Review: Download Festival 2022 Day Two

Shinedown playing the Apex Stage

After a fantastic first day of music at Donnington, Day two would see a whole host of bands and artists play across the four stages at Donington Park. The headliners Iron Maiden would be playing a career-defining set later in the day but there were many other highlights throughout the day.

Cassyette

We start off our sunny Saturday morning watching one of the rising stars in the rock and alternative scene. Cassyette had been an artist I've wanted to see since I saw her perform with Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes at Reading Festival last year and has constantly appeared in my Spotify recommended over the last year. Safe to say I was not disappointed. Cassyette owned The Opus Stage and got to crowd moshing along and chanting her name. Considering she played to a smaller stage at the pilot last year, It is amazing to see how far she has come in a year. Her ability to switch from gentle vocals to screams is also really impressive and her song such as 'Petrichor' and 'Dear Goth' sound much heavier in a live setting. I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg for Cassyette and I can really see her coming back to Download and playing on the main stage in the future.

Salem

It was the first set of the day for charismatic frontman Will Gould as Salem came onto The Avalanche Stage in the early afternoon. Despite the early start, the band blasted through an eight-song setlist with the crowd singing dancing and the crowd suffering through the punk-rock show. Just like he does in his other band (which we will talk about later), Will has the crowd captivated with his vocals and his showmanship which makes him stand out as one of the best frontmen in the country. He would be jumping and running around the stage and hyping up the crowd at any given opportunity which was infectious. The band brought the energy to the Avalanche stage which I feel woke up Download and got them ready for the day.

Loathe

Loathe has been a band that has had a lot of ups and downs over the last year or so. From members departing the band to touring with While She Sleep. Today would be one of the ups as they play at Download. What I like about their set is the kind of progressive metal they bring to the table. Songs such as 'Two-Way-Mirror' can really create an atmosphere and brings a different sound to the stage. Unfortunately, Some of the atmosphere was lost in a tent at half two in the afternoon and sounds much better in an indoor venue which is a shame but one thing the band did brilliantly for the packed-out Avalanche stage was show off their diversity in their sound. their opening song 'Aggressive Evolution' is a much heavier track and displays both Kadeem France's and Erik Bickerstaffe's vocal talents and also certainly got the pack out crowd moshing and crowd surfing. Their set at Download really displayed why they are rising stars in the scene and the potential which is there for the future.

Holding Absence

I have only known of this band for a little while since they support Creeper in London in December but Holding Absence have been a band I have been listening to a lot recently and this set at Download just seemed to cement my love for this band. Lead singer Lucas Woodland's vocals carry so much emotion through his delivery which sent shivers down my spine. The rest of the band provides a sound that mixes the best of alternative rock and metal, which gives the band a brilliant sound which really packs an emotional punch. The band only had six songs but gave it they're all playing their mega-hit 'Afterlife' as well as giving a live debut to 'Aching Longing'. The band finished their set on 'Wilt' which everyone got on each other shoulders and really made me and my mate take a step back and go "wow". Holding Absence are such an impressive live band and really was one of the biggest surprises of the day!

grandson

We stuck around The Avalanche Stage for the next act who has certainly been making a name for themselves. Canadian Singer and Songwriter grandson has seen some major success in recent years with millions of streams online and the release of his recent album 'Death of an Optumist'. This is a crazy opportunity to see one of the biggest up-and-coming artists in the world right now. grandson only had 7 songs for his setlist which felt very short and while he did play one is most popular songs 'Blood//Water', I felt that some big songs were missing from his set

such as 'Riptide' which was a shame but that would not take away from how good of a vocalist and performer he is.

While the whole "The energy is inside of you" speech which grandson makes is not for me, it's safe to say that it certainly got the crowd hyped up as they opened the pit to the soundtrack of grandsons rock and electronic mix which is something different for Download and make me excited for future acts they may have on future line ups. While I feel his set was short and missing key songs, it was fantastic to see grandson on a relatively small stage and bring a different sound to the home of rock.

Shinedown

A delay on the Apex Stage meant we had the opportunity to go a see a band that me and my friend got to see at our first Download in 2018. Shinedown came to download with new music and their back catalogue of rock hits, it's safe to say we were in for a treat. Opening with their latest single 'The Saints of Violence and Innuendo' gets the crowd at the front bouncing and set the show's tone. The heavy rifts keep coming with songs such as 'Devil', 'Cut The Cord' and 'Planet Zero' which then lead singer Brent Smith to time to talk to the crowd about the last few years and give some words of encouragement for the crowd.

"Your legacy is not going to be about your failiure, your legacy is going to be about the fact you didn't gave up. Download. Let's get them"

With the crowd cheering in appreciation for Brent and his words of wisdom and then the band went into 'Get Up'. The highlight of the show for me was 'Second Chance' with me and my mate singing word for word and hitting the high point near the end of the song. A moment I will never forget. It's safe to say that Shinedown put on a great show for Download and demonstrated they have the tunes and the capability to maybe have a bigger set next time around.

