To pack a tent, to grab some food, to say goodbye to the MP4, to turn off the Facebook and to take a flight to a place where everything is about Rock and Metal (and Core & Punk) that located in the country that it was all invented - England. Everyone that has been to this festival understands what all the noise is over the Donington Park's June event. It's a festival that takes everything that you know about loud music to the next level and give you a chance to actually live in it and it's not all just about the bands; Download is a place where it's fun to simply walk in the village and to meet new people and to go to some of their discos.

I came to the festival on Friday morning, where the arena was full of people with shirts of every band you will think of. From CANIBAL CORPSE to QUEEN, I think that there were even ONE DIRECTION shirts around. All of those people came from different genres, to the festival to enjoy, a full experience of loud music.

Friday

The excitement got to a high with ALL THAT REMAINS , a band that I was really looking forward to, getting on stage to officially open Download festival. But with all the anticipation, disappointment comes too. As much that I liked almost all of their albums, I had to ask- what happened to this band? What happened to the shows where we saw Philip Labonte looking at the crowd with a face of 'I'm going to kill you, and you, and you too'. They talked to the crowd, they really tried to make it a good show, but the band was so tired and we could see in their eyes that they just want to go home. So there was no movement, no energy and just a feeling of a missed opportunity to make a great opening. I think that the band really need to make a break from tours until they will resume their energy, because without it, it's just a waste of time.

After I got over the first band, it was time to make things right with one of the greatest super-groups on the planet HELLYEAH. The legendary Vinnie Paul is on stage, finally I see the last living piece of PANTERA that I have never seen (after last year I saw Phill Anselmo and Rex Brown, and Dimebag Darrell I will see one day when I will be in hell) and now I understand why he calls this band 'band of brothers'. We can really sense how much the band members are matched and on the same page with each other. "Are you ready to give me some blood for blood, Download?", asking Chad Gray (and when will MUDVAYNE gets reuniun?) before he starts screaming the lyrics of "Sangre por Sangre". Great show and for me this was the true beginning of Download 2015.

Another show that disappointed me was AT THE GATES which suffered from a lack of communication between the band and the crowd. I'm not a fan of over talking, but I'm really not a fan of a silent between all the songs. The band got off the stage with no 'Thank you Download' or 'Goodnight'. Another bad thing was the setlist which was almost all of the songs from the new album and only a few from "Slaughter of the Soul".

But it's just fine, because the next band is the greatest and the most energetic Gothic bands in the all world. So yes, I had a lot of expectations for the LACUNA COIL, they are one of my favorite metal bands in the all world and a band I grew on. Do you remember when I wrote on ALL THAT REMAINS  - 'with all the anticipation, disappointment comes too', well than LACUNA COIL weren't as I expected either, they were a lot better. The Italians came up on stage with their crazy dark atmosphere and such a love for the crowd in Download. They starts with "Trip The Darkness" and go straight into their greatest hits such as "Spellbound" and "Heaven's A Lie", and they are just unstoppable. Another great thing about this show is that it made me fall in love once again with their songs and to re-appreciate the genius of this band. Only in this show I realized how amazing the dynamic between Andrea Ferro and the amazing Cristina Scabbia was, whom are both great singers but only together they brought the genius that lies in LACUNA COIL.

After "Nothing Stands In Our Way", the bands introduce the last and their best song "Our Truth", which was the best performance in their show. The band closed the show with a big smile, a lot of taste for more  and a bigger promise: "we will be back in here".

Last year, I saw LINKIN PARK when they played one of the most famous rock albums in this century at its fullest, and still I don't think it was close to the level of respect that FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH received when they went on stage in front of at least 80,000 people. With no special intro or any effects, the bands enter to the stage like real rock stars with the devil horns of 89,999 people (yes, one fan had fainted from excitement). The secret weapon of the band in their show is not the movement, it's the presence, the power, the energy as if emanating from a super-collider.

