Reunited: The Darkness return at Download
In under a fortnight, it will be time for this year’s Download Festival. Acts like Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper and Danzig will be gracing the stages, but who are Female First looking forward to most? Here are ten of our most anticipated acts for this year’s festival.
Who are you looking forward to most? Be sure to check back after the festival for reviews and interviews from this year’s event.
Bowling For Soup
Not the heaviest band on the bill by any stretch of the imagination, Bowling For Soup are still a relatively familiar face at Download. With bands like Plain White T’s on the bill, the Texas pop-punk superstars should go down a treat.
The real reason they make this list - besides their near constant stream of infectious tunes - is confirmation of an acoustic set from BFS members Eric and Jarrett. The pair have done a few tours in a similar vein, and it adds an extra depth to Bowling For Soup’s material.
Currently supporting their seventh studio album Fishin’ For Woos, the quartet can be expected to play a set balancing new material with a variety of their fan-favourites.
Funeral For A Friend
Welsh quintet Funeral For A Friend are currently touring in support of Welcome Home Armageddon, their fifth studio album and first since Darran Smith left the band last year.
The new album manages to be a progression whilst still being a return to form, very reminiscent of Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation, seen by many as one of the greatest post-hardcore albums of the previous decades.
FFAF just played an exciting set at Hub Festival, blending new and old material seamlessly. Fans can expect a similar set at Download, with classic tracks like “Streetcar” and “Juneau” supported by new tracks “Sixteen” and “Front Row Seats to the End of the World”.
The Gaslight Anthem
Despite not having any brand-new material, The Gaslight Anthem are always an exciting live band, and a great addition to this year’s Download Festival.
Brian Fallon will be on the Revival Tour this autumn, so this is a good chance to see The Gaslight Anthem before he has to break away later this year.
The band did, however, begin writing their new album in January. That said, it probably won’t impact the set-list too much. It may be a chance to gauge fan opinion early, trying out a couple of new tracks whilst performing material from their previous three albums.
Frank Turner
Singer-songwriter Frank Turner is an odd fit for Download Festival, and many are wondering whether he will be well-received. An exciting live act, the former Million Dead front man shouldn’t have any big problems winning any sceptics over, although it may be a battle.
Frank’s set will come just under a week after the release of England Keep My Bones, the folk/punk singer’s fourth studio record, the follow-up to 2009’s Poetry of the Deed.
Seeing Turner at Manchester’s Night & Day proved that his new material fits perfectly alongside his older tracks. With festival slots almost always meaning the artist is slightly pushed for time, fans at Download may get a couple of new songs, although maybe shouldn’t expect a completely new set.
The Darkness
One of the most anticipated bands at this year’s festival, The Darkness will make their return six years after they broke up amidst Justin Hawkins’ downward spiral into drug addiction.
After members went their separate ways with Hot Leg (Justin Hawkins) and Stone Gods (whose initial line-up included The Darkness alumni Dan Hawkins, Richie Edwards and Ed Graham), rumours began to circulate about a possible return for the glam-rockers.
Earlier this year it was finally announced that the Hawkins brothers would be reforming with Ed Graham and original bassist Frankie Poullain reuniting in the rhythm section. It was also announced that a new album is in the works.
The band will be performing a couple of warm-up shows over the next two weeks, so they should be more than ready when they hit the stage at Download. Hopefully the set won’t include a preview of any new material.
There will be plenty of time for that if the band choose to tour before the album, but to play any new tracks at Download may be a waste of their set. The Darkness would be best served to dedicate their set to the best songs from their previous two albums. If they play their cards right, this could be the best main stage set of the weekend.
System of a Down
Another reunion set for Download Festival is System of a Down, back together for the first time since they went on hiatus in 2006. No album has been announced, instead the band have said that the reason for their festival dates in summer is just to play for the fans.
This most likely means a classic set and a brilliant opportunity to see SOAD back together again. If these shows go well, this could be the start of a “proper” reunion, so Download punters should be sure to see the band before they take another break.
Serj Tankian has been keeping busy with his solo project, and hasn’t skipped a beat in those live shows, so fans can expect an amazing show when SOAD reunite to headline at Donnington in a couple of weeks.
Linkin Park
Currently supporting last year’s A Thousand Suns, Linkin Park return to Download Festival this year, headlining the final day of the iconic rock weekend.
Following Bullet For My Valentine might be tough, but Linkin Park should have no problem, and could potentially steal the show for the entire weekend by the time their set draws to a close.
With no talk of new material yet, it doesn’t look like anything noteworthy will happen with the set, but promotion of their latest album can probably be expected.
