LIVE REVIEW: Download Festival 2024 – Sunday

Two days of music down, one to go, and once more Download Festival 2024 finds itself with problems from the beginning, delaying the opening of the arena for an hour to allow for more fresh hay on the sodden arena ground. It’s another dart in a pock-marked weekend, but mercifully the day is warm and sunny without a raindrop in sight; oh, and of course there’s another 30-40 bands to play, so let’s get to the highs and lows of Sunday at Donington…



DELILAH BON – The Avalanche Stage Delilah Bon live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Matt Higgs

Unfortunately for DELILAH BON, the organisational issues getting everybody in meant that the size of the crowd probably isn’t what it’s supposed to be, but the love for her is clear as people are running towards The Avalanche Stage in the hopes of catching her set. Her style, confidence and energy is next level, and there’s something addictively refreshing about her completely unapologetic attitude as she plays one feminist anthem after another. While there’s a clear rage that comes through as her lyrics detail the different injustices that women face on a daily basis, there’s a sense of catharsis, from both DELILAH BON and her audience, as they finally say what so many women are thinking. This is punk, and it’s also the future, so expect so see her again on bigger stages with bigger crowds.

Rating: 9/10

CODE ORANGE – Apex StageCode Orange live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: James Bridle

CODE ORANGE are pissed off: “This one goes out to AVENGED SEVENFOLD for trying to cut everyone’s set!” shouts Reba Meyers as they lay siege to the Apex Stage with a monstrous Bleeding In The Blur. One of the brightest heavy talents of the 2020s, they’re menacing and mighty, frontman Jami Morgan cut open on his forehead and letting it stain his white shirt. Boos turn to cheers as they continue playing when their sound cut, with mic stands and middle fingers thrown after they’re forced off. Say what you like about the ending, but the rest is brutally brilliant.

Rating: 8/10

CREEPER – Apex StageCreeper live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: James Bridle

While CREEPER are no strangers to the main stage at Download Festival, they come back this year with a pretty different style and attitude. Their set is based almost completely around their newest album Sanguivore, supposedly in the hopes of converting some new fans to the CREEPER cult, and we’d be extremely surprised if this set didn’t do so. Opening with the anthemic Cry To Heaven, alongside some vampiric dancers, they easily have the crowd dancing and singing along, commanded effortlessly by frontman Will Gould. They sneak in Down Below, one of their earlier hits, but it goes down incredibly as it’s so easy to sing along to. While their set is short, they pack in a drum battle, a feature from Dan Jacobs of ATREYU, and plenty of charm and charisma. This set proves they are deserving of a headline slot, and we can’t imagine it will take them very long to get there.

Rating: 10/10

ROYAL REPUBLIC – Opus StageRoyal Republic live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Andrew Whitton

With latest album LoveCop just a week old, ROYAL REPUBLIC are riding that new record high across Europe right now. Here, their bouncy, 80s-inspired synth rock is extremely infectious on the Opus Stage, My House and the STATUS QUO­-infused Getting Along kicking Donington Park up a gear and into full-on party mode; and yes, they cover METALLICA, this time Damage Inc. Backed with spinning disco lights and a colour changing lightning bolt, ROYAL REPUBLIC are a seriously fun time – their tour in November is going to be a belter, and they should have had a longer slot here.

Rating: 8/10

NOISY – The Avalanche Stage

In their short set, NOISY have to fight against a ridiculous amount of technical issues, but their positivity and attitude alone is enough to win everybody over. While a relentless rave isn’t exactly what you’d expect at 2pm on a Sunday, it’s Download Festival, so anything can happen, and the tent easily transforms into a dance floor. Though the trio haven’t been around too long, they certainly know what they’re doing, and frontman Cody Matthews’ stage presence elevates the set as he cracks jokes and encourages every to keep it moving. In alternative music, sometimes things can just be so serious, and NOISY bring the fun.

Rating: 7/10

PINKSHIFT – The Avalanche Stage

While PINKSHIFT are still newcomers on the scene, their impact in pop punk has been substantial, and their energy and excitement is unmatched. A few days before their set, they posted their gratitude to Download Festival for dropping Barclays as a sponsor in support of Palestine, and this sets the tone for their set as they bound on stage. While their songs are all fairly upbeat, they have this insistent, relentless energy that is just captivating, and singer Ashrita Kumar is a powerhouse. They debut a new song, a powerful, political punk track standing against genocide, and their shift towards a more hardcore style is obvious. PINKSHIFT can do many different things, and they do them all extremely well.

Rating: 8/10

MISSIO – The Dogtooth Stage

There’s a reason the Dogtooth Stage is fit to burst at 2:45pm, but it’s not for alternative electronic duo MISSIO. They’ll be fully aware that the vast majority aren’t waiting for them, but they’re unaffected and just do what they’ve been asked to. There’s something there in the middle of their sound; a touch of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE here, a bit of PEARL JAM there as they bring progressive and desert rock into their mix, and Middle Fingers is a half decent track, but whilst they have something, they don’t have much of it.

