Saturday Overview

On the Gibson / MySpace stage, :( treated us to an eclectic slice of moog-punk. Their unique sound is a refreshing change from the solid metal onslaught so far, and although they may never reach a mainstream audience, :( are doing something a bit different and doing it well, so they should be applauded.

Northern six piece Louie take the New York Dolls and cross them with the Buzzcocks. The rabid, rapid fire punk attitude, combined with killer tunes and enough energy to power every PA on site, goes down a storm on the second stage, and these angry young men are definitely ones to watch.

Genuine ‘festival moments’ are few and far between, but due to the illness of Jonathan Davies, Korn provide us with just one of those rarities. When confronted by a frontman phoning in sick, most bands would have pulled out, but credit to Korn for soldiering on, with the assistance of a few heavyweights of the metal world. In a bizarre but hugely enjoyable game of Korn Karaoke, we were treated Jesse Hasek (of 10 Years) tearing through ‘It’s On’; Avenged Sevenfold’s M Shadow making ‘Falling Away’ his own; Dez Fafara of Devildriver fame ran through ‘Somebody Someone’ and ‘Coming Undone’; before Benji of Skindred did a fantastic take on early classic ‘A.D.I.D.A.S.’. The undoubted star of the set was, however, Corey Taylor, of Stone Sour and Slipknot, who surprised everyone by pulling off amazing performances of ‘Clown’ and ‘Freak On A Leash’. It was just a shame that it was followed by Matt Heafy of Trivium murdering ‘Blind’ – deaf would have been more apt. Overall though, a great set, and respect has to go to Korn for not pulling out.

I have no idea why Reuben are not massive. Playing to quite a small crowd on the smallest stage, the proceed to tear the place up with their angsty guitar punk. Pulling their set from across both albums, it is a crowd pleasing set for the fans that have turned out, and it is a great introduction to the band for anyone lucky enough to have stumbled into the tent whilst they were on.

And then we have Donington’s house band. They’ve probably played on this site more times than anyone ever, and the anticipation around their set was unbelievable. Metallica opened their performance just as the sun was setting behind the main stage, and I got the feeling that this is what everyone at the festival had come here for. Prior to the core part of the set, we treated to a selection of back catalogue classics, including a ferocious take on ‘Fuel’, which put many of the younger metal guns appearing here to shame, ‘The Unforgiven’ and an unnamed new track also stand out as highlights. After a short break, the second half of the set was devoted to celebrating the twentieth anniversary of their ‘Master Of Puppets’ album. Many people had hoped that the band would play it in its entirety, and Metallica did not disappoint. Opening with ‘Battery’, and ending with an amazing take on ‘Damage, Inc.’, this was an interesting, but strangely self indulgent idea, which did however pay off. The set didn’t end there though, and special mention has to be given to a beautiful rendition of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ which was amazing to witness from the very back of the Donington crowd. It has to be said that I have never been a huge Metallica fan, but I can see from this set why they inspire such devotion.

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