Download 2013 - A Preview

In one month’s time from this writing, Download 2013 will have come and gone. It really has come round quite fast this time. Everything seems to have happened earlier than usual this year. This was confirmed by the release of the stage times in the last week (something normally reserved for the last week before the festival). I’ve looked at my various guesses of times and I did alright in some areas but in some I didn’t even come close. This blog will look at those times and look at my plan for Download 2013. I guess this makes this blog my Download 2013 preview.

As with any festival that runs Friday to Sunday, it is appropriate to start on the Friday and that is what will happen here. The Friday at Download historically is the shorter day. I’m not entirely sure why that is but if I were to take a guess, I would say it is to allow as many people as possible time to arrive before starting the music. Friday was a pretty straight forward day for me in terms of choosing what to see. I will be starting off the day at 1pm with Rise to Remain on main stage. I really enjoyed their set on the second stage in 2011 and am interested to see how they do on the biggest stage. They were due to open the main stage in 2012 on the Friday but the weather cancelled that plan. Of course, weather could quite easily do that again, but I really hope it doesn’t! Moving over to the second stage for the first of many moves between the two big stages this day to watch Skin and Uriah Heep. There is nothing wrong with a bit of classic rock and it is certainly (in my view) better than the other options at that time (I actually quite like Architects but I have seen them before). After UH, it is back to the main stage to watch Papa Roach. This is the first real clash of the festival for me as their set somewhat overlaps with Dragonforce’s set. I’ve yet to see Papa Roach live and I think I’d like to. I listened to them at Sonisphere and didn’t enjoy them but I attribute that to being at a different stage and having my back to them. Time for another clash, and while it would be easier to just stay at main stage to watch Down, my intention is to actually stroll back to the second stage and watch Europe. Down were absolutely stunning at Download 2011, and Europe were the same at Sonisphere 2010. This decision has been made because I’ve seen both, but it has been longer since I’ve seen Europe (plus the sing along to Final Countdown will be ace).

I saw the stage times for the next clash and swore quite loudly. It has been decreed that Volbeat will clash with Korn (they also clash with Turisas, which just isn’t nice). Two of my must see bands at the festival and they are clashing. I have opted to see Korn as I was supposed to see them in 2006 but Jonathan Davis was rushed to hospital and I saw Korn + special guests. Don’t get me wrong, that was ace but I’d have rather seen Korn. Since then, Korn have toured a few times but they seem to charge a fairly high price to see them and I’m not willing to pay over the odds to see them. Volbeat on the other hand are one of my favourite bands and I am gutted to be missing them. However, they are touring in October so I will make sure I am at that. The next band for me is another band I’m surprised I haven’t seen live considering they have played a lot of festivals/gigs since I became aware of them and that is Bullet For My Valentine. They clash with 3 Doors Down. I’d have loved to be able to see both but I can’t – and I’ve not seen BFMV so that is my justification there. Quite nicely, they have arranged it so I can see Gogol Bordello on second stage in the changeover between main stage sub-headliner and headliner which is nice. My plan is to then walk to the back of the main stage crowd, watch 15-20 minutes of Slipknot and then head back over to the second stage to watch Black Stone Cherry. I love both BSC and Slipknot, but for me this was a no-brainer. I’d like to see Slipknot again once they release a new album and mix the set up a bit. They will likely play a very similar show to Sonisphere 2011 and while that was immense, I’d rather see BSC than see that set again. I’d also rather see BSC because it’s cool for me to see a band I first saw at the Wedgewood Rooms headline an open air stage at Download. They have really become a big band who may headline the main stage one day, but even if they don’t. It will be cool to be there to see them headline the second stage. On top of all of that, I should still be able to watch the Slipknot encore before heading back to Burton for the night. All in all, I would call that a result!

Rise To Remain (Main)	13.00 - 13.30
Skin (2nd)	13.50 - 14.20
Uriah Heep (2nd)	14.45 - 15.25
Papa Roach (Main)	15.35 - 16.20
Europe (2nd)	16.55 - 17.35
Korn (Main)	17.55 - 18.55
BFMV (Main)	19.20 - 20.20
Gogol Bordello (2nd)	20.10 - 20.55
Slipknot (Main)	21.00 - 21.20
Black Stone Cherry (2nd)	21.25 - 22.35
Slipknot (Main)	22.40 - 22.50

When Friday concludes, it ushers in Saturday and that is the next step for this preview. There was a bit of controversy online when it was first announced that the second stage headliners on this day wouldn’t clash with Iron Maiden. From what I was reading, people thought it was a completely ridiculous demand by Iron Maiden to insist that no-one was playing on the second stage when they were on. Personally, I don’t think it is that unreasonable (especially as they are planning to film a DVD at Download) and considering AC/DCs demands, it is very reasonable! Anyway, Saturday is much like Friday for me in that I am not standing in front of one stage all day. It differs in that I intend to pay a few visits to the 3^rd stage over the course of the day. The day for me kicks off with a bit of classic rock on the main stage in the form of U.F.O. I’ll be honest, this set should be good but I am mostly looking forward to hearing “Doctor Doctor” live. Following U.F.O, it is a trip over to the second stage to watch Red, White and Blues and Heaven’s Basement. I consider seeing both of those bands a better use of my time than watching Young Guns (who I’m not crazy about) and the bands on the 3^rd stage at that time aren’t exactly to my liking either. Back to main after that for a bit of Buckcherry. They were superb at the Wedgewood Rooms last December so I’ll give them another go.

My first visit to the 3^rd stage is up after Buckcherry to watch a band I really should have watched at Sonisphere 2010 but decided instead to watch Motley Crue in what turned out to be a mediocre set. That band is Earthtone9. I am really looking forward to seeing them, so much so that they win the clash with Hardcore Superstar for me. On the main stage just after Earthtone9 finish is Mastodon. They do nothing for me so I will head over to the second stage to watch Katatonia. I had it in my mind that I’d seen them but apparently not. After them, I am heading to main stage to watch a band who bored me to tears in 2006, and that is Alice In Chains. I am going to give them another chance as I missed them at both Sonisphere 2010 and 2011 (as well as the fact they are the best thing on at the time). I suspect I will be leaving their set slightly early to get a spot in front of the second stage for Lit. Lit are another one of those bands that I am seeing mostly for one song (My Own Worst Enemy) but I’m sure the rest of their set won’t be dire. I’ll remain at second stage for a short while to watch Thunder. Thunder clash with Motorhead though so I may change my mind on the day. I’ve actually just checked out Bury Tomorrow who is also on during that time, and they seem quite good. I may go and watch them. Argh, now I have a 3 way clash out of nowhere! Anyway, after whatever band I decide to see then will be a trip to the 3^rd stage to watch Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats. Don’t know a lot by this band, but I need something to do in the changeover on main stage between Motorhead and the band I’ll watch after Uncle Acid, Queens Of The Stone Age. I am really looking forward to QOTSA! After them, another trip to the 3^rd stage calls to watch Kvelertak before watching the day’s headliner, Iron Maiden. I really wanted to see The Hives but they are clashing with Maiden, and that is a clash they would lose 99 times out of 100.

UFO (Main)	11.00 - 11.40
Red, White & Blues (2nd)	11.45 - 12.10
Heaven's Basement (2nd)	12.30 - 12.55
Buckcherry (Main)	13.20 - 14.00
Earthtone9 (3rd)	13.55 - 14.25
Katatonia (2nd)	14.50 - 15.20
Alice In Chains (Main)	15.50 - 16.40
Lit (2nd)	16.30 - 17.00
Thunder (2nd)	17.20 - 18.00
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats (3rd)	18.05 - 18.35
QOTSA (Main)	18.40 - 19.50
Kvelertak (3rd)	20.05 - 20.45
Iron Maiden (Main)	20.50 - 22.50

With the first two days discussed, it only seems appropriate to then talk about the final day, Sunday. Sunday is the only day where I am standing in front of one stage for more than 2 bands. The day starts off at main stage for the first 3 bands. Sacred Mother Tongue were superb in 2011 and are a must watch for me again. Cancer Bats are always superb live and it will be nice to see them get their full set on main stage this year (another victim of the 2012 weather). Coal Chamber should be an interesting one. It will be odd for me seeing Dez Farara with another band as I’ve only known him with Devildriver, but I’m sure I’ll get over it. After those 3 bands, I’m heading over to the second stage to watch the next 3 there. Graveyard will likely already be playing by the time I arrive. After them it is Masters of Reality (don’t really know a lot by them but of the stuff I listened to, I really enjoyed it). Following them it is Amon Amarth who are just excellent live. They were one of my Wacken 2012 highlights so I am looking forward to seeing them again.

