The official stage times are out for the 2012 Download
Festival. This means I have been able to plan to see where I’ll be and who I’m
seeing. I did a guesstimate blog post recently where I speculated the stage times
and did a rough plan based on those times. My guesses weren’t too far off. I
haven’t compared the whole lot but some of guesses were dead on, while some
were between 5-15mins out. Not bad at all if you ask me. Anyway, I am now going
to a Download Festival 2012 preview blog based on official times with comments
on some of the band choices.
THURSDAY 7TH JUNE
I didn’t include this in my guesswork post the other day.
That is simply because I didn’t know anything about the “Boardie Takeover”
which I think is where bands that Download Festival Forum Members are in get
the chance to play Download. It takes place in the Village in something called “The
Doghouse”. This is something that wasn’t there when I last went so I’ve no
idea! The main band playing it this year is on the forum but I think was in the
band before and signed up to plug. Anyway, the four bands playing that are:
|
Thursday
|
Lazarus
Syndrome
|
Doghouse
|
18.00 -
18.30
|
|
Thursday
|
Allerjen
|
Doghouse
|
19.00 -
19.30
|
|
Thursday
|
Huron
|
Doghouse
|
20.00 -
20.45
|
|
Thursday
|
Seven
Deadly
|
Doghouse
|
21.15 -
22.15
|
Seven Deadly I am really looking forward to as they are
essentially the phoenix that formed out of the ashes of Panic Cell. I’ve heard
one of their songs and I really liked it. The other bands I have checked out on
Spotify and they seem really quite good as well. Nice way to break in my first
Download weekend in 5 years.
FRIDAY 8TH JUNE
Friday, historically, has always been the shorter day at
Download and this year is no real exception - the bands start at 1pm. When I
went to Download last year for the day, the 3rd band (I think) I saw
was Rise To Remain. Taking that into account, and seeing that they are opening
the main stage, I am going to start my day elsewhere with Six Hour Sundown. SHS
are the new band formed by Lauren Harris so it will be interesting to check
them out and see if they are essentially the Lauren Harris band under a new
name or whether they are something different. Following SHS for me is Cancer
Bats over on the main stage. I saw Cancer Bats 3 times earlier this year on the
Dead Set On Living Pentagram tour in London in tiny venues and they were
superb. It will be slightly odd seeing them on a massive stage but at the same time,
it will be pretty cool. Sticking with the main stage for the next two and that
is Fear Factory and NoFX. I saw Fear Factory at Sonisphere 2010 and I couldn’t
help but feel like something was missing from their set, so I am hoping it will
be better this time around (it wasn’t bad, but it was a bit bland). NoFX are
one of those bands I knew about by name only but had never got round to
checking them out as they were never booked for a festival I was at. I’ve since
checked them out and they are really good. There is a 15min overlap between
NoFX and the next band I want to see who are on the second stage – Europe. The
main thing for me is to hear Rock the Night and the Final Countdown but if I
can hear more that would be good.
After Europe it is back to the main stage for Billy Talent.
I’m really looking forward to seeing them. They’ve got a few songs which I’ve
grown to love through going to alternative music nights out but have never seen
them (they lost clashes at both Download 06 & 07). After Billy Talent, it
is a stroll away from main stage again to go visit the Jagermeister stage to
see Skindred perform an acoustic set. I cannot imagine Skindred performing
acoustically so even though I’ll be seeing them again over the weekend, I’ll
try and catch their first set on the Friday. Back to main stage once that has
finished to watch Machine Head. I’m actually looking forward to seeing them as
I haven’t since 2009 and since then, they have released a new album. After
Machine Head, it is off to see a band that I also haven’t seen since 2009 and
that is Nightwish. I am gutted to say that I will be missing Axewound who
directly clash with Nightwish. But I just don’t think I can miss Nightwish and
I confidently predict that Acewound will tour when their debut album is out.
Nightwish have also had a new album out since 2009 so it will be good to hear
some new material. Once Nightwish have finished, I intend to pop over to the
Red Bull tent and catch some of Gallows. I am intrigued to see them with their
new singer although I won’t be there for the whole set as they clash with The
Prodigy. I thought long and hard over whether I would see Prodigy or Slash. I
really was torn on the issue until Slash was announced for Hellfest. Now it is
a no-brainer.
