Alien Weaponry are our next must see recommendation for Download. They may be insanely young but they are probably the hottest band you will find on site. And Christ they are young! If you are harassed by some teen to buy them a pint as their ID has been rejected, its probably a member of Alien Weaponry. But God, is there a buzz about them? Last year at Bloodstock they completely filled the Sophie Lancaster stage for an early afternoon slot which frankly is unheard of and here at Download they have been upgraded all the way from the titchy Dogtooth tent to the main freaking stage as frankly you aren’t going to get 100,000 curious metalheads into a 1,000  capacity piece of canvas. Alien Weaponry are from New Zealand and wear their Māori heritage on their sleeves, this is frantic angry thrash combined with frantic angry traditional tribal music and it’s insanely good. There is something so special here, do yourself a favour and make sure you join the rest of the festival in being stood ready at the main stage at the ungodly hour of 11.00 am. You won’t regret it!

By Stewart Lucas