Down brings the curtain down on one of the UK's most underrated festival billings
High Voltage 2010 review
Wednesday 28th July 2010
Bumbling between mild and overcast to disgustingly hot isn't doing anyone any favours, but that doesn't stop The Quireboys from opening up Sunday's main stage in suitably gung ho party fashion. It's all good fun and draws a considerably bigger crowd than Audrey Horne on the Metal Hammer Stage, which is a heinous crime given that the Norwegians pull off one of the best sets of the weekend. All but one of their songs are wrenched from this year's excellent self-titled effort, and if there's any justice they'll be blazing through anthems like 'Sail Away' and 'Bridge and Anchors' to crowds five times this size very soon.
The second stage really is the place to be today, and Cali titans High On Fire arrive to cruise through slab after slab of monolithically heavy riffage. They're a bit stale to watch compared to Audrey, but with riffs this big, they can get away with it.
Clutch can be found similarly guilty of letting their audience bring the movement at times, but today they're on fine form, with each whiskey-drenched note forcing Victoria Park to get its groove on and classics like '10001110101' going down a treat. It makes for one hell of a contrast to progressive death metal heroes Opeth, who are far less vigorous and yet twice as enthralling all the same. 'Watershed' will surely go down as one of the metal albums of the new millennium, and the rapturous response they receive is only deserved for the impact they've made on extreme music in recent years.
Hero worship is something that Phil Anselmo and Down are more than a little used to, and such idolism means that Phil's chronically dodgy performance can be overlooked in favour of a generally solid set.
The singer is happy to admit that his voice is shot to bits today, and to be fair, his crowd banter is as enjoyably silly and enigmatic as ever, and when you're packing the likes of 'Temptation's Wings' and 'Stone The Crow' in your back pocket, who cares? It brings the curtain down on one of the UK's most underrated festival billings in 2010, and if High Voltage does come back for a second year, any self-respecting metal fan will be selling of body parts and family members to get a ticket.
review by Merlin Alderslade photos by Chris Perowne
eFestivals is 