The King Blues
Camden-based The King Blues will be performing at this year’s Download Festival, performing just under Funeral For A Friend. Both bands were part of this year’s Hub Festival, and their Download sets should be just as exciting.
At Hub, The King Blues did lean towards new material off Punk & Poetry, so older fans may be disappointed. That said, older tracks like “Mr. Music Man” are live staples sure to please the crowd.
Itch and the band have unrivalled energy on stage, and build their reputation on an exciting live show. It’s not a grand stage show, but the unbridled emotion from the band is refreshing to see, and their set is not one to be missed.
Lower Than Atlantis
They may be just under a lot of music fan’s radars at the moment, which is all the more reason to check out Lower Than Atlantis at Download Festival.
Their energetic brand of melodic hardcore is gaining them a good reputation for exciting live shows. Fans of Funeral For A Friend should definitely make time to see Lower Than Atlantis on the Friday before the bandwagon gets rolling too fast.
Pendulum
Aussie dance legends Pendulum are always an exciting live act, with a stunning lights show in the vein of The Prodigy’s live shows.
They may seem out of place taking to the stage after hardcore legends Korn, but no-one would bet against Pendulum stealing the show.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
In under a fortnight, it will be time for this year’s Download Festival. Acts like Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper and Danzig will be gracing the stages, but who are Female First looking forward to most? Here are ten of our most anticipated acts for this year’s festival.
Who are you looking forward to most? Be sure to check back after the festival for reviews and interviews from this year’s event.
Bowling For Soup
Not the heaviest band on the bill by any stretch of the imagination, Bowling For Soup are still a relatively familiar face at Download. With bands like Plain White T’s on the bill, the Texas pop-punk superstars should go down a treat.
The real reason they make this list - besides their near constant stream of infectious tunes - is confirmation of an acoustic set from BFS members Eric and Jarrett. The pair have done a few tours in a similar vein, and it adds an extra depth to Bowling For Soup’s material.
Currently supporting their seventh studio album Fishin’ For Woos, the quartet can be expected to play a set balancing new material with a variety of their fan-favourites.
Funeral For A Friend
Welsh quintet Funeral For A Friend are currently touring in support of Welcome Home Armageddon, their fifth studio album and first since Darran Smith left the band last year.
The new album manages to be a progression whilst still being a return to form, very reminiscent of Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation, seen by many as one of the greatest post-hardcore albums of the previous decades.
FFAF just played an exciting set at Hub Festival, blending new and old material seamlessly. Fans can expect a similar set at Download, with classic tracks like “Streetcar” and “Juneau” supported by new tracks “Sixteen” and “Front Row Seats to the End of the World”.
The Gaslight Anthem
Despite not having any brand-new material, The Gaslight Anthem are always an exciting live band, and a great addition to this year’s Download Festival.
Brian Fallon will be on the Revival Tour this autumn, so this is a good chance to see The Gaslight Anthem before he has to break away later this year.
The band did, however, begin writing their new album in January. That said, it probably won’t impact the set-list too much. It may be a chance to gauge fan opinion early, trying out a couple of new tracks whilst performing material from their previous three albums.
Frank Turner
Singer-songwriter Frank Turner is an odd fit for Download Festival, and many are wondering whether he will be well-received. An exciting live act, the former Million Dead front man shouldn’t have any big problems winning any sceptics over, although it may be a battle.
Frank’s set will come just under a week after the release of England Keep My Bones, the folk/punk singer’s fourth studio record, the follow-up to 2009’s Poetry of the Deed.
Seeing Turner at Manchester’s Night & Day proved that his new material fits perfectly alongside his older tracks. With festival slots almost always meaning the artist is slightly pushed for time, fans at Download may get a couple of new songs, although maybe shouldn’t expect a completely new set.
The Darkness
One of the most anticipated bands at this year’s festival, The Darkness will make their return six years after they broke up amidst Justin Hawkins’ downward spiral into drug addiction.
After members went their separate ways with Hot Leg (Justin Hawkins) and Stone Gods (whose initial line-up included The Darkness alumni Dan Hawkins, Richie Edwards and Ed Graham), rumours began to circulate about a possible return for the glam-rockers.
Earlier this year it was finally announced that the Hawkins brothers would be reforming with Ed Graham and original bassist Frankie Poullain reuniting in the rhythm section. It was also announced that a new album is in the works.
The band will be performing a couple of warm-up shows over the next two weeks, so they should be more than ready when they hit the stage at Download. Hopefully the set won’t include a preview of any new material.
There will be plenty of time for that if the band choose to tour before the album, but to play any new tracks at Download may be a waste of their set. The Darkness would be best served to dedicate their set to the best songs from their previous two albums. If they play their cards right, this could be the best main stage set of the weekend.
Tagged in The Darkness Download Festival