Rating: 5/10

PARKWAY DRIVE – The Dogtooth StageParkway Drive live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Matt Higgs

So, why is The Dogtooth Stage rammed and overflowing? Two words: PARKWAY DRIVE. Flying in as the much-speculated ‘secret band’, they arrive, play six songs and leave with the tent in ruins. A surfboard with gaffa taped initials as a backdrop is a wonderful touch and to see them play a stage this small is a privilege. Every song is its own event: the punch of Glitch, the huge singalongs for Prey, Vice Grip and Idols and Anchors, the crush of Bottom Feeder and the glory of Wild Eyes. PARKWAY DRIVE saw, they came, and good LORD did they conquer.

Rating: 9/10

BOWLING FOR SOUP – Apex StageBowling For Soup live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Abbie Shipperley

At this point in their career, a set like this comes effortlessly to pop-punk legends BOWLING FOR SOUP. Their one goal has always been to just have fun, and they certainly fulfil this in the short time they have. Opening with back-to-back classics Girl All The Bad Guys Want and High School Never Ends, they immediately get the crowd jumping and singing along, which also happens with Phineas & Ferb theme song Today Is Gonna Be A Great Day. A cover of WHEATUS’ Teenage Dirtbag with Brenden B. Brown is a crowd pleaser, as not everybody could get into the tent to see WHEATUS the day before, and frontman Jaret Reddick effortlessly entertains the audience. While they had to perform without guitarist Chris Burney, they definitely did him proud, and as they end with 1985, the energy is at an all time high.

Rating: 8/10

THY ART IS MURDER – Opus StageThy Art Is Murder live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Matt Higgs

The THY ART IS MURDER camp hasn’t been the happiest in recent months, what with the acrimonious departure of previous vocalist CJ McMahon last September. On stage, however, they’re still a force to be reckoned with, their deathcore blasting across Donington with aplomb and ripping collective eardrums a new one. Whether it’s the blast beat delight of Death Squad Anthem or the furious intensity of newer tracks like Blood Throne, THY ART IS MURDER are heading into a new chapter with purpose. And yes, they still come on to the VENGABOYS.

Rating: 8/10

SUM 41 – Apex StageSum 41 live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: James Bridle

For SUM 41, it must seem like the Download Festival crowd is going on forever. On what is their final ever UK festival appearance, the pop-punk giants pull one of the biggest crowds of the day on the Apex Stage for the latest show in their around-the-world swansong that culminates next February. Given they were just a week away from announcing their final ever headline shows on these shores, they do exactly what they need in front of a mix of diehard fans and casual viewers, and do it well. Only one song from latest record Heaven :x: Hell is aired in Landmines, the rest of their hour stage time reserved for some of the biggest hits of the early 00s. Over My Head (Better Off Dead) and No Reason form part of an incredibly song start, but, as one might expect, it’s the final straight of In Too Deep, Fat Lip and a closing Still Waiting that generate the biggest responses. There might be more UK gigs to follow, but for those who won’t make them, this is an emotional, beautiful farewell to a band who helped define a generation. Thank you, SUM 41.

Rating: 8/10

LIMP BIZKIT – Apex StageLimp Bizkit live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Danny North

While they’re not quite headlining, there’s definitely a feeling across the weekend that LIMP BIZKIT are the most anticipated band of Download Festival 2024. It could be the many, many people walking around in Fred Durst’s signature white t-shirt, chain and red cap, or just the ridiculously huge crowd that gathers well before they even enter the stage, but the excitement for the nu-metal legends is electric. As they swagger onto the main stage to Sweet Home Alabama, there’s just something so deliciously absurd about their all-around energy that immediately wins me over. Launching straight into Break Stuff, giving the crowd no warning to start their mosh pits, but of course they do anyway, and the place pretty much erupts.

You’d think the energy would be hard to maintain, but the band are obviously used to it, and they waste no time playing banger after banger, with My Generation and My Way back to back, which everybody loves, of course. They do a surprising amount of covers, but it works for them, as it means there isn’t really any lull in the set, everybody can sing the whole time. As their set comes to a close, the only really fitting way to end it would be to play the iconic Break Stuff again, which of course they do, giving the crowd one last time to let out any hidden aggression, and the pits definitely live up to this, and there’s a sense that this LIMP BIZKIT set at Download Festival will be one for the history books.

Rating: 10/10

MACHINE HEAD – Opus StageMachine Head live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Matt Higgs

Remember when MACHINE HEAD said they were never going to play festivals again? It seems a lifetime ago now, but God Almighty is it a joy that they’re both a) back doing such a thing and b) in a slot where they can bring a full production. Even better, Robb Flynn and co are in the middle of live performance purple patch: the Bay Area thrashers are utterly irresistible this evening, destroying the Opus Stage with a headline show that takes in their whole career, a metric tonne of pyrotechnics and some of the greatest metal songs ever committed to tape. Imperium remains a bombastic opener and Locust is still a sprawling epic, but it’s the unlikely duo of The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears from the often-criticised The Burning Red and standalone single Is There Anybody Out There which stand taller than them all, two tracks that have aged like the finest of wines. A wonderful rendition of Halo brings an end to a performance with just one conclusion: MACHINE HEAD have stolen the whole weekend right at the death like a striker popping up with a winning goal deep into injury time.