After them, I head back to the main stage for a set I’ve been looking forward to for ages and that is Stone Sour. Haven’t seen them live since 2010 and I am quite excited by the prospect of them playing. After Stone Sour, I am heading over to the 3^rd stage to watch 3 bands in a row. The first is Red Fang. I had originally planned to see Ghost but the way I see it, Red Fang will be good and it’s easier to just head to 3^rd stage early. After Red Fang it is Newsted. I have heard nothing from this band, but it is Jason Newsted’s new band, and I am curious to see what they are like. Following them is P.O.D who is another one of those bands that I know one song, but I’ll give them a go. After P.O.D, I will stroll off to the second stage to watch A Day To Remember. Hey, it is better than watching 30 Seconds To Mars! Then I come to a conundrum. Do I watch all of Rammstein, or watch the Satyricon set and catch the end of Rammstein? I was gutted I missed Satyricon at Download 2006 and would like to see them, and I’ll be seeing Rammstein at Wacken. I can’t decide on that one just yet.

Sacred Mother Tongue (Main)	11.00 - 11.30
Cancer Bats (Main)	11.55 - 12.25
Coal Chamber (Main)	12.50 - 13.30
Graveyard (2nd)	13.30 - 14.00
Masters of Reality (2nd)	14.25 - 14.55
Amon Amarth (2nd)	15.20 - 15.50
Stone Sour (Main)	16.10 - 17.10
Red Fang (3rd)	17.15 - 17.45
Newsted (3rd)	18.05 - 18.35
P.O.D (3rd)	19.00 - 19.40
A Day To Remember (2nd)	19.25 - 20.20
Satyricon (3rd)	21.10 - 22.10
Rammstein (Main)	21.15 - 22.50

Well, that is my plan for Download roughly sorted. I’m sure I’ll make changes here and there as the time comes but I am pretty pleased with the bands I have chosen to watch. If I stick to my plan as is, I’ll see 18 bands I’ve not seen live before and 36 in total. Can’t complain about that! 

Dude, Where's My Hotel?

I was writing a blog, previewing Download 2013. I wrote all about my drama in the last 10 or so days about my hotel booking and decided I would preview the festival in a separate blog. This is the story of how Travelodge almost ruined my trip to Download 2013. The key word there is almost. My plans for the festival almost took an almighty boot to the face. In September last year, I booked a Travelodge room at the Derby Kingsway Retail Park Travelodge for the weekend of Download. My reasoning for wanting to do this is simple – the weather at Download 2012 was pretty horrible, and the effect of the weather made walking around the site a challenge. I left Download unable to walk properly and suffered for nearly a week afterwards. I wanted to go to Download again as they announced bands I was interested in seeing but I did not fancy camping there again. I’ve heard from several people that I’d be missing out by staying in a hotel and not camping but for me, a festival is about music. The campsite atmosphere can be fun, but you can recreate that by going camping with friends.

Anyway, I received an email just over a week ago informing me that the hotel I was due to stay in between 13-17^th June 2013 was going to be closed on May 21^st 2013. You never want to read that. The initial email I received said I could have my booking transferred to another Derby Travelodge or any other Travelodge that was available. I requested to be moved to the Travelodge in Derby closer to the train station (I opted against it in September as the one I booked was significantly cheaper) and did a private check of its availability (it was available for all 4 nights). I sent the email and aside from occasional thoughts hoping everything went okay with the transfer, thought nothing of it. That email was sent to me on Thursday 9^th May and I responded the same day. On Monday 13^th May, I got their reply which wasn’t good news. They emailed me to inform me all rooms for that weekend in Derby were full and offered me Burton upon Trent Central Travelodge. After a quick check of the travel situation to Burton, I emailed them back informing them this would not be good as after 23.30 on a Friday/Saturday, you can’t get back to Burton.

I really didn’t know what to do at this stage. The option I did not want to do was take a refund as that would have meant me telling my friend Paul (who was sharing the room with me) that he wasn’t going to Download (he had essentially told me this was the case). What a refund would have meant for me is that I would have had to camp at the festival by myself – a prospect I did not find appealing at all (despite planning to do that at Wacken this year. Hmm...) Getting back to the point, I sent them the email asking for more options on the Monday. By Wednesday afternoon, I had not received a reply and was feeling very stressed. I sent Travelodge another email because it was at this point I discovered they do not have a customer service phone number. I copied my last email in on the new one and stressed I needed a reply and also gave them my phone number (hoping that might speed things up).

The next day on the Thursday, I left work early as I was feeling unwell (I’m not sure if it was linked to the stress caused by this situation, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was). On the Thursday afternoon I received a reply, not only containing another unsuitable option, but a new email address which would mean my problem could be dealt with quicker. I replied to that email saying the new option was not something I could accept and asked for a refund. I had accepted defeat at this point and was all ready to make the phone call to Ticketmaster asking them how to change my ticket type when my phone rang. 

On the other end of the phone, it was the person from Travelodge who had emailed me the new email address. They once again offered me the Burton upon Trent Travelodge with the promise they would pay for taxis to and from the festival each day. In one simple motion, I went from very anti-Travelodge to them winning me back over. I said I would email them to confirm times I’d require for taxis (which I did almost immediately) and got another email back informing me that me and Paul would have separate rooms at the hotel as that is all they had left and that the taxis were booked and paid for. I was really blown away by the fact they went above and beyond for me in solving this issue. The only thing I’d request is that they answer their email a bit quicker! In conclusion, Travelodge have kept me as a customer which is something I really didn’t think I’d say. I do think they need a customer service phone number, but on reflection (now that I am not clouded by stress), I can see why they don't. I considered the tone of my emails to be very polite and cordial. I suspect some people who have issues with their hotel booking might fly off the handle at someone who isn't to blame. Anyway, thanks to Travelodge and whoever is responsible for sorting my issue out, I am grateful. Because of them,. I am able to type the next blog which is a Download 2013 preview. 

The title of this blog is (you will be shocked to learn) inspired by the very silly (but funny) film Dude, Where's My Car? (I really had nothing else, don't judge me!)

Download 2013 - Almost Full

Download Festival 2013

About a month ago, one of the last batches of bands to be announced for Download was revealed. This essentially means (as far as I can tell at least) the top 3 stages are very close to being full. I think there is a competition slot still open on the 3^rd stage on the Saturday and possibly one more band to be added on the Sunday. It essentially depends if they will have the headlining band on the 3^rd stage finish at 21.30 or not. If they do, the times are the same as last year (and the amount of bands playing). If there is one extra then they could be anywhere on that day. According to a Facebook group dedicated to The Wildhearts, they were offered the slot of 3^rd stage headliner (or at least, playing while Rammstein were on) and they turned it down. That to me is a damn shame and a real shock they’d be offered that slot. I figured they’d be fairly high up on 2^nd stage if they played. Still, could be a good indicator where The Wildhearts might play next year if they are still touring then. Anyway, there could be 1 or 2 more bands for the third stage for Download. The whole acoustic stage needs to be announced and there will likely be a few more added to the Red Bull stage so there will be another announcement (which I imagine will be in May). The latest announcement had 17 bands in it and they were:

Black Stone Cherry (2^ND Stage Headliner) – BSC are a cracking announcement for Download as far as I am concerned. I think I am going to watch them and catch the end of Slipknot. I was very happy when I heard they were the 2^nd stage headliner (as opposed to some of the rumours I heard).

Satyricon (3^rd Stage Headliner) – Spotify says a similar artist to Satyricon is Mayhem, but that cannot be right as Mayhem are shite and Satyricon aren’t. Anyway, I quite like this choice of band for 3^rd stage headliner – so much so that if I can see a bit of them and most of Rammstein, I will!

Chthonic – I quite like what I have heard of this band; however I think they will clash with Jimmy Eat World and QOTSA. Considering that is a nasty enough clash, they don’t stand a chance unfortunately.

Dragonforce – I’m very happy with this announcement. I sacked off their Portsmouth gig last year which I’ve since been told was a massive error as they were genius. Oh well – live and learn I guess. They are also not clashing with anyone important so I shall watch them I imagine.

Fearless Vampire Killers – I haven’t heard much by them but they don’t do a great deal for me.

Fidlar – They remind me of a more punky version of The Strokes actually with some of their material. They’re alright, but I probably won’t be watching them.

Ghost – 3^rd year in a row for Ghost. They’re becoming the new Bullet For My Valentine. Unless they are going to be like Skyline for Wacken – Download’s house band. Anyway, Ghost are alright but I am yet to see them live. Might try and change that this year but depends who they clash with.

Hammer of the Gods – They are certainly interesting. I quite like the music but the vocals don’t do a whole lot for me. To be fair, it sounds as though the EP they have online could be produced better. It sounds like it has been recorded in a toilet cubicle.

Idiom – I have it in my memory banks somewhere that I’ve seen Idiom support Skindred before. Anyway, if it was Idiom, they were alright. If it wasn’t, then I have no idea about Idiom. I could do more research, but I’m not going to.

Krokodil – This band will be making their debut I think at Download. They are a super group made up of members of Sikth, Johnny Truant, Cry For Silence, Gallows and Hexes. Now, I don’t wish to be mean, but is that a super group? I’m not sure...

Little Caesar – Little Caesar have nothing on Spotify, and therefore I cannot tell you what they are like. Sure, I could go chase them down but chances are I’m not going to be able to see them anyway so you know - the hell with it!

