those damn crows

Download XXIII – 2026 THE GIANT REVIEW!

by

Intro
Going into Download this year was a minefield of weather checking… do we need wellies or suncream? Reports of boggy campsites and wind-destroyed gazebos somehow turned into a weekend of rough sunburn and self-inflicted dehydration. On arrival, it seems like a lot of organisational work has been done to keep car queues to a minimum around the Donington site as well – a real improvement on last year.

We fight our way into the merch Megastore at the bottom end of The Village, only to find that some of the special collaboration products have already been stripped bare by campers. The Jolie Beauty set is completely cleared out – but we did manage to get our hands on it later on at the Press booth, and holy moly is it good. The lanyard palette is such a cool design, and the colours are so pigmented and perfectly matched to this year’s colourway. As a person who is constantly running around this festival, I can confirm that the ‘Mosh-proof setting spray’ that I used on Saturday and Sunday is the GOAT. Fingers crossed they’re back again next year with at least double the stock.

Issues abound with the much-anticipated Mary Wyatt collection, which once again features some of the best designs we have ever seen on festival merchandise – but just like last year, it’s basically sold out when we arrive early doors on Friday. The main wishlist items, like the Jersey, were gone on Wednesday according to staff, with no restocks. Please hear this as my plea for an additional arena-based Megastore, so that weekenders have a chance of getting their hands on some of this amazing stuff without paying hundreds of pounds (no really, the jersey was going for over £200 on Vinted on Monday…) to shithead resellers. I also could have spent a fortune on the stunning special edition jewellery from The Great Frog, but as you can imagine – they were sold out too!

Anyway, getting into the arena itself was also a bit of a wait – not an improvement despite last year’s complaints about missing early bands due to not having enough staff on the gates. I do think Download would benefit from having a secondary main entry point (maybe along the Opus side?), but I’m not sure how they’d make that work logistically. We’re looking forward to exploring the new set-up around the Avalanche stage area, though – we haven’t had a site restructure this big for a long time.

Friday
Opening the Apex stage is metalcore princess Scene Queen, wearing metallic pink cowboy boots, matching fringed arm cuffs, and sparkly daisy dukes. The final song is ‘18+’, with absolutely damning lyrics about underage girls on bands’ tour buses. It feels like the perfect opening commentary on a weekend where Axl Rose is headlining… she’s a force to be reckoned with. It’s a really strong start to the weekend, and she’s pulled a pretty big crowd.

P.O.D are giving us those early noughties nu-metal memories, but there aren’t enough oversized jorts and white tanks around yet for my liking. Guitarist Marcos Curiel welcomed his newborn daughter (born last night!) and the final song is dedicated to her.

Hollywood Undead have spawned a humungous crowd, and rightly so. With samples ranging from Ozzy Osbourne to Slayer mixed into their rowdy rap metal, there’s no debating their right to grace this stage – but I am surprised to hear everything slightly faster and more amped up than recorded. As a mosh pit tactic, it’s working; there are a LOT of people crashing around down there. ‘Everywhere I Go’ is definitely the one everyone knows; they’re even singing it way up the hill.

If you showed me a line-up and said one of these bands is from Berlin, I absolutely would have picked the one with the guy who looks like a Wes Anderson movie protagonist. Over in the Dogtooth tent are Vianova – dark, brooding metalcore with an electronic edge. They’d play in the club I would get turned away from after waiting hours in a plain black T-shirt, trying to pretend I’m cool. The entire crowd is singing along, it’s clear they already have a lot of fans here – and I had an absolutely fantastic time. They’re going straight onto my playlist.

Pendulum might not be the first band someone thinks of when they imagine Download Festival, but after that first booking in 2009 (when the stage was on hard-standing tarmac… honestly, whose bright idea was that? Oh, the head injuries…), they’ve become a solid Download favourite. They amp up the guitars and beats, giving everything a heavier edge than when they play elsewhere, and the arena is absolutely rammed. Despite the joy of having them on the main stage so more people can watch them, it’s sunny and it’s hot – their graphics and lights are getting lost, and this music deserves a shitload of lasers.

“We have a little surprise for you, Download…” they shout, as Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari fame bounces onto the stage for a truly epic drum and bass remix of ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner’. This is a collaboration universe I would very much like to see expanded in the future.

Next, we catch another fast and furious set from Electric Callboy, finally back after their unfortunate cancellation in 2024 due to illness – and the fans have really turned out for them. There are so many shell suits in this crowd that if an errant sunbeam hits, the whole place could go up in flames. ‘Tanzneid’ is a solid opener, and I loved the Sum 41 ‘Still Waiting’ cover. I’m always after those special crossover moments at festivals, and I’d really hoped that with Babymetal on the same bill this weekend, we might have seen them do ‘Ratatata’, but I guess the scheduling just didn’t work. I also thought they might do something with German techno legends Scooter (set to play later this weekend), since ‘Hypa Hypa’ is basically a tribute to them. Regardless, it was a scorching set.

Over in the Dogtooth tent, The Primals – Final Fantasy’s in-house band, created especially for the game series (which has its own very fancy arcade area over near The Village for people to play the newest instalment) – have amassed quite the crowd. Despite looking very much like The Blues Brothers, and with quite a number of the crowd waving K-pop-esque light sticks, they actually go hard — I really like them. They’re joined by long-time collaborator Jason Charles Miller (of Godhead fame) for a few songs.

On the Opus stage, Daughtry are bringing that classic rock sound that we haven’t had much of so far today. Lots of pyrotechnics, beautiful sunshine, and the first time this weekend we hear the lyrics “Heavy is the crown”. Definitely up there for band of the weekend – it’s such a good set.

Cypress Hill, another rap crossover choice from the organisers – turns out to be truly legendary. If you aren’t here to have fun, you’re in the wrong place. We are all leaping about like lunatics for ‘Insane in the Brain’ and ‘Jump Around’. You have to remember that, for a lot of us, these are the songs of our childhoods.

I’m fairly sure I will never have anything negative to say about Halestorm. They absolutely crush it once again. Lizzy Hale’s voice is second to none – hell, she could probably do the whole set without a microphone. There’s a lot of fire, she’s rocking a fringed leather jacket, and the ticker tape they spray across the crowd is even marked with their own little logos, very cool. ‘I Miss The Misery’ promotes every single person in this crowd to karaoke legend (to be clear… none of us are doing it well), and it’s one of those really fun moments where you know the notes are hitting everyone’s internal joy trigger at the same time. Their cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ is so great too – that would be a live collab I would LOVE to see.

