Download 2014: Thy Art Is Murder and Feed The Rhino

Features
By ( Metal Hammer ) published

On a dreary Sunday, two of the festival's most energetic acts storm into the Pepsi Max stage

Everyone is hungover and knackered but that's not going to stop two of the hottest live acts in rock whip their arses into a frenzy.

With all the hoo-ha about Dying Fetus being Download festival’s most extreme band, many people seem to have forgotten that there are a few choice tidbits to be had if you’re a fan of the heavier end of the spectrum this weekend.

Thy Art Is Murder is a case in point, for all the fun element of their live shows, football kicking, drum throwing and amusing stage banter aplenty, this is a band with some seriously brutal tunes. And it’s great to see a group of their ilk filling up the Pepsi Max tent with a bunch of dedicated fans that sing every word back to them, as they do on the crushing Purest Strain Of Hate. CJ Mcmahon is an engaging frontman with a terrifying growl and the stage presence of a ticked off serial killer and the music is pure dissonant death metal without a core influence in sight.

Before they end with a pummelling Reign Of Darkness Mcmahon tells the crowd “If you don’t know who we are, we’re Thy Art Is Murder. Remember the name, we’re taking over this fucking planet.” They, and extreme music, might just do that on this evidence. (8) (CM)

Following TAIM are a band that have become a piece of rock festival folklore. Kent’s Feed The Rhino’s live show is always a high-octane affair and word has obviously spread across Donington as the big blue tent is packed with fans and onlookers hoping for something special.

In typical fashion frontman Lee Tobin is standing on the shoulders of the front row before they’ve played a single note of opener Flood The System, and from then on it’s half an hour of mayhem. It’s hard to take your eyes off Lee throughout the entire show as he runs in and out of the crowd, crowd surfing around and standing atop the stage speakers screaming his lungs into dust.

With new album The Sorrow The Sound out tomorrow, the set is a well-balanced mix of old and new but it’s Burning Sons that really gives Download a reason to scream and try to shake the fuzz out of their minds from the night before.

As the short but sweet set draws to a close, all eyes are still on Lee as he stands proudly in the middle of the crowd, tossing his mic away and getting in on the action while the rest of the band lose their collective shit on stage. Job done. (7) (LM)