Friday

Bloody immigration in Angola stopped me from making the Friday meaning my fif****th Donington in a row started sh@te

Saturday

Left my hoos at 3 am to get down in time for start of play. Made it no problem and was on the beers in the dubs* at 11am

Alien Weaponary
Just caught three tunes. Didn't sound too bad.

Royal Republic
Just hanging out with my pals who I had just met and these guys came on. Thought they would be sh@te but I was way off. They were f@cking superb. A bit like the Hives with a singer who is f@cking bursting with charisma. Covered Battery by Metallica and covered it well. Cracking set with an awesome front man, Surprise of the weekend. Also promised to play Hammer Smashed Face by Cannibal Corpse if they are invited back

Power Trip
My pal was raving about these dudes. So I watched them on his recommendation. Pretty good. Bit of hardcore, a bit of thrash. Glad I watched

Behemoth
Same pal loves them. I dinna get it. Felt like it was on big song and samey. Nae a fan

Met Pauldolski at this point and got a few beers. Pleasure again

Skindred
You know what you get with these dudes, another affa charismatic frontman who whips up a frenzy every time I see them. Nae the worst, nae the best but decent watch at a festival

Trivium
Whiney pish

Stone Temple Pilots
With their new talent show singer these days but they were f@cking quality. Brought back my childhood a bit as my bro loved them. "Dead and Bloated", "*** Type Thing", "Vaseline", "Wicked Garden", "Plush", "Crackerman" all in there

Carcass
Couldn't see them as I couldn't get near the tent. Heard them. Ended up a bit worse for wear and packed myself home to Loughbrough. Definatley over did it. My mate carried on during Sliknot after I left. A Spewy Sunday for him and he didn't turn up until 14.30 on the Sunday looking and feeling like death. Maybe my sharp harp wasn't such a bad idea afterall.


Sunday

Cane Hill
Walked into the arena and it was dead and these boys came on. Nae my cup of tea

Dinosaur Pile Up
Saw them from a distance. Sounded pretty good. Old school rock. Ill have to check them out

I Prevail
Garbage of the highest order

Underoath
I was in the vicinity unfortunately. Garbage

Godsmack
Surprisingly good. Didn't think they would be for me. Nothing wrong with them. Decent drum off between the singer and the drummer during the set too. Wouldn't buy an album but they were ok live

Amon Amarth
These guys always put on a good show. Seem to turn up at Donington every other year. These vikings are decent.Quality stage show with pyro galore and a big f@ck off dragon. The crowd pretending to row a Viking ship was funny as f@ck. Good band

Lamb of God
Only watched fif**** mins as I was away to see Anthrax. They are what they are.

Anthrax
"Caught in a Mosh", "Got the Time", "Madhouse", "I am the Law","Now its Dark"(never seen that live), "In The End", "Antisocial", "Indians". Good set but not long enough. The one issue with festivals. Anthrax never fail though. I have seen them maybe ten times and they have never been sh@te

Dream Theater
Watched half of them as I was heading elsewhere. That's a band of talented radges. John Petrucci on guitar has serious chops. Some player. Their bass drum sound loosened a few of my teeth. Good band. Not everyones cup of tea but Im a fan. Shame they clashed

Municipal Waste
F@ck yeah. The best band of the weekend by a long way. I always thought these guys were the business since I heard Hazardous Mutation for the first time. Been a few years since Ive seen them which is not good enough. I was absolutely loving it. They were loving it too and they were right when they said we were better choosing them over the Smashing Pumpkins. I cant disagree. What helps sell a band when you see the are having a f@cking ball these Virginians clearly were. Heaps of tunes crammed in. "Mind Eraser", "Beer Pressure", The Thrashing of Christ", "Slime and Punishment", "Terror Shark", "The Art of Partying" "Sadistic Magician" "Born to Party" all present. So f@cking good. As "Born to Party" says "MUNICIPAL WASTE ARE GONNA F@CK YOU UP". Indeed

Slayer

The final gig in the UK ever. Sad times. Ill miss these legends. Huge part of my life over the years. One of my most listened to bands and one of the most seen bands too. Crowd was probably the biggest I've ever seen at the second stage. Hugemoungous. Set had a few surprises in it "Gemini" and "Evil Has No Boundaries". The rest was a usual Slayer set including the likes of, "Disciple", "Hell Awaits","War Ensemble", "Mandaotory Suicide", "Payback" (which has crept into sets in recent years), "Raining Blood", "Dead Skin Mask" and finisher "Angel of Death. As they finished I felt a hole open up. Nobody will replace them. Twentieth and last time I had seen Slayer, at my fif****th year on the bounce at Donington. Maybe a good time to sign off for me



*the dubs weren't as bad as in the past. The media in overhype shock. Muddy yes but there have been a few worse days. But I think I may have seriously damaged my right foot. Possibly broken. Happened before Slayer when it got stuck in the mud then made a funny click when I pulled it out. Sare as f@ck and swolen today.