Another nostalgia bump today comes in the form of Wales’ own Feeder. It’s a packed-out Avalanche stage tent, and they really deliver. Those Echo Park hits are the hot-button moments today – ‘Buck Rogers’ and ‘7 Days In The Sun’ have the whole tent singing.

Tonight’s headliner, Limp Bizkit, is where we really see the full force of how many people are at Download this weekend. The arena is rammed – almost impassable. Going to the loos or getting sustenance from one of the vendors might as well require multiple camps along the way, like Everest. Despite the numbers technically being lower than some previous years, something has definitely gone awry in the arena planning (it does all feel a little more cramped, right? Possibly due to the behemoth size of the new Apex stage?). There are already a lot of rumbling complaints about chairs being set up near the front, even past the sound tent.

Bloodstock Festival has had to implement a no-chair zone in the last couple of years, and that’s a much smaller festival. Either way, someone probably needs to take a look at how walkways and paths are set up around the arena, because it was a bit of a nightmare.

Putting on a brave face, the band pay tribute to bassist and founding member Sam Rivers, who sadly died last year, and also to Dougie Millers – a long-time member of Limp Bizkit’s stage truck crew, who tragically died on his way to Download, the truck then crashing into a house local to Donington. A photo of the band and the words “We will love you forever” crosses the screen, and it’s hard to imagine what it must take to get on that stage and perform while mourning your friends.

It’s a bit of a strange set overall. Fred Durst is inexplicably wearing a wig that makes him look like the bastard son of Bob Ross and Richard Simmons, paired with a Babe Ruth Yankees jersey. There are singalong lyrics on screen throughout the entire show (despite the relative catchment age of this festival being people who couldn’t avoid knowing the lyrics to all these songs even if they tried). ‘My Generation’ is great – they’re joined on stage by Lauren Sanderson (who actually looks more like Fred Durst than Fred Durst does today) for ‘Hot Dog’, and some red-hatted fans are invited up for ‘Full Nelson’.

Although I do wish he’d just do us a solid and pop on the signature red cap for ‘Rollin’ – it probably doesn’t matter, as the crowd is absolutely full of them (well, you know, it’s not Pitbull levels of commitment, but a good turnout). It’s a great one to watch the crowd on, because there are a lot of little kids who have clearly been primed for the dance moves before coming – 10/10, jolly good fun.

Unfortunately, ‘My Way’ is cut significantly short due to what seems like a fairly serious accident in the crowd, delaying the show by a good 15 to 20 minutes. It’s unsurprising that LP take such a serious stance on stopping the show, especially knowing exactly what can happen with crowd crushes. Fred kneels on stage with the white lights up to illuminate the crowd as a medical team stretcher the injured person out. The back of the arena has thinned considerably at this point, with a lot of people bowing out early to head back to camp or over to District X.

“I feel like right now we either just say goodnight or we try and rip it one more time?” shouts Fred, to cheers. Closing with another go at ‘Break Stuff’ is a good move, but I can’t help feeling the magic has dissipated (through no fault of the band). I don’t think this is going to go down as one of Limp Bizkit’s most triumphant Download shows, sadly – in fact, I think 2024’s set was probably the stronger one, and why they had so much hype going into tonight’s performance. We can’t win all the time, though – and I love them for still pushing through, even though they must have been feeling horrendous.

Saturday

Ginger Wildheart is gadding about in the press area with his adorable dog this morning, following their main stage opening slot. We head out to catch California band Snot (what a great name), who are bringing early, punky rowdiness to a slightly more overcast day. There’s nothing quite like screaming along to “one two fuck you” to get you going again after not many hours of sleep.

Homegrown rockers South Arcade have one of the best stage setups of the weekend. Giant spray paint cans flank the drum riser, and bright 90s graffiti backdrops create the perfect setting for a strobe-lit romp through their bouncy pop-punk set. There are more women on the main stage this year, and they are absolutely bringing the energy.

I also really rate how many British bands are on the bill this year. Over on the Opus stage, As Everything Unfolds are on at the same time as Drowning Pool, swapping places – and absolutely holding their own. Another female-fronted band slaying it: heavy, doomy, with that hard-edged rock screaming alongside soaring vocals. They’re really, really good. “We are grateful, even if you didn’t expect us, thanks for being here.” They actually retained most of the crowd who had clearly come for Drowning Pool — which doesn’t happen very often at all, and is a real testament to how good they sounded.

Landmvrks are shouty, shouty… very, very shouty – and fully deserving of their extremely smashy mosh pits. We Came As Romans pull a stonking big crowd, but their set is somewhat marred by a noticeable drop in sound quality from the stage. “Download bang your fucking heads let’s go!” would probably have more of the desired effect if we could actually hear it properly.

Those Damn Crows bring in a round of chuggy classic rock, and I think vocalist Shane Greenhall has a genuinely fantastic voice. If you’re a Black Stone Cherry fan, I’m pretty convinced you’ll like them. Big up Wales.

Over on the Apex stage, Babymetal get a second shot at the show, having been biblically shooed off stage in 2024 by thunder and lightning after only a couple of songs. This time, they return with rainbow dragonscale skirts, golden plate armour, signature dance moves, and a clear mission to make their mark. You can argue all you want about the ‘gimmick’ of a J-pop/metal crossover, but there is no denying the talent here. I am absolutely living for all the metal girlies with dual personalities (you know the ones) giving it their best kawaii headbang in the crowd. Once again though… just saying – how cool would it have been to get that ‘Ratatata’ Electric Callboy real-life moment?

Now, I love a bit o’ Bush (juvenile giggle), because at heart I am still a teenage grunge grebo. BUT COME ON. No ‘Glycerine’? Internal screaming. It was a bloody stellar set otherwise though — they really deserve their flowers.

Trivium obviously smash up the Apex stage to an absolutely huge crowd, but the wind is doing strange things to the sound further up the hill. We also really enjoyed the grannies grooving in the middle of the mosh pit – kudos, because those outfits must have been fucking hot to wear all day.

Over on the Avalanche stage, another British band is out here crushing it this weekend. Hot Milk have rows of people spilling out the sides of the tent, screaming “I wanna see so many fucking people across this barrier.” It really feels like British bands and women  are at the centre of Download this year, and I love to see it. Closing with ‘Party On My Deathbed’ is a masterstroke in pure adrenaline. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, thank you Download!” they casually shout on the way out, after presiding over absolute carnage in there.

