Rate The Acts You Saw

[Gingo]

Managed to see an incredible 46 acts over the weekend which I couldn't believe myself so thought I would give them a rating and see what others thought about they saw.

FRIDAY

Monster Truck - really solid band for a late addition was thoroughly impressed with them 8/10

Free Fall - Singer had a swagger about him that reminded me of Liam Gallagher and he really didn't pull it off not bad but not the best 5/10

Akord - Really good small Scottish band hope they do well in the future 8/10

Uriah Heep - Caught the end of their set and it sounded decent, crowd seemed really into it aswell 7/10

Papa Roach - One of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing they did not disappoint but I felt their setlist could have been a bit better but that was probably just me 8.5/10

The Sword - Really excellent band and the 3rd stage tent was absolutely rammed for them 8/10

Europe - Everyone was waiting on that song but they put in a solid performance which their other catalogue of great songs 7.5/10

Volbeat - Incredible gig, thoroughly enjoyed every minute and the crowd were right into it 10/10

Korn - Caught the end of Korn and they sound on top quality was quite gutted they were clashing with Volbeat 9/10

3 Doors Down - Another solid performance by 3DD they'll never be the greatest act you'll ever see but they are always so tight 8/10

The Algorithm - Wow, slammed the 4th stage and were one of the biggest surprises of the weekend - 9/10

Slipknot - Amazing performance from Slipknot yet again, barrier broke twice because it was so carnage 9/10

SATURDAY

I Divide - Decent small act standard rock fare 7/10

UFO - Caught the end of them but they sounded really really boring even if their performance itself was good 6/10

The Wild Lies - Another small act that hopefully has a big future ahead vocalist is amazing 8/10

Young Guns - Love them on record but I was disappointed with how they sounded live, wasnt impressed at all 4/10

Black Star Riders - Thin Lizzy were always a superb live band and just because they have changed their name makes no difference 8/10

Katatonia - Good but half an hour was plenty, they were struggling to keep me interested for much longer 6.5/10

Mastodon - Really really good, great live act 8/10

Karnivool - Very impressed with them live and would definitely consider seeing them again when they tour 8/10

Alice In Chains - Found them quite boring, despite being a fan of them on record 6/10

Lit - Caught the end of them, pretty good 7/10

Thunder - Strong performance and the crowd was right into it which always improves a gig 8/10

Jimmy Eat World - Sound was a bit ropey where I was standing mainly due to the wind but they sounded decent 7.5/10

Queens of the Stone Age - Massive fan of theirs and thought their new songs were amazing live, gutted I missed the start because of JEW 8.5/10

Enter Shikari - Seen them a few times and never seen a bad gig from them really fun live 9/10

Iron Maiden - What can you say? A WW2 spitfire flying over before the show, an outstanding stage show and an amazing performance from every member one of the highlights of the weekend 10/10

SUNDAY

Blitz Kids - Good small act yet again 7/10

The First - Really impressed would definitely see again 8/10

Arthemis - Stopped by the acoustic stage and caught them, a good laugh 7.5/10

Krokodil - Had no idea what they were like before I saw them and was disappointed as i'm really not into screamo music, the band itself sounded good though but not really for me 2/10

Coal Chamber - Haha really awful band but in a way that makes them kind of good plus went to see just because its Coal Chamber 6/10

Little Caesar - Very very good 8/10

Graveyard - Went to chill out for a bit in the sun and was impressed with what I heard 7.5/10

Five Finger Death Punch - Always solid live and getting kids up on the stage must have made their lives so fair paly to them for that 7.5/10

Hacktivist - Superb again, slowly becoming one of my favourite live acts to see in a half hour slot 9/10

Stone Sour - Corey Taylor is always on top form and thought the setlist was excellent 8.5/10

Ghost - Just superb, crazy, weird but superb 9/10

Gaslight Anthem - Again, amazing live and despite their crowd being really small it was great, quite a short setlist for the time they had though 9/10

