Review of Download Festival 2013

A review of the happenings at Download Festival 2013, Saturday 15th, Donington Park, UK

This year I almost didn't go. Yeah, I know! What was I thinking, right? Well, the line-up was average, money was tight, and our group was minimizing. Damn you economic depression! But then I thought: Iron Maiden. And I went. We stayed in the Main Stage for the whole day because of the mud, rain, wind, and errr the poor line-up I mentioned above. Sadly, we missed UFO and got in just in time for the the rest.

BLACK STAR RIDERS (AKA THIN LIZZY)

The latest incarnation of Thin Lizzy. I had no idea they changed their name and re-introduced themselves as such! I saw Thin Lizzy back in 2011 at High Voltage festival and enjoyed them very much. This time, refreshed I guess by the recent name change was no different. It took me a while to realise I was listening to and watching Thin Lizzy to be honest. They were quite good although lacking the energy I saw in 2011. Old age you say? Bollocks I say! I'd give them a 7/10 purely because of the short time slot which didn't allow them to play a longer setlist. It seems the boys never left town after all!

MASTODON 

Trying to decide between them and Katatonia, we decided to go for them. I wanted to see Mastodon for a while so it was the perfect chance. I don't claim to be a huge fan as I don't follow them too much but their latest album was really good. By the end of their set I was neither impressed nor disappointed which says a lot. I was left feeling indifferent and only slightly more interested in them. They were good but lacked enthusiasm. Despite that, I would see them again just in case! I give them a 6/10 with the hope that next time they'll surprise me more. By the way, they are a weird-looking bunch of guys aren't they?

ALICE IN CHAINS

Yeah what a surprise. Me, watching a grunge band. I liked Alice in Chains and although I don't enjoy grunge I always wanted to see them. The people there seemed to enjoy them so that says more than I can say. After listening about bones, rivers, brains and some roosters I catch my self yawning repeatedly. Sorry guys as much as you hate to admit it you are a grunge band and definitely not metal. There is so much grunge you can listen before you end up either brain-dead or killing your self because there is no hope left. I give Alice in Chains a 7/10 because they had good energy (only as much energy a grunge band can have!) and made people go nuts.

MOTORHEAD

 By this time you'd think "why did she even bother going then?". Here's your answer. Lemmy!!! Oh, and the waiting around impatiently was so worth it. Motorhead managed to do what none of the previous bands did; wake us up with a sound punch in the face. This year's Download suffered a lot from sound problems as the strong winds and rain did not make it easy for our ears. Lemmy fixed it. He turned up the volume to 11 and played his heart out. You'd probably say I'm very subjective as I'm known to be in love with Mr. Kilmister but I dare anybody to give me an example of a gig feat. Motorhead that they did not like. Lemmy talked to us but we did not understand. Then Lemmy played his bass and sang his songs and we didn't care about anything anymore. The special appearance of Phil Taylor was a pleasant surprise. The setlist was less than enough and I felt desperate thinking of what was to follow.  After all, they are Motorhead and they play rock n' roll and they always get a 10/10.

Rhetorical questions from our group expressed that night: Isn't Lemmy ready to settle yet? If diabetes didn't make Lemmy stop drinking what would? Is Motorhead's tour bus full of Jack Daniels, cokes, and Big Bang Theory box sets? Was there any single person who managed to get Lemmy drunk? How come Lemmy is still so humble?  Are Motorhead deaf yet? 

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

What a load of bullshit! What the hell is wrong with the Download organisers? Is it JUST me that believes bands like them don't belong in Download main stage line-ups? Especially before Iron Maiden and after (!) Motorhead! Honestly, I really don't get it. I spent that time sat down resting my legs, preparing mentally for Iron Maiden, re-filling my pint, and voiding my bladder! And they were still playing after all these. Sorry Queens of the Stone Age fans out there, this band sucks, big time. I won't bother rating the experience as I blocked the noise out. Photo is included for the sake of the review.

IRON MAIDEN

The legends! As their status requires, they were introduced by a spitfire which we thought was piloted by Bruce himself. Then they enter the stage and history is written. Whatever I say about them is not going to be enough really. I screamed and screamed 'till no voice was left. I danced around, banged my head, and smiled 'till my jaw went numb! The energy, the pyro, the show, the setlist, the Eddie re-incarnations, their brilliance! The show was not enough. I wanted more. Do I need to mention I give them a 10/10? Steve Harris is genius. Who writes songs like these? And Bruce... What Bruce's voice may be lacking nowadays (always in relation to when he was younger) he makes up for in energy, stage presence, enthusiasm, and all-round excellence! Sometimes I do wonder if Bruce managed to find that fountain of youth that Captain Sparrow was looking for. He is too good to be true, is he not?

THINGS I LEARNED/REALISED AT DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2013:

1. I prefer my metal pure.
2. Download gets less and less creative in it's line-ups.
3. Mastodon is a really good band but they seriously need to re-think those hairstyles.
4. Grunge is definitely not my cup of tea. Definitely.
5. Lemmy must be god. He subtly proves it every time he picks his bass and steps on the stage.
6. I want to know what it is that people like about Queens of the Stone Age as I personally don't get it.
7. There should be a National Iron Maiden day declared in the UK. Just because you people are so lucky they are British.
8. I could imagine myself putting a food stall and selling souvlaki next to the main stage at some point in the future!
9. Once a year is not enough; make Donwload a twice-a-year happening.