And now for something to soothe my pop-punk soul – The All-American Rejects headline set. Barefoot frontman Tyson Ritter, with his signature uncanny dancing (it’s giving Nathan Elsewhere), somehow looking like he hasn’t aged, or dressed a day different since 2002. Hits like ‘Dirty Little Secret’ and ‘Swing Swing’ are screamed by absolutely everyone, but nothing hits quite like pouring your teenage angst into ‘Gives You Hell’. What an anthem.

At the same time (annoyingly), Architects are ripping up the Opus stage to a crowd so dense it’s basically impossible to move through. We give it our best shot but end up stuck on the fringe before heading off to find a spot in the chaos for tonight’s headliner.

OH and we definitely will not comment on the Ferris wheel shenanigans that occurred directly before GN’R… no, we won’t. Except to say that the forums suggesting it be renamed ‘The Nosh Pit’ did make me snort laugh.

Now, Guns N’ Roses or more specifically Axl Rose – have a bit of a chequered history at Download. There was that one time with bottles of piss being thrown at the stage and the falling over… the fact they’re always bloody late… endless rumours about ridiculous riders, including requests for pre-show roast dinners…

But you can’t deny they’re a classic headline choice. Decades of music, some of the most iconic songs of all time, and a band that’s finally reunited in – at the very least – amicable co-worker status. I do need to caveat this performance with one big, glaring issue before I get into it: the sound up the hill is absolute garbage tonight. Anyone watching from the midway point upwards is probably going to report this as a properly shit show. Despite the enormous stage, towers, and swinging stack amps, the sound just doesn’t carry far enough for the size of the crowd.

If you creep around the outside and come in from the right of the stage, though, it’s a completely different story; the sound is phenomenal. Well… apart from the fact that the fucking waltzers are still allowed to blast their own music during the set. Year after year people complain about this, and yet somehow they remain.

Anyway, predictably, we are treated to an array of interesting outfits from Axl – apparently multiple bedazzled lumberjack shirts are the mark of a seasoned pro. Slash riffing at Donington in the setting sun is undeniably one of those lifetime memories. I spot loads of kids in the crowd who’ll always remember seeing this iconic band in real life – and as we’ve learned with the loss of heroes like Dio, Lemmy, and most recently Ozzy, more shows are never guaranteed.

GNR pay tribute to Ozzy with a giant commemorative backdrop and a cover of ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’, which they also played last year at his final show, ‘Back To The Beginning’ at Villa Park.

Other highlights include opener ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and ‘Rocket Queen’. And despite the pitch on ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ being enough to summon every fox in Leicester, there’s something very endearing about a field full of crusty rockers trying their best to sing along.

Axl changes into a bejewelled black jacket and takes a seat at the piano for his Elton John moment, as the screens fill with a watery deluge for ‘November Rain’. I think we’re all collectively thinking: thank fuck we escaped the real rain this year, and only have to deal with the digital kind.

Laughing, “I dunno… it feels a little weird for us, for it to still be light out,” the band finish up with ‘Nightrain’ and ‘Paradise City’, Axl now in a studded leather jacket. You know what? It is early. There aren’t any fireworks either, and I do feel a bit salty about it, considering we’ve already had two slightly weird endings this weekend.

Also, the dirty rocker-to-glam pipeline for men needs to be studied. This man used to wear a kilt and a wife-beater that looked like it had never been washed, jeans that could stand up on their own, held together purely by the void between the rips — haunted by the ghosts of months-long tour legs. Meanwhile, the rest of them basically look the same as they ever did… just with slightly less enormous hair.

Sunday

Today we went for a wander around the shopping/activities area, now situated where the Avalanche stage used to be. It’s actually a really nice addition – loads of tables for sitting down, plenty of shade, food outlets, and another great new feature in the Hellfire Stage. We caught a brilliant grill demo, then watched a blacksmith making bracelets next door. The fossil and gem shop had a very cool rock trough where you could fill a little jar with shiny bits (honestly, bring your neurodivergent friends here if they need some calm-down time – ideal), and it was also pretty cool that Linkin Park had their own pop-up merch van.

Right. Let’s address something important. I DO NOT WANT THE BOOKTOK GIRLIES TO COME FOR ME. The Rebecca Yarros ‘Fourth Wing’ x Download hype was… not small. From the Download side it was just a small Instagram post about a pop-up, so I went to check it out – and let me tell you… a 45+ minute queue for that was brave. A low army tent with some hastily printed quotes hung up and a small photo setup where you could pose at a desk with a dragon on a screen in the background felt wildly underwhelming. The free commemorative patch was very cool, but this could have been so much better – especially because the fans were absolutely there. If they run something similar again, it has the potential to be a really nice extra… but lads, let me plan it. I can definitely do more.

We also got chatting to some OG indie vendors, including the amazing Scarlet in Chains, who make incredible body harnesses and jewellery. They’d also worked with The Sophie Lancaster Foundation this year on some really fun boot clips. They were metalworking on site, and we had a great chat about how much they love Download too.

On the Apex stage, Unpeople opened the day with a spectacular set, while over in the Dogtooth tent Private School got extremely wild – frontman Khaki diving into the crowd for a proper mosh with everyone.

Kublai Khan TX were also excellent, I’d love to see them back again. “Open that motherfucker up, I need a pit!” says it all. Over on the Opus stage, Mammoth — fronted by Wolfgang Van Halen (yes, that Van Halen) — absolutely killed it. I really love their sound, and he’s a genuinely fantastic vocalist. ‘The End’ is a truly epic track, and I’m so glad I got to hear it live.

I took a trip up the Budweiser tower for a look across the site – notably without the risk of sitting in something questionable on the Ferris wheel, and without the price tag. While up there, I witnessed one of the bar staff remember two people’s previous drink orders before they even asked – legendary behaviour. I did briefly consider stealing one of their denim Levi’s/Bud jackets on the way out… elite branding.

Big shoutout as well to the SwappieFest crew, who were handing out little trinkets throughout the crowd after hosting swap meets all weekend. Someone gave me a shiny sticker that matched my hair, and someone else was giving out 3D-printed Download logo keyrings – so, so cool.

The award for biggest Opus stage turnout of the weekend probably goes to Dogstar. To be fair, they’d deserve it anyway; very solid dad-rock/grunge vibes for your pre-emo era – but let’s be honest, a lot of the draw is Keanu Reeves on bass. Everyone wanted to see him with their own actual eyes. Including me. They were great – if a little stiff, but I did spot one of the coolest things of the weekend: a woman crowdsurfing in a wheelchair while holding up a custom Dogstar skateboard. I later found out it was one of Grandad Skateboards’ custom builds, gifted to the band backstage. They make headliner-specific boards every year, and they’re incredible.

