666 : Is that it?

Never ones to let an opportunity to be opinionated pass us by, ROCKFLESH is here to give its esteemed opinion on the Download 2024 announcement. The first thing to say is love it or hate it Download sure know how to draw attention to themselves. All publicity is good publicity and even though their lineup is on the weak side (there you know which side of the fence I'll be coming down on) we are still talking about it. They have achieved what they wanted to do, and that was to make a splash and to get all the tongues wagging. In many ways, it doesn't actually matter who they put down in those top berths because people are going to go to Download anyway because, ever since Leeds and Reading dispensed with their cursory metal day and Sonisphere imploded, they are number one in a field of one.

If I'm honest the headline trio of Fall Out Boy, Queens of the Stone Age and Avenged Sevenfold do nothing for me and if I'm equally honest, of the expected second-stage headliners only Machine Head makes me in any way interested and if I am equally honest, the Pantera reunion/resurrection/abomination leaves me cold. Having got all that off my chest there are some darn good bands on that line poster. They are buried right down in the small print but Bleed from Within, Gel, Dying Fetus, Celestial Sanctuary, Pest Control, Urne and Zulu are all A1 acts that Download are darn lucky to have.

The big issue for me (and I'm going include Thy Art is Murder and The Black Daliah Murder who both seem to have both sneaked themselves into the logo section of the announcement) is that no matter how much of a fan I am of them all, seeing them all independently on their own is probably going to cost me far less than £300 Andy Coppling wants to charge me to pitch my tent on his lawn for three nights.

This year's Download feels distinctly neutered and that's not just because it is being sponsored by canned water (sticking skulls all over it and giving it a scary name doesn't stop it from being water, there is a tap over there and it's free, use that).. I'm not gonna get elitist and start dictating who belongs and who doesn't, but I feel unable to describe the booking of Royal Blood as anything less than an intrusion onto sacred ground. I know the definition of classic is hugely subjective but there is just a lack of anything that I would describe as traditional heavy metal.

In the past there was a Saxon over there and a Testament over here and a Tesla over there. Now it just seems to be a role call of acts I've never heard of (or if I have, don't care about) playing alt this or core that. I want to get excited and think "Oh my gosh I've not seen them in years” or “Excellent always wanted to see them live” or even "Bloody hell are they still alive?”

Maybe I have finally outgrown Download or maybe Download has finally outgrown me, as for the first time in 20 years I'm really not that arsed. Yes for many people it's about hanging out with their mates, but I can do that down the pub and not pay nearly half of a grand (including food and drink and travel) for the privilege.

Festivals are meant to work on an economy of scale, providing you with a value for money experience seeing oodles band for much less than the combined total of individual entry. This year the bubble has burst. This year with the lack of a headliner that I would happily pay a hundred quid to see on their own in a stadium, the whole thing feels like some luxurious expense that I am not in any way enamoured to pay. I'm off to Europe, I hope you miss me.