Day Two of Download is the one you’ve probably heard most about by now from your mates; the endless downpours, fans face-planting into the mud outside the Avalanche Stage, and enough technical disruptions to make you grind your teeth in despair. But with a day jam-packed with acts as good as these, there’s no way we’re going to miss out. Hide under a waterproof, tread carefully over sinkholes, and stop hiding in your tent – it’s time to make some memories.
Words: Kate Allvey. Images: Penny Bennett and Download Festival
Bambie Thug
Wreathed in black latex tentacles, the Irish vocalist opens the second day of Download with seductive, evil âouija popâ. Theyâre like a possessed Lady Gaga, spilling musical ink on âLast Summer (I Know What You Did)â, and if you had guessed that a sexy bin man costume would feature somewhere over the weekend, youâd be proven right during hypnotic new track âTrash Will Take Itself Outâ. But the magic happens in their almost un-backed cover of the Cranberries âZombie’; flanked by flags of the oppressed held in silence, itâs clear thatâs thereâs so much more to Bambie Thug than nudity and Eurovision.
Florence Black
As the first act of the day to fall victim to the curse of a shortened set due to apocalyptic weather conditions, we sadly donât get much of the welsh actâs bass-heavy hard rock sound, but the five songs we receive are as dark as their name. Tristan Thomasâ heartfelt wail makes the cliched metal horns he conjures up feel necessary throughout their Pearl Jam influenced set, and âSun And Moonâ slips down as easily as a scotch at midnight. Weâre left simultaneously frustrated and grateful for the brief snippet we did get to see.Â
Bleed From Within
The faithful brave an extra half an hour wait in the downpour for the Scottish metallers, but âSovereignâs essential burst of brutality makes the discomfort worth it. We needed something heavier and tougher, richer in ferocious guitar to bolster our spirits, and we got it and then some. âStand Downâ sends a connection flooding through the crowd all the way to the back, and vocalist Scott Kennedy grins at our response. Closing with a heartwarming and fan-pleasing rendition of Metallicaâs âEnter Sandmanâ, theyâre joined by Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan whoâve been filming onsite.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes
The frontman knows both how to construct a belting setlist and how to rock a fuzzy pink cardigan, and the huge crowd response to âKitty Suckerâ shows just how comfortable heâs become in his rock n roll status. The lounger tracks which featured heavily on his last tour are thrown out in favour of the rangers which showcase Carter at his best like âDevil Inside Meâ, though strategically placed slower tracks move us. âWhat it takes to be a main stage band? Confidence, power, kindness and love,â he lists before the impassioned âBramblesâs slinky beat booms out. Sadly, this makes a small boy in the audience cry, and Carter pauses the song to console him (âLittle manâs tired… I donât blame him, Iâm tired too!â). âMy Townâ hits heavier live, with tons more electro to console even the most weary, leaving us both in awe of the Rattlesnakesâ sound and energised to continue.
Babymetal
Handmade t-shirts and fervent hype surrounded the Japanese girl group, but their hyper-energetic routines angered whichever deity controls the weather in Derbyshire. After only one song, a look of panic flashed across leader Su-Metalâs face as she received a message in her earpiece, and the dreaded âwe are pausing the show brieflyâ message displayed onscreen as the weather turned biblical. However, the ladies are nothing if not consummate professionals, and as soon as it was safe to do so, âMETALI!!â proved that they are the holographic dressed superheroes that we need to push through the day. âRATATATAâ is an absolute banger live and the closest we would come to seeing Electric Callboy this weekend. It felt like as soon as Babymetal appeared, they were gone.