Other bands I caught bits of today that I loved included Bloodywood, metal from New Delhi with one of the most unique sounds on the scene right now.

Once the Dogtooth secret set was revealed to be Skindred, it was obvious that tent was going to be absolutely rammed. While waiting, there was loads of singing, inflatable beach balls flying around – it felt like a full-on party. They’ve been a Download staple forever but haven’t played for a couple of years, so this felt like a proper triumphant return. Announced by F1 commentator Crofty in a Dreadload T-shirt, iconic. “There’s a race on, and I’m here instead!”

Benji appears in a fluffy white horned hat, full white outfit, and matching sunglasses – never disappointing on the outfit front. From the very start, there are waves of crowd surfers, and ‘Nobody’ is pure, riotous fun. They close with ‘Warning’, triggering the legendary Newport Helicopter – rows upon rows of spinning T-shirts stretching outside the tent. This really is their home turf.

The Pretty Reckless, fronted by Taylor Momsen in a white slip dress and stompy black boots, are another example of women absolutely owning the main stage this weekend. Despite her Cindy Lou roots, there’s nothing kitschy here; it’s emotive, confident, and genuinely captivating. ‘Heaven Knows’ is a standout moment.

Spanish band Ankor are another one-to-watch – I’m so glad I caught them. Pure fun, and impossible not to get swept up in their energy, dancing and headbanging along with them.

On the main stage, Ice Nine Kills bring their full cinematic horror experience, complete with an array of bloody props to match their catalogue. Highlights include Hannah Hermione from Creeper joining them for ‘A Work of Art’ (formerly ‘Twisting the Knife’), only to be promptly slaughtered, and Art the Clown making an appearance to decapitate the Download Dog. A cover of NOFX’s ‘Linoleum’ was an unexpected treat, and ‘The American Nightmare’ is still my personal favourite.

Tom Morello on the Opus stage is one of the highlights of the entire weekend. Not only is he incredible in his own right, he’s joined by his son Roman Morello, who actually wrote the riff for ‘Hold the Line’ – which is just ridiculously cool. Imagine touring with your dad at 15.

They also pay tribute to Ozzy with a cover of ‘Mr Crowley’, referencing Roman’s performance with Jack Black at last year’s ‘Back to the Beginning’ show. Huge cheers erupt when Tom flips his guitar to reveal a sign reading “Fuck Tommy Robinson”, before announcing, “…we learned a special English folk song just for today” and launching into Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’. Honestly, Rage are probably the band I’d most love to see back at Download.

Mastodon take to the stage in the sunshine for a beautifully heavy set, though they do suffer from sound bleed thanks to clashing with Bad Omens. “Thanks for bringing us back to one of the most magical places on earth,” they say, dedicating ‘More Than I Could Chew’ to their “fallen brother” Brent Hinds.

Spineshank in Dogtooth are a magnet for constant crowd surfers, while Bad Omens’ set seems to suffer from a bit too much stop-start energy.

Creeper return once again – their fourth appearance of the weekend (a lot, even for vampires). Emily Strange presents Will Gould’s severed head following the previous show’s guillotine theatrics, casually stating, “I have some sewing to do.” It’s theatrical, chaotic, and brilliant – with gorgeous lighting and a crowd full of painted faces.

Linkin Park headlining Download brings back a flood of memories for me. I was there in 2004, crushed at the front, desperate to see the band whose CD I’d completely worn out. Coming back now, this time as the first female-fronted headliner – feels genuinely significant. For the band, for the festival, and for music more broadly. It really does feel like the start of a new chapter.

That said… the Windows 95-style visuals on the screens are making me laugh – that is exactly what my computer looked like when I was blasting that album back in the early 2000s.

The blend of old and new material is seamless, and the energy is constant. Emily Armstrong’s vocals are absolutely stunning. No, she’s not Chester Bennington – and she’s not trying to be. She even steps back during ‘Crawling’ to let the crowd carry it, acknowledging the weight that song still holds.

Another standout moment: “I wanna see ladies only in the pit right now! Guys, open it up – help them out!” Emily beams, “This makes me so happy,” before launching into ‘Two Faced’. Unfortunately, there are a couple more stoppages due to injuries — dealt with quickly, but there have definitely been more interruptions this year than usual.

‘Numb’ and ‘Heavy Is the Crown’ are absolutely breathtaking live, and the encore of ‘Papercut’ and ‘In the End’ is a perfect, emotional close. For me, this is the best headliner of the weekend and a genuine history-book moment to go with it.

Final Thoughts

To close out the weekend, and to touch on a few things I haven’t mentioned yet – I’ve been keeping an eye on the forums since getting home, and there’s been a lot of discussion around the site layout. A common theme is that it felt overcrowded at times, particularly with the number of chairs and the lack of clearly defined walkways, which made moving between stages more difficult than it should be. There were also repeated comments about there not being enough toilets in the arena, leading to consistently long queues.

One much more serious concern that seems to have been raised far more this year is the issue of sexual assault – particularly towards women. There have been multiple posts and even photos circulating of men in the crowd, with some alleged to be repeat offenders over the course of the weekend. It’s deeply concerning, and something that absolutely needs addressing to ensure Download remains a safe space for everyone.

On a more positive note, I spoke with one of the campsite managers, who mentioned that this year attendees were largely very good about taking their tents and rubbish home with them – which is genuinely great to hear. That said, getting out of the car parks on Monday proved to be a challenge for many, with some people reporting waits of over three hours.

I also want to highlight again how appreciated it was to have more seating areas and shaded spaces this year – it made a real difference across the weekend. However, additional water points would be a very welcome improvement. As always, the BSL interpreters and the sensory tent staff continue to be incredible; the effort and care that goes into making Download more accessible does not go unnoticed, and it’s fantastic to see these provisions in place.

One final shoutout goes to the Lemmy Kilmister tribute ceremony, led by Duff McKagan. The idea of placing some of Lemmy’s ashes inside a fruit machine at Download is so perfectly fitting, a brilliant and heartfelt way to honour him. There’s something really special about knowing a part of him will remain in the places he loved, alongside the music.

All things considered, this may well have been one of my favourite Download festivals to date. The lineup feels thoughtful and forward-looking, pointing towards a new era of rock and metal that feels genuinely exciting. Can’t wait to see what the 2027 picks are…

Download Festival 2024 – THE BIG REVIEW!

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Return to the Castle! Donington, we’ve missed you – but we are home on your hallowed fields for Download Festival XXI, and it feels like the beginning of a new era.

