Avenged Sevenfold, Let Live, Royal Blood kick off Download 2014

The first day of Download festival kicked off yesterday, with sets from the likes of Royal Blood, Let Live and Avenged Sevenfold stealing the show.

Sunshine descended onto Donnington Park, with rockers enjoying temperatures of up to 26 degrees. Festival dress-up was also in full swing, with the Zombie Apocalypse out in full force for Rob Zombie’s main stage evening set.

At 5:55 things really kicked off on the Pepsi Max stage, with the Royal Blood duo blowning our minds with strong waves of contemporary rock and plenty of prog inspired riffage. A half an hour set was just about long enough for the twosome to give us a flavour of new material, plus mixing in radio friendly hits such as ‘Little Monster’ and ‘Come On Over.’

At times it’s hard to comprehend the amount of noise that comes from just a drum-kit and a bass and you often have to glance around the stage to check it really is just them playing. It’s obvious from the set today that Royal Blood are going to be huge, (so guys please just release your album already).

LA based band Letlive, stormed the stage shortly after with a relentless offering of fully charged punk-rock madness. Wearing a leg brace and hobbling out on crutches didn’t even appear to faze lead singer Jason Butler, as the frontman crowd surfed and climbed up the side of the stage rigging.

Ending the night with a headline slot from Avenged Sevenfold, the Orange County heavy metallers rocked out the mainstage with a set to please both old and new fans. The band launched into tracks like ‘Nightmare’ and ‘Hail To The King’, with a stage backdrop covered with skeletons and torn flags.

They also took the time to thank their deceased drummer Jimmy (The Rev) Sullivan, dedicating the track ‘So Far Away’ to the man who they said would be “looking down on them with pride tonight.” Weirdly, after a day full of scorching sunshine, this was the only time the heavens opened.

Avenged Sevenfold certainly proved that they’re more than ready for festival headline status, topping off the set with flames and fireworks to woo the crowd. After a day of incredible metal and rock offerings we can’t wait to see what day two has in store for us.