With Download Festival set to make its Australian debut in Melbourne this weekend, it’s time to hold onto your butts and brace yourselves for a whole lotta’ heavy.
Given there’s only a few days until the festival arrives down under, who better to give us a quick-fire rundown on how to be the best festival-ready versions of ourselves that Matt Young from Melbourne grindcore lads (and Download act) King Parrot?
So, without further ado, here’s how to get ready for your BIG Download weekend.
King Parrot’s Download Festival Survival Guide: 10 Bits Of Wisdom
1. Bring an umbrella, especially if watching King Parrot; you will get wet. If they have hoses, you better bring a poncho or waterproof jacket too.
2. Get there early and support all the Aussie bands. It’s awesome that Download has given Aussie bands a chance to play. Take the blinkers off and open your eyes to the plethora of great music out there.
3. Eat loads of food before you go. Take your first and only shit of the day at the toilets early, before they get messy and nasty.
4. Drink water and don’t get too wasted so you can remember the day and your favourite bands, and not be the annoying wasted idiot. (This coming from a sober guy who has been the annoying wasted idiot many times previously. It’s not good.)
5. Don’t stand there filming the bands on your phone all day. The videos are never that great and you’ll probably never watch them again. Enjoy the moment, take a few snaps or a short video and get back to rocking!
6. Make sure you get your cash out before you get there to avoid ATM fees, and buy lots of merch!
7. Watch a band you haven’t heard before. You never know, you might just find your new favourite band if you keep an open mind.
8. If you see our bass player Slatts, walk up and give him a sloppy kiss on the cheek and tell him it’s from me. Let’s see if we can get it up around the 100 mark.
9. Plan your day, consult the map and be sure you know your way around the festival so you can get to where you need to be and not miss of the action.
10. Have a great time and bring a great attitude. That way everyone can have a blast, laugh, have fun and watch great music. King Parrot will see you at 7:00pm-7:30pm on the Dog Tooth Stage!
Download Festival will take place at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse this Saturday, 24th March. Peep the full lineup below, and the official set times and festival map right here.
Get To Know The 2018 Download Festival Australia Lineup
(In no particular order…)
Download Festival Australia 2018 Lineup
Cast Down
Joining…
Make Them Suffer
High Tension
Joining…
Korn (Only Australian Show)
Prophets Of Rage
Limp Bizkit
Mastodon
Good Charlotte
NOFX
Suicidal Tendencies
Gojira
Amon Amarth
Arch Enemy
Falling In Reverse
Neck Deep
Sabaton
Hot Water Music
Of Mice & Men
The Story So Far
Northlane
Trophy Eyes
Nails
Issues
Bad Cop/Bad Cop
Ocean Grove
Psycroptic
King Parrot
Clowns
Chase Atlantic
Cursed Earth
Alpha Wolf
Download Festival Australia 2018
Saturday, 24th March
Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne (18+)
Tickets: Official Website
Get To Know The 2018 Download Festival Australia Lineup
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Korn
Festival organisers say the nu-metal legends' Download Melbourne show will be the only show of their upcoming trip down under. Korn last toured Australia as part of the now-defunct Soundwave Festival in 2014, and for a while were trying to schedule a 2017 tour of Australia. -
Bad Cop/Bad Cop
The only all-female act on the lineup, this LA punk quartet will bring their politically-charged new album Warriors to Australia for Download next year. (Photo: Lindsey Byrnes) -
Amon Amarth
No strangers to the pit, these Swedish metal legends have been telling tales of Viking mythology since the '90s. This time around, they'll be returning to Australia with their latest album Magma in tow. -
NOFX
Fat Mike and co. were scheduled to perform at Soundwave Festival in 2016, before the event went under. They'll return in 2018, backed by their latest album 'First Ditch Effort'. (Photo: Joe Leonard) -
Suicidal Tendencies
The band's ever-changing roster of hardcore punks hasn't stopped them from knocking out 13 studio albums over the past three decades. Their current lineup features Mike "Cyco Miko" Muir, Dean Pleasants, Jeff Pogan, Ra Díaz and ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. -
Sabaton
This Swedish war machine will leave a trail of destruction in its wake, as it powers its way through crowds with latest album The Last Stand. Bring your helmets. -