Rating: 10/10

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER – The Dogtooth Stage

It’s the first performance for THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER in the UK since April 2019; obviously there’s been a pandemic since then, but more poignantly for the melodic death metal masters, it’s their first here since the tragic passing of former vocalist Trevor Strnad back in 2022. Guitarist Brian Eschbach has moved to lead vocals with former axeman Ryan Knight returning to fill his gap and, although things are still a work in progress, tonight’s headline performance on the Dogtooth Stage is proof enough that they’re going to be just fine. New track Aftermath is a bruising, ripsnorter of a song and an exciting taster of what’s to come on upcoming record Servitude, while What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse remains an extreme metal classic and Statutory Ape leaves punters rubbing their eyes in surprise as a man in a gorilla costume comes on for a laugh and a dance. As for Brian, who is naturally going to be under more scrutiny than the rest of the band, he’s taken to frontman duties like a duck to water. If people chose THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER as their final band of the whole weekend, it’s a worthy closing performance.

Rating: 8/10

AVENGED SEVENFOLD – Apex StageAvenged Sevenfold live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Andrew Whitton

AVENGED SEVENFOLD are not new to the Download Festival headline slot, and this is extremely clear in their confidence, ease and coolness as they close the festival. Frontman M. Shadows walks onto stage in a balaclava and just sits down, taking a moment in a move that could easily be considered cocky, but that he pulls off as amusingly calm and collected, like he knows they deserve to be there. Wasting no time and jumping straight into it, they start with one of their fairly new songs, Game Over from 2023’s Life Is But A Dream…. From the beginning, the atmosphere is next level, and they sound incredible, with Shadow’s vocals easily being some of the best all weekend. As they continue on with Mattel from the same album, it’s obvious that this setlist will be a controversial one, where they play only what they want to in no attempt to blindly appeal to the masses. They are no strangers to this headline slot, and they will spend the time however they choose, but this isn’t to say that the audience aren’t enjoying themselves, and there’s a sense of celebration as they let off steam for the last time this weekend. The band certainly have a stage presence about them, and each member looks comfortable, easily commanding the crowd.


Visually, Nightmare is perhaps the coolest, as the band controversially use AI to distort their faces on the big screens. However, halfway through they are plunged into darkness and the sound cuts out. While this stage has had technical difficulties all weekend, this is maybe the most dramatic, and the band kind of wander the stage, looking a bit confused. They play it off well though, and as soon as they can, they go straight back into it, with Unholy Confessions and a powerful drum solo. As their slot comes to a close, and AVENGED SEVENFOLD play fan favourites like A Little Piece Of Heaven and Save Me, it becomes clear why they deserve to be here: they are so loved, and they put on such a good show.

Words: Elliot Leaver, Millie Warwick

And that rounds up our coverage of the Sunday of Download Festival 2024! Check out our review roundup of Friday’s and Saturday’s action, and we’re already counting down the days until Download Festival 2025!

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HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Slipknot – Slipknot

“You thought LIMP BIZKIT was hard? They’re THE OSMONDS. These guys are something else entirely, and it’s pretty impressive.” Rick Anderson’s above quote from AllMusic remains as true today as it did then. June 22nd 1999 saw LIMP BIZKIT release Significant Other, an album that, whatever way you look at it, remains an important landmark in nu-metal’s tapestry. However, just seven days later came a record that was so visceral, so terrifying and so innovative that BIZKIT’s name vanished from the lips of everyone that delighted in heavy music. Yes, dear reader, June 2024 marks twenty-five years since SLIPKNOT welcomed Planet Earth to their neighbourhood with their pummelling, incendiary self-titled debut.



Formed in the autumn of 1995 in Des Moines, Iowa, SLIPKNOT were an amalgamation of members from the local scene. Initially called MELD, the band’s core was drummer Nathan ‘Joey’ Jordison, bassist Paul Gray and percussionist Shawn Crahan; they were complimented by guitarists Josh Brainard and Donnie Steele and vocalist Anders Colsefni, who also took up percussion. Within a year, the sextet had increased to seven; Steele’s departure on spiritual grounds brought Craig Jones in on guitar, before he moved to samples and Mick Thomson came on board.

This lineup released the much sought after Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. on Halloween in 1996 before more personnel changes occurred: in on lead vocals came Corey Taylor with Colsefni moved to backing duties, before the latter departed in September1997 and Greg ‘Cuddles’ Welts came on board. A second demo brought a lot of interest from record labels, culminating in Roadrunner Records signing the band to a $500,000, seven-album deal on July 8th, 1998; prior to this, DJ Sid Wilson had become the band’s ninth member and Welts was fired and replaced by Brandon Darner. He in turn left shortly after with Chris Fehn joining.

The band travelled to Indigo Ranch Studios in California in September 1998 with Ross Robinson, who had offered to produce the album prior to their label signing. Robinson, who would become known as ‘The Godfather of Nu Metal’, sought to refine certain elements of SLIPKNOT’s sound, but retain the intensity of their live shows. As such, the recording process was said to be “very aggressive and chaotic” – the drums were all recorded within three days to capture the raw, live sound SLIPKNOT strove for, while Robinson aided them in stripping away the more experimental sections and guitar solos in favour of more straightforward metal.