Airbourne - Actually had one of the biggest crowds at the 2nd stage all weekend, probably due to not a lot of people being interested in Gaslight but they were really good as well 8/10

P.O.D. - So good live and a great laugh 9/10

30 Seconds to Mars - Caught about half an hour and thought they were great when Jared was singing but leaving the last part of every line to the crowd is bollocks and gets old fast, they did put a lot of effort in however 8/10

I Am I - Actually one of the best sets of the whole weekend for me, everything just worked so well in that gig plus their singer (ex lead singer of Dragonforce) is one of my favourite vocalists of all time 10/10

Modestep - Amazing set and amazing crowd, will definitely catch them again 9.5/10

Limp Bizkit - Very enjoyable to watch was just really disappointed I couldnt see more and I needed to be at Rammstein 9/10

Rammstein - One of the most batshit crazy stage shows I have ever seen or probably will ever see, just out of this world 10/10

[cornucopia]

My main acts I saw were:

Uriah Heep - Really good, didn't know many songs at all but worth watching and really tight - 7/10

Papa Roach - Thought they were ok really, not a massive fan but enjoyed the "hits" - 7/10

Europe - Really good, and yes the majority were there for 1 song but the rest was good too - 8/10

Turisas - Only went for a laugh and was pleasently surprised - 7/10

3 Doors Down - A band I have wanted to see for a while and thought they were average at best - 5/10

Gogol Bordello - Gypsies play rock n roll, what more do you want!! 7.5/10

Slipknot - Awesome good show and the crowd were mental - 9/10

Caught a bit of Black Stone Cherry when I went for a wander, good solid rock band and never fail to disappoint 9/10

Saturday:

Heavens Basement - Superb, tigh and really enjoyed them - 8/10

Young Guns - Caught the last bit of them and came accross really well 7/10

Black Star Riders - What's not to like about them? 9/10

Walking Papers - Great bit of rock and roll in a tent looked like they enjoyed the gig too - 8/10

Alice in Chains - Not bad, quite enjoyed them while chilling out - 7/10

Motorhead - We are Motorhead and we play rock n roll, 'nuff said - 9/10

QOTSA - Only like the early stuff and glad they played most of it early on, someone please to Josh Homme to look like he wants to be there and enjoy what he is doing, miserable git - 7/10

Iron Maiden - Spitfire, Eddie(s) and a band that want to be doing what they do and look like they enjoy doing it - last time I saw them was MOR '88 so good to see them again - 9.5/10

Sunday

Blitz Kids - Quite enjoyed them, decent band - 8/10

Hell Yeah - Forgot how much I don't like them but stayed as a mate wanted to watch them, not my kind of band though - 4/10

Huntress - Brilliant just wish I could've got further in the tent, my own fault we were messing about outside for 2 hours before!! 8/10

Masters of Reality - Old guys playing stoner rock, yep I'll have that!! 8.5/10

Amon Amarth - Things went a bit t!ts up for them which was a shame, alright what they did though 6/10

Stone Sour - Superb. Children of the Grave my highlight and the lass who's birthday it was who started crying, class! 10/10

Airbourne - Biggest crowd I have ever seen at 2nd for a non-headliner, superb always put in 110% 10/10

POD - Listened from the side-lines not bad 7/10

Limp Bizkit - I like them saw them 2009 and pleased to see them back 9/10

Quite a busy weekend all-in-all but thoroughly enjoyed it, as always!! Bring on next year \m/\m/

[devilman]

Friday

Campsite drinks/smokes/revelry 10/10

Freefall 7/10 Caught their last couple. Will be checking them out.

Akord 8/10 Good sound, good energy and enthusiasm. Having the day of their lives and it showed.

Papa Roach 6/10 missed a lot cos of a phone call

Europe 8/10 their other stuff is actually ok!

Volbeat 8/10 was on way to Korn but their sound was enough to get us to stay. Glad we did.

