Fire. Fire everywhere, as Rammstein headline the first night of Download Festival 2016. The day promised a blistering line up of Korn, Killswitch, Babymetal and more.
Pyrotechnics are on point and hotter than ever for the German heavy metal icons, gladly welcomed back for the second time as headliners at Donington Park.
“Download - are you here?” grilled frontman Till Lindemann. The crowd surely was, as it swelled and roared in response. The performance was a symphony of pyromania, theatrical insanity and propaganda mockery.
Photo: Jenny Lyne
'Feuer Frei!' boomed out to an adoring crowd as Lindemann donned a suicide vest and flame thrower mouth piece. The epic set came to an end with ‘Sonne’ as the winged Engel makes a reappearance, lifting the unflinching Lindemann into the air for the final spectacle.
The crowd worshiped as the limited conversation uttered from the band was to express their gratitude as they knelt before the audience. Kicking of the start to an epic weekend, Rammstein gave a career defining performance that will never be forgotten.
Rammstein played:
Ramm 4
Reise, Reise
Keine Lust
Hallelujah
Zerstören
Feuer frei!
Seemann
Ich tu dir weh
Du riechst so gut
Mein Herz brennt
Links 2-3-4
Ich will
Du hast
Stripped
(Depeche Mode cover)
Encore:
Sonne
Ohne dich (Acoustic)
Engel
Despite the torrential downpour, Korn brought in a massive crowd to the Lemmy Stage that stretched as far as the eye could see. The band proved their worth as a consistent returner to the Download Festival - delivering fan favourites such as ‘Got the Life’ and ‘Freak on a Leash’.
Killswitch Engage lifted the soaked through audience by rattling of dirty American banter in between ’Hate by Design’ and ‘My Curse’. Prior to this the sugarcoated school girls Babymetal performed hypnotising choreography and cutsie anthems that were lavished by lookers on. Surely, this isn’t something that should be adored by metal fans, but we just can’t help it.
Photo: Matt Eachus
Early arrivers were in for a trip down memory lane with Alien Ant Farm, reminding us all why they were among the best of the American rock bands of our teenage years. And of course, BABYMETAL - an all-singing, all-dancing, J-Pop meets metal force of nature courtesy of the Fox God. All hail your new icons.
Download Festival continues today with performances from Black Sabbath, Deftones, Megadeth, NOFX, Skindred, Pennywise and many more. Check back at Gigwise for the latest news, reviews, photos and more from Download 2016.
