So how was 2014 people?

[kipper64]

That's borderline victim blaming, surely? Having fun and going on someone's shoulders shouldn't equate to expected flashing. It's not even the expectation, it's the booing, the jeering, the insults etc...that can occur from that, again some of the girls it was aimed at were apparently very young as well. I'm not sure how anyone can excuse that?

Either way people can still flash, the festival and camera crews just aren't endorsing it any more by showing or encouraging/chasing it, that was my point, so people complaining about censorship and PC gone made or whatever are kind of missing the point.

[mrtourette]

Yeah that's a pretty terrible attitude, at the top of a slippery slope that leads to "well she was dressed provocatively so was asking for it".

[2rare2die]

I'm not saying that going on someone's shoulders should equate to the expectation of flashing, and I don't condone the jeering or attempted peer pressure aimed at some of these girls, especially the younger ones. All I'm saying is that if you can blatantly see cameramen picking out girls to flash on the screens, why then put yourself in that situation? In all honesty I don't think that anyone should be on someone's shoulders near the front of a gig anyway, as it blocks the view of the people behind them.

[the-pretender]

Friday for me was

Miss I may were alright.

Crossfaith really surprised me

Powerman 5000 rank

Skindred were good

Black label society I coul. Hardly hear the vocals ( don't know if that was normal) still enjoyed them tho

Royal blood were good but I was outsid. The tent so didn't hear them properly

Rob zombie was alright

Bad religion were good as well

The offspring stayed to see smash and they didn't disappoint (love that Album)

Avenged 7 fold caught the last 30 minutes and was pleasantly surprised and was then disappointed they clashed with the offspring.

Saturday was really a pick a band day until linkin park apart from skid row.

Dying Fetus enjoyed them

Fozzy didn't like

While she sleeps walked away

Bowling for soup like what i Seen in 20 minutes

Skid row rocked

Monster Magnet and orange Goblin were good considering I had never heard them before.

Fall out boy were listenable

Linkin park tore the place a new one and I forgot I was 40 and helped build the pyramid and then crowd surfed :-0

Sunday

Was the quietest day and I stayed sober

Richie Sambora got what I expected and enjoyed him

Went to see bsc but the tent was rammed so I went for a walk.

Was right down the front for the last three

Steel panther were entertaining but Should've played more from balls out

Alter Bridge were good

Aerosmith what can you say apart from amazing smashed it and makes me wonder what we're they like in their prime.

In all has a great weekend and the weather topped it all off.... Can't wait for next year

[luckysalt]

I knew Id enjoy Download this year and I was right.

Id say the crowd and camping was the same as 2011 which was said to be 70k

I love it when its a quieter year 2012 last time I went was just too busy.

Everyband I saw who I had in the past and had been left disappointed with stepped it up.

Linkin Park were band of the weekend, they really put the effort in, it was SUCH a good performance and im not really a fan to be honest but Hybrid Theory in full was a great idea, I shall be seeing them on tour later in the year I think now.

Didn't see one single song of A7X, I think they're just pants, watched Offspring instead and boy did they 'Smash' it, they again seemed like they had something to prove and they really put on a fantastic performance.

Sunday I really didn't want to watch Aerosmith because I was left so disappointed after last time, I watched Trivium in full who were really good, but not ground breaking, still should have never been put in that slot IMO, I then watched all of Zebrahead who had a half hr show at just before 10, only caught these 2 weeks ago at Slam Dunk but yet again they put on a great show, when this finished I gave in and wet over to Aerosmith and caught around the last 45 minutes.... WOW. What a difference 3 years makes, they were fantastic, I pretty much saw all the songs I wanted to by them also.

Other noteworthy mentions

Pretty Reckless sucked

Powerman 5000 were boring and lackluster

Rob Zombie for a sub slot was AWFUL, NO stage show whatsoever, no gimmicks, no screens and a poor setlist, 3rd time Ive seen him and I was very disappointed, was going through the motions, small set time, should have been Sunday second stage headliner and given a better slot and stage show.