By November, recording seemed complete, and the band returned to Des Moines for the festive period. However, over that time, Josh Brainard left as, in his words, “some decisions were made that I wasn’t particularly happy with”. His replacement was Jim Root, who returned with SLIPKNOT to the studio in February of 1999. Following the recordings came a challenging mixing period as Robinson and Joey Jordison used exclusively analogue equipment instead of digital, before the band went off on that year’s Ozzfest tour and began to generate significant hype for their upcoming album around the United States.


Even in 2024, few records come close to matching the seismic power and presence that Slipknot produces; for many, even the band themselves haven’t ever made the same impact. 99% of the metal world many know the songs inside and out, but a quarter century on, they’re still just as sensational. The first half dozen tracks are about as close to perfect as you can get: the sinister squeals and samples of 742617000027 exploding into the abrasive (sic), followed by the snarling Eyeless, the menacing Wait and Bleed, the bludgeoning Surfacing and the frenetic Spit It Out. The back half contains such delights as the crush of Liberate, the dark and evil Purity, the eight-and-a-half minute, anguished Scissors and, if people kept the CD on long enough, the final punch of Eeyore. Hell, even when Purity had to be removed due to copyright infringement, its replacement in Me Inside was just as potent in its delivery.

Upon its release, Slipknot sent the band into the next galaxy, let alone stratosphere. This wasn’t just a nu metal album; it had death, speed, thrash, industrial and alternative within it, creating a sound that hadn’t been heard in any capacity to that point. AllMusic weren’t the only outlet singing its praises: Rolling Stone called it “metal with a capital M” and Kerrang! lauded it for being “wholly uncompromising”. In May 2000, it became the first album from Roadrunner to achieve platinum status un the US; it’s since done that in Canada, Australia and the UK.

At the end of 1999, SLIPKNOT went back on tour, playing a number of US dates before making their way to Europe for the first time. The opening date on the continent was at the famed Astoria in London, a show that has gone down in British metal history as all the rumours of SLIPKNOT’s apocalyptic live show were proven true, right down to Sid Wilson diving off the venue balcony. Twice. The hype from across the pond wasn’t unfounded; this eighteen-legged juggernaut were the real deal, and metalheads who had recoiled in horror at nu-metal’s rap infusions growing popular were all of a sudden given hope that maybe, just maybe, this bunch of guys from Iowa would spearhead a new chapter in heaviness. Of course, as time passed, it became apparent that, as far as SLIPKNOT were concerned, they were just getting started…

INTRODUCING: Reliqa

The phrase “there’s something in the water” gets thrown around a lot, particularly when Australia’s burgeoning metalcore scene is involved. Over the years it’s given us everything from arena heavyweights to – more recently – forward-thinking music unafraid to blur the lines across sounds from nu metal to pop and prog. New South Wales quartet RELIQA are the latest in that proud tradition, with their debut album Secrets Of The Future dropping on Nuclear Blast this month. We caught up with vocalist Monique Pym – at opposite ends of the day with time differences – to get the lowdown on all things RELIQA.



“All four of us have been friends since the start of high school,” she explains of their beginnings – in fact, for all of them, this is their first band. “We’re friends first, band second. This more or less didn’t start out as anything, we were just friends making music together.” RELIQA’s formation very much lined up with Monique discovering heavy music. “Being friends with them, that’s when I was introduced to heavy music, I wasn’t raised on it. I felt this infectious, dude where’s this been all my life?! Listening then eventually turned into creating, and I started coming into my own as a singer.”

That firm basis in making music as friends came with the underlying feeling that they could, perhaps, eventually turn it into something more. They started going to local shows, and eventually got booked to play some. One thing led to another, and after releasing a few EPs, Nuclear Blast found them and saw – rightly – that RELIQA had something special on their hands. “All four of us have very different listening styles, personal genre preferences,” she begins. “That creates disparity in what you’re coming together to create, but that diversity is something we’ve intentionally tried to explore.”

From Mon’s love of melodic metalcore through to pop, to Miles’ (“the token classically trained member” she laughs) interest in not only prog like POLYPHIA or PLINI but also jazz, and even Brandon [Hutcheson, guitars] being a fan of hardcore alongside K- and J-pop, there’s a huge variety and they’re very conscious not only of a disparity but a real sonic tension across the influences they each bring in. “A lot of bands say they’re genreless; I’m not trying to say anything like that, I just think it’s quite a tough one to pin down,” she grins of their own expansive music.


All of this comes to a head with their upcoming debut album, Secrets Of The Future, one that Mon describes as more than just a debut album, but like a debut for the band all over again now that, through Nuclear Blast, they’re being exposed to a much wider audience. Shifting from what she describes as an almost “production line style” of songwriting whereby one member would deliver demos and the others would help refine, to a far more collaborative process where they tried to “explore the tension between ideas more.”