When the singer stopped with the commercials and began to sing, they broke the crowd to pieces. The song's performances weren't like in the album, as I prefer, and the band allowed themselves to better their live shows. The band went down from the stage as a true rock stars and left the crowd screaming for more songs.

The clouds starts to rumble and a huge rain is about to start, but not until JUDAS PRIEST enter to the stage. The thunder is hitting just when the Metal god Rob Halford is entering slowly to the stage, like the prince of a dark England with a black walking stick and clothing of a king. The band starts the show with "Dragonaut", from the new album, and continue with "Metal Gods" and all of their hits. A great show that showing again how much this band is a legend, but one thing that was really annoying in this concert is the big show that the band brought. When I say show I'm not suggesting ridiculous gimmicks like dancers, but the clothes' changes were too much in some point and the alternative intros in the middle of the shows felt too much like a pop show.

Scott Travis getting up on stage to do an encore and ask the crowd which song they want to hear, and all the crowd is screaming for one song, one of the greatest songs that ever written - "Painkiller".
The highlight of this show was that song and the last song of this concert - "Living After Midnight". And even when they 45 years active, JUDAS PRIEST is still stronger than any old school band that we will ever see.

But with all the respect for all of the bands, I came to Download today for one band. A band that I heard stories about, a band that I heard about people that survived their frightening mosh pits. The band with the most thrilling, dangerous, horrifying, and exciting concert on earth, and now in their most thrilling, dangerous, horrifying, and exciting version that we ever seen. With rain's drops in a size of my head and a mud that drowns you, SLIPKNOT is finally up on the stage. There are not many bands that will manage to bring 90,000 fans right in a middle of a storm just to see them playing. The security guards are getting ready for the madness, and there the costumed band getting up with "Sarcastrophe".

"Ladies and gentlemen, SLIPKNOT is home", saying Corey Taylor and prove again why he is the greatest crowd- flirter in the world. The crowd is getting out of their mind and I see a lot of the girls getting off from the field with a broken leg (not really nice), but I really can't blame them. SLIPKNOT is a band that their shows can actually bring out the dark side of you; it's something that you really need to be there to understand. But there comes "Spit It Out" and for the first time ever I'm attending at their legendary move on the crowd. The chorus part of the song starts and Corey Taylor don't even have to ask and all of the 90,000 people, from the front to the back, oldschool fans and new-school kids, wet and dry and super wet people (like me) , everybody is sitting down with the band until the lead singer screams "Jump the fuck up!", and Donington Park is getting an earthquake with all the fans jumping right into the skies. It's obviously the greatest and the craziest shows that has graced Download festival 2015.

The rain couldn't stop us, well at least not at the shows. I came back from that day with a broken phone, all wet clothes, and almost ruined tent, and I still would have given almost anything just to do this once again.

Saturday

So as I said, Friday really ruined all of my stuff and before I went to the bands I had a lot to do just to ensure my survival in the festival. So I got into the field just when HEART OF COWARD were killing it on the stage. Its was so hard to enjoy this show, with the big rain that still attacked the crowd, the mud that was almost water, and the tiredness from Friday's result. But somehow, and I don't know how, this band got me right into the game again. This is what I love about Download, the bands they choose, that even if you never heard about them, even when the weather makes it harder for you, those band are so good and it's such a pleasure to watch them.

HEART OF COWARD gave 200% of themselves and they knew that they had a challenge to make the exhausted crowd to start dancing for them. I really think that if this band were in another place in this festival I could even enjoy a lot more than I ever enjoyed there, but for now this band brought me back into the festival.

Now it's the turn of another great band FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND that came on the stage without introduction. They were the sub-headliners of Download festival 2006, and for a person who saw this show on YouTube I had a big expectations for how this show can be. However, it really didn't; they were far away from the band that I saw. I'm not saying that this show was bad, because it's still FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND and by the end of the show they had some energy, but it's just not living up to the band's reputation as a live act. Maybe it's because of the early hour or maybe it's because that the crowd was still tired. Even the setlist was disappointing. Where were hits like "Monsters" or "Pencil Pusher" that the crowd and myself really wanted to hear?