There’s a new production company running the site this year, who when quizzed at the DL Press Conference earlier this year, mentioned that they had a lot of plans in place to avoid the colossal road issues of 2023. As it stands, we sailed right in with no traffic whatsoever, which means something has gone right. Sure last year was a bit of an outlier with an extra day to contend with and a considerably higher volume of people entering, but still – this may be the smoothest it has ever gone.

One notable dark stain on this year’s event though, is the fact that a cadre of bands have pulled out of the line-up due to the ongoing sponsorship of Download by Barclays, who have clear financial links to companies supplying arms to Israel. The bands who have pulled out up to this point are; Speed, Scowl, Zulu, Ithaca and Pest Control who commented “We cannot sacrifice the principles held by this band and by the scene we come from and represent, just for personal gain.”. As it stands, Download have made no comment on the boycott, but it is later announced that Barclays have pulled sponsorship from all of Live Nation’s 2024 events, which include Download, Latitude and the Isle of Wight festival.

Following this announcement, Enter Shikari posted on their social media that they had previously been in talks with Download, expressing their objections about the sponsorship and working with other bands to exert pressure, through ‘Bands Boycott Barclays’ and that they are satisfied with this result.

Aside from all that news, the one other thing we are all keeping a worried eye on is the weather. We’ve had a good run of a few dry years, but it seems we aren’t going to escape the Midlands monsoon season this time around. As we pull into the lush greenery of the carparks, the ground is looking decent but the skies are looking ominous.

FRIDAY

Starting our day off at The Village to check out the Download Megastore, we are greeted by an absolutely torrential downpour to really get the weekend going, and we watch as people start racing for the queue-free Co-Op store across the tarmac. One meal deal and a poncho please.

Inside, the store is chock full of fun merchandise, interesting displays and even a tiny café and some arcade games. The basic point of it seems to be, as a place to sell some of the more niche products that Download have started offering over the years, but I have to say, it’s a helluva trek for anyone on a weekend or day ticket who isn’t camped out this way – especially since external bus terminals are about an hour and half walk in the opposite direction.

For those that do make it out here though, you can spend your hard earned cash some some really silly brilliant stuff like; a full DL bedding set, a rock-duck (stored inside a giant rock-duck), jewellery, posters, boiler suits and an array of special edition tshirts. If that doesn’t tickle your pickle, how about a Grandad Skateboards deck which looks like one of the stage Totem poles? Or maybe a bottle of Lou’s Brews bright green Download hot sauce, and a Father’s Day ‘Rockin’ Dad’ tshirt? Actually I did try and purchase one of these but a lot of sizes had already sold out.

One thing I did go in for, was some of the once again excellent collaboration of Mary Wyatt x Download. The designs are really interesting and unique, and the quality of the clothing is second to none. I could have spent a fortune (especially after I missed out last year, the merch sells so quickly!) but I ended up with a cropped vest featuring Donington Castle and a black-metal style Download logo. Long may this collaboration continue, it’s a perfect match.

As we head into the arena, it’s pretty clear that the ground isn’t going to survive. There’s already mud, we’re putting on and taking off raincoats every half hour, but you know what? It’s damn good to be back in a field with the gang. On Apex we catch a bit of Welsh rockers Those Damn Crows who are putting on a lively set in the face of some pretty wild wind, followed by local Derbyshire talent The Struts whose vocalist Luke Spiller is indeed strutting about the stage confidently in his white cowboy boots, despite the rain slick. It does kinda seem like classic rock has been pushed to the early slots this year, but there are a lot of people out having a damn good time.

Unfortunately the storms keep comin’ and it isn’t long before the arena is swamped. Standing in the rain isn’t the end of the world or anything, but not being able to sit down between sets or eat a non-soggy burger it is kind of annoying. Luckily we are too awestruck to care when Polyphia hit the Apex stage. Wow is an understatement for this band, the euphoric and intricate guitar-work is unrivalled in current rock music. Sure there’s a bit of pyro and guitarist Tim Henson calls out “Let’s see some fucking crowd surfers” to tick off some festival bingo boxes, but honestly most people seem to just be standing around mesmerised. I’d be happy if they played every year.

© Toddow Young for Download Festival

Over on the Opus stage Soft Play (formerly known as Slaves) are having a delightfully rowdy time, telling everyone they “…used to play to absolutely no-one, now we’re here” and making everyone chant “fuck the hi-hat” for no apparent reason. It’s a decent crowd but I’ll be honest – not really my jam.

© Andrew Whitton for Download Festival

Slip-sliding back over to main for Black Stone Cherry who are trying their very best to bring some Kentucky warmth to the UK, “Download! Are we having a good time yet? Even in the rain and cold?” elicits a roar. We might be good at whinging, but we’re also good at just getting the fuck on with things here. ‘Soul Creek’ and ‘In My Blood’ are excellent but it’s the very singable ‘White Trash Millionaire’ and ‘Blame It On The Boom Boom’ that get everyone going, it’s a great set.

I do have a bone to pick with the arena set up though. Why does the sound tent centre stage keep getting taller and taller. The Liquid Death plastered monolith now completely eclipses an entire runway up the hill, there’s no peak point you can see over the top of it from. With the huge sound towers (of Babel as Andy Copping puts it) as well, there’s quite a lot of view obstruction in the arena now, but especially of the artist runway into the centre.

©Matt Higgs for Download Festival

Great strides have also been attempted when it comes to accessibility after last year’s fiasco – there’s a clear run of festival flooring between routes in from camping and stages, but I suspect that they won’t last long unencumbered as the weather continues.

Before the next biblical downpour we fight our way around some of the stalls and food outlets in the centre to grab some delicious gyoza and have a mooch around the Mysticum Luna shop for some jewellery.

Next up, Royal Blood are fun and upbeat jumping all over the damp stage, but they are plagued by technical issues throughout their set. I guess the weather situation is affecting all areas. We make the trudge back over to Opus, (which is already getting difficult) to see our favourite Horrible Histories nostalgia band Heilung… aaand so has everyone else. It is jam-packed out here, spilling across the road and right up to the shops. There is something undeniably hypnotic about Faust’s throat-singing overlayed with the rhythmic percussion of cursed instruments (no really, there’s a rattle filled with human ashes dontcha know) and it is utterly enthralling to watch. To be completely honest though, there is one point where it sounded exactly like the music that plays in the steam/forest room at a fancy spa, and you can’t convince me otherwise. I also wonder if it takes hair and make-up a long time to make it look like they’ve been dragged through a bush, because I already look like that and I’ve only been here a few hours. Anyway, Viking dance party? 10/10, I’m here for it.