Enter Shikari
Thereâs a reason Enter Shikari sold out stadiums across Europe earlier this year. Glitching between poetry, dance grooving, eighties vibes and nineties optimism, they perfectly capture the escapism of the weekend. âGiant Pacific Octopus (I Donât Know You Any More)â is melancholy and bold, opening a thoughtful pit that embraces the message of the song. Frontman Rou Reynolds paces like a caged tiger; âThis was the first festival that ever allowed us to play, back in 2006â he yells before turning the bass up to absolute limits for âgoldfishâs intense drops after dreamlike soft bridges that weigh heavy with longing. Enter Shikari lean into the drum n bass end of their sound for shows like this because it absolutely works for huge crowds, and âSorry, Youâre Not a Winnerâ playfully extends the electro side of the band like an outstretched hand, inviting us to dance.Â
 
While She Sleeps
âIâve been here before, Iâve been stood where you is,â pants Loz Taylor between songs, and itâs the solidarity and empathy between While She Sleeps and their fans which make them such a great live act. With neon guitars blaring on opener âRAINBOWSâ, theyâre the perfect transition to the evening after Enter Shikari. âWe did not come here to fuck about,â says Taylor sternly, and heâs determined to cram every minute allotted for his band with vital honesty and the kind of songs that create slamming all the way up to the top of the hill. âSELF HELLâ burns with rage and mutual frustration to provoke a massive, bouncing response that we yell back to the band mid air.Â
The Offspring
One of the oldest bands on the bill, the Offspring have been known to let their tendency towards bad puns and novelty skits get in the way of their sound. Not so today. Noodles, Dexter and friends plot a tight course, barely deviating from faultless punk and proving that they are so much more than the guys who asked us why we were still unemployed. New song âMake It All Rightâ is a burst of summer fun that bodes very well for their upcoming album, and âThe Kids Arenât Alrightâs eulogy to the loss of childhood dreams captures just the right balance of poignancy and thrashing. âHit Thatâ sparks conga lines and even the most hardened types chant out the melody while coloured balloons bounce like weightless marbles over the pit.
Billy Talent
The spiky Canadians put out seriously classy proto-emo from the get-go with âDevil in a Midnight Massâ dropping bombs of distortion amid Benjamin Kowalewiczâs trademark steel wire vocals. Their potent dark energy is the antidote to the Offspringâs jollier hits we hear spilling over from the Apex stage. âThis Sufferingâ is like a midnight hedge maze, itâs tone providing a taut atmosphere that cracks before âI Beg To Differ (This Will Get Better)âs brightening guitar. Kowalewicz theatrically emotes, aware heâs got a dedicated audience in the palm of his hand during the derelict loveliness of âRusted From The Rainâ, and Billy Talentâs set has to be a highlight of the weekend for pretty much everyone who rushed over to the Avalanche stage.
Fall Out Boy
Itâs deceptively easy to get to the front for Fall Out Boyâs chronologically curated set, but that doesnât mean they arenât the star attractions of the day, if not the whole weekend. The Teenage remembrances and sizzling solos of âGrand Theft Autumnâ give way to fireworks and picture frames as, word perfect, we sing along to âSugar, Weâre Going Downâ, our inconveniences fading away. âDance Danceâ tugs on our sense of nostalgia, but with a slight roughness and friction to dispel the gloss of memory and shake us in the present. Pete Wentz shreds like we never remembered him being able to, smiling broadly between frequent costume changes. âI want you to sing till your lungs give out,â he calls, and we nearly do to the perfect showmanship and bass drops of âThis Ain’t A Scene, Itâs an Arms Raceâ.
If there was a prize for âmaximum spectacle achieved in an hour at Downloadâ, Fall Out Boy would take the gold. âMy Songs Know What You Did In The Darkâ sees guitars re-made into flamethrowers at the centre of walls of pyromania, and the troupe of sinister cheerleaders onstage for âUma Thurmanâ signals the start of a clear ramping up of the effects on the songs without cult-favourite status. Itâs not just all shock and awe, though. Wentz helps a couple with their gender revel via waterproof envelope and declares they should name their baby âDownloadâ. After ten years away from Donington, Fall Out Boy wanted to âmake the biggest art project we could fucking makeâ, and they made it happen in a huge way.