I think that the band started really to open up only in the middle of "Streetcar" and then they really showed a taste from the things that happened in 2006, all the energy that they emanate.

Smoke and a lot of investment in effects of the show (plenty for a 3rd band) declared the beginning of the big surprise of MALLORY KNOX. I thought that their show will be good, but I didn't realize my expectations would be blown away. The band just gave 300% of themselves and we could see how much they wanted to be here in Download festival, how much they love the crowd and this is why the crowd loved them back. One example is two girls that stood beside of me in the show and were hardcore fans of the band; I saw how the band smiled to them and referred to them like they were a real family. This is how bands should perform and act, and this is why I think that this band will be one of the biggest hopes of the UK's Alternative Rock scene.

One of the bands that I mostly looked forward to see on Saturday is HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD. I have been listening to this band since 2008, but I never got a chance to see them. The band with the masks came on stage with the new album song's "Usual Suspects". The band had amazing talks, not too much and not too few, exactly how I prefer bands interacting with the crowd. The songs of the band are such a great fit for concerts with the band thoroughly enjoying the energy of the show. One thing that I do need to say about the show is the setlist. As a fan of the band, I did expect to hear more songs from all of their albums like "Young","We Are" and especially "Been To Hell". In the end of the show, I can;t say that I wasn't less than satisfied.

At full disclosure I must say, I don't like PARKWAY DRIVE's songs. Maybe I managed to like "Wild Eyes", especially because of the song's riff, but I couldn't stand the other songs. So I went to their show only to keep a place for RISE AGAINST and other bands. However, one thing that I learned from this show is that you don't have to like the band to enjoy their show. That is because this band gave so much energy and really enjoyed the show; I think one of the reasons that the show was so good was really the crowd that have been so great and gave to the band so much love and a lot of circle pits. "Download, you guys are one of the dirtiest crowd that we ever had", said Winston McCall, who couldn't stop smiling. I think that there were better shows this weekend, but none of them really enjoyed their show like PARKWAY DRIVE.

One of my favorate bands in the festival were with no doubt RISE AGAINST. When it's still raining and the field is full with mud, more than any other year, but the crowd is still standing and ready for more, and then the band came. Crazier than ever, they started with "The Great Die-Off", but I think that everybody really opened up in the third song, "Give It All", when the band literally gave their all. The highlight of the show for me was with their best song "Re-Education  (Through Labor)", where nobody stayed indifferent and everyone, with mud or no mud, rain or no rain, everyone screamed the words of the song. RISE AGAINST did a perfect show and left me once again speechless.

Every year, the festival managers give a lot of respect to young bands that have a lot of potential. Last year it was BRING ME THE HORIZON that gave one of the greatest shows I ever seen in a show that brought them to be the most talked-about band of last year. The crowd is getting a lot bigger, the sound of the landing on the moon is in the background, and A DAY TO REMEMBER is starting an earthquake when they begin with "Downfall Of Us All". The only word that I can say to describe the show of this band is just 'addiction'. Why? Because their show is coming so fast and it's impossible not to be addicted to their madness. Even the oldschool people that waited for FAITH NO MORE couldn't help but embrace the atmosphere, to embrace the crowd, to embrace the band. The highlight of the show was on "Sometimes Youre The Hammer, Sometimes Youre The Nail" that in the middle we got a visit from Jeremy McKinnon that gave it to the crowd to sing the final part of the song. Even so that most of the bands were amazing with the crowd, I don't think that any of them had the connection and the love that this band shared. Download's manager had done the impossible and they even outdid the choice of BRING ME THE HORIZON with A DAY TO REMEMBER with an even bigger concert than the last band, and one of the greatest shows that had ever graced Download festival.

