DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2011 REVIEW

Once a year Donnington Park Race Track, transforms from a high speed race course to an arena for dedicated Rock fans, and this year was no exception. With headline performances from Def Leppard, System of a down and Linkin Park it was bound to be a good weekend from the word go, and it did not disappoint. Friday held the biggest surprise of the festival, with The Darkness putting on an amazing performance much to the shock of many. A combination of old and new songs allowed for many a moment of dancing, by a huge crowd, along with a ten thousand strong karaoke style sing along. Justin Hawkins voice, as high pitched as it always has been, stayed strong throughout the performance and the whole crowd left smiling. Saturday gave us the best of the weather, and several awe inspiring performances. Skindred, a reasonably unknown Welsh 'Ragga Metal' band, livened up the afternoon, with front man Benji Webbe getting the crowd laughing with his comic ramblings. Their most popular songs went down a storm and with System of a down later in the day, everyone left in a good mood. A few hours later and the time had arrived, having recently got back together after hiatus, the anticipation to see System of a down was unbelievable. And, like the whole weekend, they did not fail to impress. With an impressive set up of lights and pyrotechnics, the show was massive. It was a perfect end to the night, with the songs sounding just as the did on their albums so many years ago. And then came the rain. Sunday brought the rain, and lots of it. Despite the fact it had been raining all day many people stuck with it and waited to see Linkin Park at the very end of the day, and it was definitely worth it. Like System of a down, Linkin Park had an impressive stage set up, with many video's projected onto the back of the stage. This set up added to the fact that the whole band sounded pitch perfect and Mike and Chester's voices rang superbly throughout the arena. Their outstanding performance, even with the rain, finished the festival perfectly and showed exactly why so many attend each year.