© Matt Higgs for Download Festival

At Avalanche, Wheatus – the little band that could are brining the noughties nostalgia for a change-up and we LOVE it. Their line-up might have almost completely changed over the years, but Brendan B Brown’sunique vocals still sound exactly like the Teenage Dirtbag we all loved. Last year they played a stonking 42 date tour, with entirely crowd-curated sets spanning their entire recording history and it seems so fitting that they get to crown that here at Donington, singing “I’ve got two tickets to Iron Maiden baby…” at the very location Iron Maiden have inhabited many times over.

Following that, the queue for Busted at avalanche is impassible. There’s a long history of Download booking enormously popular bands in tents that aren’t able to adequately house the numbers, and it seems like this year is no different. Though Busted might seem like a controversial line-up inclusion, the times they are a-changing, and they probably represent quite a large number of people’s gateway into the rock and metal scene from the now core age group of Download. At any rate, the bangers are there of course, but it seems like a much heavier version of them that has come to play, and I’m never not going to giggle at swearing from wholesome people.

© Matt Higgs for Download Festival

Unfortunately some set time changes meant we missed all but the last little snippet of Biohazard over on the Dogtooth stage, but they did end strong and fantastically chaotic as always.

Queens Of The Stone Age take to the Apex stage to bring home night one, with a very aesthetically pleasing stage set up. Receding neon lights form a sort of pyramid shaped tunnel for the band to stand inside as they kick off with ‘Little Sister’ and ‘Burn The Witch’.

“What beautiful English weather were having” laughs Josh Homme before he yells“Repeat after me, I’m so fucked up I feel amazing” and “You cunts are alright” but really it all sounds a bit forced.

‘Go With The Flow’ and ‘The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret’ go hard, but as the set progresses I can’t help but think it’s a bit samey and not the kind of exceptional show I expect to see from a headline act. Yes they’re really good at what they do, but something feels off and flat in the crowd – indeed a lot of people seem to be heading off early.

Yelling “Girls get on the boys shoulders, tonight the security works for me.. this place is ours” is maybe the most lively it has gotten tonight, as people clamber on top of their friends to acquiesce. Closing out with ‘No-one Knows’ and ‘A Song For The Dead’, gives QOTSA a brighter uptick to end on but I don’t know if it really saved the whole set. They weren’t bad by any means, they just weren’t spectacular – and we have come to expect spectacular from Download headliners.

© Danny North for Download Festival

SATURDAY

On our way into the arena this morning, we spoke to a couple of members of the car park management team who were just being radioed to put their golf umbrellas away, as one of their members elsewhere on site was struck by lightning this morning. Thankfully they’re ok and on their way to hospital, but given the tropical weather we’ve been having I’m surprised we’ve seen nothing struck in the actual arena up til now. In the Press area we go visit the Liquid Death pink hearse and grab a couple of cans from the cooler-casket (where can I get one, what a rad idea for a Halloween party) and visit the Mary Wyatt pop-up who are handing out ponchos both there and out in the crowd. They are sincerely doing the lord’s work, this poncho saved my life.

Unfortunately yet another announcement mars this morning, with Electric Callboy cancelling their hotly anticipated set due to vocalist Nico Sallach being ill. I think this would have been one of the busiest sets of the weekend, after last year’s tent fiasco where people were crammed into the oven-like Avalanche stage like lightly baked sardines.

Bambie Thug up first on Apex has really suffered from the weather situation, there are a lot less people eager to arrive before the morning’s downpour has concluded, but they put on an engaging and fun show, ending with the brilliant ‘Doomsday Blue’ off the back of their Eurovision entry. Wargasm also deserved a rowdier crowd, but alas the rain was relentless at this point.

© Sarah Louise Bennett for Download Festival

A brief reprise of sun heralds Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes but the arena is now an absolute state. Whilst site crews have been skimming the arena to remove some of the mud, the rain is just making for an impossible task – and unfortunately there’s nowhere near enough hay to make headway in the high traffic areas. Frank fans make no concessions however, and seem to be going hard down at the front, as Frank himself – wearing a pink cardigan, yells “I fucking love you Download” and leaps into the crowd for a quick surf.

© Matt Higgs for Download Festival

Karnivool on Opus are just good solid metal with a decent turnout, but following that, Bleed From Within’s set was severely delayed, and basically ended up as just a performance of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ with comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan, for their Sky TV show. Yeah sure it’s funny and something special but, I’m fairly sure the people we actually came to see the band weren’t super pleased that’s all there was.

Also unfortunately for RØRY (an artist who has actually been making music for a long time, but has recently blown up on social media for her and her partners’ posts about living with ADHD) she has been scheduled at the exact same time as Babymetal, in an area that is accessed only via mudslide.

Sadly, we probably should have been over there instead since Babymetal went a little something like; They walk slowly on stage like they’re bridesmaids at a wedding, wearing rainbow warrior outfits. They play one and a half songs before the music screeches to a standstill and they’re ushered off stage. The deluge begins, and is so strong we have to crouch to avoid getting knocked over by the sideways barrage. Fifteen minutes elapse, the rain finally ceases. We get three more songs when they finally re-emerge, but the last one is ‘RATATATA’ which probably should have included a cameo from Electric Callboy but obviously couldn’t. Sigh. They also decided to ask everyone to “Get down low” and crouch after a massive storm shower which just seems a little ridiculous, and I am more than a little miffed that this is the second time I’ve stood in the rain to watch Babymetal at Download.

© Toddow Young for Download Festival

Luckily the sun actually begins to shine and the clouds are replaced by bright blue skies – at least for now. I am especially thankful for this at the start of Enter Shikari, with Rou Reynolds practically catapulting himself onto the stage with glee, wearing extremely risky white trousers and a pink Shikari footie shirt. Starting off with his ‘System…’ monologue, and then launching straight into ‘Meltdown’ there is no doubt that this is going to be an absolutely stellar show.

‘Live Outside’ might not be aimed at being taken literally, but I do not in fact want to live outside this weekend thanks. Sorry to everyone camping. We love the ‘Sssnakepit’ circle pit that strikes up in the absolutely sodden front lines, and as Rou finishes his classic mid-show banana (not a euphemism) he shouts out “Make some noise for Wargasm right now” and is joined on stage by the duo for ‘The Void Stares Back’. We also get a snippet of their tour with Rou scaling a ladder and then falling backwards into one of the lighting effect towers, to be replaced by a dancing thermal image as he sneaks to the other side of the stage for a crowd surfing moment.

