The Times (UK) review Download 2003.

THE last time the metal faithful came to Donington was for 2002’s miserable Ozzfest, where torrential rain, a poorly laid-out site and the racing course’s bumpy terrain conspired to make the event a muddy and congested nightmare. This may explain why advance ticket sales for the inaugural Download festival (capacity 72,000) weren’t spectacular, despite far better organisation. Happily, scorching weather helped to ensure that Download was well-attended on the day — or rather, days, this being the UK’s first weekend-long metal festival.
Metallica, who were not part of the published bill, made a surprise appearance on the second stage on Sunday, but the day’s line-up paled in comparison with Saturday, whose bill featured American megastars Marilyn Manson and Deftones, plus a closing set by Iron Maiden, who headlined the old Monsters Of Rock bashes in 1988 and 1992.

The British legends were supported by 25 bands across two stages. Those seeking shade from the midday sun in the covered second arena were thrilled by Sweden’s Arch Enemy, whose vocalist Angela Gossow showed you don’t have to be male to do the trademark death-metal growl. On the main stage, Welsh post-hardcore tykes Funeral For A Friend demonstrated why Kerrang! had tagged them “the best new band in Britain”, blending sorethroated aggression with gleaming melodies.

The raised fists that greeted Amen’s scouring anti-American polemics are proof that the divide between punk and metal has long since vanished. Meanwhile, Chicago’s marvellous industrial pioneers Ministry approximated the sound of armageddon, aided by aircraft flying perilously low overhead (there’s an airport nearby).

Deftones were sublime. The Californians have been lumped in with the nu-metal movement, but their vast, sensual grooves stand alone. As mid-tempo riffs flowed from the speakers like lava, Chino Moreno’s scream-to-sigh vocals fashioned the cavernous ambience of Change (In The House Of Flies) and the current hit Minerva into anthems of rare depth and feeling.

In contrast, Marilyn Manson was style over substance, and even the style — pasty make-up, pseudofascist black uniform — seemed desperate in daylight.

America’s favourite cultural scapegoat brought out high-kicking dancers for the recent single, mOBSCENE, but their gyrations didn’t distract from the fact that the song is a blatant rip-off of Faith No More’s Be Aggressive.

Manson simply doesn’t possess enough good material.

Iron Maiden, of course, have classic songs aplenty. Two hours’ worth blazed forth, and it was impressive to note that the triple-guitar wizardry of 2000’s The Wicker Man sounded just as majestic as their eponymous theme tune from 1980. Bruce Dickinson is still the ultimate metal frontman, charging round the multitiered stage and waving a huge Union Jack for a hair-raising gallop through The Trooper. The Clairvoyant heralded the arrival of the band’s giant mascot, Eddie — who this evening was 10ft tall and regally attired — while the communal roar of Run To The Hills brought Download’s debut day to a triumphant conclusion.

By Manish Agarwal