Masters of Reality – Now this right here is a quality band. I like them quite a bit and will try to see them if there is not a nasty clash.

Palm Reader – See Little Caeser

Patent Pending – Sounds like this band were created to write songs for teenage comedies such as American Pie. In all seriousness, they are alright.

Red, White and Blues – Back again for I think their 3^rd year in a row, but last year shouldn’t count as they had a super short set due to the weather issues with the arena. They also played to no fans at one point. That had to suck. They however do not suck. They are a pretty good band.

Rival Sons – I saw this band support Black Stone Cherry. They were pretty good. That’s all I have on that one.

Voodoo Six – According to my list of bands that I’ve seen live, I’ve seen them before. I don’t remember when, which is awkward. They may have been the main support to Edguy. That’s a possible. Anyway, I’m sure they are good live and if I can catch them, I will.

So that is it for this Download announcement. It is a surprisingly good announcement considering how full the line up is. I’m very pleased with the 2^nd stage headliner choice. I am now, much like with Wacken, awaiting stage times. Then I will really know exactly who I am seeing at Download.

Wacken Open Air 2013 - Preview

It transpires that I haven’t blogged about how the Wacken Open Air 2013 festival is shaping up since my early days preview from October. I had it in my mind that I wrote a blog with a small entry every day about the Christmas announcements but if I did, I didn’t post it. Anyway, this blog will preview every band announced thus far for Wacken 2013 excluding those that I previewed in the October blog. If you wish to read that blog, you can do by clicking the link above. The only thing worth noting about the October blog is that in the list of bands is Arch Enemy. Well, unfortunately they have had to pull out. I should stress with things like this, and with reviews, it is all my own opinion. I might dislike a band that thousands of others love (Job For A Cowboy for example) but when I say a band is bad, it is not because they can’t play a song, it is because they don’t do anything for me. Without further stalling for time (which is an odd concept for a blog), let’s look at the bands announced (in alphabetical order).

9MM – Their full name is Rock Rotten’s 9mm Assi Rock’n’Roll but on the festival website, they are first, so they will be first here. Anyway, I don’t know how to describe their sound other than hard rock/metal. I wouldn’t rush to put them in a sub-category of metal. I do like what I’ve heard of them and given the chance, I will see them.

AGNOSTIC FRONT – Punk rock at its finest. Well, perhaps not its finest but Agnostic Front are pretty damn good. I like this booking.

ALESTORM – I really like Alestorm and I think they are a superb live band. The second time I saw them live was at Wacken 2008 (I remember that set more for being kicked in the head admittedly, but they were good). Since that set I’ve seen them a couple of

 times and will likely see them again at Wacken if the time allows. I do think they should play their Wurzels cover “I Am A Cider Drinker” live though, as it is just brilliant.

ALICE COOPER – One of the big announcements during the Xmas calendar. Seen Alice Cooper twice and both times have been ace. I can’t imagine me not seeing him and his band again this time around.

ALPHA TIGER – I’ve seen this band described as a mixture of thrash and power metal. All I will say is that I think they are good. All so positive so far this blog...

AN APPLE A DAY – Ok well this is the first band on the list (that I haven’t already reviewed) that I don’t like. They are the Metal Battle winner from Luxembourg and frankly, Luxembourg has a lot to answer for! They are like a slightly better version of Job For A Cowboy. I don’t like JFAC, and I don’t like An Apple A Day if I’m honest.

AS I LAY DYING – And we’re back with another good band. Seen them twice out of the 3 Wacken’s I’ve been to and both sets have been excellent. I suspect they’ll get another hour set on one of the main stages again and I suspect that unless something else I must see is on, that I will watch them again.

BENIGHTED – Not really a fan of what I’ve heard from them. It took me a while to get to that stage (I waivered quite a bit on whether I like them or not). Having not listened for about 4 months and just going back to it, I would have to say no.

BLAAS OF GLORY – They seem to play every year now, and they walk around the grounds playing metal songs in the form of a marching band. It’s cool when you see it, but I won’t be going out of my way to look for them.

BLACK MESSIAH – Symphonic black metal is probably my favourite type of black metal (stuff like Mayhem just does not appeal to me). Throw in some Viking metal as well and you have Black Messiah. I really like what I’ve heard.

BULL-RIFF STAMPEDE – I honestly don’t remember this band being announced. They are the Metal Battle winners from the United Kingdom. I’ve just gone back to it and they seem to be a reasonable thrash band. I can hear all sorts of vocal styles to go along with the thrash though which is quite interesting. As they are the local lands (in context), I may have to try and watch them. I did that with Achren and somewhat enjoyed them!

BULLET – According to their bio, they are a one hit wonder rock band from the USA. I like what I’ve heard of their stuff including what I assume is their hit, Bite The Bullet. They could be worth a watch.

CALLEJON – Spotify is an odd program at times. They have in the related artists list a bunch of bands that are all very different from one another. Maybe this is all the ground Callejon cover? Anyway, they are pretty damn good.

CHROME MOLLY – Nothing wrong with a bit of hard rock/glam rock up in the mix. Actually this band is quite good. A similar artist to them according to Spotify is Crashdiet, who I don’t really care for, but this band is good.

COPPELIUS – A metal band with a twist, the band is made up of a drummer, someone who plays double bass, someone who plays cello and someone who plays clarinet. While this is a unique twist on the concept of a band, I doubt I’ll be watching them.

CORVUS CORAX – This is the band that I thought were so bad in 2008, that I left the arena and missed Avantasia. So frankly, I’m still a tad bitter with them. Also, I won’t be watching them as I’m not a fan. I see them as a late night band for all the German’s that want to stay up and watch folk metal. This band does nothing for me, and just brings up bad memories to be honest.  

CREMATORY – I guess the best way to describe this band (other than a touch boring) is a goth band. There seems to be some black metal up in there but I’m not sure. I know I’m not a fan of it, regardless.

DANZIG – Danzig is doing a Misfits set. I guess this could be a lot of fun. I don’t know a lot by the Misfits and apparently live Danzig can be hit or miss (although apparently even when it’s a bad night at the office for Danzig, he is still miles better than the current incarnation of The Misfits). I’ll likely watch him I imagine.

DEVILDRIVER – Excellent booking as far as I am concerned. I really like their stuff and it has been a long time since I’ve seen them live. I think this is a must see band if I’m honest. I don’t think I’ve seen them since 2007, which is quite shocking for me really considering how much I do like them. I guess part of that has to do with them giving an interview saying they love doing long tours of small clubs, and then becoming more popular and abandoning the long tours of small clubs. Ah well.

DEW-SCENTED – I haven’t heard a great deal by this band, but I do like what I’ve heard. They remind me a fair bit of Trivium actually.

DEZPERADOZ – German Western-Metal at its finest. That is a bit of a backwards compliment as I know of no other band that does that. Anyway, they seem pretty good. Much prefer the material with Tom Angelripper on vocals, but oh well! Maybe as its Wacken, he might make an appearance.

DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER – I like what I’ve heard of this band. Nothing wrong with a bit of German heavy metal every now and then!

DR LIVING DEAD – This band strike me as a good thrash metal band. I’d happily watch them.

DUNDERBIEST – This band are a Norwegian heavy metal band that seem to be pretty good. Spotify suggests they are similar to Animal Alpha. I disagree as they aren’t a bad band.

EAT THE GUN – Another band that I couldn’t remember being announced but they are a fairly enjoyable heavy rock band.

EISBRECHER – They remind me a fair bit of Oomph (and that is no bad thing). Quite like what I’ve heard.

EMERGENCY GATE – Power metal and death metal mixed together shouldn’t work, yet somehow it does and this band seems to pull it off well.  

FAUN – If memory serves, they were announced in the same batch as Corvus Corax. I was not impressed then, and I’m not impressed now.

FEAR FACTORY – Absolutely cracking announcement. Really enjoyed their set at Download last year and I imagine I will watch them again.

FEJD – See Faun.

FEUERSCHWANZ – A slightly more upbeat medieval band, I’m still not sure why medieval bands get booked at Wacken. Oh well.

FOZZY – The worst kept secret in terms of festival announcements. Fozzy teased they would be playing a couple of months before they were announced. I am happy with this announcement and I hope they are on one of the open air stages. Even if they are not, I will do my best to see them.

GRAVE DIGGER – One of the only bands from my October wish list that have confirmed for the festival, so I am pleased to see them on the bill for the festival. I remember listening to them for the first time just after Wacken 2010 (when I was preparing to go to Wacken 2011) and thinking it was a shame I missed out on the 2010 festival. They were one of the reasons I came to that conclusion (I won’t lie, Iron Maiden were the main reason!)

HARDCORE SUPERSTAR – This band are pop-metal/hard glam rock and they are good at what they do. When typing this short blurb about them, I was smacked in the face by the riff in Wild Boys - true story. If I don’t watch them at Download, I will watch them at Wacken.  

