The second ever Download Festival in Australia made it’s much anticipated return this long weekend with Sydney being added to the run after last year’s sole show in Melbourne. The iconic city played host first on Saturday to an even bigger lineup which boasted the likes of Airbourne, Anthrax, Devilskin, Rise Against, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Judas Priest, Ghost and the final tour ever of thrash metal giants Slayer who took over the headline spot after the cancellation of Ozzy Osbourne. So how did it match up to last years event? Here’s the lowdown on all that happened.
Sydney has done festivals well in the past in our experience, Soundwave and Big Day Out in particular seemed to just work better in harbour town but with the recent controversy over festival events in NSW with government and officials crackdown on the live concert culture, things have been on shaky ground and it was felt in the overall vibe on the day. Police presence was out in droves big time and punters discussed among themselves while also trying to be lighthearted about the whole thing, on how Download would fare and whether the issue was really overblown or just another crackdown by the fun police”. My verdict was that this is the wrong kind of festival to even consider any issue at hand as metal and rock fans generally don’t fall into the kinds of stereotype that typically has befallen other genres in regards to the law. That of course hasn’t stopped the stigma of metalheads being completely bonkers and troublemakers but we all know the truth. Well, maybe bonkers could apply if today was anything to go by but last I checked, craziness was still acceptable. But enough on politics, we are here to talk music and there was plenty of it on the first day of Download.
First band on the bill was Perth’s very own, and one of our personal favorites, Voyager. I personally was absolutely stoked for the band, 1 being they represent our fair city but 2 that no band could deserve that spot more. Why they were never included at Soundwave is beyond me but they proved their worth and then some to a much appreciated solid size crowd who were there supporting early which was great to see. Having seen the band only on smaller clubs numerous times over the years and the occasional bigger theatres, this was something else and they played it pro all the way, commanding that main stage red brilliantly making this show an early highlight and one of the top performances of the day. With a new song “Brightside” making it’s entry to their set plus numerous other classics including the always popular “Hyperventilating”, Voyager made people take notice and it showed with the crowd throwing the energy back at them with cheers and horns. Big ups to the Perth prog heroes and let’s hope more people take to these guys for future shows.
Moving on, the sets from all 5 stages which continues on from last year with The Ascension, Dogtooth and Avalanche garnering smaller and more niche acts, seemed much more crammed and intrusive with each other than Melbourne. I haven’t done the maths but possible more acts would have resulted in this, or simply the quality of bands on offer meant the inevitable festival problem of clashes. Early on in the day if you were keen to check out a lot of these smaller acts, it would have been near impossible to see them all but as the day went on with bigger acts making their entrances, it seemed to work itself out fairly well although Halestorm clashing with everyone at the end of the night was a bit rough and sadly not a show I managed to catch.
Alien Weaponry came on early and the New Zealand metal act who bring their native culture to the show was an interesting and impressive performance. With a bit of Sepultura and Gojira spotted in their sound, the young trio already have a huge following given the size of the crowd for their early set. The band are definitely a little wet behind the ears when it comes to the overall show but there is a determination, innocence and purity to it all which results in a very raw and gutteral experience. Moving on from that were a string of bands that all had sizeable pull on their own including Sydney’s own Polaris who have blown up big time recently, Slaves from the UK and another Aussie act, Luca Brasi. Download kept the Aussie bands inclusion even more so this year which a lot of people appreciated, many coming for veterans Frenzal Romb and High Tension too which again was great to see the local support, something which lacked severely on previous international festival runs.
Speaking of Aussie acts, Airbourne was another highlight of the day and while the music may not have grabbed some people with their very AC/DC-esque sound, it was the onstage banters and overall performance and theatrics that really had the crowd sold. Many may have mistaken their inclusion as a direct replacement for Ozzy but given it was the middle of the day (and raining which also reminded us of last year’s Download which must be a UK thing!) clearly Airbourne were there to help fill out the timeslots. Of course the actual headline replacements was suitable enough and you could feel the end was coming as the day went on. But we will get to them soon enough.
For more extreme stuff, Code Orange belted out a suitably aggressive set over at the Avalanche stage where many punters settled down for the day as there was more than enough great acts on the two stages (Dogtooth being the other) side by side with Converge, Thy Art Is Murder and Twelve Foot Ninja all doing their thing. This was one of the few great things that really worked as far as the setup of the event was concerned and possibly a reason Paramatta was used and not Olympic Park. Isolated away with a rising hill for punters to relax, it almost felt like a second festival was going on in this area and judging by the huge crowd that remained there all day, was taken that way on some level.
Back on the main stages, Behemoth continued the aggressive onslaught albeit with a flat sound which eventually caught up and resulted in a brutal performance but thrash legends Anthrax put on the next big highlight and for me, the first band that really electrified the crowd with a huge response for what ended up being a damn well oiled set. The band focused mostly on older classics with “Evil Twin” being the only newie on the set, but the rest was simply vintage Anthrax and they still do it well. Biggest sing alongs on the night for sure. Another great set came from New Zealand’s Devilskin and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if I should catch their show given that I saw them open for Slash recently but I’m glad I did. Placed on the Ascension stage which in turn was placed in a sort of strange area of the grounds in an open passageway, the band just ticked all the boxes with singer Jennie Skulander once again nailing it on all fronts with that powerful and dynamic voice. Seriously, go check this band out if you get a chance, they are intense and flawless.