3 Doors Down 9/10 this lot have still got it. Really good.

Gogol Bordello 8/10 I think they were good but may have been too pished to enjoy it fully.

Black Stone Cherry 7/10 new stuff good, old stuff polished. Seemed to lack something but also felt like it was over really quickly.

Saturday

Campsite drinks/smokes/revelry 10/10

Black Star Riders 7/10 Solid enough but the new stuff doesn't inspire me for some reason.

Mastodon 9/10 Loved it despite the rain and cold and wind.

Alice in Chains 8/10 Polished seasoned pros showing how it's done.

Thunder 8/10 Great sound and was shocked how good the frontman was, shame he looks like your grandad. It's off putting

Jimmy Eat World 8/10 Not a fan of geek rock but they were surprisingly good.

Enter Shikari 8/10 Good again, they always deliver but maybe seeing them 3 times in a year is too much.

Iron Maiden 10/10 I have refused to buy or wear a maiden T shirt all my life until now. Let down a bit by the blatant advertising of O2 shows.

Sunday

Campsite drinks/smokes/revelry 10/10

Five Finger Death Punch 9/10 Great set. The kid up singing his heart out was a proper festival moment too.

Parkway Drive 8/10 Impressed by their sound, I have never listened to them before.

Stonesour 7/10 Talented boy that Taylor kid

Red Fang 10/10 I had only seen that video where they drive the car through stuff before this. WOW! They kick ass!

Airbourne 7/10 Usual ACDC rip off fayre from them. Delivered well enough but I was uninspired so left early for some campsite top ups

Campsite drinks/smokes/revelry 10/10

Rammstein 22/10 Off the fucking scale! The sound, the show, the humour, the crowd. Everything! I expected high things and also expected to be a little disappointed. No chance, it was insane. Unbelievably good.

The whole weekend was brilliant. There were times on Saturday when the wind a rain hit and it was proper freezing. My pac a mac succumbed and i got a wet T shirt and felt pretty fucking miserable for a short while. Then the sun came out and everything dried. The mud stayed away and I had a jolly nice time thank you very much

[devilman]

Stone Sour - Superb. Children of the Grave my highlight and the lass who's birthday it was who started crying, class! 10/10

[cornucopia]

If it was your group that got out the colin the caterpillar cake during Stonesour then you were just in front of me!

[devilman]

Sadly not mate, would've liked to have seen that though!!

[Dead throne]

Rise To remain 10/10 Holy. fucking. shit.

Architects 10/10 Knew these would be epic

Asking Alexandria 7/10 too many breakdowns in 1 song

Uriah Deep 5/10 only saw last bit and not my thing

Dragonforce 8/10

Europe 9/10

Turisas 8/10 DIDN'T PLAY RA-RA-RASPUTIN, still solid set though

BFMV 6/10 meh

UFO 6/10

young guns 4/10

escape the fate 4/10

Katatonia 4/10 Boring

Mastodon 7/10

Motothead 10/10 WE ARE MOTORHEAD AND WE PLAY ROCK N' ROLL

QOTSA 9/10

Iron Maiden 10/10

Sacred Mother Tongue 9/10

Cancer Bats 10/10

FFDP 4/10

Parkway Drive 10/10

Rival Sons 4/10 Seem em before, just as shitty

Ghost 3/10

Airbourne 9/10

30 Seconds to mars 8/10

Rammstein 10/10

[thejimbola]

Monster Truck - really glad I chose them over Rise To Remain. Sounded great! 9/10

Free Fall - the last song was pretty good, the rest was a bit dull and the singer's moustache annoyed me. 6/10

Uriah Heep - legends! Really enjoyed it. 8/10

Papa Roach - great fun as usual, although the sound where we were wasn't great and the people next to us were dicks. 8/10

Europe - awesome, despite people chanting for them to play The Final Countdown during the whole set. 8/10