That’s as apparent on tracks like The Flower as it is Sariah or Keep Yourself Awake; the former sees Mon flowing between twisting melodies and a rap flow, while Sariah is the closest they come to a full ballad with its towering chorus. Keep Yourself Awake meanwhile, finds itself a toe-tapping groove and settles into it, something Mon says they were very conscious and comfortable with doing this time around to help showcase the various styles and tensions between them, giving each time to shine. “It’s part of why we called it Secrets Of The Future too,” she explains. “It feels modern to us, it feels far reaching into the future.”


With such a broad-ranging sound, is there any worry people won’t get it? “It’s a tricky one to introduce people to,” Mon accepts. “There is insecurity in me that the atmosphere we’re creating for ourselves is alienating to anyone. It’s a risky move to make an album that doesn’t confine itself to one aesthetic.” She needn’t worry; Secrets Of The Future oozes authenticity and an unbridled love of exploration. “We like to take risks,” she grins. “People that have latched on, have latched on hard. It feels authentic.”

It’s almost an oxymoron, to be so assured of their identity, and that being ambiguous. “That question of who really is RELIQA, it still exists and it will continue to exist,” Mon enthuses, “the beauty is in leaning into that, this uncertainty of our identity becomes our signature.” The singles so far, Killstar (The Cold World) and Terminal are again, very different-sounding songs, something that she hopes will appeal to people who perhaps don’t typically enjoy either progressive music or metalcore. “There’s something for everyone on that journey, which I really love.”

RELIQA have had a steady rise; for years they’ve put in the work, and to sign to Nuclear Blast is the start of seeing that pay off; to them, it’s an opportunity to seize with both hands. “We’re not afraid to be a little fish in a big pond,” Mon stresses. “Our pond started very small and we outgrew it, but we took everything we learned to the next one. Too many bands think they have to give off big fish energy!” She’s very conscious, as are her bandmates, of where they came from, and that humility shines through; “our roots are the Central Coast, we’re just a bunch of nerds making music together,” she grins.

Secrets Of The Future is out now via Nuclear Blast Records/Greyscale Records.

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THE HAUNTED GUITARIST OLA ENGLUND SHARES HELLFEST 2024 VLOG

 

THE HAUNTED GUITARIST OLA ENGLUND SHARES HELLFEST 2024 VLOG




Hellfest 2024 took place on June 27 – June 30 in Clisson, France. The Haunted guitarist Ola Englund has shared a vlog from the band's visit. Check it out below.

Solar Guitars, launched by Englund, recently unveiled a metal-topped guitar whose surface oxidizes the longer you play it. Check out the trailer below.

LUCIFER'S HAMMER - BE AND EXIST

LUCIFER'S HAMMER - BE AND EXIST

July 12, 2024, 5 hours ago
(DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS)

Mark Gromen

Rating: 8.0

review heavy metal lucifer's hammer

A cinematic soundtrack wash of airy keyboards ("Cosmovision") greets the listener. What has happened? Fret not, as the Chilean traditional metallers kick into high gear with "Real Nightmares", the first proper (real?) song. Few contemporary acts have such a vintage feel. Imagine a mix of Flight, Unto Others and Nestor (not that Lucifer's Hammer sounds specifically like any of the aforementioned), for the prevailing vibe.

Even the punchy opening lyrical track takes a dynamic left turn, midway through, before returning home, in the final stretch. Both guitars get a workout. The vintage (early NWOBHM) sound of hard rocking "Glorious Night" is backed by shuffle drumming, before (temporarily) descending into mellow tones/pacing. Like its predecessor, it too will end much as it began, on a up note.

"Antagony" starts more restrained than the others, and adds a bit of falsetto vocals from single-named guitarist Hades. One for the fans of Nestor! For the first time, the accented English (second) language is evident. A more forceful/piercing high scream introduces the narrative voice-over piece entitled "Son Of Earth". This twin lead offering has more of a legitimate Warlord essence than the recent reformation act's album. Keeping the tempo upbeat, "The Fear Of Anubis" is a full-bore instrumental, full of swirling guitars. Even without lyrics, it's the showpiece (and not without yet another time change, or two).

High On Fire: Forged In Flames

Words such as ‘legendary’ and ‘trailblazing’ are banded around all too often nowadays. With their actual meaning beginning to lose all substance and power. However, when you talk about a band with the kind of pedigree and originality of HIGH ON FIRE, then you’re not too far off the mark using the aforementioned adjectives. Since the formation of the group twenty-five years ago they have taken the metal world by storm, carving out their own niche with their sludge-drenched, thrash metal sound. They have no peers. Nobody sounds like them. And when it was announced that they would be laying down Cometh The Storm, their first studio album in more than six years the metal community at large paid attention.



It’s been a strange few years since the band dropped their previous studio effort Electric Messiah. An album for which the lead single won the band an unexpected (but well deserved) Grammy win for Best Metal Performance. The band’s long-time drummer Des Kensel amicably parted ways with the band, and after a brief stint with touring member Chris Maggio, the band would welcome their new full-time drummer Coady Willis to the fold. This time would also see bassist Jeff Matz join MUTOID MAN and further embellish his passion for middle eastern instruments and guitarist/frontman Matt Pike would release his debut solo album under the moniker PIKE VS. THE AUTOMATON. Also, despite us all being bored of the constant reminders, there was also a world-halting pandemic that put pay to any touring music for more than two years.