© Andrew Whitton for Download Festival

“I’m so tempted…” he says, being filmed frantically by the tech crew, and then launches himself backwards off the gangway right into a mud swamp. A true man of the people. Later, I found a tiktok of Rou’s stylist watching this in abject horror – a beautiful thing. After the inevitable changing of the fucked monitor he had on him, the band finish up with an expected Rou soliloquy “Enter Shikari would like to stand with our Jewish friends, our Muslim friends, our atheist friends, all of you. I hope to God there’s a Gaza left when this fucking atrocity ends.” to a huge roar of solidarity from the crowd. Closer ‘A Kiss For The Whole World’ seems entirely fitting, and is crowned by a huge double rainbow over the arena. I would very much endorse a Shikari headline set here.

© Andrew Whitton for Download Festival

On Opus, Tom Morello is giving a masterclass in Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave hits, and thanks everyone for all the times he’s been able to play Download festival. I for one would probably throw up with joy if Rage decided to reunite for return to Donington – the last time they played was absolutely mindblowing. As a former touring guitarist with Bruce Springsteen (wild diversity I know) it’s fitting to hear a cover of ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’, especially when he flips it over to play with his teeth, revealing a giant ‘Ceasefire’. Finishing up with “…an old English folk song” – the best Christmas Number 1 we ever had ‘Killing In The Name’ and ‘Power To The People’ with guest drummer, 14 year old sensation Nandi Bushell, secure Tom’s set as one of the best of this weekend.

© Abbie Shipperley for Download Festival

Pantera have a large crowd despite Phil Anselmo’s pretty well recorded history of well, saying racist shit. It’s an interesting booking to be honest, especially in a punk/activist stacked lineup. They seem to be having a nice time and keeping it schtum, but I do wonder if their ‘fuck the Tories’ exit music is an attempt at reparative lipservice.

On the main stage, The Offspring deliver one of the best shows of the entire weekend, it’s like mainlining pure nostalgia right to the heart. They look as cool as they ever did to me as a teenage punk, and they sound phenomenal. ‘All I Want’ is screamed at the top of everyone’s lungs, and Dexter and Noodles joke around like we’re hanging with them at a jam session “Can you feel the love coming off this audience?”… “I can feel a lot of stuff coming off this audience…”. Each song gets it’s own digital backdrop of which album it has come from, the true Eras tour. Dex yells “Download Fest you are fucking beautiful once again” before they up the ante with ‘Staring At The Sun’ and a cover of Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’.

© James Bridle for Download Festival

“Do we have any classic metal fans… this is a classic metal song…” did not lead where I thought it would lead, and instead to Edvard Grieg’s ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain King’ otherwise known in the UK as, the Alton Towers theme music, which was quite fun as a punk rock song. ‘A Million Miles Away’ from Conspiracy of One and ‘Why Don’t You Get A Job’ from Americana are both iconic, and this is the most crowd interaction I’ve seen for a band all weekend.

“They don’t care if they got rained on, they’re out here rocking their ass off” shouts Noodles, before they throw giant marble-like inflatable balls out into the crowd and give us ‘Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)’. The Offspring are just consummate showmen, something I think a lot of punk rock bands have in common – they’re comedians as well as musicians and it really gives them the edge in crowd engagement. ‘You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid’ is a lot of fun, there are quite a few giddy kids who are excited to sing the word ‘fuck’ out here, but ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’ and ‘Self Esteem’ are the absolute cherry on the cake of this truly brilliant set. They are the anthem to my youth and I’ve loved every second.

© James Bridle for Download Festival

Tonight’s headliner Fall out boy, are hotly anticipated – off the back of last year’s sold out stadium tour the arena is full right back to the big wheel ready for them. Starting off with some interesting staging we see Patrick Stump on the screens, dressed in… a hospital gown. He is let loose from his backstage hospital bed onto the main stage with the rest of the band, where there are giant video walls and a curiously large black sofa.

There’s no adaptation to a heavier style here whatsoever, they are unapologetically themselves and I love that. ‘Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy’ is an immediate throwback, to easier times of sideways hair and multiple studded belts. ‘Sugar, We’re Going Down’ hits a lot of people right in the singing-at-house-parties-with-your-mates feels and ‘Dance, Dance’ with those keyhole logos splashed all over the screens, is absolutely iconic.

The Infinity on High portion of the night comes with a flying sheep (yes really) and a ton of pyro to really solidify that headline slot production value. Also, if you aren’t singing the misheard lyrics of “Golf cart arse face” to ‘This Ain’t A Scene It’s An Arms Race’ then we can’t be friends.

“Thank you for trusting us with your entertainment this evening. Last time we played here was 10 years ago, and we were kinda nervous to play this festival… but there’s 80 thousand of you making us feel better” laughs Pete Wentz, “I used to watch VHS tapes of Metallica playing Donington. The dream. This is so fucking special” he saysbefore giving us the fantastic ‘Thanks Fr Th Mmrs’.

Not to be outdone by other bands who have graced this stage (Kiss, Rammstein) Pete rocks a flame-cannon attached to his bass guitar for ‘Phoenix’, there’s an angry inflatable bear, heaps more pyro for ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em’ Up)’ of course, then scary cheerleaders and even a little Munsters riff to pass the time. Truly I feel like they could play for half the night and I wouldn’t get bored.

© James Bridle for Download Festival

‘Immortals’ is another arena-wide singalong, with a sassy social media comment backdrop joking “Wow a one-word song title from Fall Out Boy” which racked up likes as they played. Can’t fault their eye to detail on this set, they’ve made it fun to watch as well as fun to listen to – something I really feel sets those great headliners apart from the average ones.

There’s a beautiful starry backdrop with a giant moon hanging above the stage for  ‘So Much (For) Stardust’, and then a fan throws a Ziploc bag with a card inside up onto the stage to ask the band to do their gender-reveal live. “Oh ok a gender reveal? Will it be a Fall Out boy or a Fall Out girl?… you’re having a boy!”.

‘Centuries’ is absolutely perfect and could easily have been the closer, but they give us one more with ‘Saturday’ – and, I’ll admit there’s something very brain-itchingly pleasing about ending with the namesake of the day you’re headlining, bravo. What I enjoy even more is the bonkers scene of a bunch of doctors and nurses helping Pete Wentz fly into the air on a bunch of balloons, surrounded by confetti and streamers blasted into the crowd. I’m not sure I really got the full screenplay of the night but I liked it regardless. What an incredible headline choice, this really was a highlight.

There’s a few fireworks to end the night but they’re mostly caught inside their own crowd of smoke so it isn’t that impressive, and of course it is beginning to rain once again.