Chase Atlantic
This trio of two Aussie brothers and their mate make dark alternative pop that's dotted with rock and RnB influences. They dropped their self-titled debut album earlier this year. -
Gojira
The French quartet have been messing with our heads through their intricate metal compositions since 1996, and have played at the now-defunct Soundwave Festival (RIP) in the past. -
Arch Enemy
Fronted by Canada's Alissa White-Gluz, this Swedish band have spent two decades travelling the world with their melodic death metal, including their 10th and latest album Will to Power. -
Neck Deep
These English pop-punks might have an average age of just 23, but they're rising so quick it's making our heads spin. They unleashed their third album The Peace and the Panic in August. (Photo: Megan Thompson) -
Mastodon
The prodigious metal stoners released their seventh album Emperor of Sand this year, and will be touring Australia for the first time since 2015. -
Falling In Reverse
No stranger to controversy, Falling In Reverse's frontman Ronnie Radke will be the centre of attention during his band's Download set. In September he had a drink thrown at him after telling fans to "sit the fuck down". -
Good Charlotte
The Madden brothers were "hustling" for a spot on the 2014 Soundwave Festival lineup, but it didn't happen. They'll return with their latest album Youth Authority, for their first Aussie show since 2012. -
Prophets Of Rage
This furious supergroup features members of Rage Against The Machine, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill, and they recently revealed they were planning their Aussie debut for 2018 off the back of their debut self-titled album. -
Psycroptic
Hailing from the dark depths of Tasmania, these death metal heads have a stack of albums under their belts, and have toured with the likes of Nile and Deicide. Their latest album was released in 2015. -
Hot Water Music
These Florida punks have been in the game a looong time. They released their latest album Light It Up earlier this year, and that's exactly what they plan to do at Download next year. -
Ocean Grove
This Melbourne crew's debut album The Rhapsody Tapes has made some serious waves this year (an ocean's worth, you could say), and they're ready to rep some nu-metal for their hometown. (Photo: Thomas Elliott) -
Clowns
These Melbourne punks aren't clowning around. Their molotov cocktail of punk, hardcore, rock and melodic pop came to the fore earlier this year with their latest album Lucid Again, which they were kind enough to chat about in this track-by-track breakdown. -
King Parrot
The Melburnian trouble-makers are off chops, and are known for a thrash punk frenzy that's as arousing as it is brutal. Just watch this video for proof. -
Nails
This savage California grindcore outfit have gone hell for leather since forming in 2009, and will be touring Australia in support of their latest record You Will Never Be One of Us. -
Of Mice & Men
Now without their former frontman Austin Carlile, these California metalcore heroes last toured Australia with A Day To Remember in 2016. (Photo: Lindsey Byrnes) -
Limp Bizkit
Fred Durst and company went rollin' through Australia in 2013, and since then fans have been holding out for their long-awaited sixth album 'Stampede of the Disco Elephants'. (Photo: Chiaki Nozu / Getty Images) -
Issues
This Atlanta outfit are known for their hybrid of metal and punk, with huge melodies and touches of hip hop and RnB rhythms. Just don't doubt their heaviness. -
Northlane
This Sydney metalcore crew needs little introduction, having toured up a storm in the wake of their latest album Mesmer. They dropped a Silverchair cover recently -- could we see it played live at Download? -
Trophy Eyes
This Newcastle five-piece have been selling out tours and playing international festival since they released their latest album Chemical Miracle last year. -
The Story So Far
The hardcore-infused pop-punk group have been rocking out since 2007, and have three albums to their name. And that's The Story So Far. -
High Tension
These Melbourne metal punks have been dealing blows for the last six years, and they're not stopping anytime soon. -
Make Them Suffer
The Perth metalcore outfit released their third studio album ‘Worlds Apart’ in 2017, and completed a 140-date world tour (!) in the same year. -
Cast Down
This Melbourne hardcore/punk/metal outfit were the final band to be added to Download's debut Melbourne lineup, after claiming victory in a triple j Unearthed competition.
