Donington Park 10/11/12 June 2005

A few days before the festival started we were invited to Donington Park to find out more about the preparations for the event. It proved to be a fascinating insight into the level of work and planning required to ensure that a major festival is safe and successful for all concerned. We saw everything including an on-site warehouse that even housed the mineral water provided for artists on stage. The whole area looked huge and I wondered how I would cope with traversing the site for three days with over ten kilos of camera gear.

Download 2005 was extended from two days to three and included an opening indie day including Garbage, Feeder, JJ72, Biffy Clyro, My Chemical Romance and The Others. During the preview we were told that the day had attracted the highest level of bookings of the festival. While I had my doubts about compromising a heavy metal festival in this way, I appreciated the opportunity to photograph and review bands like Garbage and Chemical Romance who I had not witnessed live before. The day also signalled the welcome return of Paradise Lost to celebrate the band’s new album after an absence of over five years. I also relished covering Billy Idol who was headlining the Snicker Stage on the opening day.

In heavy metal terms the line-up didn’t quite live up to the amazing 2004 menu but included a return for Slipknot, a top slot for System Of A Down on the closing day and a more diverse range of heavy rock acts. There was no shortage of classic rock acts with Black Sabbath headlining day two supported by Anthrax, and Motorhead supported by Lacuna Coil on day three. There were also two new bands I was keen to cover on the Napster Stage. Slunt is a new USA band featuring a rather a couple of stunning female rockers, while UK band The Ga Gas released a superb debut album earlier this year.

When it was all over it was clear that Download 2005 was a massive success and a unique rock event in the global festival calendar. For a photographer and music lover with crazy, eclectic tastes I loved every minute of it. Even the mistaken and puzzling decision by record companies to exclude certain photographers from shooting Slipknot, System Of A Down and Black Sabbath (from our perspective – no photos, no review) failed to dent my enthusiasm for this amazing festival. Thanks to my new little dog and endless daily treks around Wrexham, I found myself up to the difficult physical task of walking from one stage to another for three days. The facilities, organisation, audience and artists combined to make this a very special festival, and one not to miss in 2006.

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While my partner in crime went off to organise the tent, I rushed off to the first gig in the Snicker Tent. Fozzy is a USA band fronted by ex-WWF wrestler Chris Jericho and provided a festival ‘soft-landing’ for me. Then it was off to my first visit to the main stage and a rather uninspiring Wednesday 13. I decided to stay put to catch JJ72, an Irish band I interviewed before their debut album emerged, and before the hype caught up with them. The band’s debut album was great, the follow-up was less than convincing and a little confusing, while a new album is due later this year. In the interim one beautiful bass player has been replaced with another. The band performed well on the massive main stage with renditions of older songs providing the highlights.

It was then time to visit the distant Napster tent to catch a performance by new USA punk rock quartet Slunt. Two very attractive gals and two guys provided one of the most evocative performances of the festival, complete with great vocal performances, a powerful set-list and vibrant guitar work. The band is touring the UK shortly and I feel sure will grab a spot on one of the main stages next year.

The Others on the main stage provided a more animated interlude with lead man Johnny Others in characteristically lunatic mood. The crowd lapped up the tight set of melodic songs but it took my next visit to truly inspire me.

In 2003 we grabbed our chance to beat Kerrang! to the punch with our early review of Metallica’s legendary secret Download gig. While the band wowed the capacity audience in the secondary Snickers tent, the classical string quartet Apocalyptica later took to the main stage playing superb versions of classic Metallica songs (watched closely from the wings by Lars Ulrich). The quartet were back again in 2005 with a set that will be regarded as one of the classic Download performances. To a capacity Snickers tent audience the guys provided a unique opportunity for people to sing along to Master Of Puppets and many other superb Metallica compositions. It was like a heavy metal karaoke session with a soundtrack of cello and drums, and the crowd responded in a manner unmatched by any other performance at Download.

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Then it was back to the main stage and classic rockers Megadeth. This was to be the band’s final performance in the UK and was celebrated with a strong performance of new and old songs. Dave Mustaine looked happiest when plying the enthusiastic crowd with heady guitar riffs, and while not one of my favourite bands this was a tight and impressive performance.

A cursory and enjoyable capture of The Bled followed before I caught an in-form Inme back at the Snickers tent. Not one of my favourite bands but, as is so often the case at Download, bands move up several gears to provide performances that makes one think again…

The main stage beckoned with the imminent appearance of Dinasaur Jr and a classic rock band of Nirvana vintage. With the three-piece locked tightly together in the middle of the stage (a welcome change) the three veterans (who looked like college professors) proceeded to play some of the most exciting music of the festival - complete with some stupendous guitar riffs.

It was time to be entertained mightily by a band who has found more friends here in the UK than in their USA homeland. My Chemical Romance could arguably have fronted up at the main stage after one blistering debut album and live performance quality many bands would die for. I caught the band earlier receiving an award in the press compound before its incendiary performance on the Snickers stage. Wearing a bullet-proof vest lead man Gerard Way must have given one of the shows of his life as he tore into the crowd with his melodic goth-rock compositions. A nice touch was when he acknowledged the part played by UK fans in the band’s success. It was certainly one of the sets of the festival by a band with a gigantic future.

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Back to the main stage and my first experience of a Garbage live show. Shirley Manson through my lens looked beautiful and fragile but proceeded to give a performance full of power, expression and verve. And she genuinely looked to be enjoying the Download experience as she pranced around the stage before stopping occasionally at her see-through perspex mic stand. We were treated to a strong diet of old and new songs characteristically strong on melody and bursting with anthemic quality. In my view a Download high point.

It was time for my final visit of the day to the Snickers tent to see The Used and headliner Billy Idol. Used lead man Bert McCraken provided a passionate vocal performance as he reflected on a less-than-perfect, turbulent life. It was a moving and electrifying exhibition from the band that rightly won massive audience acclaim.

With a tent bursting at the seams, Billy Idol appeared and proceeded to conquer the audience after a tentative start. No vocalist at Download gave a more expressive performance and one that built to extraordinary levels as the show progressed. With a new album and an extensive, classic back-catalogue the songs just kept coming met by massive crowd responses. The encore went on for what seemed to a lifetime and with strong support from his instrumentalists, including the formidable guitarist Steve Stevenson, Idol was back on the UK scene with a crashing vengeance.

A flying visit back to the main stage to see Feeder and my final show of the day. I’ve seen the band a few times now but this seemed to be a pretty sedate and tentative affair. I know the band to be much better live than this but perhaps this was just not the right environment for them.

After a long trek to the tent and a sleepless night, I wondered if I would survive day two…