Download Festival - Friday: June 13, 2014

Back in June this year, I went to Download Festival (one of the largest and best rock/metal festivals in the U.K.) as my graduation present. And I thought I might do a review of my experience by day, with some of my favorite performances*. I know it was months ago, but I'm slow at getting things done.
*full lineup.
On Friday of the festival I looked around at the different stages and was at the main stage for Black Label Society, Within Temptation, Rob Zombie, and Avenged Sevenfold.

Within Temptation

This is the first band I really knew before attending and so obviously one that would peak my interest. They were the second to last band on the main stage before the headliner, and played set that lasted around an hour. I only knew one song by this Dutch metal band, but after seeing them, I would really like to get to know them better. While vocalist, Sharon den Adel did not have quite as much energy as the frontmen of some of my favorite live acts, she did have a powerful voice, which is definitely something to appreciate from a female in rock. The song "Our Solemn Hour" was one that stayed in my mind long after the show (probably has something to the Latin chant). It's a really neat symphonic metal track off the band's fourth album The Heart of Everything, and has a full, steady beat.

The main stage headliner the first night was American metal band A7X who are not new to this blog. Now, I am not usually the one to review their stuff, but I have enjoyed listening to them since even before the festival. I was quite excited to see this group, and I was not disappointed. The played a set that lasted about two hours (including the encore) that was full of fire (literally) and heavy metal. Their new drummer (RIP the Rev) Arin Ilejay did a pretty darn good job, even with the old songs' complicated and epic beats. Synyster Gates had some beautiful guitar solos that night, along with his song "So Far Away" that vocalist M. Shadows dedicated to their fallen bandmate and friend. The songs I have here are the first single and title song of their newest album Hail to the King (one I think encompasses the album pretty well), as well as "This Means War" also from that album (this song was stuck in my head for days after). Their sixth studio release came out August 2013, and was the first with Ilejay on the drums. Although he is capable of tougher beats, the band wanted to strip down music some, but it still sounds fantastically epic.

Avenged Sevenfold

GUMI - "The Trooper" (Iron Maider cover)

Rating: 8/10 We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground, and the Russians fire another round, we get so near yet so far away, we won't live to fight another day. From that song yesterday I ended up finding more Vocaloid covers of other genres and this one it great. It's so silly hearing Vocaloids singing metal about battle and war, but it works surprisingly well. I would totally recommend checking out the other covers by these guys too, they are also excellent. Anyways, after this I'll leave off the Vocaloid stuff for a bit and leave it to gwr. Next week I'm going to be doing a series of mashups, one for each day next week, varying from serious awesome mashups to silly, really dumb ones. Look forward to it!

Alice Cooper - "Poison"

You're poison runnin through my veins.

Rating: 7/10

I don't know why, but I really like this song, it's a bit outside of the music I normally listen to. I originally discovered it because Tarja did a cover of it which I, like a bit more. I did not post the music video since it is somewhat NSFW, if you want to see it, you can find it on youtube or read about it on wikipedia. The song is very catchy and generally awesome so it is no supprise to me that it is Alice Cooper's number one hit. Interestingly I have actually already posted a song by Alice Cooper, he was the guest vocalist for Avantasia on The Toy Master. I feel the obvious meaning of this song is a forbidden relationship, or one you know you shouldn't be in, however I read a very interesting theory showing how the lyrics of the song could be an analogy for a heroin addict, which I find very interesting. Also, I would kill for Alice Cooper and Tarja to do a duet of this song, but that is unlikely to happen since they are very different artists unfortunately for me.

Dio - "Straight Through the Heart"

And here it comes again, straight through the heart.

Rating: 8/10

Ronnie James Dio is basically the god of American metal vocals, he was the vocalist for Black Sabbath for 3 years and formed his own band, Dio soon after. This song is from his band's first album Holy Diver, while not as famous as the title song, Holy Diver, or Rainbow in the Dark this song is awesome. I recently discovered this song, and I love it. The music is very catchy and Dio's very iconic style of singing complements it perfectly. Unlike a lot of American metal, the guitar solo is just about the right length, perhaps a bit on the long side, but it provides a nice break between the beginning and the end. Overall a very well done song and Dio's voice is awesome.

Avenged Sevenfold - "Bat Country"

He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.

Rating: 7/10

As opposed to the European metal I have posted a lot of with bands like Epica, Rhapsody, Avantasia, and Nightwish, this song is very Americany heavy metal to me, very heavy, very fast guitar riffs and less of a focus on the vocals. This is one of my favorite Avenged Sevenfold songs, and is a bit older than Nightmare which I posted earlier. It begins with an interesting quote by Samuel Johnson which to me is a quote about the fact that is is easier to do things which are bad for you such as drugs an alcohol to distract yourself, rather than face your responsibilities. This quote I feel sets the theme for the song. Overall, a quite good song by one of my favorite American heavy metal bands.

Black Sabbath - "Loner"

He's just a loner He never says hello A friend to no-one He's got no place to go

Rating: 8/10

A while ago I did a post on God Is Dead? the first released single from Black Sabbath's new album, 13. It was my favorite song I have posted here receiving one of the only two 9s I have ever given out. Well the album is now and it lives up to the hype from that song, it is one the best heavy metal albums I have listened to, having a style very similar to the original Black Sabbath albums from the 70s; Powerful and catchy guitar riffs with a strong bass line and Ozzy Osbourn with his very unique voice. It is really an amazing album and this is probably my favorite song from the album besides God Is Dead. To me it is a story of a man who grows up being extremely quiet and shy, no one understands him. As he grows up, he begins to have some friends but eventually he gives up and goes back to his solitary life without any friends. The ending to the story can be interpreted in several ways, I interpret it as him committing suicide since he believes he will be happier when he is dead. Quite a deep song, which is a big part of what I like about this album and metal music in general.

