The US group's mainstays were present and correct along with surprises and rarities, including a cover of The Beatles' 'Come Together' and a spine-tinglingly atmospheric rendition of live favourite 'Dream On.' Supposedly to prove their devotion to the British event, the band performed in front of large backdrops reading "England" and images of London, but this gesture seemed tacky alongside the group's carefully-honed, all-American stadium rock.įriday's daylight hours brought the dual delight of Skindred and Rob Zombie, as well as more unusual acts such as the Drenge, Turbowolf and the long-awaited returners, Within Temptation. Instead of the festival closing with its usual mosh-inducing riff frenzy some fans would have liked to have seen again, classic rockers Aerosmith were given the duty of bringing the festival to a close with a bang. Snipping away their lack-lustre music of recent years, the group ripped through 'Crawling', 'In The End', 'Papercuts' and the rest like it was 2001 with Chester Bennington's vein-popping yells melding seamlessly with Mike Shinoda's smooth and focussed rapping.
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Linkin Park, the rap/rock filling to the Download sandwich, played a rare run-through of their seminal nu-metal debut, 'Hybrid Theory', in a faultless and life-affirming performance. Ribs were probably broken in the latter instance.
Download 2014 festival lineup full#
The beady-eyed punter will have had a ball spotting the odd and hilarious happenings across the weekend, including a "face-melting" washboard solo from Berlin faux cowboys The BossHoss, punk's immature popsters Bowling For Soup asking a knight to decapitate a giant inflatable sheep, full contact medieval fighting from Battle Heritage, and Killswitch Engage's Jesse Leach inviting the crowd to "dance responsibly" to a particularly heavy breakdown. First night closers Avenged Sevenfold brought a larger stage to Donington than they'd ever taken out of the US and combined imposing crypt-inspired adornments with an explosive set that proved on a world stage that they are worthy successors to titans Metallica and Iron Maiden. In memoriam sections aside, the festival managed to transform what could be perceived as a weaker line-up compared to its preceding year into a three-day celebration of a broad range of the rock spectrum, filled with bespoke performance gems and quality heavy metal memories. Instead of holding a silence for the cancer-struck teen, festival attendees took part in a minute of respectful applause, which was paralleled by comedy pop punk band Bowling For Soup's tribute to the late comic, Rik Mayall. Download Festival 2014 was a tamer affair than in previous years, largely owing to the event's tightened alcohol and drugs searches, bands being instructed not to encourage the crowds to mosh, more mainstream main stage headliners, fewer boobs being shown on the live camera feed, and the sombre tone of the renamed 'Stephen Sutton Stage'.