With the members of the band having their fingers in so many proverbial pies, one would expect that it could be difficult to allocate riffs and song ideas to particular projects. However, Matz quickly shoots down that theory and explains, “it’s actually pretty obvious when we get writing when riffs or concepts are for HIGH ON FIRE. We have been playing together for so long and the style is so distinctive that we just know what works and what doesn’t.”

“Quite often for my own stuff I use different tunings, that offsets the sound quite dramatically,” adds Pike. (since the inception of the band, they have pretty much exclusively used the C Standard tuning). Close your eyes at any point of this album and listen to the thunderous instrumentals and you can see the boys beating the life out of their instruments with a wall of Orange amplifiers behind them and utter destruction in front, and the fact remains true. The sound of a High On Fire song is as unmistakable and inimitable.


It’s a well-known, well documented fact that Matt Pike is a riff lord. Conjuring up multiple sections per song that any other guitarist would sell their soul to come up with just once. This means that by the time the lads got together to craft their latest album there was never any danger of a shortage of ideas. “By the time we got into the studio we had most of the skeletons for the songs. We always leave plenty of space for creativity, but the main carcass of the songs was down by the time we got into recording,” explains Matz. “The songs that don’t make it onto our albums get locked up in the riff vault. There are hours and hours of riffs and ideas that we like to look back on and rehash at a later date,” tells Pike. “The riff vault is a very, very scary place to go,” laughs Matz.


What makes the recording of the albums even easier for HIGH ON FIRE is the working relationship that they have forged with the production monolith that is Kurt Ballou. A recognised legend and sonic pioneer in his own right with his band CONVERGE and his impressive production/mixing discography, the man has been the unofficial fourth member of the group since the first time they worked together on De Vermis Mysteriis more than twelve years and four albums ago. “At this point he’s a very integral part of the band at this stage. He’s an actual producer, not just an engineer,” explains Pike. “He let’s us cook, but he is always forthcoming with suggestions and little tweaks that help to make this album the thing that it is,” adds Matz.

Another big change to the recording process for this album was the studio debut of new drummer Coady Willis. There was always going to be a question of whether or not the new stickman could fill the gargantuan shoes left by Kensel. However, the lads explain that this worry was never really on their mind once they watch their new bandmate rip. “He has brought a whole new element to the way we play. Des was an absolute monster, but Coady has brought such energy and enthusiasm to the band,” says Pike. “It has been strange though, because there are certain little nuances that he has brought to the older songs that took a little getting used to. We wanted him to bring his own style in, rather than just play like for like and it has meant that we have had to almost re-learn certain parts of twenty-year-old songs which has been a lot of fun!”

Another new addition to the HIGH ON FIRE machine is Pike’s new signature guitar produced by Woodrite. The guitar manufacturer only came to fruition back in 2021 when Woodbine Customs Guitar Shop joined forces with Steve Reis of the Does It Doom? Podcast with the ambition to create guitars and effects pedals specifically aimed at guitarists playing doom, sludge, or stoner metal. “They approached me a little while ago and asked me if I would like to work with them with my own signature model and to help out with their promos etc and I jumped at the chance. They’re fucking beautiful guitars and sound great, I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out,” explains Pike. The Woodrite is now in full rotation in the band’s touring arsenal along with the usual Gibson Les Pauls and the classic Seger custom.

It seems like a really exciting time for HIGH ON FIRE who have picked up exactly where they left off with the astounding Electric Messiah more than half a decade ago with the monstrous Cometh The Storm and with a full calendar of headline tours both domestically and internationally, as well as a full summer of festivals in the pipeline it seems as though these metal titans have no plans to slow down any time soon. And when they are delivering music of this kind of quality time and time again, then why would they!?

Cometh The Storm is out now via MNRK Heavy.

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LIVE REVIEW: Download Festival 2024 – Saturday

LIVE REVIEW: Download Festival 2024 – Saturday
July 7, 2024Elliot Leaver


The morning after the night before and, as Download Festival 2024 opens for Saturday, the arena sees a fresh coating of straw in an attempt to combat the mud and a full day of music on the horizon. Who soared, who flopped, who did neither? Let’s find out…



HERIOT – Opus StageHeriot live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: James Bridle

It’s 10:25am on the Opus Stage and, for HERIOT, it’s unfortunately all going wrong. The UK metal bruisers should have started twenty minutes ago, but a late soundcheck from stage headliners PANTERA and early technical issues mean they still haven’t played a note…and they’re due off at half past. A late call from the powers that be give them another ten minutes and they take it gleefully, crashing through four songs like Profound Morality with more vitriol and punch than ever before. They still show just why they’re on everyone’s lips, but it’s a wobbly start all round.