Volbeat - such a great band. Awesome as always. 9.5/10

Korn - caught Got The Life and Freak on a Leash. Sounded good. 8/10

Bullet For My Valentine - they will never quite be headline material, but they are getting better at playing the big arena. 8/10

Slipknot - it killed me to miss Black Stone Cherry, but it was worth it. Not as good as 2009, but still amazing. 9/10

UFO - Not bad, but I was just waiting for them to play Doctor Doctor the whole way through the set. 6/10

Young Guns - used to like them, but now they annoy me. 5/10

Earthtone9 - saw the start of the set and it was pretty good. 7/10

Black Star Riders - new name, same awesomeness. 9/10

Mastodon - saw a couple of songs and it was good as always. 8/10

Walking Papers - well worth missing Mastodon for. Great set. 9/10

Alice in Chains - saw the first half of the set and was gutted I had to leave. New album isn't the best, but the classics still sound good. 8/10

Lit - I have waited 15 years to see them and the sound quality let me down. Crowd was small probably due to AIC, but to hear My Own Worst Enemy live made my day. 8/10

Acoustic TV - a little disappointing. Should have stayed at Motorhead. 5/10

Motorhead - standard rock n roll god action. 7/10

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - really like them 8/10

Queens of the Stone Age - I think the massive crowd stopped me enjoying them as much as I could have, but they were still decent. My feet were almost falling off by this point though, so I had to sit down. 7/10

Lonely The Brave - caught a little bit while sitting down before Maiden. Not bad. 7/10

Iron Maiden - what can I say? They are still as good as ever and despite a few sound issues it was still amazing. 9/5/10

Sacred Mother Tongue - surprise band of the weekend. I thought they were excellent and my bottle of Trooper beer didn't last long after these boys woke me up early on the Sunday. 9/10

Cancer Bats - very good live band that I always seemed to miss at previous festivals. Bricks & Mortar, Hail Destroyer and Sabotage were all brilliant. 8/10

Coal Chamber - great start with Loco and Big Truck first up, then I got bored. 6/10

Five Finger Death Punch - it might be simplistic music, but he really knows how to work a crowd. Guilty pleasure. Love it! 9/10

Stone Sour - They have so many good songs and Corey Taylor is a brilliant front man. This was never going to be anything other than awesome. 9/10

Airbourne - I was actually a little disappointed this time, although that is only because I am used to them being top drawer every time. Good by any other bands' standards though. 8/10

P.O.D. - couldn't get near the tent so listened from outside. Didn't sound bad, but feel like I missed out on the cheese factor. 7/10

30 Seconds To Mars - caught the last half an hour and was willing to give them a chance, but my god is that bloke annoying! Sing the feckin songs yourself, don't make the crowd sing it all. Then you do some terrible acoustic version of the song that made you famous. Blown their chance of playing Download again with that performance. 2/10

Rammstein - one extreme to the other. What an incredible end to the festival. The songs are idiotic and awesome in equal measure. The stage show is just unbelievable. One of the best sets I have ever seen at Download or anywhere and much better than their Sonisphere headline slot. 10/10

[calsmith182]

rise to remain- not really into them but it was a decent set, some sound issues but got the weekend off to a good start 7/10

architects- brillant, loved it 8/10

asking alexandria- probably the worst part of the weekend, standing in the rain watching a scene metal band poorly play their poorly written music 2/10

papa roach- ideal set for me minus the dropping of hollywood whore, went down well from what i saw 8/10

down- didnt know a single song from their set but enjoyed it, not a huge fan though 6/10

korn- really surprised me, wasn't expecting much but were really good, i enjoyed the new stuff more than others seemed to but the hits went down well and crowd seemed up for it 8/10

motionless in white- a massive guilty pleasure of mine, really good in my eyes, a few fangirls but other than that the set was solid and would love them back next year 8/10

slipknot- perfection, the stage presence they have is out of this world, the crowd was insane and the set was amazing too 10/10

saturday (didnt have much to see for the saturday)

black star riders- decent band, suprised a few people around me that didnt know they were previously thin lizzy 6/10

