out On Me springs to mind as a particularly fine example and their love of duelling guitars is a hybrid of Maiden and Judas Priest, metal royalty in their own right. Bullet are a great example of a band taking a classic sound and running with it, and they're not the only ones on the Download bill this year.
Having spent the last two decades at the forefront of the black metal scene, Satyricon find themselves headlining the Pepsi Max stage on Sunday night. The band's early releases remain classic examples of Norwegian black metal, notably 1996's 'Nemesis Divina', but their sound has evolved over time.
It seems there's no finer way to celebrate their influence on the black metal scene than to include a more recent Norwegian export with a flair for experimenting with black metal. Kvelertak fuse metal with other genres, from hard rock to hardcore, and will play the same stage as Satyricon on Saturday night. Their varied sound is perfectly highlighted on their recent record 'Meir' and it can't be too long before they evoke the same response from other fledgling bands.
Back to the main stage, where it's fair to say that Slipknot are one of the festival's success stories, having broken through the ceiling from a great band to a natural headliner. The masks, the sinister vibe, the aggression - Slipknot have inspired many musicians over the years, but California's Five Finger Death Punch have really utilised their sound more than the darker side of their image. Their success in the last few years is testament to how solid the influence of Slipknot can be without the full aesthetic package, and they'll take to the main stage on Sunday.
Great as it is for Black Star Riders to opt for a name change rather than continue under the Thin Lizzy veil, the band's new offering 'All Hell Breaks Loose' continues the sound Phil Lynott nailed down in the '70s with real energy and excitement. A local identity can be key in music, and Black Star Riders are continuing a fine tradition of Irish rock. Cornwall's folk lot Crowns have also co-opted their own identity into their bouncing brand of rock music. A direct influence isn't always necessary between bands, but there is a strong essence of home town charm from both. Black Star Riders play the main stage on Saturday, and Crowns the Pepsi Max Stage.
Previously darlings of the nu metal explosion, Papa Roach are now a constantly evolving musical force in that they won't put the same album out twice. 'The Connection', released in 2012, saw a reprise of Jacoby Shaddix's rapping skills. While rap and electronics often sit outside the alternative music scene, certain bands grab the nuances with both hands. British band Sonic Boom Six blend innumerable sounds together, including them easily in their fresh, catchy style. They may not have the Papa Roach swagger written all over them, but what Download offers is a chance to see bands that share creative ambitions, if not styles. Sonic Boom Six will close proceedings on the Red Bull Studios Stage on Sunday, with Papa Roach set to play the main stage on Friday.
Enter Shikari celebrate 10 years of genre-bending this year or, to use their words, "abusing music's worthless genre boundaries". While The Prodigy have headed up Download in the last few years, Enter Shikari seemed to blend the genres just ahead of the latest electro curve, battering down preconceived musical divisions. Where they douse their rock heavily with electro, internet sensations Modestep have made waves in the last year or two by tackling things differently. Unashamedly dubstep, the foursome use rock to enhance their sound with truly addictive results. Download festival is increasingly inclusive for an alternative festival, and Modestep's appearance on the bill is testament to how quickly rock can evolve.
Festival line-ups aren't just a list of as many big names as the organisers can book, they display the various tiers and evolution of different scenes. Download has played host to many historic moments in music but what's not always noted at the time is how many bands lower down the bill, inspired by their headliners, are on the way up.
For the most part, it all feels interlinked. If you love one band in particular, Download can give you a handful more that you would enjoy too, not because they replicate a sound but because there's a similar vein through the style that clicks with a listener. Festivals can often by judged by the names sitting right up the top. Not this year at Download.
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