Joe Elliot gives a thumbs up in the direction of fellow Download headliners, Faith No More.

Joe Elliott has had a few kind words to say about Faith No More. The mighty alternative rock band will play their first shows in over a decade this week at Brixton Academy and Download respectively.

Eliiott has said:

“When they (Faith No More) got together I was raving about them… They were embarrassed, I think because they weren’t Leppard fans!”

“‘The Real Thing’ was a phenomenally great record. Those guys went through such a meteoric rise that they didn’t know where they were, then they released an album no-one bought and they split up.”

“Kudos to bands like us and Iron Maiden who’ve managed to avoid all that. Now the band are older and wiser, they’ll probably say, ‘I wish I’d done it differently’ and I can’t help having a wry smile ‘cos we did things differently.”

Elliott goes on to talk about how Def Leppard rode out the grunge and alternative revolution, saying: “We knew we were doing nothing wrong. Public perception just changes, but it always tends to change back if you have the patience to ride it out — now our ticket sales are the strongest they’ve been for 20 years.”

“We knew we were doing nothing wrong. Public perception just changes, but it always tends to change back if you have the patience to ride it out — now our ticket sales are the strongest they’ve been for 20 years.”

If you can’t make it to Download this year, Metal Hammer will be on hand to bring you the biggest and best reviews live from Donington as the action unveils! Gill and Beez will also be on hand to blog about all of the backstage shenanigans on the site and on our Twitter and we’ll be bringing you the very best interviews, live from Download! Don’t miss out!

Download will take place on June 12th – 14th at Donington and will feature sets from Faith No More, Slipknot, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, The Prodigy, Limp Bizkit, Motley Crue, Marilyn Manson, Korn, ZZ Top, Down, Killswitch Engage, Journey, Clutch and many, many more.

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