HARPYIE – Now this strikes me as folk metal. I like a bit of folk metal so I’m in favour. The female vocals make it stand out in my head against other folk metal bands.

HEAVENS BASEMENT – Seen this band a couple of times and I think they are a damn good young band. I like what I’ve heard. I’m not sure if I’ll get to see them at Wacken, but if I do, I know it’ll be a good set.

HELLRIDE – They are an acoustic metal band by the sounds of things. Remember when Motorhead did Ace of Spades acoustically for that beer advert? Well, if not, they did. That was cool because it was something different. This could be an interesting watch if they don’t clash with anyone.

HENRY ROLLINS – What can I say now that I haven’t said before about Henry Rollins? I personally think the man is a genius. He did two slots at Wacken 2012 so I imagine he’ll do two again for 2013. I will be there to see him.

IMPIUS MUNDI – Medieval/folk metal. They seem alright but the problem with some of this type of music is after a while, I find myself getting bored. There also seems to be a lot more medieval/folk metal at this year’s festival than in years past. I’m not going to try and find out if that is right, it just seems that way.

KAMIKAZE KINGS – They have 90 second previews of two songs up on their Facebook page and it seems alright. Fairly similar to Heaven’s Basement actually.

KARBHOLZ – I am getting a lot of ska-punk vibes from this band and that is no bad thing!

KRYPTOS – Really struggled to remember if I’d ever listened to this band before, I’m guessing not as I don’t remember them being this ace! I am really enjoying the material of theirs I have heard.

LAMB OF GOD – Another absolutely superb announcement as far as I am concerned. Seen them a few times now and they have not disappointed at all. Wasn’t sure if this set would go ahead what with the legal troubles Randy Blythe was facing at the time of the announcement, but they all seem to be in the past now, which is good news for him, for Lamb of God and for this year’s Wacken festival.

LAST IN LINE – Last In Line are the members of Dio that were in the band to record the album Last In Line. Following Dio’s passing, his former band members have created a number of tributes to him, and this is the latest one. They will be performing the album Last In Line in full for their set which I think could be cool. I have concerns because Dio’s voice is somewhat iconic and I don’t see someone being able to do the album justice. I’d love to be wrong though.

LEGION OF THE DAMNED – Another superb sounding thrash band this time hailing from the Netherlands. I would definitely like to catch them if I could.

MAMBO KURT – Mambo plays every year, usually about 4 or 5 times over the course of the weekend. I went to watch some in 2011 and it did nothing for me. Will I give it another go? Probably not.

MANDOWAR – It would be impossible for me to hate this band. They are very similar to Hayseed Dixie in some respects (More acoustic than bluegrass perhaps). I imagine they will be on the beer garden stage, and I imagine they will be a lot of fun.

MESHUGGAH – For the longest time, I confused this band with Dillinger Escape Plan and right now, I really don’t know why. Meshuggah are really good. I was introduced to them via Songpop actually (a game on Facebook) and have looked more into them since then. Based on what I have heard, they are a must see for me.

MOTORHEAD – A solid, reliable booking. They are a decent live band though they are far better at a headline show than at a festival. I’ll likely watch them though. They will have one of the top spots at the festival so it really depends what time they are on.

MUSTASCH – No sub-genre needed, Mustasch are Swedish heavy metal and they are good at what they do. If memory serves, they were the very first band I saw at Wacken 2008 (which was my first one) and I really enjoyed them. I will give them another watch if there is no clash.

NACHTBLUT – The upside down T in their band logo may have been a giveaway to what genre this band is. To put you out of your misery, they are a black metal band. They also seem somewhat good.

NAGLFAR – From what I’ve heard, they are a fairly decent black metal band. Not sure if I will see them as I picture them being in Bullhead City late at night, but we’ll see!

NEAERA – I sometimes struggle with death metal. There are bands I can get into straight away, and there are some I really struggle with. This is one of those that I’m just not sure on. I listened to a song which I didn’t much care for, but then another song was fairly decent.

NULLDB – Really didn’t know what to expect here but they are a really good heavy rock band from Germany. Really like the material I’ve heard from their Endzeit album.

PAMPATUT – I’m struggling to see how this band is on the bill for Wacken. Also, I don’t like them.

POWERWOLF – According to a biography of the band they are power metal. I can see that in certain songs but not in others. Anyway they seem alright.

PRETTY MAIDS – They are a pretty decent hard rock band. They could be worth watching.

RABENSCHREY – There is a video on their website which has a song playing in the background. I’m guessing it is their song, and if so they are pretty good. They have samples of the new album available for download but I’m not all that interested in doing that.

RAGNAROK – Another one of those bands that I’m just not sure on. Listened to the song Murder and thought it was good. Listened to another song Spotify suggested and it sounds fairly similar to Mayhem (not a good thing). I doubt I’ll watch them.

REBATTERED – Another band I can’t make my mind up on and as such will likely not watch them. I am surprised now I’ve found them on Facebook that they managed to make the line up. I’m sure Wacken has a whole host of people that help to book the festival but this band have 292 likes on Facebook. How did a band with seemingly such a small following make it to Wacken? Crazy. Also, what is Wupper-Thrash (as they call it)?

ROTTEN SOULS – If I’m honest, they are not for me. They are the Metal Battle winners from Central America.

RUSSKAJA – Played in 2012. They are Russian ska by the sounds of things. I doubt I will see them.

SECRET SPHERE – Pretty inoffensive power-metal band. I like me some power metal and I quite like what I’m hearing here.

SERUM 114 – Nothing wrong with a bit of German punk-rock! They don’t have a great deal of material online, but the stuff they have is quite good.

SIC – They are the Metal Battle winners from the Faroe Islands. I actually really like what I’m hearing here. A nice mix of hardcore and thrash metal. They could be well worth checking out!

SKYLINE – The house band. Played 2011 and 2012 (don’t remember them being there in 08). The two sets I’ve seen them do are enjoyable. If it works out that I have the chance to see them again, I will. It is always fun to see what special guests they will bring out with them for their one gig of the year.

SOULLESS – Not sure what to make of Soulless. I’ll stick with “not bad” but to be honest, I probably won’t bother watching them.

SPITFIRE – I honestly can’t tell you anything about this band, as I can’t find them online.

STAHLMANN – Stahlmann reminds me of Rammstein if I’m honest. I mean, I have no idea what he’s singing about. I meant in music style alone. It is very enjoyable

THUNDER – Ah the classic rock band that have retired about 6 times in recent memory. I was never able to make it to one of the retirement shows so I’ll do my best to see them here. I suspect they will have an open air slot which could be a lot of fun if the sun is shining.

TRISTANIA – They are described as goth metal. I’m not sure what that means but I like what I’m hearing with this band.

TRIVIUM – One of the best sets of the 2011 weekend if you ask me. They really seem to be a tight live band again and I like that. The latest album was pretty darn good and I will enjoy watching them again.

UGLY KID JOE – Really enjoyed them when I watched them support Alice Cooper last October. They were good and I expect them to be good again at Wacken. A perfect party stage band if you ask me.

VERSENGOLD – Another medieval/folk metal kind of band. I can’t say I like them too much. I also can’t say I care for the fact they wouldn’t let me listen to any of their music without liking their Facebook page. That is not cool Versengold!

WOA FIREFIGHTERS – I honestly couldn’t tell you anything about the fire-fighters band. I’ve never watched them at the festival. They tend to stick to the beer garden stage which is fine by me. ’

WHITECHAPEL – Not really my thing at all if I’m honest.

All in, there are 97 bands announced for Wacken 2013. I suspect there will still be at least one big name announced for the festival to replace Arch Enemy (they were replaced by Napalm Death at Hellfest I believe). I would be ok with Napalm Death playing again but I hope for someone different. If I could pick anyone that is touring, I would pick Twisted Sister, Carcass or At The Gates. ATG are playing two other festivals in Germany so chances are they won’t. Twisted Sister could be available but at this stage I sense they are probably too big for the slot that is available. Carcass are amazing live and were genius at Wacken 2008, so why not! Death Angel if they are free could appear (they haven’t been on the line up since 2004 so now would be a good time to bring them back). Cannibal Corpse isn’t in Europe this summer so I would guess they are out. Korpiklaani are at another German festival so I’d have to rule them as unlikely. King Diamond and Slayer are headlining Bloodstock, so one of those bands could be a possibility. I have no idea who will replace Arch Enemy truth be told, but I am hopeful for one of the above names.