I watched a few shows of FAITH NO MORE, and although that they are one of the best bands that formed in the 90's, I had no expectations for their show. I don't know how and why, but this show became to one of the best shows in this crazy Saturday. Mike Patton and his friends couldn't stop making jokes and having fun on the stage. Patton went into the security guards area and borrowed a microphone from one security guard and said "Danger, danger, everything is going to get epic." and then started the band's hit "Epic". The lead singer wasn't the only one who was great in this show, all of the band were discovered as an energetic and funny bunch. FAITH NO MORE were a big surprise (not as much as the next band, but we will get to it) and one of the best shows in this day. Another great piece news was that after a long days of storms, finally the rain stopped, and finally we could have more fun.

So as I said, it was a very long Saturday in Donington Park. A lot of rain, a ton of mud, and still when I saw the stage of the final band, I knew that it was worth it, because I'm going to see MUSE. Once in generation there is one legendary band that comes from the UK, and I glad to say that I saw them on live.

Already in the first song I understood what is it that this band is doing differently that made them one of the most successful bands in the world, that their dedication to music is paramount. In "Psycho", for example, Metthew Bellamy fell from the stage and almost broke his arm, and it took less than a second for him to get up and to continue like nothing happened.

"We have songs especially for you", said Bellamy before he starts with the surprise of this evening - MUSE's heavy set. I love MUSE and I know a lot of their songs, but I never even dreamed that I will hear those songs in this show. The set was so heavy that I almost didn't recognize anything. With "Citizen Erased", "Dead Star" and even "Agitated" I just couldn't believe what was happening. The band also did performed hits such as "Hysteria","Upsring" and the highlight of this show in "Plug In Baby" when the band gave to the crowd to sing half of the song. And in the end, the set closed with an electrifying performance of the masterpiece "Knights Of Caldaria". I think that from all of the shows, this show was the best in this festival.
Sunday

It's Sunday in the morning, the sun is shining and the bands are getting ready and only this lazy writer is saying: "Just 5 more minutes please". Suddenly I get it - I'm in the last day of Download 2015. 30 minutes later I find myself in the front of the stage and waiting for the first band.

As I prepared, I heard for the first time the songs of POP EVIL, and each consecutive performance was better than the last. I must implore that this band is not from this world. The band started the show a little bit tired with the first few songs; I think that they first burst in the end of "The Last Man Standing" . Perhaps it was just the time of day, but when they opened up they were energetic and they could talk great with the crowd. Still, one thing that a little bit bothered in the show was the set list. The band didn't perform their greatest hits such as "Behind Closed Doors", they brought out more lesser-known songs and some from their new album that I haven't heard. It's not that it wasn't good, but for people who know this band, it could have been a more exciting experience.

And than came out the guitar sound of 36 CRAZYFISTS. A few weeks after this show, and still I remember how fantastic this one was. This band showed some impressive energy that no band displayed in that early hour of the afternoon.. They have so much power and they are not afraid to use it. They just know what the crowd want and they know how to play on them to give them what they want - mosh pits. And yes, the band got the biggest crowd of an early-show in this festival. When they know that they have in their hand all of the 30,000 people that been in the main stage in this hour, they turned to the last song, "Slit Wrist Theory", which was absolutely the best performance of Sunday. In the last chorus, Brock Lindow gave the microphone to the crowd and even the people that weren't fans of this band screamed "Lace me up, lace me up, I'm still looking for these angels in the snow".

Before that I start to write about CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, I have to say: it's not SEPULTURA and its not SOUFLY, thoughI know that everything that Max Cavalera touches is turning into gold. Still, I had hopes that Max Cavalera will return to the things that he did in the SEPULTURA in this show. But the CAVALERA CONSPIRACY is more dependent on their lead singer and except for him there is not really muchthat the band is doing. Cavalera did excite the crowd to a point, but even he got tired and the overall performance subsequently deteriorated. The song that I really can say that saved the day is "Roots Bloody Roots" where it was impossible not to get crazy in this classic song. In the bottom line, if you want to see the legendary singer in a show, this is the place, but if you want to see him in his best, you better see SOUFLY.

