Exit Ten, Redlight King and Shinedown at the Southampton Guildhall 24/10/12

Exit Ten burst onto the stage, full of energy and life. They had a strong stage presence, with Ryan Redman’s crazy dancing instantly capturing the audience’s attention. His voice was incredible and matched the talents of his other band mates. Despite only playing four songs, their set was brilliant and gave the crowd just a hint of what Exit Ten are about. They’re definitely a band to look out for in the future.

Next on were Redlight King, an alternative rock band from Canada, who announced to the audience that it was their first ever show in England. The guitarists were amazingly talented and interesting to watch due to the varying tones and styles of music throughout their set. The set they played stood out well because their songs varied from rap rock to hard rock, with one song even sounding like it had reggae influences. They closed their set with ‘Bullet in my Hand’, and they were an interesting band to watch play.

As soon as the lights dimmed the crowd expected Shinedown to appear on stage, however, instead ’99 Problems’ by Jay Z starting playing, leaving the crowd anxiously anticipating Shinedown’s arrival. When they eventually arrived, they caused absolute chaos by opening with ‘Sound of Madness’, an obvious crowd-pleaser. Brent Smith is one of the best lead singers in the rock scene at the moment, his voice is astounding and he has an amazing stage presence. ‘If Only You Knew’ is a beautiful ballad which left the crowd in awe. Brent Smith said “Rock and roll is more than a genre, it’s a way of life,” leading to many cheers from the crowd. Shinedown’s rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Simple Man’ sounded incredible. Ending their set with ‘Bully’, Shinedown definitely rocked the Guildhall. Shinedown are the whole package: a band of talented musicians who are amazing live. Go see Shinedown if you haven’t already; you won’t regret it!

All Time Low - ‘For Baltimore’ Single Review

Opening with slow and mellow guitar tones then progressing into pop-punk, All Time Low have released a great single which sounds like a mixture of the best parts of their old and newer albums. ‘For Baltimore’ is a harmlessly happy song and Alex Gaskarth’s voice has improved a great deal.  With a ridiculously catchy chorus and lyrics, ‘For Baltimore’ proves All Time Low are definitely back and on top form!

Bullet For My Valentine – ‘Temper Temper’ Review

Starting off with a strong guitar riff, it sounds like Bullet are back and better than ever. However, after the great intro, the rest of the song doesn’t live up to expectations. With predictable lyrics in the chorus, the song sounds like it should be angry, but it actually only sounds slightly displeased. It sounds almost identical to every song off their previous album ‘Fever’. A mediocre song, from a band that should have blown us all away with their new material.   

Go Primitive, Evarose, With One Last Breath and Yashin at Vault 7/7/12

Go Primitive are an alternative rock band formed in Rugby in 2009. Since then they have played many gigs in the surrounding area, forming a huge local fan base. With catchy riffs and a great lead singer they’re always enjoyable to watch live and this concert was no exception. All in all they are a strong live band and I’d recommend any rock fans to download their music and see them live.

Next on stage were Evarose, an all-female rock band from Banbury. They were listed in Kerrang! magazine’s ’20 New Bands You Need To Hear for 2012’, and they’ve been very successful. Dannika Webber’s vocals are versatile and astounding, perfectly matching the guitar riffs and drum beats. Evarose are a great live band, and proof that females can rock just as hard as men!

With One Last Breath are a metal band from York, inspired by The Devil Wears Prada and We Came As Romans. Full of heavy riffs and screaming, they really rocked the Rugby crowd. Despite having lots of screaming vocals, they also had some beautiful harmonies and amazing breakdowns. They’re going from strength to strength, and they’re definitely a band to look out for.

Last but not least, Yashin appeared on stage. The Scottish post-hardcore band have toured with many famous bands, such as Papa Roach and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, even playing at Download Festival, SlamDunk and Pukkelpop. Vocalists Harry Radford and Kevin Miles entertained the crowd with both powerful screaming vocals and amazing singing vocals. Their performance of their latest single ‘Make It Out Alive’ was amazing and definitely a crowd-pleaser. Yashin have become extremely popular in the past couple of years, and they’ll definitely continue going from strength to strength in the future. One of the best bands to play at the Vault so far!