With 97 names announced for this year’s festival thus far, I’d say there is another 30-40 to go. There are I’d guess 25-28 bands from the various Metal Battle competitions still to come but we’ll likely know for sure when the running order is released. I’m guessing that is coming soon. I think there are less than 5 acts that aren’t from Metal Battle competitions to be announced, including the Arch Enemy replacement. With that in mind, this is how things are for me so far:

Must See – Alice Cooper; Candlemass; Deep Purple; Devildriver; Doro; Grave Digger; Henry Rollins;  Ihsahn; Lamb of God; Meshuggah; Nightwish; Rammstein; Sabaton; Soilwork; Sonata Arctica; Trivium; Ugly Kid Joe (17)

Would Like To See – 9mm; Agnostic Front; Alestorm; Alpha Tiger; Amorphis; Anthrax; As I Lay Dying; ASP; Callejon; Danzig; Dew-Scented; Die Apokalyptischen Reiter; Dr Living Dead; Fear Factory; Fozzy; Haggard; Hardcore Superstar; Kryptos; Legion Of The Damned; Motorhead; Mustasch; NullDB; Secret Sphere; Sic; Skyline; Stahlmann; Thunder (27)

Don’t Mind Seeing – Benighted; Blaas of Glory; Black Messiah; Bull-Riff Stampede; Bullet; Chrome Molly; Dezperadoz; Dunderbeist; Eat The Gun; Eisbrecher; Emergency Gate; Harpyie; Hate Squad; Heaven’s Basement; Hellride; Kamikaze Kings; Karbholz; Last In Line; Leprous; Lingua Mortis Orchestra feat Rage; Mandowar; Nachtblut; Naglfar; Neaera; Powerwolf; Pretty Maids; Rabenschrey; Scott Ian; Serum 114; Subway To Sally; Tristania (31)

Won’t See – An Apple A Day; Bob Wayne; Coppelius; Corvus Corax; Crematory; Die Kassierer; Eskimo Cowboy; Faun; Fejd; Feuerschwanz; Impius Mundi; Mambo Kurt; Pampatut; Ragnarok; Rebattered; Rotten Souls; Russkaja; Soulless; Spitfire; Versengold; WOA Firefighters; Whitechapel (22)

Bring on the running order!

Download 2013 - Almost There

Last week, the organisers of the Download Festival announced a further 49 bands to really pack the line-up. There were a lot of smaller bands added but the main stage is now full, and there are very few spots left on the 2^nd and 3^rd stage as well. In the past, I have gone through every band and given my thoughts on them, but this blog would be extremely long if I did that for 49 bands. These are the 49 bands:

Architects; After The Burial; The Algorithm; Asteroid Boys; Blacklist Royals; Blitz Kids; Bleed From Within; Broken; Brutality Will Prevail; Buckcherry; Bury Tomorrow; Crowns; Cytota; Dir En Grey; Escape The Fate; Emperor Chung; Empress; Europe; The First; The Ghost Inside; Glamour Of The Kill; Gogol Bordello; Graveyard; Hang The Bastard; Heart Of A Coward; Hill Valley High; I Divide; Karnivool; Katatonia; Lit; Modestep; Mordecai; Naked Flame; Nekrogoblickon; Newsted; Papa Roach; P.O.D; Rat Attack; Red Fang; Rise To Remain; Sacred Mother Tongue; Skin; Silent Screams; Sonic Boom Six; States of Panic; Turisas; Uncle Acid And The Dead Beats; Uriah Heap and Verses.

From that list, there are a few names there that really interest me. Architects I saw on the main stage at Sonisphere and they were ok – I’ll likely give them another chance. Buckcherry were really good at The Wedgewood Rooms last year so they’d be good to see again. Gogol Bordello are a very fun band live and I may have to watch them over Bullet For My Valentine. That would mean choosing to see a band I’ve seen over one I’ve not (which I’m trying my best not to do too much) but oh well! Karnivool are a band who in my head I confused with In Extremo, but having had a quick listen, they seem decent. The announcement of Lit is a fun one for me (if only for the song My Own Worst Enemy) and I will do my absolute best to see them. Newsted is an interesting one for me. I am intrigued to see what the former Metallica man is up to these days. I’m really happy with the Sacred Mother Tongue announcement. I enjoyed them when they opened up the second stage at Download 2011 on the Saturday and will likely watch them again. Turisas is another one I am really happy to see be announced as they are great fun live, although I haven’t seen them since their line-up changes and they ditched the accordion live so, they might not be as fun live anymore – who knows. All in all, this announcement makes the line-up much stronger.

With the 2013 line up nearly full (which is astonishing to say seeing as it is not even March yet), it is about that time that I guess the stage times. The times tend not to change that much on a year to year basis so my guess I don’t think will be too far off, especially for the top 2 stages. The positions for stages 3 and 4 are complete guesswork though. I’ll do this day by day starting with (appropriately) Friday.

Friday 14^th June

Main Stage

21:00 - 22:45 Slipknot
19:20 - 20:20 Bullet For My Valentine   
18:00 - 18:55 Korn
16:50 - 17:35 Down
15:40 - 16:25 Papa Roach 
14:40 - 15:15 Asking Alexandria    
13:45 - 14:15 Architects    
13:00 - 13:25 Rise To Remain

Zippo Encore Stage

21:00 - 22:10            
19:30 - 20:30 Gogol Bordello         
18:20 - 19:05 3 Doors Down          
17:15 - 17:55 Volbeat  
16:10 - 16:50 Europe
15:20 - 15:50 Uriah Heap
14:30 - 15:00 Skin   
13:45 - 14:10 Dir En Grey   
13:00 - 13:25    

Pepsi Max Stage

21:00 - 22:00 HIM    
19:55 - 20:35 Converge
18:50 - 19:30 Motionless In White
17:55 - 18:25 Turisas
17:05 - 17:35 In This Moment
16:15 - 16:45 Hang The Bastard
15.25 - 15.55 Crowns
14:35 - 15:05 Emperor Chung
13:45 - 14:15 States of Panic
13:00 - 13:25 Tuborg Band

Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage

21.10 – 21.55
20.15 – 20.45
19.30 – 19.55
18.45 – 19.10  
18.00 – 18.25
17.15 – 17.40
16.30 – 16.55
15.45 – 16.10 The Algorithm
15.00 – 15.25 Verses
14.15 – 14.40 The First

Main stage is full and has the same number of bands that the main stage on the Friday last year should have had (weather cancelled two of the sets). I see no reason to change the times at all from 2012. Second stage has two noticeable gaps on it, the headliner and the opener. The opener could well be Six Hour Sundown (as it should have been last year). The headliner is the interesting one and is one I’m keeping a close eye on. I like Slipknot and would see them again but if the headliner on the second stage is good, I’ll go see their set and the end of Slipknots. The potential 3 way clash between Korn, 3 Doors Down and Turisas is absolutely gutting as is the clash between Down and Volbeat. Korn and Volbeat win those clashes for me but they are not nice! As for the third stage, it looks as though there will only be one more band to be added and I guess that band will be the one, like in 2012, that wins the Tuborg competition to open the third stage. The Red Bull stage has only 3 bands announced for it and I guessed where they’ll be. I really don’t know though. I’ll do my potential full schedule at the end, so let’s move on to Saturday

 Saturday June 15th

Main Stage
20.45 – 22.45 Iron Maiden
18.30 – 19.45 Queens Of The Stone Age
16.55 – 17.55 Motorhead
15.35 – 16.25 Alice In Chains
14.20 – 15.05 Mastodon
13.10 – 13.50 Buckcherry
12.00 – 12.40 Young Guns
11.00 – 11.30 UFO

Zippo Encore Stage

19.25 – 20.35 Enter Shikari
17.55 – 18.55 Jimmy Eat World
16.40 – 17.25 Lit
15.35 – 16.15 Karnivool
14.30 – 15.10 Katatonia
13.35 – 14.05 Escape The Fate
12.40 – 13.10 Hardcore Superstar
11.45 – 12.15 Heaven’s Basement
11.00 – 11.25 I Divide
 
Pepsi Max Stage
21.30 – 22.30 The Hives
20.20 – 21.05 Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats
19.10 – 19.55 Bury Tomorrow
18.15 – 18.45 Walking Papers
17.20 – 17.50 The Sword
16.30 – 17.00 Heart Of A Coward
15.40 – 16.10 Empress
14.50 – 15.20 Nekrogobikon
14.00 – 14.30 Earthtone9
13.15 – 13.40 Hill Valley High
12.30 – 12.55 Broken
11.45 – 12.10
11.00 – 11.25

Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage
20.50 – 21.35
19.50 – 20.20 After The Burial
18.50 – 19.20 Last Witness
17.50 – 18.20 Rat Attack
16.50 – 17.20 Silent Screams
15.55 – 16.20 Blacklist Royals
15.05 – 15.30 Asteroid Boys
14.15 – 14.40 Cytota
13.25 – 13.50
12.35 – 13.00
11.45 – 12.10
11.00 – 11.20

While changes are still being made, the top two stages are full and I can’t imagine they are wrong. I’ve read that Enter Shikari, who are headlining the second stage, finish 10mins before Iron Maiden start their headline set on the main stage, which is why there are less bands and different times from 2011/12. I said originally when this line-up was announced that it would take an awful lot for me to move from main stage during the run of Alice In Chains, Motorhead, QOTSA and Iron Maiden. However, it would seem that has been achieved! The third stage times and positions are again a guess but I really hope I have them right as I’d really like to see Earthtone9. Chances are if I’m wrong I’ll find a way to see them anyway, but still, if I am right then that would be just perfect.