Halestorm bumped heads with Alice In Chains in the first big clash for me on the night but I had to go with Alice In Chains, mostly because I’m simply a bigger fan but also because I had to be on those main stages for the rest of the night so it just made sense. With that being said, I felt a little disappointed overall and I know a few in the crowd felt the same. It may not have been the band per say but sonically it was quite low in volume with vocalist William Duvall almost buried in the mix and given that a second guitar was sporadically used meaning Jerry Cantrell’s solos were essentially rhythm guitar-less most of the time, it just lacked the punch that I was expecting from Alice In Chain’s set. Of course the band were great themselves even if quite melancholic and those songs like “Man In The Box”, “Rooster” and “Would” are simply iconic with the crowd singing every single word but overall it didn’t quite get up there. Hopefully Melbourne will be better.
The mighty Judas Priest once again put on a brilliant show, the performance and sound was flawless much like their last appearance in Australia at the final Soundwave Festival 4 years ago and Rob Halford showing why they really are legends. Richie Faulkner though stole the show for me with a guitar performance that was truly spectacular. With all these younger bands on earlier in the day, I have to say Judas Priest still give these bands a run for their money and that’s coming from someone who is not a particularly big Priest fan. When they nail it, they nail it and the classic British titans of heavy metal proved it again. “Hell Bent For Leather”, “Sinner”, No Surrender”, “Painkiller”, even the new one “Firepower” were just played with precision and a balance of sonic goodness that breathed all new life into already iconic tracks.
Of course one more clash had to happen at this point and it’s a strange one too with Ghost and Slayer going head to head at the same time. Despite Ghost being a much more mellower band compared to Slayer, they both draw very similar crowds with satanic themes being the overall similarity so the choice was put to the fans. I honestly couldn’t tell you how Ghost went but Slayers show was absolutely packed to the brim so you make the judge on that one, and hardly unsurprising really given it was Slayer’s final show in Sydney ever.
What can I say about Slayer. What a career, what a band. For many, they were the ultimate thrash band. Uncompromising, unheralded, brutal, heavy, fast. They were a gamechanger when they came into the thrash scene all those years and they never let up. The AC/DC of metal in many ways, always retaining that core sound that made them who they were. So it was sad to hear when they decided to call it quits but at almost 40 years in the business, we knew the day would eventually come when they call it a day.
Everytime I have seen Slayer, the show gets bigger and bigger with more production, bigger venues, more elaborate theatrics. They may have taken it over a longer period of time but it does seem at this point that Slayer have moved a few steps away from their thrash counterparts in much the same way Metallica did many years ago in terms of sheer size of the bands success and shows. With the band calling it quits after this last world tour, it does seem like an end of an era and for a generation much like myself who grew up with this band, the beginning of those bands staring at the tail end of their careers which is strange but understandable in that they are putting on some of the best shows of their careers but given the nature of the music and the tour schedules, a career that physically must be draining.
The final set from Slayer for Sydney was really a culmination of a bit of everything in their career, from the beginning in “Show No Mercy” to the iconic “Reign In Blood” to the underrated “God Hates Us All” to their latest “Repentless”, the latter’s title track opening the show to a crowd buzzing with excitement seeing the thrashers one final time. Only “Divine Intervention” and “Diabolus In Musica” were skipped in favor for a few rare cuts which included “Blood Red”, “Jihad” and “Payback” which was actually good to see as I always felt their sets became a little stale over the years. With that many albums to choose from, it must be difficult to cram it all in but with an extended set due to Ozzy’s lost spot, the band took advantage by adding those few extra rarities.
The usuals made it though, “War Ensemble” was electrifying as always, “Mandatory Suicide” is groove goodness, “Post Mortem” was kept separate from “Raining Blood” which ended up weirdly working out well and the show closer “Angel Of Death” complete with the tribute to the late, great Jeff Hanneman as a backdrop ultimately as predicted ended up being the final song ever – at least for Sydney anyway. Melbourne and Adelaide get to experience it one more time but for Sydney, as the band walked off stage leaving Tom Araya by himself to say goodbye, we hear his final words to the fans – “We’ll miss you”. Slayer, we will miss you too.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Adam Sivewright
Voyager, Alien Weaponry, Polaris, The Beautiful Monument, I Prevail
Airbourne, Code Orange, Anthrax, The Amity Affliction, Rise Against
Alice In Chains, Judas Priest, Ghost, Slayer
DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2019
SLAYER (Final World Tour) | JUDAS PRIEST (Only Aus Shows) | ALICE IN CHAINS | GHOST
RISE AGAINST (Only Aus Shows) | THE AMITY AFFLICTION (Only Aus Shows) | SUM 41 ANTHRAX | PENNYWISE (Only Aus Shows) |HALESTORM (Only Aus Shows)
BEHEMOTH | ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES | AIRBOURNE
I PREVAIL (Only Aus Shows) | THY ART IS MURDER | POLARIS | TWELVE FOOT NINJA
CONVERGE | FRENZAL RHOMB | LUCA BRASI | CODE ORANGE
FEVER 333 | WAR ON WOMEN | SLAVES | ALIEN WEAPONRY
NEW YEARS DAY(Only Aus Shows)| HIGH TENSION | JUSTICE FOR THE DAMNED
AVERSIONS CROWN | OUTRIGHT | RUINS | DEVILSKIN | EAT YOUR HEART OUT
VOYAGER | THE BEAUTIFUL MONUMENT |REDHOOK | WINDWAKER
REVIEW OF MELBOURNE DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL HERE
