The Sunday morning slots across all stages play an important role in the outlook of the entire day at Download. Necks are aching, heads are heavy, muscles are strained. So what more could anyone need than for Kublai Khan TX (11/13) to metaphorically and literally batter all of that out of you? The Texas based unit deliver a particular brand of beatdown hardcore/metalcore which both ramps up the obnoxious levels of heaviness and silliness to new level entirely. It's not the case that what they're doing is unique or new, it's more the fact that they're one of the best around at it currently. A telling sign that you're doing all the right things on the main stage very early on Sunday is seeing the crowd-size truly swell from start to finish. The amount of crowd surfers alone throughout this set must have hit some kind of record for the weekend. Ending with the chaotically fun Theory Of Mind they'd certainly made a lasting impression.
In quite a dramatic change of pace, next up for us were Mammoth (11/13) on the Opus Stage - Wolfgang Van Halen's hard rock troupe. Much like with Kublai Khan TX, this is another band who within their sub-genre set simply do things very well in a crowded market. The name draw of Wolfgang is there but to be honest they have the songs to back it up. The set leaned towards tracks off their latest record The End and they drew a very large crowd for another of those shorter early sets. We can absolutely see why a lot of the BIG names take Mammoth out on tour with them.
Following on from them came Dogstar (8/13) - that's right, the band Keanu Reeves is in. Yep, Keanu Reeves! Neo/John Wick/TED on bass guitar. The crowd was understandably enormous considering the star power and genuine intrigue, but it was one which severely started to thin and wane by the end of the set. The band are competent enough and the slot made sense but given they had to follow Mammoth delivering a very good hard rock set, it was a tall order to come close to matching it.
If the change of pace between Kublai Khan TX and Mammoth wasn't already big enough, going from Dogstar to see Bloodywood (11/13) back on the main stage was an absolute head spinner. The Indian metal band formed in New Delhi are fantastic entertainment. A major Nu (Delhi) Metal lean is overlayed by a cacophony of noise coming from traditional Indian instruments. Vocally they bounce between two frontmen, one bringing your "standard" growling metal vocalist and the other banging out melodies which wouldn't sound out of place in a major Bollywood film. It all makes for a fairly mesmerising watch and in turn they're a perfect festival band. They bring a good time and everyone absolutely has one. Great stuff.
Some more star power now as Taylor Momsen's The Pretty Reckless (10/13) were next to hit the main stage. There's a lot of buzz and hype back around them at the moment as it's been just over five years since the last record. What you could see clearly got the band overjoyed was seeing the strength of reaction to their newest two tracks For I Am Death and When I Wake Up midway through the set. They sat positioned amongst bigger hits and crowd favourites like Make Me Wanna Die with apparent ease. The set was good, but it felt like they were still shaking off a bit of rust after a lengthy absence and it became fairly forgetful in a day of standout performances. As this touring cycle ramps up, we're sure of some bigger and better things.
Returning to the Opus Stage for a strong run of bands, next up were certified punk legends Social Distortion (11/13). With a discography dating back to 1983 it's a tough ask squeezing everything in to a 45 minute set but this ain't Mike Ness' first rodeo. Part a blast of the hits, part a story-telling exercise this was one of those truly great mid to late afternoon festival sets with the sun beating down on a band who have had such an influence on the wider alternative scene.
Speaking of social distortion, the perfect act to follow on from this was the almighty Tom Morello (12/13) who without a doubt delivered one of the sets of the weekend. With a back catalogue as far reaching and brilliant as the one Morello has been involved with, this was a celebration. From Rage Against The Machine to Audioslave to his own solo material and all the way through to a set of tremendous covers, this set just did not let up for one single second. Speaking of covers, the band rattling through Ozzy Osbourne's Mr. Crowley with Roman Morello (Tom's son) cracking out THAT Randy Rhoads solo - much like he did for the recording of the same track for the Back To The Beginning celebration - was absolutely unforgettable. Given the recency of Ozzy's death this was shockingly one of very, very, few tributes to one of the greatest of all time and it was frankly perfect.
With ears still ringing, next up on the same stage came another set of legends. The incomparable Mastodon (13/13) were absolutely NOT fucking around with this set. Storming out the blocks with Tread Lightly and The Motherload, the band were playing at a ferocity consistent with their recent form live. It's become a bit of a boring narrative to say that Mastodon are a hit and miss band when doing outdoor festival shows - those days seem to be long gone indeed. Their latest release Your Ghost Again, an emotional and touching tribute to their fallen comrade Brent Hinds, sounded even bigger live than on record whilst old classics such as Megalodon, Crystal Skull and Blood and Thunder still hit through like a sledgehammer to the chest. They're truly one of the best bands to play the thing we all call metal and they're showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. Yes the beards may be greyer in tone these days but they're playing sets at the moment with the ferocity of hungry teens just breaking into the scene and it is a sight to behold. We can not wait for what the new album and touring cycle brings.
Rounding things off for the weekend then, Linkin Park (10/13) were marking their fourth time headlining Download Festival, but of course the first time in the post-Chester Bennington era. With Emily Armstrong now leading the line, the veterans have hit a new wave of popularity in recent years which has seen them go as far as headlining the likes of Wembley Stadium. A no-brainer booking therefore for Download. Things started strong despite a series of three (maybe even four) intro tapes and videos. The Emptiness Machine got the gears going with the so called "Act 1" also including classics such as Crawling and Somewhere I Belong. Emily is the stand-out performer across most tracks - she's genuinely leaving it all out there - and it genuinely was great to see her making history as the festival's first ever female headliner. Despite that, it all just descended in to being quite formulaic and ordinary. The dangerous party vibes from Limp Bizkit, the wild bombast and pure Rock N' Roll of Guns N' Roses and then this? As far as drawing a comparison between the main stage headliners, it's hard to argue against Linkin Park probably being the weakest of the three. The Sunday night headlining slot is always, always, a difficult one for various reasons and Linkin Park found themselves being on the end of that here. When the big hitters were belted out - from One Step Closer to In The End to Numb it did rally the crowd in to some big sing a-longs but it all just felt quite safe and boring. Attempts to mix things up a bit felt like they went over most heads unfortunately - the thankfully short Fort Minor cover less than halfway through had people looking for their nearest bar/food vendor/toilet. All in, this was a good set which drew a huge crowd but it was impossible not to feel like it could've been so much more as the crowds streamed out of the Download arena for the last time until next year.