mastodon- good live band, didnt know much of their set though due to not being much of a fan 7/10

heart of a coward- good hardcore/metal band, check them out and would see them again, got the crowd going 8/10

bury tomorrow- 3rd time seeing them, they didnt disappoint, seems like they are finally earning the respect they have always deserved 9/10

motorhead- bit messy at times, decent overall 7/10

queens of the stone age- brilliant, brilliant set, brillant live band 10/10

last witness- a final show i wasnt going to miss as a fan of hardcore, they got rid of the rumours of their poor live shows for this last time 9/10

sunday-

cancer bats- brought so much energy for the final day, great opener, deserve a higher place 9/10

ghost inside- brilliant live as usual 9/10

brutality will prevail- as a fan of hardcore it was a must see for me and the addition of liam/jay from cancer bats as guests made it even better 9/10

5fdp- great show, not really into them but they put on a good show 7/10

parkway drive- great live band, great to finally see them 9/10

stone sour- corey was on fine form again 8/10

gaslight anthem- pretty poor, left halfway through as i was bored 3/10

airbourne- basically ac/dc but still bought a show including pyros on a low down show on 2nd stage

a day to remember- finally got to see them and it was perfect 10/10

first half of limp bizkit- other than freds beard it was a hit packed set and got the crowd going well

rammstein- out of this world live, great showmanship and show 10/10

overall download was probably the best festival i have been to, bring on 2014

[mrtourette]

Didn't any of you shitbirds go and see FIDLAR?

[atomised]

I saw FIDLAR. They were superb. 10/10. Great fun. Pity the crowd wasn't great

[sheffieldlady]

RISE TO REMAIN - Thought there was a lot of sound issues for them, which was a shame. From what I heard, they seemed OK. Sound let them down. 6/10

ARCHITECTS - Epic. 9/10

PATENT PENDING - Went to see them on there damn and wasn't much else I fancied seeing. Really surprised. Good fun band and even danced like Justin Bieber. Perfect pick me up from the weather. 8/10

PAPA ROACH - One of the bands i really wanted to see. Brilliant. Was disappointed about the lack of Hollywood Whore mind. 7/10

DOWN - Not a massive fan, went down well amongst other people. I watched them from the side whilst eating! 5/10

KORN - Brilliant. Far better than I ever expected them to be. Crowd was up for it. 9/10

THE ALGORITHM - One of the stand out acts for me. Bloody brilliant. Crowd was bouncy and into it. Super. 10/10

SLIPKNOT - Loved it. I just think the next time they headline they need new material. It was near enough the same set I have seen 3 times now. 8/10

YOUNG GUNS - Crap. Only went to see them because someone else in our group wanted to. 2/10

MASTODON - Really good. Listening to more of their stuff via the wonderful Spotify. 6/10

ALICE IN CHAINS - Brilliant. Same about the guy near by who broke his leg wrestling with his mate. Looked horrible and has made me forget anything related to Alice in Chains set. 6/10

MOTORHEAD - Could be a little bit tighter, but sod it. It's Motorhead! 8/10

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. 10/10

THE HIVES - Worth it! Lots of energy and greatest hit set list. 9/10

IRON MADIEN - Caught the last 3 songs, not being a IM fan at all - I can sort of see what the fuss is about, but their songs still bore me a little. But, I can see that they are a decent live band.. 7/10

CANCER BATS - Brilliant live band. Needed to be higher up! 8/10

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH - Pretty decent. Better then I was expecting. The kids on the stage was a brilliant moment too. 7/10

HACKTIVIST - Caught a bit of their set whilst eating food. Not band. 5/10

PARKWAY DRIVE - Brilliant. I love the explaining of 'this is a fast song' 'this is a slow song' 8/10

STONE SOUR - How can Corey Taylor do wrong? Brilliant set. 8/10

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM - Sound was too quiet and too high up on the main stage. It's a shame. As I usually like them. 6/10

THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS - Rubbish. Singer is a self-centered idiot. Hope they never play Download again. Spent too long announcing every date on their tour.