Sunday June 10

Main Stage
21.00 – 22.45 Rammstein
19.00 – 20.15 30 Seconds To Mars
17.30 – 18.30 Gaslight Anthem
16.15 – 17.00 Stone Sour
15.00 – 15.45 Parkway Drive
13.50 – 14.30 Five Finger Death Punch
12.45 – 13.25 Coal Chamber
11.50 – 12.20 Cancer Bats
11.00 – 11.25 Sacred Mother Tongue

Zippo Encore Stage
20.30 – 21.30 Limp Bizkit
19.15 – 20.05 A Day To Remember
18.05 – 18.50 Airbourne
17.00 – 17.40
16.05 – 16.35 Amon Amarth
15.10 – 15.40 Graveyard
14.15 – 14.45 The Ghost Inside
13.20 – 13.50 HellYeah
12.30 – 12.55
11.45 – 12.10 Blitz Kids
11.00 – 11.25

Pepsi Max Stage
20.30 – 21.30
19.20 – 20.05 Modestep
18.15 – 18.55 P.O.D
17.20 – 17.50 Newsted
16.30 – 17.00 Red Fang
15.40 – 16.10 Vision of Disorder
14.50 – 15.20 Bleed From Within
14.00 – 14.30 Hacktivist
13.15 – 13.40 Brutality Will Prevail
12.30 – 13.40
11.45 – 12.10
11.00 – 11.25

Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage
20.50 – 21.35 Sonic Boom Six
19.50 – 20.20 Glamour Of The Kill
18.50 – 20.20 I Am I
17.50 – 18.20 Buffalo Summer
16.50 – 17.20  Huntress
15.55 – 16.20 Black Dogs
15.05 – 15.30 Mordecai
14.15 – 14.40 Naked Flame
13.25 – 13.50
12.35 – 13.00
11.45 – 12.10
11.00 – 11.25

There are quite a few spots left open here so every stage aside from main is me guessing the slots. Not that it matters much anyway. I don’t see me moving far from main stage while the first 4 bands are on. I’ve left a nice big spot available on the second stage as I hope there will be one of three bands announced for that slot. I really think as well it is an appropriate slot for the 3 bands I have in mind as well. I have no idea if the slot even exists so this is pure speculation. The three bands I have in mind are The Wildhearts, Kreator and Bad Religion. The Wildhearts are doing 2 dates in New York 2 weeks before Download and as it stands, those dates are the last confirmed Wildhearts dates for the foreseeable. However, I think playing Download in a pretty decent slot would be a great way to round off that lot of dates. It would also be a great place to announce their Xmess 2013 tour that could go on sale a couple of weeks after Download (I might be in the land of dreaming right now!) Kreator and Bad Religion are possible as they are both playing festivals around the time and have both never played Download.

As I’ve said a few times throughout all of this, there is a lot of guesswork here. However, assuming in a perfect world that I am right (or close enough), then this is how my Download festival would look:

Friday 14^th

13.00 – 13.25 – Rise To Remain (Main)
13.45 – 14.15 – Architects (Main)
14.30 – 15.00 – Skin (2^nd)
15.20 – 15.50 – Uriah Heap (2^nd)
16.10 – 16.50 – Europe (2^nd)
17.15 – 17.55 – Volbeat (2^nd)
18.00 – 18.55 – Korn (Main)
19.20 – 20.20 – Bullet For My Valentine (Main)
or
19.30 – 20.30 – Gogol Bordello (2^nd)
21.00 – 22.45 – Slipknot (Main)
or
21.00 – 22.10 – Second Stage Headliner (2^nd)

Saturday 15^th

11.00 – 11.30 – UFO (Main)
11.45 – 12.15 – Heaven’s Basement (2^nd)
12.40 – 13.10 – Hardcore Superstar (2^nd)
13.10 – 13.50 – Buckcherry (Main)
14.00 – 14.30 – Earthtone9 (3^rd)
14.30 – 15.10 – Katatonia (2^nd)
15.35 – 16.25 – Alice In Chains (Main)
16.40 – 17.25 – Lit (2^nd)
17.55 – 18.55 – Jimmy Eat World (2^nd)
18.30 – 19.45 – Queens of the Stone Age (Main)
20.45 – 22.45 – Iron Maiden (Main)

Sunday 16^th

11.00 – 11.25 – Sacred Mother Tongue (Main)
11.45 – 12.15 – Cancer Bats (Main)
12.45 – 13.25 – Coal Chamber (Main)
13.50 – 14.30 – Five Finger Death Punch (Main)
15.10 – 15.40 – Graveyard (2^nd)
16.15 – 17.00 – Stone Sour (Main)
17.00 – 17.40 – Second Stage Gap TBC (2^nd)
or
17.20 – 17.50 – Newsted (3^rd)
18.05 – 18.50 – Airbourne (2^nd)
19.15 – 20.05 – A Day To Remember (2^nd)
20.30 – 21.00 – Limp Bizkit (2^nd)
21.00 – 22.45 – Rammstein (Main)

If my festival ends up even being close to that plan, I will consider that money well spent.

More Bands For Download 2013

Back in 2006, the year I first went to a music festival, it was around this time of year that the first band announcements were made for the Download Festival. The batches were small but they contained names which were very interesting. If memory serves, Metallica were in one of the first announcements along with The Prodigy and Trivium. Why did I raise this point? Well, in 2006 it would be January before any bands were announced for the festival, and they would be announced in small batches on an almost weekly basis (if not weekly than fortnightly). Roll forward to the announcements for 2013 and by January, all the headliners were announced as well as some of the bigger names from the undercard. In December, 5 names were confirmed for the festival either by tweets from the festival organiser or the band themselves officially announced it on stage. We were told in mid-December that by mid-January, there would be a big band announcement of over 20 bands. That was made today and it was an announcement of 37 bands (32 new names and the official announcement of the 5 announced in December).  As I’ve not written an announcement blog since the last main announcement, I will include the bands announced today and via tweets (excluding Volbeat as they were announced just in time for the last blog) along with my opinions of them. In alphabetical order then:

3 Doors Down – 3 Doors Down are an excellent live band. I saw them in Manchester in 2012 and they were, well as I said earlier, excellent. Somehow they were missed off the honourable mentions list for my gigs of the year blog - definitely an oversight there. Anyway, they are a pretty strong booking for Download I think. They’ve never played the festival before and it’s always good to see a first time booking on the line-up – especially when it is a band as good as 3 Doors Down.

Airbourne – Last time I caught Airbourne was the beginning of their set at Wacken 2011 (would have stayed for the whole thing but I was pretty damn tired). They are a great live band and they work really well at festivals. 2013 will be the 3^rd time they play Download but it will be the first time I see them there, so I’m ok with this.

Amon Amarth – Amon Amarth is another good booking for Download as far as I am concerned. First time they’ve played the festival since 2008. I enjoyed them when I saw them at Wacken last year. If they don’t clash with anyone I’d prefer to see at Download, I suspect I will watch them again.

Asking Alexandria – This is a band that I just cannot get into. I’ve tried a couple of times and I have to say they are just not for me. I could piss and moan about the fact that there is a band playing Download that I don’t like – or I could just...not. The only thing I will say which is mildly annoying is that between them and another announcement from today is a band I want to see.  Again, it’s mildly annoying; it is not the end of the world.

Black Dogs – I haven’t heard much of Black Dogs but what I have heard, I like. While typing this short paragraph, I am listening to a song called “Savages” which is ace. Also, their bio on their band camp page made me smile: “Black Dogs: an unstoppable pack of northern bastards”.

Buffalo Summer – Can’t find much stuff by this band (one song so far) but that one song is pretty good so I am ok with this booking.  

Bullet For My Valentine – One of the bigger announcements from this batch. I have yet to see Bullet For My Valentine. It has only been recently I have actually got into them. As I haven’t seen them, I’m alright with them having been announced for the festival but I can fully understand why people are getting annoyed with how many times this band has played. They have played in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 and now 2013. Assuming nothing goes wrong before the 2013 festival, they will have played 7 out of 11 festivals. That is a lot.

Cancer Bats – At the moment, I cannot get enough of Cancer Bats, so I am delighted they have been booked again for Download 2013. I’m also really pleased to see them on main stage after the weather cancelled their main stage slot at the 2012 festival. I wonder, considering BFMV and Cancer Bats are at the same festival, if we will see an AxeWound set at some point over the weekend. We shall see...

Coal Chamber – I don’t know a massive amount about Coal Chamber other than they are doing reunion shows and their front man is the Devildriver front man, Dez Fafara. I like what I’ve heard of them though so they could be worth watching.

Converge – This is another band that is not for me. I’ve always meant to listen to them but never had until this announcement. Having now listened, I almost wish I hadn’t. I don’t hate them, but I can’t claim to like them.

Down – Down is very hit and miss for me. Some of their stuff I really like but some of it, I really don’t. However, I’ve seen them live twice now and they are excellent live. They were one of my favourite bands when I went to Download for the day in 2011. I imagine I will watch them again, although they find themselves sandwiched in-between two bands I won’t be watching.

