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Arriving for the final day at our festival experience, once again the entry was nice and smooth and after I had pepped up having had a lovely coffee from the complimentary press area, I was wandering around and seeing a fair amount of Aerosmith t-shirts…
Music can be sophisticated to the highest level but what does sophistication mean? Not one for taking the easy route, Brann Dailor is very much a perfectionist yet what shines through just as much is a sense of voyage. Swapping King Crimson for Tangerine Dream, a different kind of sophistication presents itself in the form of Arcadea.
Arriving bright eyed and (surprisingly) bushy tailed this morning, its back to the guest arena entrance where the queue is somewhat slow owing to the security checks. Something I feel that I should mention, given the current climate of the world Download’s security procedure was nothing short of remarkable. Quick, efficient and on time I didn’t miss one band or interview owing to their speed so yet another big tick in the box. As I got out of being searched the thick eight stringed din of Hacktivist could be heard bounding from the main stage. The closer I got, the better it sounded! After the departure of longtime singer Ben Marvin’s departure from the band, they’ve found a suitable successor in the form of Jot Maxi who delivered with the combination of Jermaine Hurley at his side. It was a fitting if slightly unconventional way for Download to wake up!
I’ve never been a huge fan of this band bar ‘Awaken The Guardian‘, but damn…Fates Warning are great live!
Hard to believe that we are now six months into the year of 2017. Thus far we’ve had the great orange tango monster up to his usual tricks once more, a divided English parliament that has called for a snap election and far more importantly some brilliant releases. Yet as we hit the halfway mark its also indicative of yet another mainstay of the year, Download Festival 2017.
Summer is coming, and for a dedicated metalhead, that only means one thing… festival season is upon us. And that means it’s nearly time to make our annual pilgrimage to the Holy Metal Land – Wacken Open Air.
In February last year, the ever popular Polish prog outfit were shocked with the sudden death of long-time guitarist Piotr Grudzinski. The tragedy ground band activities to a halt, with no future in sight. A year later, the band is finding it’s feet again by returning to the live stage. Before their London performance, we spoke to mainman Mariusz Duda on the return of Riverside to the live stage after coping with a difficult loss.
There are only two things that come to mind when one mentions Heidevolk – beer and grunting. We did both of those things, choosing the Dutchman’s live performance over a traditional Sunday roast.