Twisted Sister caught the back end of their set, fantastic

Sepultura were fantastic, Id watch them again for sure

Royal Blood were sounding good, but not as amazing as the hype suggests

Phil Anselmo was fucking amazing, he was bang on form and played plenty of Pantera too.

Bad Religion were alright, felt bit subdued, but musically they were great.

Bring Me The Horizon sounded awesome dispite not being a fan but fuck me Olly Sykes has to be the WORST frontman ever, no stage presence at all, took away from the show, needs to work on it if they're gunna step up to one day headliner, which I think they will.

Killswitch, 5th time ive seen them, 2 with Howard, 3 with Jesse, were bang on form, however I think I've seen them a bit too much lately to have enjoyed the show if it had been a while since I had.

Monster Magnet were enjoyable if a bit mellow

Quicksand were bloody brillant

Letlive only caught the start as seen them 2 weeks ago but they sounded great, how he can scream so much so passionately so often and not loose his voice I dunno.

Within Temptation are just not my cup of tea, but they sounded good if you like that sort of thing

Skindred were skindred, brought it, enjoyable, but just same old skindred

Crossfaith SMASHED it and got a lot of new fans, loads of people were walking around saying they had never heard of them but loved them now, think Andy will snap them up for next year

BLS were awesome compared to 2012, much better performance

Alter Bridge bored the fuck out of me as always

Steel Panther somehow seemed fresh even though its the same old sex jokes, really enjoyed them, can see them headlining second stage next time round

Volbeat sounded great, I just can't get into them however

Nick Oliveri was very enjoyable, really good show for just an acoustic set

Think thats all I saw, may be others that Ive forgot for now.

[luckysalt]

Also some more notes

Sound was fantastic on every stage, very loud but with no sound bleed from one to the other

Toilets were the cleanest Ive ever seen consistently throughout the weekend

Food Stalls seemed a little limited compared to the past, was multiple of the same ones.

Seemed well organised throughout the entire festival

Security on Monday morning smashing up all the tents left a sour taste, thought the tents were recycled? They were just smashing them up and threatening people. Not nice way to end the weekend

[thejimbola]

I had an awesome time as always. Loved having more space and no queue at the ale tent! Drank too much Jäger though and was dead most of Thursday. As for bands:

Tax The Heat surprisingly good

Bad Touch frontman absolutely loves himself and his fancy moustache, but they were good fun.

Turbowolf mental and brilliant

Skindred the novelty is starting to wear off. Newport Helicopter is always a laugh though.

The Temperance Movement really good after a slow start. Would watch them again.

Rival Sons they are very good but I didnt really get into it this time

Rob Zombie started slowly and the lack of stage show (and darkness) was a bit disappointing, but he pulled it back after a couple of songs and it ended up being awesome. Lost my voice. Again.

Avenged Sevenfold I know they are not everyones cup of tea, but they are certainly a very good headliner. I actually like the new album, Im not so keen on Nightmare, but all of the songs sounded really good. For once they actually played Unholy Confessions without it sound terrible as well, so overall this was BIG SUCCESS.

Iceman Thesis should have stayed in bed

Fozzy Jericho cant sing and looks like a fat Kiefer Sutherland, but Sandpaper always makes me laugh and sing along.

Bury Tomorrow sounded ok from the ale tent

The BossHoss just amazing. Ridiculous but amazing.

Bowling For Soup I saw most of the set and it was the same good fun sing along as always. Can never get tired of them, but I had to leave to see the end of

Skid Row I Remember You and Youth Gone Wild made missing the end of BFS well worth it. Who needs Sebastien Bach!?

Killswitch Engage brilliant as always but nobody near me in the crowd was singing or moving which made my singing sound very loud!

Monster Magnet really enjoyed it despite being sat down resting my old back.

Wildhearts dont know too many songs but enjoyed it a lot.

Twisted Sister loved every second of it. Dee Snider is one of the best frontmen around still! Why on earth would you watch Fall Out Boy over this?

Status Quo good singalong but not quite as enjoyable as I had hoped.