Black Sabbath at Download Festival 10/6/12

Closing Download Festival on Sunday night was none other than the legendary Black Sabbath. Formed in 1969 and still going strong, Black Sabbath have inspired many of the bands who played throughout the weekend at Download Festival and also many more in the rock and metal scene. Opening with ‘Black Sabbath’, Ozzy Osbourne instantly proved he was back right where he belonged, performing to thousands of eager fans. They played classic songs such as ‘The Wizard’, ‘War Pigs’ and ‘Sweet Leaf’, which were amazing to see performed live. ‘Iron Man’ was definitely an instant crowd-pleaser. Tony Iommi, the only continual member of Black Sabbath, is an amazing guitarist and inspirational for performing despite his illness. Ending with ‘Paranoid’ and many fireworks, it was the perfect ending to Download Festival 2012. All I can say is bring on next year!

Soundgarden at Download Festival 10/6/12

Since forming in 1984, Soundgarden have been impressing rock fans with their incredible live performances and songs. Opening their Download Festival set with ‘Spoonman’, they instantly had the crowd hooked with their amazing guitar riffs and Chris Cornell’s powerful voice. They played many of their hits, such as ‘Let Me Drown’, ‘Fell on Black Days’ and ‘My Wave’. Their performance of their most famous song, ‘Black Hole Sun’ was astounding and proved why they’ve been so successful over the years. They ended their set with ‘Beyond the Wheel’ from their 1988 debut album ‘Ultramega OK’. They gave a great performance, and I couldn’t thinkof a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than watching Soundgarden perform to thousands at Donington Park.

Refused at Download Festival 10/6/12

After the exciting news that Refused were reforming earlier this year, it was incredible to finally watch them play on the Sunday at Download Festival. The Swedish hardcore punk band opened with ‘Worms of the Senses / Faculties of the Skull’, instantly proving that they were back and even better than ever. Their performance of ‘Rather Be Dead’ was amazing and still full of the teenage angst they were famous for back in the nineties. Dennis Lyxzén is one of the best lead vocalists around: his voice is amazing, he moves around the stage with so much energy and he’s incredibly grateful to the fans for staying by them throughout the years. Ending their set with the incredible song ‘New Noise’, they showed both fans and critics that they definitely still had their talent. They were one of the best bands to perform throughout the weekend, and they definitely should have had a much bigger crowd. Every hardcore and punk fan should definitely see Refused at least once in their lifetime, they’re inspirational and one of the best bands you will ever see.

Metallica at Download Festival 9/6/12

To celebrate the 21^st anniversary of the release of ‘The Black Album’, Metallica headlined Download Festival on the Saturday night. They opened with ‘Hit the Lights’, and it was amazing to see Metallica rocking Donington Park once again. They played the whole of ‘The Black Album’ – in reverse order. This means they played many incredible Metallica hits, such as ‘The God That Failed’, ‘Nothing Else Matters’ and ‘The Unforgiven’, to name a few. Halfway through ‘Enter Sandman’ James Hetfield started a sing-along with the crowd: “Donington! Metallica! Together at last, like a family. Metallica’s family! Right here, right now. I can hear you, can you hear me?” Some fans have dubbed this immature and childish, others loved it. Ending with ‘Seek and Destroy’, Metallica played yet another amazing set, full of great metal music and fireworks. Love them or hate them, there’s no denying that Metallica are one of the greatest metal bands and always put on an incredible show.

Killswitch Engage at Download Festival 9/6/12

Earlier this year many fans of Killswitch Engage were shocked when Howard Jones left the band, and to replace him they got none other than their original lead vocalist, Jesse Leach. Opening with ‘Fixation on the Darkness’, Jesse instantly proved that he was back and better than ever. His harsh vocals are amazing and it felt like he had never left the band. Their performance of ‘The End of Heartache’ was flawless and filled with emotion. Ending with their cover of Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’ it was an incredible comeback show for both Jesse and Killswitch Engage.