|
Friday
|
Six Hour
Sundown
|
Second
Stage
|
13.00 -
13.25
|
|
Friday
|
Cancer
Bats
|
Main
Stage
|
13.45 -
14.15
|
|
Friday
|
Fear
Factory
|
Main
Stage
|
14.40 -
15.15
|
|
Friday
|
NoFX
|
Main
Stage
|
15.45 -
16.25
|
|
Friday
|
Europe
|
Second
Stage
|
16.10 -
16.50
|
|
Friday
|
Billy
Talent
|
Main
Stage
|
16.50 -
17.35
|
|
Friday
|
Skindred
|
Jagermeister
|
17.35 -
18.00
|
|
Friday
|
Machine
Head
|
Main
Stage
|
18.00 -
18.55
|
|
Friday
|
Nightwish
|
Second
Stage
|
19.30 -
20.30
|
|
Friday
|
Gallows
|
Red Bull
|
20.35 -
21.20
|
|
Friday
|
Prodigy
|
Main
Stage
|
21.00 -
22.50
|
SATURDAY 9TH JUNE
Saturday starts at 11am for me with As I Lay Dying. I’ve
seen them both times I’ve been to Wacken and they’ve been really good. As I
have the chance to see them again, I will. The next band for me is over on the
second stage and that is Fozzy! I can’t wait to see Fozzy again, even if they
only have a 25min set. I hear they were going to play new material at some
point so I look forward to hearing that. Between their set and the next band on
2nd stage, I will wander over to main stage or nearby and catch a
little bit of Saxon. They were really good supporting Judas Priest last
weekend, so it would be a shame to completely miss them. I will be there for
about 20mins though before Halestorm start their second stage set. I’ve really
got into them since buying a ticket for their headline show in Portsmouth, so
their set at Download will almost act as a taster to that show. After a 20min
break, it will be time for Ginger Wildheart on second stage. This is a huge
deal for me as I love Ginger. One of my favourite artists both solo and with
The Wildhearts. The fact there will be a mixture of that material is awesome.
It will also be the first time I’ve seen him on an open air stage so I’m
excited for that. After Ginger, I have plugged in the chance to see Soil do an
acoustic set. This is one I can see falling by the wayside but we’ll see. It would
be interesting to see that. Main stage is where the next band I am hoping to
see is playing and that is Trivium. They were outstanding at Wacken last year
and made it onto my top 10 of summer festival bands.
The next part of the day is dedicated to seeing anything and
everything I can to avoid seeing Steel Panther. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t
hate them, I just think they are too corny. As a result, when Trivium comes off
stage I will be heading over to the Red Bull tent for Never Means Maybe.
Towards the end of their set I’ll take a stroll over to the third stage for
Anti-Nowhere League. I will then, when they have finished, catch the end of
Four Year Strong on the second stage before taking a spot in the crowd for
Tenacious D. I would love to catch The Treatment after FYS but I reckon The D
will get a big crowd, and while I’m not massively opposed to being at the back,
I’d prefer not to be. After Tenacious D, I’ll be heading back to the second
stage to catch a little bit of Kids In Glass Houses. I’m not really a fan of
them, but it’s something to do in-between The D and the main reason for going
over to the second stage – Skindred! I saw them earlier this year and at
Download last year and they really are fantastic live. It means missing Biffy
Clyro so I can see Skindred but oh well. I prefer Skindred to Biffy so I’m not
heartbroken by this news. After Skindred finish, I will be moving as close to
the front as I can to get a spot for Metallica. I can’t wait to see Metallica
again. People have asked how I can still get excited, especially as Download
will be the 10th time of me seeing them. I can’t explain it other
than the simple fact that they are my favourite band. I still get goose bumps
every time the Ecstasy of Gold starts and the video of “The Good, The Bad and
The Ugly” plays. It will be superb, even if they play a set list of songs I’ve
seen before (for the first time, may I add).
|
Saturday
|
As I Lay
Dying
|
Main
Stage
|
11.00 -
11.30
|
|
Saturday
|
Fozzy
|
Second
Stage
|
11.45 -
12.10
|
|
Saturday
|
Saxon
|
Main
Stage
|
12.00 -
12.40
|
|
Saturday
|
Halestorm
|
Second
Stage
|
12.30 -
12.55
|
|
Saturday
|
Ginger
Wildheart
|
Second
Stage
|
13.15 -
13.45
|
|
Saturday
|
Soil*
|
Jagermeister
|
13.50 -
14.15
|
|
Saturday
|
Trivium
|
Main
Stage
|
14.20 -
15.05
|
|
Saturday
|
Never
Means Maybe
|
Red Bull
|
15.05 -
15.30
|
|
Saturday
|
Anti-Nowhere
League
|
Third
Stage
|
15.40 -
16.10
|
|
Saturday
|
Four
Year Strong
|
Second
Stage
|
16.00 -
16.30
|
|
Saturday
|
Tenacious
D
|
Main
Stage
|
16.55 -
17.55
|
|
Saturday
|
Kids In
Glass Houses
|
Second
Stage
|
17.50 -
18.25
|
|
Saturday
|
Skindred
|
Second
Stage
|
18.50 -
19.30
|
|
Saturday
|
Metallica
|
Main
Stage
|
20.35 -
22.35
|
*Maybe
SUNDAY 10th JUNE
Sunday morning is another 11am start. Thankfully though the
first band I’ll be seeing isn't someone I’m desperate to see. Last year at
Sonisphere, Volbeat were on first and I had an absolute mother of a hangover.