Limited videos arriving soon on my YouTube channel here.

Read More

Not Another Music Review!

I hate music reviews. There I said it! I hate the fact that they all read the same. I hate that the reviewer thinks their opinion matters. I hate that they actually think they can do it properly. I even hate that they think they are in a position to do it in the first place!

As I said before, any person, with a functional set of ears (or one), and a good taste in music (anything except pop; I have an issue with that) can actually "review" an album, a band, a song, or a gig. But basing your whole preferences and taste on certain people's judgements and opinions (which can be situational by the way) is, plainly put, ridiculous. Fair enough, there are impressive reviews out there by important people in the music business, who use a combination of fancy and intellectual words to describe the lyricist's subconscious struggle with their inner fears or the guitarist's solo virtuosity or even the bass player's skilful versatility in balancing harmony with rhythm, which can be somewhat "use"-full(?). [We all know that a music review that uses the word "bass" -let alone the bass player's skills- does not really exist!]

So you can imagine the position I was in when I was asked by a friend to review an alternative band. At first I hesitated, because as I mentioned above "Who the hell am I to tell you what is good and bad", right? Plus, I am not into alternative rock that much and I have no reviewing skills as you may have noticed from previous attempts! But then it occurred to me that I have actually been doing it (reviewing that is)...a lot, but in an alternative way! So I thought, why not do an "alternative" review for these guys? Also, the band is actually good. 

Here it is then. It's small, different (or alternative if you prefer), with links so you can see for yourself. I don't currently have a personal relationship of any sort with the band members and I made sure I listened to their album before I even talked to them. So basically, I am not that biased! Also, just to make it perfectly clear, I have no musical education of any kind. Therefore, I base my opinion solemnly on what my two perfect ears feed back to my brain neurons!

The Band
The band is called Waterblack. It originates from Cyprus and the city of Limassol but with strong UK connections as most of the band members were born and/or currently reside in the UK.

From left: Eco, Marcos, Xenios, Chris, & Byron

They formed in 1996 by Andreas Economides a.k.a. Eco and Chris Charalambides who are the only two original founding members in the band today. Eco, much like Dave Grohl (but a bit more "blessed" in the vocal department in my opinion), developed skills in an array of musical instruments starting as the band's drummer and ending up as the lead vocalist and guitar player. Also, he's the main player in regards to writing the lyrics and the songs' structure along with Chris.

Chris is the tech-guy being the band's keyboardist, producer, and sound engineer all together. Kind of like a mixed grill! He is also responsible for the song arrangements and I hear that his live performances are... well, noticeable!

Xenios is the newest addition to the family. Having traveled around the world and acquired a buttload of skills, he soon realised his place as the band's lead guitarist. He does mixing, sound engineering, recording, producing.... to perfection. I am pretty sure he does some other "little" things too! He even built his own Fender Stratocaster (!) and is one of those people who claim to listen to all kinds of music!

Byron is the bass player as well as the "marketing director" of the band. He is well-educated in music composition, so much that he is planning a career out of it by starting a PhD. Although he started off with classic guitar he ended up taking up the bass and refusing to let go!

Last but not least, Marcos, is unlike your typical drummer. He is characterised as a mature, well-behaved, professional, and composed drummer! A breed we need to help sustain! He is also an aspiring genius (considering he's currently doing a PhD in Neurophysics).

The Music
The album which was produced at Soundscape studios is called Orem and consists of 11 songs. The songs are infused with grunge sounds reminding me of the '90s era I grew up to, with the sounds of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden blasting out from the radios. The drumming is sometimes funky, especially in the first song, and gave away the drummer's "jazzy" influences. This compliments the bass guitar which is skilfully prominent at times and pretty impressive. You've got to love their song arrangements! The keyboards remain somewhat ingeniously in the background, yet powerful, filling in the right places and creating a nice ambience while the guitars are simple and clear almost speaking to me explaining the songs in a way the lyrics cannot. The lyrics are very creative and poetic yet remain a mystery to me, but I think they represent their personal experiences and I got a hint of social angst as well! The voice is quite powerful, and "oozes" grunge but without the annoying post-grunge growling/yarling "singing" style (i.e. Nickelback).

Conclusion
I could characterise their sound as "alternatively grunge" served in a bed of funk, in a sauce consisting of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, with a hint of Nirvana, a sprinkle of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, some U2 flavourings, and complimented with a good old Greek Rock!

Songs I really enjoyed listening to multiple times are "M", "Burdened Youth", and the darker "Living in the Ruins". But all the above don't really matter. What matters is your own opinion which will only be formed by listening. Here are some links to get you started:

Website where you may find more information about the band and their music, including the list of awards they received.
Facebook page where you may listen to their album for free and try to decode their lyrics.
YouTube channel where you may see some of their previous live performances and some unreleased songs.

I must point out and say I don't listen to grunge that much and I don't know much about it either. Hence, the lack in usage of fancy words and technical critique. All I know is that I liked their music and can't wait to see them live so that I form a well-rounded opinion. I'm just glad to know that original music from talented people is still being produced back home!

Hmmm.... I think I'm getting good at this alternative reviewing thing! So, what are your thoughts on the featured band then?
_________________________________________________________________________________
Image credits:
http://www.innovatrs.com/

Read More