Earthtone9 – This is a band I first became aware of in 2010 (late to the party as ever) and really liked what I heard. They were announced for Sonisphere and as I was headed there, I planned to watch them. Then the stage times came out and they clashed with Motley Crue. Based on how Motley Crue was that day. I really wish I’d gone to see Earthtone9. Again, if there is not a clash I will go and see Earthtone9. The song Evil Crawling I is a beast of a tune.

Enter Shikari – I’ve added some of their music to my Download Festival 2013 Spotify playlist because I don’t mind some of their stuff. However, on the whole, I cannot get into Enter Shikari, and I doubt I’ll be watching them. Maybe watching them will help me get into them? Who knows? If they clash with no-one else I want to see, I might give them a chance.

Five Finger Death Punch – This is a band that I wouldn’t mind watching live. I haven’t seen them before (although the opportunity hasn’t come up). They were booked for 2012 but had to cancel. I’m not a massive fan of their music but I like what I’ve heard so they could be worth watching.

Goldsboro – There once was a pop group called Orson. They had a bit of success in the UK with their debut album but the second album wasn’t so successful and they split up. The reaction to all of this is Goldsboro – a rock band that Classic Rock magazine suggested were “a power trio pitched somewhere between Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath”. Having listened to some of their music, I can agree that it is very good. They could be well worth watching.

Hacktivist – I can’t make my mind up about Hacktivist. I’ve listened to them a few times now and I go between liking them and not. I guess this is what is known as the struggle to get into a band. I recognise they are a decent band but I can’t decide if they are to my tastes or not.

Hardcore Superstar – I quite like what I’ve heard from this band (which admittedly isn’t much) but they could be well worth a watch. It won’t be the end of the world if I don’t watch them at Download as they are also playing Wacken Open Air. It’ll be a bit annoying if I miss them at both now I’ve mentioned it...

Heaven’s Basement – I last saw this band supporting Halestorm and they were very enjoyable. They’ve played quite a few of the UK festivals I’ve been to I think, and I’ve never managed to watch them at a festival. They tend to clash with other bands I’d prefer to see. I might watch them at Download, might not – we shall see.

HellYeah – I saw this band at Download 2007 and remember thinking they were quite dull. It was cool for me to see Vinnie Paul behind the drum kit (after the death of Dimebag Darrel, I never thought I would see that) but that didn’t help me through the whole set. Since 2007, they have released 2 albums and I’ve listened to some of the music from them and I am tempted to give them another chance.

Huntress – After their announcement, I thought “I’ve heard of that name before”. Turns out the reason I had heard of it as it is a recruitment agency. I found the band shortly after that realisation and came to another one – Huntress are ace! I’ll definitely be trying to see them. Only heard a handful of songs but from what I’ve heard, they sound excellent.

I AM I – In 2010, ZP Theart left Dragonforce in what I seem to recall was quite a shocking move. I AM I is the band he formed following his departure from Dragonforce. It reminds me of a power metal vibe but in a very different way to Dragonforce. They are a fairly decent band though and a good booking for Download. I more I listen to them; the more I am reminded of Edguy actually (without Tobi doing the vocals).

In This Moment – I’ve seen In This Moment before when they supported Devildriver on their pre-Download 2007 gig. That was a good night actually. I remember that I really enjoyed In This Moment and have wanted to see them again. The chance has not come up sadly. If they aren’t clashing with anyone then I hope to see them at Download.

Jimmy Eat World – I saw Jimmy Eat World twice in 2011 and thought they were good both times. I preferred them when they supported Foo Fighters as they played the songs I knew mixed throughout the set, as opposed to playing them right at the end of the set like they did at Reading. Anyway, I am really happy about this booking as I do like what I’ve heard of them. If I end up planning to watch them though, I’ll do a little more research first.  

Korn – Korn is probably the band I am happiest about seeing in this announcement. I was really looking forward to seeing them at Download 2006 but Jonathan Davis had to be rushed to hospital. The band played a fairly memorable set with guest vocalists (including a superb version of Freak on a Leash with Corey Taylor). However since then, I have not had the chance to see them (or truthfully been all that interested in spending £30+ on seeing them on UK tours). They are being rejoined for this tour by Head, one of the founding members of Korn I believe so I’m hoping it will be a classics/best of set and leave the dubstep album alone (although if they want to throw a quick version of Narcissistic Cannibal in the set, I’d be ok with that)

Last Witness – I listened to some of Last Witness earlier when prepping for this writing and they didn’t do a great deal for me. That’s pretty much it. I don’t hate them, or even dislike them. I just don’t care for them really.

Limp Bizkit – What can I say? Limp Bizkit, along with Linkin Park got me into rock and metal music. For that, they will always have a special place in my heart (a place which Linkin Park are doing their best to leave but that is a sentiment for another blog, maybe). I saw them at Sonisphere 2009 and thought they were alright. I remember thinking that they could have been better. I didn’t see them at Sonisphere 2011 as they clashed with a couple of smaller bands I wanted to see. However, I think I would like to see them again. The thing about their positioning is interesting as it appears they are headlining the second stage on the Saturday. This means, due to an agreement between the festival organisers that they will clash with the end of Queens of the Stone Age’s set, and the changeover gap before Iron Maiden. I am tempted to go and watch them and when they are finished, try and get as far forward as possible for Iron Maiden. That sounds like a good plan – I shall see what happens when stage times are released.

Mastodon – Mastodon have released one song that I like. I’ve tried so many times to get into them and every time it ends in failure. I guess it’s just not meant to be.

Motionless In White – I haven’t listened to much Motionless in White but what I have heard, I have quite liked. A fairly good booking I would say.

Parkway Drive – Pretty sure these guys have played Sonisphere before when I’ve been there and I’ve missed them. Listening back to their music now, I can see why I missed them. I like what I am hearing but I am not in love with it. In terms of them being a festival band, they definitely fall into the category of “if there’s nothing else on I fancy watching, then I’ll watch them”.

Stone Sour – Stone Sour are one of my favourite bands so I am of course delighted to see them on the Download line up. I wish they were higher up but no matter! I suspect I’ll be watching them.

The Hives – This is a very surprising booking for the festival I would say but I am really happy with it personally. I love the song “Hate To Say I Told You So” and I’ve been told they are a superb live band. I imagine I will be watching them as long as they don’t clash with one of my must-sees of the festival.

The Sword – I saw them live in Portsmouth off the back of the song they had on Guitar Hero and I ended up leaving quite early. They were pretty boring that night. Some people love them; I am not one of those people.

UFO – Nothing wrong with a bit of classic rock early in the day to get things started. I bet some of the music would be good for a sing-along. It would be outstanding if they performed Doctor Doctor live before Iron Maiden came out on stage, but I suspect that is unlikely. Their set should be fun though, and it saves me spending £25 to see them in Portsmouth!

Vision Of Disorder – I really like what I’ve heard of this band, which admittedly isn’t much (seems to be a theme of these blogs). I would like to see this band at Download if I get the chance.

Walking Papers – One more blues rock band on the line up is no bad thing. I like some of the music I have heard from this band. I was surprised to learn that it is Duff McKagan on bass. I wonder if he is a live member as well. Anyway, they are another band that I will see if I get the chance to.

Young Guns – I like some of this bands stuff. I also don’t like some of it. Will I watch them? Who knows? Only me, and I don’t at this stage. If there is nothing else on, then I probably will give Young Guns a watch.

Overall I would say that this has been a very good announcement for Download (in terms of my personal tastes anyway). One thing which does slightly concern me about this line-up however is the lack of a “wow-factor”. Last year had Metallica playing the Black Album in full and the only European date of Black Sabbath. The year before had the only UK date on the reunion tour of System of a Down. 2010 had AC/DC headlining. I am happy with the line-up this year but there is definitely no “wow-factor” present. Still, as it stands, I would be happy seeing 37 bands that have been announced. While that does include bands I’ve already seen, I think that is quite a good return at this stage. This is the updated line-up poster:

All in all, that looks pretty good. At the end of my last announcement blog, I posted a list of bands I suspected would be announced. Of the 10 I listed, 6 were announced. If you look at the poster, it is fairly clear that there are still 2 second stager headliner slots to fill. I think they will be filled by Paramore and The Scorpions. There is no science behind that guess. Scorpions have been rumoured on various websites for a short while now, and Paramore are playing other European festivals at around the same time as Download. As for other bands, I would like to see The Wildhearts get announced although I suspect at this stage they might not be. I would still like to see Bad Religion get announced as I was really looking forward to seeing them at Sonisphere, and then they clashed with Panic Cell’s last ever show. I think I’d like to see Within Temptation get announced but aside from that, I can’t really think of any other realistic names I’d like to see added to the bill. That’s an odd way to be with about 5 months to go before the festival, but the current line-up in my opinion is pretty strong.