Rating: 6/10

FLORENCE BLACK – Opus StageFlorence Black live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Matt Higgs

HERIOT playing past their scheduled time means the Opus Stage times are now off-kilter and never fully realign, but it’s not that which dampens Welsh rockers FLORENCE BLACK’s half an hour; it’s more literal than that. Just like THOSE DAMN CROWS the day before, the Merthyr Tydfil trio play in the pouring rain, and whilst they do their absolute damndest – new songs Start Again and Bed Of Nails sound massive – the weather means it’s a less than stellar experience. Oh, and then they’re cut off at the beginning of Sun & Moon due to new time constraints; all rather frustrating.

Rating: 7/10

WARGASM – Apex StageWargasm live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Todd Owyoung

WARGASM are another one of those love them or hate them bands, and from their sheer energy as they bound onto stage, it’s clear they have something to prove. They open with Venom, a track that perfectly encapsulates the duo’s dynamic, as they tease each other back and forth and explode into a rage in the chorus. Their style is definitely notable, and while the crowd are freezing in the rain, they dance in almost matching swimsuits, with their backdrop proudly stating, ‘angry songs for sad people.’ Their set is a captivating whirlwind, and as they invite STRAY FROM THE PATH‘s frontman Drew York onto stage for Bang Ya Head, they prove they can hold their own on heavier songs as well as the synth-heavy chaotic style they’re known for. If this hasn’t won you over, it’s at the very least made you remember them.

Rating: 7/10

ALT BLK ERA – The Dogtooth StageALT BLK ERA live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Matt Higgs

ALT BLK ERA are still fairly new to the scene, but as the tent fills up in anticipation, it’s clear they’re making an impact already. The duo is made up of sisters Nyrobi and Chaya, and they stun in matching but different romantic gothic style dresses. Their dynamic is so interesting to watch, and as Nyrobi leads the crowd effortlessly, Chaya is more gentle but just as insistent, and they definitely keep everybody engaged. As they power through their blend of nu-metal and punk in a few catchy tracks, they could easily be playing bigger stages in years to come.

Rating: 9/10

THE HUNNA – Apex Stage

While just a few years ago, you’d be more likely to find THE HUNNA on the stages of Reading & Leeds, after a dramatic rebrand to rock, they’ve ended up here, and it seems as though they have to prove themselves. While many of their songs are undeniably catchy, their indie rock sound doesn’t always seem to land on this crowd, who stay fairly still for the most part. This doesn’t knock the bands positive attitude though, and frontman Ryan Potter’s vocals are easily a highlight, as well as a feature from Kelsey Karter. They debut a new song, and by the end of the set, they manage to get people singing along to Trash, a harsh but real critique of the music industry.

Rating: 7/10

BLEED FROM WITHIN – Opus StageBleed From Within live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: James Bridle

Have things on the Opus Stage resolved themselves for BLEED FROM WITHIN? The short answer is no – once again, technical difficulties clip the Scottish metallers’ set down to four main songs, but they absolute thunder through those tracks with precision and power; The End Of All We Know is well on its way to becoming a modern metal anthem. There’s also the small matter of comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathen, here filming one of their Rob and Romesh Vs… shows, joining the band for a cover of METALLICA’s Enter Sandman that, thankfully, is far more fun than embarrassing.

Rating: 7/10

BABYMETAL – Apex StageBabymetal live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Todd Owyoung

After this year, BABYMETAL should be banned from playing on the Apex Stage – in 2016, the heavens opened just before they were due on and delayed their start by 20 minutes; this year, they get through Babymetal Death and are just into Distortion when they’re forced off to allow a passing shower – with thunder and lightning, admittedly – through, another 15-minute delay. They recover well with METAL!! and KARATE before closing with latest rager RATATATA, but the excitement that comes with a BABYMETAL show never reaches the fervour of the beginning. Thanks, Mother Nature.

Rating: 7/10

NE OBLIVISCARIS – The Dogtooth Stage

Oh NE OBLIVISCARIS, how you were let down badly. The neo-classical extreme metallers from Melbourne have some of the most beautiful and destructive music in their back catalogue and it does come through in flashes during Equus and Suspyre, but the sound for their set on The Dogtooth Stage is a disgrace, hitting a nadir when vocalist Marc ‘Xonyr’ Campbell cannot be heard whatsoever, and punters are actually turning round to try and get the sound tech’s attention, roaring with approval when his voice comes through. The final irony? They sound far better outside the tent than in it.

Rating: 5/10

ENTER SHIKARI – Apex Stage Enter Shikari live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Andrew Whitton

ENTER SHIKARI are loved by so many, and this is reflected in the size of the crowd and the raucous cheers they get just as they walk onto stage. Beforehand though, they admit online that they were applying pressure to Download Festival about dropping Barclays as a sponsor in support of Palestine, and that because they have, it seems to only add fuel to the fire for the politically charged punks. Straight from the beginning, the hype for this band is next level, and as they charge through a few of their classics with a crazy amount of people singing along, it’s easy to see why.