Avatar awesome start to the day. This is second time I have seen them and they are so much fun.

Kill Devil Hill performance was ok, but the songs are very good. Didnt enjoy Phil Anselmo at the end, I thought he sounded terrible!

Graveltones that is a lot of noise from one man and a drummer. Impressed me.

Buckcherry bit half-arsed but Crazy Bitch got me sprinting back from the toilets to jump around.

Richie Sambora like an American Harry Redknapp twitching away on stage. It was alright.

Feed The Rhino caught a bit of their set. Mostly the singer climbing on the speakers. They are very good but I think I missed the best bits.

Joe Bonamassa amazing guitarist. Struggled to keep my attention but I was totally knackered by this point.

The Treatment nothing ground breaking but they are a good live band.

Volbeat awesome as always, but as with so many bands this year the crowd was very flat.

Steel Panther I saw the first half of it before Seether. They should probably cut down on the talking during their festival sets as when they play they are really good. Dont think they were too happy with the cameramen/screen director.

Seether uncomplicated and very good as always. They dont mess around trying to put on any kind of show. They just play their songs and do it very well. Just wish they had a longer set.

Alter Bridge not the best I have seen them but still very good. Annoying chavvy couple arguing in front of us throughout the set didnt help.

Aerosmith just incredible. I dont remember a lot from their 2010 set as the rain killed me, but it was worth the wait to see them again. Along with Twisted Sister they were the highlight of the weekend. Tyler is mental and everyone loves him for it.

I missed so many other bands I wanted to see because of clashes, but I had an amazing time and it was one of the best Downloads so far. Can someone please remind me to take it a little bit easier on the Wednesday next year though

[thejimbola]

I forgot Huntress. She scares me and I like it!

[Old Mosher]

My decision to go was a bit last minute, not due to the line-up or anything, Mrs and I just had so many other things going on like moving house. But crucg time came and we looked at the line up. Headliners for us were a bit so-so, but there were so many others that it all became justifiable. No regret whatsoever, a great weekend.

Some comments:

Temperence Movement. Great stuff ! Been hyped a lot by the Classic Rock fraternity, but actually damned good

Offspring: Way better than their last appearance at Download. I just l;oved hearing "Smash" but still a bit sterile. Dexter Holland is not exactly the extrovert showman. But still good.

Rob Zombie: Not bad but I've seen him better. I was fascinated by John 5s constant guitar changes

BossHoss: Just a great fun band. Ok, a bit of a strange addition for Download, but it worked. Germans playing a sort of heavyish rockabilly country & western.

21 Pilots: ? WTF A real odd act for Download. I just didn't get it. Talented, Yes. But deffo more poppy mainstream.

Monster Magnet: I'm a fan so had to see them. Disappointed that there was nothing off the new album, but pretty good. I just got a feeling that they didn't have enough time to really get going.

Wildhearts: They are just so professional and slick and Ginger is quite a communiucator

Twisted Sister: Brilliant ! Dee Snider should take up stand-up comedy. Some of his lines wre hillarious.

Status Quo: Never seen them before and was hald expecting to be disappointed. They get some stick for being old and having a formula, but the formula works ! Great stuff. The whole cro9wd was juming by the end of their quite short set.

Richie Sambora: Really enjoyable. Good songs, good playing, good stage presence.

Joe Bonamassa: His guitar playing is without doubt brilliant, everything oozes talent, but why is it all a bit boring ?

Volbeat: Just great. Surely a future headliner

Steel Panther: Sorry, for me the joke wore out a long time ago

Alter Bridge: I love their stuff, but it all tends to get a bit samey, with the occasional big anthem type thing now and again to liven things up. Probably better with a dedicated non-festival audience. But I enjoyed them.

Aerosmith: Didn't see them last time, pissing with rain if I recall. Greta stuff, knocked out all the favourites nothing to dislike whatsoever, unless you just don't like them.

[Andre91]

I've just been watching some of the highlights on Sky Arts, BMTH looked awesome. Ten times better than they were at Leeds last year.

[lightning1000]

Might be because they've started playing to click tracks?