There are those who point fingers at Download booking policy and say their choices are safe and conservative. I, however would argue that there are a number of interesting and intriguing leftfield additions this year. This is none more illustrated than by the inclusion of Behemoth in a prestigious mid-afternoon main stage slot. This is a self proclaimed Satan worshiping Black Metal monolith released on an unsuspecting hundred thousand people waiting for the inoffensive rock reggae of Skindred. For a band that has never distanced itself from its extreme roots, to be given this type of slot and exposure is both astonishing and unheard of. Behemoth are both unrepentant and unrelenting, the Black Metal they produce maybe built for stadiums but it is still evil, twisted and heavy as fuck. Live, they are an amazing spectacle of corroded and inverted religious imagery, smudged corpse paint and puritanical fury. The sun will hopefully be high in the sky when they hit that stage but the atmosphere that Behemoth will project will be as black as their collective charred hearts. It has been a long time since something this good darn nasty and offensive has hit the main stage, Enjoy!!!!

By Stewart Lucas