Battlecross - Download 2014

Fuck the big stages, fuck the head-liners, the Red Bull Studio Stage was the place to be on Friday night at Download 2014, for a small half hour slot by a little band from Michigan called Battlecross, who do nothing but impress during their sadly short 30 minute set.

(Photo by Kevin Gaughan)

Fronted by Gumby (Kyle Gunther), who has possibly the best voice I've heard since Randy Blythe, and backed by guitars from Tony Asta and Hiran Deraniyagala,without doubt two of the most talented new musicians in their genre. Then there is Don Slater on the bass, who has long been one of my idols, dispelling any hint of the myth that metal bass is nothing but plectrum wielding root note players, he combines incredibly composed bass-lines with a range of outstanding playing techniques, making players like Les Claypool sound like your gran!

(Photo by Kevin Gaughan)

They seized their first opportunity at Download, filling the stage and consistently embracing their audience, making their performance feel personal while still being completely brutal. Unfortunately though, the sound engineer was pretty useless and large amounts of the vocals were totally lost in the mix, a great shame, but the those in the crowd that knew the songs made up for it by passionately singing (or shouting) along.

My personal highlights were Kaleb, which Gumby explained was written about his son and therefore dedicated it to him for father’s day, Beast from their most recent album War of Will, and their opening song Push Pull Destroy; the song responsible for their European following. 

(Photo by Kevin Gaughan)

It is performances like this that maintain Download as one of the best festivals in the world, giving us fans an insight into the future of our beloved genre.

I remember seeing Trivium in 2005, a little band with pretty much a child on vocals, and knowing I was watching something special, one of Download's great "I was there" moments.

This was another of those moments and I guarantee in a few years the couple of hundred people that ventured into the Red Bull Studio Stage to watch Battlecross’s first Download appearance will be boasting that they were there when Gumby and gang performed their half hour set.
Absolutely incredible and without doubt, the best performance of the entire weekend!

Check out Battlecross live at Download 2014:
(Footage by Kevin Gaughan)

Find them here: http://battlecrossmetal.com/
or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/battlecrossmetal?fref=ts

Battlecross also won my band of the weekend, and were used in an official promo video:
(Official footage from Download Festival, used on Sky Arts. Battlecross footage by Kevin Gaughan)