Creeper

Once again, it was back to The Avalanche Stage for Creeper. Lead singer Will Gould was back again but this time in his trademark leather coat in the heat of Download. The band got off to a blistering start opening their set with 'Hiding From the Boys' which saw the diehard Creeper fans sign in unison and moshpits started to form in the packed-out crowd. Gould shows off his swagger and showmanship on 'Cyanide' and 'Thorns of Love' and has the fans captivated while Ian Miles steals the show for a brief moment with his guitar solos in both songs. 'Down Below' saw the band get the whole of the Donnington crowd singing along with Gould's encouragement. Keyboard player and vocalist Hannah Greenwood was the next member to have their moment to shine as she joins Gould on lead vocals for 'Midnight'. The two vocal powerhouses have amazing chemistry on stage together and their vocals perfectly complement each other. Finally, the band finished on 'Misery' in which the crowd went full acapella singing the final verse to the band's shock. This capped off a sensational performance which pleased the fans as well as placed Creeper as one of the best live bands this country has to offer.

Megadeth

One of the things I had on my bucket list was to see the "Big Four" of thrash metal which I mentioned in by bands to see blog. Megadeth where the final band on my list to see and I was very excited to see this legendary band in the flesh. The band opened with a bang with 'Hanger 18' which displayed the band's extraordinary talents as musicians and got Download headbanging along. The setlist was filled to the brim with great songs from the band's back catalogue. From classics such as 'Sweating Bullets' and 'Trust' (which reminded me of the times I'd try and play these songs on Guitar Hero and Rock Band) to tracks from the later albums such as 'Dystopia'. It really shows how the band have produced some of the biggest songs in metal and can still produce fantastic songs. The set was not perfect, however. The band did not interact with the crowd a lot and would just walk off stage between songs to change and tune guitars which just made their set feel a bit hollow. Lead singer Dave Mustaine's vocals were quiet on some songs however considering the man had throat cancer a few years ago it's just amazing to get to see the man in person and shred his guitar in the Donnighton sunshine. While we had a great time we did have to depart before the band's encore to check another thing off my bucket list.

Iron Maiden

It has been a dream to see Iron Maiden play a headline slot at Download. they have a legendary status at the festival and are well known for putting on some incredible shows at Donington. the band opened their show with a few tracks from the new album 'Senjutsu' which featured the popular 'Writing on the Wall' which the Download crowd loved when the band played it live in the UK for the first time.

The band kicked things into second gear as they played 'Revelation' which kickstarted the band dipping into their more classic tracks which included 'Fear of the Dark' and 'Hallow Be Thy Name' as well as fan favourites such as 'Blood Brother which got the crowd singing in unison. Maiden has so many great tracks from their near 50-year career there were going to be so big tracks left off the setlist but I think this would be the best setlist the band could possibly put out to please new and old fans alike.

All the members had their own movements throughout their sets. Dave Murrey, Adrian Smith and Janick Geres showed off their abilities on guitar, Steve Harris's bass can be heard thundering throughout the set and Nicko McBrains drumming is exceptional as always. For me, however, Bruce Dickenson stole the show. Bruce would spend the set running around, having constant outfit changes and having the energy of someone forty years his junior. It's incredible what he can do at his age which includes having flamethrowers wrapped around his arms on 'Flight of Icarus' and fighting the band's mascot Eddie while performing 'The Trooper'. Dickenson is an outstanding frontman which an outstanding voice and a massive stage presence.

It has to be said the Maidens stage set up was outstanding as well. The Japanese setting at the start of the show relates to the new Maiden album 'Senjutsu' which would then change to a temple-like set-up with the background changing with each song. The show was certainly ambitious but that's what Maiden does and that is what has made them so successful. The show would conclude with 'Aces High' with a spitfire hovering over the stage which was stunning. It was the perfect way for the band to complete their set and remind Download why Maiden is one of the best live bands on the planet.

Zoe London (DJ set)

Now all the bands were done, it was time for the after-party! so we grabbed a few drinks from camp and made our way to The Doghouse to watch Zoe London do a DJ set that we would never forget. Zoe mixes all sorts of music together from dance to rock and metal which you would think would never work but you would be dead wrong. All the music gelled together so well and gave some old songs by the likes of Nirvana and Green day a fresh feel and made them more dancy as well as sneaking in some dance tracks from the likes of Oliver Heldens which you never usually hear at Download but the crowd was certainly not complaining. The Download crowd loved it with moshpits and crowd surfers appearing all over the place.

The best moment by far was when my mate turned to me and told me he wanted to hear a bit more Enter Shikari in the set. Then all of a sudden 'Slipshot' started playing which left us in Hysterics but yet singing along. Zoe London's set is the perfect example of how DJ sets should be. not just playing the same old songs but giving them a new sound for everyone to enjoy and mixing songs from all different genres to create a fantastic vibe. This was the perfect way to end the day at Download.