Corey Taylor at Download Festival 9/6/12

Corey Taylor is an amazingly versatile musician; famous for screaming in Slipknot, singing in Stone Sour, and more recently in the past year, playing intimate acoustic solo shows. Opening with ‘Bother’, originally a Stone Sour song, he amazed the crowd with his beautiful voice and guitar skills. He played an acoustic version of Slipknot’s ‘Spit It Out’, which actually sounded great, and instead of asking people to sit on the ground then jump up, as he does when he plays the song with Slipknot, he asked everyone to hop on one leg, causing great amusement to the crowd. He debuted a song from the new Stone Sour album, saying it was the first time it had been played live, which was called ‘Taciturn’ and proved Stone Sour are going to be back and better than ever. After playing songs by his two bands, he proceeded to play covers of his favourite songs, including a flawless version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’. Lzzy Hale of Halestorm joined Corey on stage for a mind-blowing performance of AC/DC’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’. Lzzy’s voice was raw and powerful, matching Corey’s perfectly. Ending with ‘Outsider’ by The Ramones, Corey Taylor proved in this amazing but short set what an incredible musician he is, and how we should definitely keep a look out for many more exciting things to come.

Tenacious D at Download Festival 9/6/12

Six years after Tenacious D’s ‘The Pick of Destiny’ was released, they’re finally back with ‘Rize of the Fenix’, and funnier than ever. Despite being seen as a comical band, Jack Black and Kyle Gass are talented musicians who know exactly how to entertain an audience. Opening with the title track from their debut album, they instantly had the crowd hooked. The latest songs were received well, but it was obvious from the crowd’s reaction that the old songs will always remain their favourites. Their performance of ‘Beelzeboss’ was incredible; they pretended their guitarist was possessed by the devil and it was an amazing moment to see. I’d recommend seeing Tenacious D to any rock fan, even if it would just be to see ‘Tribute’ live!

Steel Panther at Download Festival 9/6/12

Love them or hate them, Steel Panther were definitely one of the most amusing acts at Download Festival 2012. The mixture of parody and glam metal made them amusing to watch, but not only that, they’re also actually really good musicians. Michael Starr knew exactly how to make the crowd laugh and sing along with him and he also encouraged a lot of female nudity, probably setting a record for the amount of women to flash during a set… ever. They played old classics such as ‘Asian Hooker’ and ‘Community Property’, and also songs from their latest album ‘Balls Out’ such as the subtlety named ‘Just Like Tiger Woods’ and ‘Tomorrow Night’. Partway through their set, they introduced Corey Taylor onto the stage, who featured in three songs from Steel Panther’s 2009 album ‘Feel The Steel’. It was an unforgettable set, and I’d highly recommend anyone looking for a hilarious live band to see Steel Panther, you won’t regret it!

Lower Than Atlantis at Download Festival 9/6/12

Formed in 2007, British rock band Lower Than Atlantis have gone from strength to strength with every album they’ve released. They mostly played songs from their 2011 release ‘World Record’, opening their set with ‘Motor(way) of Life’. However, they also played  new songs such as ‘Love Someone Else’ and ‘If The World Was To End’. Mike Duce is an amazing lead singer with an incredible voice which is full of emotion. For such a great live band they definitely didn’t have a big enough audience, and hopefully if they play again they’ll have a much larger crowd.

The Prodigy at Download Festival 8/6/12

The Prodigy are one of the most renowned electronic music bands around, and their headline slot at Download Festival definitely proved why.  They opened with ‘World’s On Fire’, instantly sending the crowd wild and setting the tone for the rest of the evening. Their set list contained many classic hits, such as ‘Firestarter’ and ‘Breathe’, but they also played songs from their 2009 album ‘Invaders Must Die’. Maxim Reality knew exactly how to hype the crowd up and seemed genuinely at home on stage. The mixture of flashing lights and electronic music transformed Donington Park into a rave for a couple of hours, and it was truly incredible to watch them do what they do best, perform to thousands. The Prodigy proved Download Festival isn’t exclusive to metal and rock, it’s a celebration of amazing live music.