The first band I’ll be seeing are called Kamchatka. I was originally pegged to
go and see Kobra and the Lotus but I’ll be seeing them at Hellfest and I
decided to see who else was on. Of everyone else, these are my favourites.
After much deliberation, I have decided the next band I want to go and see will
be Black Spiders. That might sound like a no-brainer but they clash with
Devildriver (who I love). This decision has been made for a number of reasons.
I have a ticket to go and see Devildriver in a little Southampton venue the day
after Download (whether I make that or not is anyone’s guess) but they are also
playing Hellfest. So with that in mind, I don’t mind missing Devildriver at
Download as I know I’ll be seeing them at least once in the week following. I
will then watch a small amount of We Are The Ocean before going to see Kyuss
Lives on the main stage. I like We Are The Ocean but I saw them at Reading last
year so am not interested in seeing their whole set. I didn’t see Kyuss Lives
at Wacken because I am a lazy shit (and part of their set clashed with
Skindred). I can’t miss them again!
After Kyuss Lives, it is an extended visit to the third
stage on the cards as I will be going to see Reckless Love, Edguy and a bit of
Shadows Fall. My logic for this is that I want a good spot in the tent for
Edguy, and I don’t really care for Black Label Society. So I’ll be heading to
the tent early enough to see the 2nd half of Reckless Love. After
Edguy, there will be the changeover on main stage between Anthrax (who I am sad
to be missing) and BLS. So in order to miss BLS, I’ll be watching a bit of
Shadows Fall, before heading over to see Sebastian Bach on the second stage. I
will be seeing him do a longer set at Hellfest but it will be cool to catch him
at Download as well. If I don’t see any of Seb Bach though, I could see all of
Mordecai who are on the Jagermeister stage. I have options open to me with this
but if I can, I’d like to see a bit of both. Once Mordecai have finished, it is
time to plonk myself back in front of main stage for Lamb of God. I don’t know
if I will get to see LoG at Hellfest so seeing them at Download is a must.
After Lamb of God, it is another extended visit to one stage
but this time it is the second stage. This visit starts with Shinedown. After
Shinedown, it is time for Refused who I am really looking forward to seeing.
They were one of the few draws for me relating to the Sunday at Sonisphere this
year (before it got cancelled). Missing Megadeth in between seeing Shinedown
and Refused is a bit of a ball ache, but I have seen them before so it’s not a
bad thing! After Refused, I was unsure if I would watch Soundgarden or Dropkick
Murphys. The truth is that I prefer DM to SG, so I will be staying at the
second stage just a little bit longer to watch the Irish band from Boston.
After they have finished, I will head to main stage, where I fully expect to be
towards the back of the crowd but we’ll see what happens. The closing band of
the festival is one I never thought I would see and that is Black Sabbath with
Ozzy on vocals. I am really excited about seeing the band that arguably, made
the whole festival possible.
|
Sunday
|
Kamchatka
|
Red Bull
|
11.00 -
11.25
|
|
Sunday
|
Black
Spiders
|
Second
Stage
|
11.45 -
12.10
|
|
Sunday
|
We Are
The Ocean
|
Second
Stage
|
12.30 -
12.55
|
|
Sunday
|
Kyuss
Lives
|
Main
Stage
|
12.45 -
13.25
|
|
Sunday
|
Reckless
Love
|
Third
Stage
|
13.15 -
13.40
|
|
Sunday
|
Edguy
|
Third
Stage
|
14.00 -
14.30
|
|
Sunday
|
Shadows
Fall
|
Third
Stage
|
14.50 -
15.20
|
|
Sunday
|
Sebastian
Bach
|
Second
Stage
|
15.10 -
15.40
|
|
Sunday
|
Mordecai
|
Jagermeister
|
15.30 -
15.55
|
|
Sunday
|
Lamb of
God
|
Main
Stage
|
16.15 -
17.00
|
|
Sunday
|
Shinedown
|
Second
Stage
|
17.00 -
17.40
|
|
Sunday
|
Refused
|
Second
Stage
|
18.05 -
18.50
|
|
Sunday
|
Dropkick
Murphys
|
Second
Stage
|
19.15 -
20.05
|
|
Sunday
|
Black
Sabbath
|
Main
Stage
|
21.00 -
22.45
|
So that is my preview of Download 2012 from my perspective.
I am so ready for it to start now. I just have to get through one more day of
work next week and I am free for another 2 weeks to get it done. I will
hopefully get a review up of Download a week on Tuesday but I can’t make any
promises. I am doing 2 festivals in 2 weeks and will have a lot of prep to do
in not a lot of time!
Roll on Download!
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