Behind the stage I saw Anders Fridén, who looked so much different lately that I couldn't recognize him. So I thought "wait is it really the Anders? No there is no way he is that calm", and you have no idea how different he is when he is off the stage, and I speak as a big fan of his songs. IN FLAMES got on the stage and showed why they are the kings of Sweden. Hell, 50% of the crowd is actually from Sweden ("you couldn't just leave us alone?", asking Fridén). IN FLAMES have existed for 25 years and this band is not getting older, they are even getting better. The only bad thing that I could say about this show is the setIist; know I that it's something that I keep complaining about but I really wanted to hear songs like "The Mirror's Truth". Still, I can't say that this ruined anything; I think that this is one of those bands that know how to make us hear with the eyes.

"Do you think that I will survive in the front in LAMB OF GOD's concert?", asked me some girl in the front. "If you don't have at least 9 souls, you won't", I answered. Luckily, I bought 20 on the Duty Free and I lost only 11 so I could see the best band of Sunday. And there they coming slowly with "Desolation" when the last to come out is Randy Blythe. Like Corey Taylor and SLIPKNOT, this band is also a band that can play to your soul and release the madness of the crowd. Blythe is not only the best singer that I have seen today, he is one of the greatest performers in this world. He has a charisma that no crowd can resist. "I want to see the biggest circle that this wonderful festival has ever seen right here", saying the lead singer before he is starts the craziest performance for "Laid To Rest". As usual, the song that takes all the fun in and bring all the energy from the crowd was with no doubt "Redneck" where the lead singer almost couldn't be heard with the screams of the crowd, and when a sea of people started to kick each other. Once again, the band closed their set with a killer performance of "Black Label". There is no words to describe how crazy this show was; Mark Morton and his friends went down from the stage when the all crowd yelling one sentence for 5 minutes in a row- "We want more!".
KISS

I actually really wanted to go and see SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, however after LAMB OF GOD I couldn't even walk, so I sat down on the grass and I saw KISS. So what can we say about this show? They have a stage that is worth a million dollars, an amazing fireworks display and a lot of visual effects. Seems to be great no? Well, no. As a matter of fact it's the most terrible show that I ever seen in Download. I've seen young bands with more charisma, I've seen monks with more movement and I've seen pop stars with more swagger. "I know that you all love us and dying to hear all of our classic hits", said Paul Stanley. Well, then I think that if the crowd love them so much than they will forgive them for this show, and if KISS are loving the crowd so much than they will forgive all of the crowd that left in the middle of the show.

The best bands of this festival were-

4^th place: It's not even a question that LAMB OF GOD deserve a big and honorable place in this list. The energy, the charisma, they are absolutely the kings of Sunday.

3 ^th place: Connection with the crowd is something that I can't ignore, so A DAY TO REMEMBER was one of the craziest shows in Download.

2 ^th place: A special show is something that I will always have fun with, so MUSE and their amazing set is one of the highlights of Download Festival

1 ^th place: KISS were the greatest... Just kidding. The most dangerous show that I ever took a part in is when the rainstorm struck and SLIPKNOT went out and played in the craziest show I ever seen. The atmosphere was amazing, and it's not just this band getting this place, it's also the rain that made it all the more intense.

In summary, it's been three of the most exhausting, craziest, and the best days in all of my life. The thing that I love in this festival is that it's just taking everything that Rock and Metal music have to offer and center it all in one amazing place that is called Download festival. And I don't think that there's any festival in the world today that can put this atmosphere. As RISE AGAINST's  Tim McIlrath said: "All the festivals are so busy with money and bullshit, this is how festivals should be".