Download 2018 Highlights

A sore throat, A blocked nose and lots of bruises (which I have no clue how I got), can only mean one thing ... Festival flu is upon me.

As I am sure you are all aware, I went to download this year. It was my second year attending this festival and it was equally as amazing (if not better). I had a 5 day camping ticket, which meant that by the time the had music started on the friday, my body was already shattered from the village antics alone.

The festival blues has now official set in (The urban dictionary definition of festival blues being: The down feeling you get for almost a week or more after you come home from a festival. The feeling that nothing in the world compares to that 'crazy' weekend and the desperate need to go back an relive it). So while I spend my free time watching videos to relive Download, I thought it would be nice to share with you some of my personal highlights. We'll start with friday ↓

Friday's highlights 

• Cellar Darling - Cellar Darling was the first band that I watched. They are a really awesome folk rock band. I really recommend you listen to their song Avalanche! I was super impressed with the musicianship these guys displayed. 
• Avatar - Wow do these guys really know how to put on a show! Their staging was amazing and very theatrical. 
• Bullet For My Valentine - These were perhaps one of my favourite bands of the entire weekend! They have such an amazing catalogue of music and I would have actually enjoyed a longer set from them! 
• Avenge Sevenfold - I will Admit I have seen these guys before but they were equally as awesome as the first time I saw them! 

Saturday's highlights 

• Burry Tomorrow - It was so amazing to see these guys live. They are from Southampton which isn't far from Gosport at all. I will admit that I really wanted them to play Lionheart but with such a small set I understand why they didn't. 
• Asking Alexandria - I will just say that Danny's voice was insane live! I did really want to hear The Final Episode but again, the earlier bands don't get a very long set. 
• Baby Metal - I'm sure most of you are aware of the craze surrounding Baby metal! Their stage show was incredibly awesome from everything from the music to the choreography. 
• Mayday Parade - These actually clashed with Guns and Roses so I decided to go and watch their hour set before finishing the evening with the end of Guns and Roses. Watching Mayday Parade completely sent me back to my 14 year old self. These guys were amazing to see. I would have liked for their set to have been a bit longer as there were a few more songs that I wanted to hear!

Sunday's highlights 

• Cradle of Filth - If I'm honest I can't quite get over the noises that Dani Filth was making! His high pitched screams were absolutely insane.
• HateBreed - I will admit that before I saw them, I only knew one song but after watching them I can say that I have definitely added them to my listening list. Being introduced to new bands and music is something that I absolutely adore about festivals! 
• Black Veil Brides -  Remember when I mentioned about reverting back to my 14 year old self with Mayday Parade? Well, I did exactly the same thing with these guys. I used to love BVB and if I'm honest, I had the biggest crush on Andy so it was pretty awesome to be able to see them in the flesh. I did really enjoy it however, I was left feeling pretty underwhelmed by their sound. I also think Andy might have been a little ill. Regardless, I still really enjoyed it.
• Shinedown - I actually made it to the barrier of the main stage for these guys as I slowly pushed my way through after BVB. I really recommend this band to you all because they are really amazing and their crowd interaction was awesome! 
• Rise Against - I decided to miss the first bit of Ozzy to watch Rise Against on the second stage. The one down side to any festival is that sometimes 2 bands you want to see clash so you have to carefully pick and chose. Seeing Rise Against was so worth it though because they were so good!
• Ozzy - As Ozzy had a longer set I managed to catch the end of it. I heard lots of bad things about Black sabbath when they headlined Download a few years ago. After speaking to numerous people about this, there appeared to be some pessimism regarding Ozzy's performance. I honestly thought he was amazing. He had an amazing band behind him (the guitarist was formidable!). For a 69 year old man he did very well!      

Other Highlights

• One thing I found myself completely raving about is the female toilets. Next to the WWE stage there was some female only toilets and honestly, they were so clean! There was toilet paper, hand sanitiser and no nasty surprises left behind. I think many festivals could benefit from implanting this idea.
• After all of the music finished, me and my group found ourselves heading down to the village for the silent disco. I'd never been to a silent disco before but it was honestly so much fun! There are 2 different channels and it took me a while to realise that. It wasn't until I looked around to find out that everyone was dancing to a different song that I realised this. I also found it really funny to take the headphones off and listen to everyone singing (especially when The Darkness came on!). 

I would also like to add just how friendly Download festival is. Never have I been in a crowd so willing to help a little 5 foot person to see. I know it is often said a lot but if you fall over here, the people around you will help you up. There is often a bit of a stigma attached to metal heads but this is honestly one of the nicest crowds I have been in. 

If any of you are thinking of going to download next year, I really do encourage you to do so! And If you do, I will see you there x

Here are some pictures of the weekend! ↓

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