EDIT - Late in the day but it would seem that poster is quite misleading. Enter Shikari are headlining the second stage on the Saturday and Limp Bizkit are headlining the second stage on the Sunday. Bizkit against Rammstein? Only one winner there sadly

EDIT 2 - It would seem that The Hives are clashing with Iron Maiden. That is really not friendly. I said I would watch them as long as they are not clashing with one of my "must see" bands. Iron Maiden are a must see band. Bah!

HMV

Late last night, the news came out that HMV was going into administration. This year has seen a couple of high profile casualties in terms of retail business closures in the form of Comet and Jessops. These businesses were in administration for less than a day before closing. The situation is slightly different for HMV as they are going to continue trading while the administrators search for a buyer. This is of course bad news for the employees (some if not all) as all discussions of a possible “save” for HMV have included the closure of a large number of stores so there will be job losses. I think this move into administration and possible closure has been inevitable for some time unfortunately. As soon as they became the last big high street retailer of music and film, I have wondered how long they will last. I’ll be honest, they have lasted longer than I imagined, especially in the current economic climate. If HMV closes, it will be big news and it will have a dramatic effect on the future of the high street (in my opinion).

The high street will not just disappear when the HMV stores go but I do think the other businesses will suffer as a result. There are several different retail markets in an average high street which attracts different customer bases. When looking at it that way, the high street should do just fine without HMV. However, I can’t help but feel that with no major high street retailer selling music and DVDs, there will be fewer customers in the high street and the businesses there will suffer from a reduced footfall and as a likely result, reduced takings. Thinking about my own local high street, which already is in competition with Gunwharf Quays in terms of shopping and entertainment, without HMV, it is reduced to mobile phone shops, a book shop, fashion retail and places to get food (the market, places like McDonalds and shops like Tesco). Aside from that there are functional businesses there such as banks and opticians, but I cannot think of anything else there (I have excluded the gym I use from this list as I can’t imagine many people use the gym then go for a stroll round the high street). Taking this into account, I suspect the bulk of people that go into a high street will visit for one purpose and then when they have achieved that purpose, they will likely leave. There is no science behind this thought process other than opinion, but I believe that other businesses will suffer from a reduction in the number of people in the high street. It would be nice to see independent businesses open up in the high street to take over from HMV if it does cease to trade locally but I can’t imagine it happening. What I can imagine happening though is that people will shop more online. Online shopping has been growing year on year and I can’t see that slowing down. If HMV closes, it will significantly increase putting even more pressure on the high street. Fashion retail will likely survive this happening, but other forms of high street retail could lose out. The reason why I believe this is that people will always need to try clothes on before they buy.

Is it possible that this could have been avoided? In a word, yes. It is very easy to look back with hindsight at everything HMV has done and think “how did they not see this coming?” but that would be much too simplistic. One thing they should have done is something which this country should have done when the economy was growing and booming. HMV should have fixed their roof while the sun was still shining. What I mean by this was instead of investing money into HMV Live and buying Waterstones, they could have invested more into their online market, or reduced the price of their goods to the customers (it is all well and good running fairly regular offers like 2 items for £10 on older items, but for newer releases, it is important to be competitive). Instead of dedicating large areas to their shops to electronic items such as iPods and headphones, they could have made those items online exclusives and focused their high street operations completely on music and film. Consider this, if they advertised with their music in-store that they had great deals on MP3 players, CD players, headphones etc on their website, people would go there. When people visit the website, they find these great deals on items you cannot purchase at HMV stores, and they are indeed good competitive prices. With these items, you can even further the incentive by offering money off in-store when you make a purchase over a certain amount. For example if you buy an iPod from HMV as opposed to Apple, HMV will give you a £10 off your next purchase voucher. That may not seem much, but that could then encourage customers to go back to the shop and possibly spend more money. Doing that, you link the online business with the high street business and you create a happy customer base that may consider HMV as the go-to place for their music and film needs, as well as their music/film hardware needs. This is a hypothetical example which may not work in real life as well as it is works in my head, but I think rewarding customers instead of ripping off customers may be of benefit. I addressed the removal of headphones (amongst other things) from their shops. That to me has been a fairly big failure. Only once have I been in a HMV store and been able to try out more than 2 pairs of headphones as the others are broken. To me, that is a metaphor for HMV – broken.

HMV never really challenged the online retailers when they had the chance and they have suffered as a result. Their website I’d say has only really been good for a few years now. They never were a business I considered when it came to online shopping (for music and film, it was always CDWow, Play and Amazon). Today, I have gone on to the HMV website and pulled 5 examples of items and prices for comparison. The bulk of my comparisons will be between HMV and Amazon. Starting with a favourite artist of mine, Ginger Wildheart released a triple album via PledgeMusic earlier this year and then released a commercial release of 12 songs from that triple album, voted for by the people who had pledged. The 12 song disc, called 100% entered the midweek charts at number 9. The album dropped to 23 by the weekend charts due to the numbers available for physical purchase, and I think dropped out the chart completely not long after. The 100% album is available for purchase directly from Ginger for £10. However, people may not be aware of this and would go straight to one of the major music retailers to buy it. HMV is selling the album for £15 (and it has been seen in their stores for £18.99). Amazon is selling it for £11.47. The second example I have is from a much smaller band called Eureka Machines. Their first album, Do or Die is available from both HMV and Amazon as well as from themselves. HMV is selling Do or Die for £13 while Amazon is selling it for £9.26. Around £3.50 is not a massive amount of money by any stretch of the imagination, but why would you pay more for something when you could pay less? As a side note, Eureka Machines are selling both of their albums in a package for £13! That is the same price as HMV is selling just one of the albums for (you can get both albums from HMV for £25). I appreciate they are trying to make a profit, but that will lose you customers, especially where the cheaper option could be just a few clicks away.

Moving on to DVDs (I’m looking at TV DVDs here); HMV is again more expensive than their competitors. I quite like Louis Theroux documentaries and actually recently considered buying some of the box sets. Looking around, I found that one of the ones I was considering buying, The Odd, The Bad and the Godly, was on sale from HMV for £15. Amazon is selling the same box set for £8.49. Why on earth would you shop with HMV when you look at how much they charge over their competitors? The BBC Official Shop is also significantly cheaper than HMV for the same products. Just last year, a new series of Red Dwarf aired on the TV Channel Dave. It has since been released on DVD. HMV is selling the DVD for £15.99 and the Blu-Ray for £20. Amazon is selling the DVD for £13.49 and the Blu-Ray for £16.49. I ask again, why would you shop at HMV? Finally, I want to look at the bigger box sets, where you can buy every episode of the TV show in one box. For this example, I will look at Only Fools and Horses. A new episode of this show has not been on TV in some time (and I do hope there never will be new ones, but that is a different blog for a different day). HMV is selling the 26 disc box set for £49. Considering how much TV you are getting from this box set, without shopping around, I would say that is a fair price. A couple of clicks later and I have the same item up on Amazon...for £32. I’m sorry, but it cannot just be a case that HMV is paying that much more for their stock than Amazon is, it just can’t be.

There is one other factor which could be the cause for the demise of HMV. It is all well and good me pointing the finger at them and saying they are in the wrong just because of their pricing, but there is more to it than that. The world has changed since HMV launched. The major way people get their music now isn’t via going to the local shop and buying the CD, but by downloading or streaming the music. Downloading, both legally and illegally, really hit HMV along with other music retailers I’m sure. I am aware as a consumer that if I want to legally download music, I can visit the iTunes store or visit the Amazon MP3 store and pay roughly about the same amount of money for the music I want to buy (assuming I don’t want the CD). I am aware of other companies but they are the main two that I am aware of. I honestly didn’t know if I could do that from HMV. After a quick visit to their website, it turns out you can. But I think it speaks volumes that I genuinely didn’t know whether you could or couldn’t buy MP3s from HMV. Downloading music illegally has obviously had an impact on the amount of business HMV and other retailers have. But, while it is obviously illegal, it is easy to see why it is done. It is very easy to do it, and it is obviously cheaper (assuming you don’t get caught and fined!) Streaming music is an entirely different beast all together. I pay £5 a month for Spotify and stream music from them. That is £5 per month that HMV will never see because I may be able to buy one old album from them, but if I want to download 1 song, I’m probably not going via HMV to do so. In fact, if it is a song that I don’t actually want to own, just listen to, then chances are I will just play it on Spotify. I guess what I am saying here is that I have options for listening and buying music which don’t involve HMV. Could they have entered the world of music streaming? I don’t see why not.

What was the point of all of this? Well, to be honest, I’m off sick from work and I was bored. HMV going into administration and potentially collapsing is the major news story in the UK today so I figured I’d write something about it as my first blog for 2013. A lot of what I have written in this blog is my own opinion, and I have no idea if in the real world it would actually work. It astounds me though looking back with hindsight that more wasn’t done to steady the HMV ship when they had the chance. It amazes me that they seemingly didn’t consider online shopping a threat to their business model. It amazes me further that they didn’t worry about people downloading and streaming music. It worries me what impact their closing will have on the high street. I feel sorry for the 4000 odd people who could lose their jobs. They have been let down by a company that failed to change when they needed to most.