Iron Maiden - "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

Hear the rime of the ancient mariner, see his eye as he stops one of three

Rating: 8/10

The Song: Rime of the Ancient Mariner is one of the most brilliant Metal songs I have ever seen. Based on the famous epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, it tells the story of a sailor who has returned from a long sea voyage. He stops a man who is on the way to a wedding ceremony and begins to narrate a story. The song is 13 minutes, 35 seconds, but is worth every second. A brilliant poem turned into a brilliant metal song amkes this an amazing listen.
The Album: Powerslave is the third studio album by Iron Maiden and one of their most famous containing Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight, two of their more famous songs.
The Band: Iron Maiden in a British heavy metal band formed in 1975 by bassist and songwriter Steve Harris. They have had many lineup changes over the years and have released 15 studio albums to and have had a major influence on many other bands.

Dio - "Rock 'n' Roll Children"

She was meant to be wild He was nearly a child But they only could feel each other

Rating: 6/10

The Song: This song used to be one of my favorite songs but I don't like it as much anymore. It is a story of two children who are very similar and are meant for each other, but at the same time are very different. It is really nice song but is isn't anything particularly amazing.
The Album: Sacred Heart is the Dio's third studio album and is one of their most known albums.
The Band: Dio was a band lead by former Black Sabbath lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio, they released 10 studio albums from 1982-2010. They had many lineup changes over the year with Ronnie James Dio being the only constant member. It dissolved in 2010 when Ronnie James Dio dies of stomach cancer.

Metallica - "Fade to Black"

Life it seems, will fade away, Drifting further every day.

Rating: 8/10

The Song: Fade to Black is a heavy metal ballad with an absolutely stunning acoustic intro. It starts off very slow but speeds up more and more as the song progresses. It has been stated in interviews, and it is very clear from the lyrics that it is a song about suicide, when the song was written, the band was going through a rough time, their gear had just been stolen, and we had been thrown out of our manager's house.
The Album: Ride the Lightning is, in my opinion, the best Metallica album, it was their second studio album and was released in 1984. I has many of my favorite Metallica songs such as Ride the Lightning, Creeping Death, Fade to Black, and the instrumental Call of Ktulu.
The Band: Metallica is one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time. They have released 9 studio albums to date with the most recent one being Death Magnetic in 2006. They were formed in 1981 and released their first, self titled, album in 1963.

Axxis - "Flashback Radio"

I turn the radio off Don't wanna hear that crap All this computer stuff Sounds like a handicap

Rating: 3/10

The Song: Honestly, I don't want to hear this crap. Although to be fair the music isn't that bad, the word choice is like a handicap. Calling for a return to classics without being remotely close to a classic song. Overall, it's not that great of a song and quite hypocritical. If I had a radio station, I would certainly not play Flashback radio.
The Album: Back to the Kingdom is fairly average metal album released in 2001. It is their 7th studio album.
The Band: Axxis is a German hard rock/metal band. Their first album, Kingdom of the Night is the best selling album by any German hard rock band. They are characterized by lead singer Bernhard Weiß's somewhat unique vocal style.

Avenged Sevenfold - "Nightmare"

Dragged ya down below, down to the devil's show, to be his guest forever

Rating: 7/10

The Song: A fairly nice piece of melodic heavy metal by their most recent album. I feel the use of the word "fucking" was unnecessary but that is just how Avenged Sevenfold rolls. It seems like another in the giant list of metal songs which are about drugs/addiction, someone trapped in a nightmare of addiction from which they cannot escape.
The Album: This is the first album by Avenged Sevenfold released without their drummer James Sullivan for all all of the songs after his unfortunate death in 2009.
The Band: Avenged Sevenfold (or A7F) are an American heavy metal band. Their style varies from heavy rock to heavy metal and metalcore. They have released 5 studio albums with the most recent being Nightmare.

Black Sabbath - "God Is Dead?"

The voices echo in my head, is God alive or is God dead?

Rating: 9/10

The song/Interpretation: An epic return for metal band Black Sabbath, staring with a pounding bass and Ozzy Osbourne's singing it combines classic Black Sabbath with the sound from the time with Ronnie James Dio. To me it tells the story of a man who is questioning his religious beliefs after all the crazy things that have been done in the name of religion such as 9/11. The brilliant thing though is that the song doesn't clearly side with either God is dead or God isn't dead but leaves it completely open up the listener interpretation.
The album/artist: This song is the first single released from Black Sabbath's upcoming album "13" which will be the first album released by the band since 1995 and the first album with singer Ozzy Osbourne since 1978. It has all the original members of the band except drummer Bill Ward.

Avantasia - "The Toy Master"

Don't you be afraid, come and step inside, take a look around

Rating: 7/10

The song: A very classic melodic metal song, starting with a melodic intro and then jumping right into a heavy guitar riff and then slowing back down for the first verse.
The album: The Scarecrow, released in 2008, is the first album of "The Wicked Trilogy", a trilogy of concept albums which follows the tragic story of a lonesome creature, emotionally isolated from his environment and suffering from a distorted sensory perception.
Interpretation: This song is extremely unique, explicitly to me it is about an insane dictator who is talking to someone. He refers to his people as "Toys", himself as the "Master of the toys", and the country as his "Toy factory". However there is another very interesting interpretation that I really like which is that the song is a metaphor for capitalism and materialism. The "kids" are people being lured into to wasting their money on useless "toys" from the "toy factory", a company