RAMMSTEIN - If this was the only band I saw, ever. I wouldn't be disappointment. Holy crap. They are a brilliant all round live band. Perfect sound. Brilliant show. Epic set list. Just, brilliant. 30/10.

[GuitarManDan15]

Friday

Uriah Heep - went out of curiosity and thought they were pretty decent, nice groove and enjoyed listening to them 7/10

Papa roach - really good actually, wasn't expecting much but knew a few songs, a lively set and all the people I was with are big fans so made it even better 8/10

Down - not really my kind of thing, and i hated when he was doing the mic tap's 5/10

Korn - Awesome set but lacked a little something in my opinion, had a great time though 8/10

3 door down - Had a brilliant time, surprisingly knew a few songs, a really good solid live band and i really enjoyed it, especially as they're the misses favourite band and she's never seen them before 9/10

Gogol Bordello - As good as ever, had a good old gypsy folk knees up 8/10

Slipknot - Disappointing. Lackluster set, 1000 times better at soni 11, the set is dull and tired now, they're just going through the motions, it was ok I just thought it was boring 6/10

Saturday

Mastadon - standard no thrills set 6/10

Alice in Chains - really enjoyed them, nice and tight live too 7/10

LIT - they were ok, was a poor setlist but still cool to see a band from my early teens 6/10

Motorhead - just as dull as the other few times i've seen them 5/10

QOTSA - awesome set, really enjoyed it, new songs sounded good live and a good mix of big songs, fan favourites and new stuff

Iron Maiden - what can i say? Big maiden fan but first time seeing them, bloody fantastic! 10/10

Sunday

FFDP - Got a huge crowd and put on a really good set, can see them getting a high slot next year 8/10

Parkway drive - generic kerrang shite 4/10

Stone Sour - Bog standard festival set, picked up towards the end 6/10

Ghosts - worst band of the weekend, only knew they had finished when people started leaving, so dull 1/10

Airbourne - Awesome as ever, should've been mainstage really 8/10

30stm - dull, self-indulged stage managed twaddle! Summed up by people being more interested in throwing bottles at zipwire people than there set 5/10

Rammstein - can't believe i thought i may have hyped them too much and i would be disappointed. They really pulled out all the stops and delivered a great headline show 10/10

Overall had a great weekend

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

I could only make Saturday & Sunday due to work commitments, but I got the tickets cheap anyway. I also regret missing Jimmy Eat World & Cancer Bats. But here goes:

Saturday:

Mastodon: 6/10- Slightly let down by them, I expected a bit more

Alice in Chains: 7/10

Searching Alaska: 7/10

Motorhead: 2/10- seen it once, you've seen it a thousand times

Queens of the Stone Age: 7/10- Josh needs to step it up with the live performances if they're ever going to be considered headliners in future years to come

Enter Shikari: 9/10- Wasn't particularly a fan before, I certainly am now

Iron Maiden: 5/10- The only thing that was blown away during this set was the sound

Sunday:

Parkway Drive: 8/10 - energetic & enthusiastic. Not usually my cuppa tea but a great live performance none the less

Stone Sour: 5/10- Corey needs to leave Download alone for a bit now

The Gaslight Anthem: 6/10- Decent performance, small crowd & they seemed out of place

Thirty Seconds to Mars: 4/10- Cringe cringe cringe. Self-indulgent & totally misunderstood the crowd they were playing for. Rock by numbers for beginners springs to mind.

A Day to Remember: 7/10- Good performance, vocals strained at times

Limp Bizkit: 8/10- Energetic as always, got the crowd going

Rammstein: 10/10- Certainly the best performance I've ever seen at Download in the 7 years I've been going. i'd go so far as to say one of the best headline sets I've seen at any festival ever.

Edited June 21, 2013 by Frankly Mr Shankly