The village is absolutely heaving in all directions as we make our way to The Doghouse at the top of District X – which looks to be even bigger than last year! A rapidly swelling crowd is very much enjoying the tunes being picked out by our host Kyden Fire in one of multiple DJ sets by her, before handing over to Cancer Bats Ozzy inspired alter egos.
Bat Sabbath (9) were absolutely brilliant. Having opened with Children Of The Grave and sounding particularly ferocious (Liam Cormier sounding quite like Randy Blythe on Lamb Of God’s cover). Things continued like this almost non stop for the next hour. Dropping Paranoid third in your set feels slightly mad – but they pull it off with aplomb. Iron Man follows, the assembled masses bellowing the words like we are in the heart of Birmingham itself. “Have you ever been….to outer space?” Inquires Liam before launching into a pulverising Symptom Of The Universe. This would be a fantastic way to spend an hour anywhere; At Download it feels particularly pertinent. Finishing with a cavernous version of War Pigs, Bat Sabbath should be mandatory District X entertainment every year!
After last year with Vengaboys bringing the house down, nothing should surprise us at Download any more. But the site of The Doghouse in District X overflowing even more than for Vengaboys for the arrival of Five (8) was a sight to behold. With a reception usually reserved for metal’s finest heroes, this has once again proved that a) The majority of Download goers don’t gatekeep, and b) if you can provide a party – whatever the kind, you’ll be welcome with open arms.
“This could have gone one of two ways – absolute tits up, or unbelievable. It’s been unbelievable” remarked J towards the end of the set, with the boys looking genuinely overwhelmed at how well things had gone. As far as a Thursday night half hour pop party set goes, this was perfect. One of those sets where you quickly realise just how many Five songs you remember from your childhood. There’s some proper bangers in there too. Everybody Get Up into Slam Dunk Da Funk a hell of a vibe setting opener. If Ya Gettin Down had people grinding all over the place. We suspected they might pull out their We Will Rock You cover and they duly obliged – if you’re ever going to do it, at Donington is the time!
We even had a brief halt to proceedings for DJ Kyden’s boyfriend Stoo (of Facedown fame) to get down on one knee – answered with a resounding “Yes I F***ing Will!!” Huge congratulations to the happy couple! Five finish things off with the obligatory Keep On Movin’, for the second year in a row Download have judged a Thursday night bit of pop nostalgia perfectly. S Club next year? Blue? (Aqua out of retirement please)