Whether they have something to prove, or if sets like this just come naturally to them, they take it all in their stride, and songs like Live Outside and Sssnakepit start to feel like anthems. They definitely feel like headliners, and part of this is due to their production. As singer Rou Reynolds jumps into a box and somehow appears on the sound tower, it’s starting to feel more like you’re in a theatre than at Download Festival. He is an extraordinary frontman, and knows how to work the crowd with moments of comedy, like when he throws himself face first into the mud, and moments of sincerity, when he takes the time to condemn the atrocities in Gaza. Ending with the beautiful A Kiss For The Whole World x, there’s an overwhelming sense that ENTER SHIKARI should be headlining by now.

Rating: 9/10

WHILE SHE SLEEPS – Opus StageWhile She Sleeps live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Todd Owyoung

Oh WHILE SHE SLEEPS, how Download Festival needed you. With so many issues, there’s an overriding feeling across Donington of “Will ANY band have a good time of things today?”. Well, it might take until ten minutes past six in the evening, but finally someone does, both in terms of the weather and no technical problems. Sheffield’s finest in metalcore bound onto the Opus Stage straight into Rainbows and proceed to tear everything and everyone apart with a fifty-minute set that injects new life into the punters and the overall atmosphere. With a set mainly focused on their last two records – Self Hell and Sleeps Society – the quintet are on the form of their lives. There are a few choice cuts from older records implemented in the set as well and these are just as excellent, SLEEPS thundering through Anti-Social and a sensational Four Walls with total domination, backed by pyro and a sea of crowd surfers at all times. It’s performances like this that are conclusive proof of why WHILE SHE SLEEPS have headlined the legendary Alexandra Palace; continue on this sort of trajectory and it’ll be a matter of months, not years, before they play rooms of that size again.

Rating: 9/10

HOLDING ABSENCE – Avalanche Stage

HOLDING ABSENCE are one of the fastest growing bands in rock right now, and this is reflected in the way The Avalanche Stage fills up before they come on. As they open with Like A Shadow, a clear fan favourite, the crowd echoes the words straight back to them, and immediately it’s easy to picture them playing way bigger stages with way bigger crowds. This is an energy that continues for their whole set, and as always, Lucas Woodland’s vocals are phenomenal, and notably, so are the screams from guitarist Scott Carey. As ALPHA WOLF‘s Lochie Keough joins them for Aching Longing, the excitement is palpable. While some of my personal favourite songs were sorely missed from the setlist, emotions were running high in the tent, and it’s clear that HOLDING ABSENCE are only going to skyrocket from here.

Rating: 10/10

DYING FETUS – The Dogtooth Stage

A full decade has passed since a single Facebook comment saw DYING FETUS open Download Festival on the Apex Stage (after all, why NOT DYING FETUS?), and the death metal legends prove two things on The Dogtooth Stage – one, that a good mix is more than achievable when the sound tech knows what they’re doing and two, DYING FETUS are as feral and savage as ever. Given conditions, the now-aptly titled In The Trenches is an all-out barrage and Subjected To A Beating does just that. You know what to get with DYING FETUS, and they’re always happy to provide it.

Rating: 8/10

CASSYETTE – The Dogtooth Stage

CASSYETTE was a last-minute addition to the Download Festival lineup, a decision that was met with much excitement from fans, and this is reflected in the way that you can barely get into the tent to see her. Her debut album isn’t yet out, so her impact is impressive, and she certainly exudes confidence as she enters the stage in a white Victorian style shirt and matching bloomers. Her vocals are as incredible as always, and with little encouragement, she has the entire audience singing along, and even starting the odd mini mosh pit. She ends with Dear Goth, which is met with deafening cheers as she announces it, and she has a surprising amount of crowd surfers as she screams.

Rating: 8/10

FALL OUT BOY – Apex StageFall Out Boy live @ Download Festival 2024. Photo Credit: Todd Owyoung

While FALL OUT BOY have proved time and time again that they are the perfect festival headliners, Download Festival definitely seems like an odd choice for them, and the crowd is hesitant as they wait for them to begin. We couldn’t help thinking that we really hoped they would switch things up a bit from their usual set, and switch things up they definitely did. As the big screens turn on, they depict singer Patrick Stump in full hospital outfit, singing the fan favourite Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes, and where half of the crowd seems somewhat confused, the other half erupts. They quickly enter the stage, and as they play two of their oldest songs back-to-back, it becomes clear that they are performing their version of TAYLOR SWIFT‘s Eras Tour. It definitely seems as though they are playing favourites, with four songs each from From Under The Cork Tree and Infinity On High, which is nothing short of immaculate.


After a long career, FALL OUT BOY have got performing down perfectly, and they sound just as good as they always do. Their production is always impressive, but it’s especially entertaining tonight, with backdrops representing each album, and dancers to only elevate everything. Playing The Kids Aren’t Alright and XO are the perfect choices, and they take a little break for Pete to do somebodies gender reveal, which is surprisingly wholesome. As the end with Saturday, the obvious celebratory choice for a Saturday night, and Pete flies with some balloons, it’s evident that they are the perfect headliners, whatever the festival.

Rating: 10/10

Words: Elliot Leaver, Millie Warwick

And that rounds up our coverage of the Saturday of Download Festival 2024! Keep posted to Distorted Sound we we bring our our coverage of Sunday of this year’s festival soon, and check out our Friday review roundup action here.

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