SUNDAY

Cursed with the state of the arena, Download issue a statement that the arena will open an hour later today so that they can get a handle on the ground work – after yet another blast of rain this morning. Unfortunately with a big walk to the arena from shuttles and camping, shortened sets to accommodate and the now drying mud creating a shoe-sucking trench to go anywhere, it’s looking difficult to fit many bands into our schedule today.

We head off to see Royal Republic who play one of the most lively and fun shows of the weekend, we loved dancing with them to ‘Tommy Gun’ and ‘Ratatata’ (no not the Babymetal one). Zebrahead follow up with some pop-punk to a respectable sized crowd, but we decide to check out some of the shops along the back of that area. Amazingly, this whole section is on the dry stone standing and is relatively mud free.

We check out chains and rings at Tomfoolery, frog hats and silly sunglasses, patches, a vintage clothing store selling heaps of blank battle jackets for you to curate, and a Viking drinking horn shop. It reminds me that I really miss the (age) old set up of having all the shops along the racetrack itself – it was nice to have a shopping destination if you had a gap in your plans.

© Gobinder Jhitta for Download Festival

Over on Apex Kerry King is obviously slaying (ahem) but it does feel a bit strange that we said goodbye to Slayer at Download 2019 on their farewell tour, but today we get… well, basically a Slayer set. In the Dogtooth tent the must discussed secret act turns out to be a roaringly intense set from Aussie metalheads Parkway Drive who almost blast the roof off – I’m expecting to see them on the main stage next year and certainly for more than a very short thirty minutes. On Opus, Elvana have yet again pulled a huge crowd for their Elvis/Nirvana mash up silliness. I love them but they’ve pulled the short straw going up against Bowling For Soup in the beautiful sunshine.

I’m absolutely convinced that ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’ is Bowling For Soup’s response to The Offspring’s ‘Want You Bad’, but it’s such an ingrained iconic song that we are all singing along at the top of our voices. “It’s so weird being up here without Chris (Burney). He had to fly home to Oklahoma for some health stuff” the guys lament their missing member, before bringing a special guest onto the stage.“Isn’t that the guy from wheatus over there… the teenage dirtbag?” BBB does indeed come on stage to sing a little, and announce their joint tour coming in 2025. What a fun nostalgic collaboration to make January a little nicer next year.

After rudely Rickrolling us, they also bring out Zebrahead for ‘Punk Rock 101’ and then end with ‘1985’ – singing the absolutely perfect line for sharing the stage with another band today “She rocked out to Wham, not a big Limp Bizkit fan”.

Sum 41’s final performance at Download is a bit of a tear-jerker, they like others on this bill were part of the pop-punk makeup that was so many people’s teenage gateway to rock and metal. I’d say they’re one of the big reasons I ended up here myself, and the huge crowd around me suggests a lot of people feel the same way.

Deryck Whibley is looking better than he has in a long time, jumping around the stage with wild abandon in his signature red creepers. ‘Motivation’, ‘In Too Deep’ and even a cover of Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ are all excellently performed, but it’s Deryck’s words that catch us in the feels “We are so honoured to be here, this festival and these crowds hold a very sacred space in our hearts. It’s the last record we’re gonna make”. Cue the loud boos across the arena.

© James Bridle for Download Festival

“Your boos are so heartwarming… It’s been almost 30 years hasn’t everyone had enough of sum 41?” as the resounding ‘No’ is screamed back at them they tell us“We’re gonna fucking miss You we promise you. Thank you for all these years. There might be one more chance this year we can see you. Keep your ears peeled.” and launch into ‘Fat Lip’ and finally ‘Still Waiting’. The refrain “This can’t last forever” is a nice little note to remind you, go see your favourite bands while they’re still around.

A giant travesty of the weekend is putting Limp Bizkit, Corey Taylor and Hoobastank on all at the same time, with impassable mud trenches in between.

In the end we can’t help but choose Limp Bizkit – mostly for the memories. Swanning in wearing baggy white trousers, a baseball jersey and a baby blue bucket hat, Fred Durst struts to ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ before throwing down with ‘Break Stuff’. He might have a grey beard these days but damn does he sound just the way I remember. It’s powerful, it’s nostalgic, and it does indeed make you want to break stuff.

© Danny North for Download Festival

“I hope you don’t mind we brought the California Sun with us” Fred jokes, but quickly notices those rowdy front centre pits “If someone falls down we pick em back up. Help each other out”. We are also made to sing-along with Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ a cheeky little diss from Fred, who once said that he was a big Oasis fan and even had Liam Gallagher’s autograph, despite Liam publically labelling Limp Bizkit as “Shite”. “Liam, you hear that? We are fucking waiting on you Oasis!” Fred quips, but the laughs subside and we are given what we really came for – ‘Rollin (Air Raid Vehicle’. Suddenly half the crowd seems to be wearing a red hat (remember when they were cool, before MAGA idiots co-opted them?) and we are all dancing the moves like true noughties kids.

Rollin’ is outtro’ed with a little bit of ‘Proud Mary’, because the rain this weekend really has us rollin’ on the river, and it’s onto hit after hit with ‘My Generation’ and ‘My Way’. There is a short stoppage mid-song for Fred to make security aware of an issue in the crowd “There’s something wrong over there, get someone in there”, but he then brings someone from the crowd up onto the stage to sing with him – “Great job brother let’s hear it for the Loco!”.

The band play a fun little request section with snippets of George Michael’s ‘Faith’, Nirvana ‘Come As You Are’ and Metallica’s ‘Master of Puppets’, then spin up a circle pit frenzy with ‘Take A Look Around’ – “Let’s do that weird song Tom cruise likes”. Bookending the set with a second blast of ‘Break Stuff’ is a great choice, it goes even harder the second time, and Download head honcho Andy Copping hitting the stage in his own red-hat is extremely joyful. I kinda wish they’d headlined instead of QOTSA in all honesty, maybe next time.

Headlining the Opus stage Machine Head give an absolute masterclass in how to bring a full showcase experience. I find it hard to express how incredibly powerful and impressive this set actually was, this band have proved time and time again that they have the capability and the crowd support to headline the main stage but here we are. You just know that if they start the show with a visible Fireman at the side of the stage, there’s a good chance you’re going to get your eyebrows singed.

© Matt Higgs for Download Festival

In true Moshy Ned style, there is so much pyro in the opening ‘Imperium’ that you can barely even see the band, which probably doesn’t matter as everyone around us seems to be moshing, screaming and throwing their middle fingers up in reference to the song.

Rob Flynn yells “Scream for me Download” (someone has to do it, Bruce Dickinson isn’t here) and “Download are you ready to lose your minds with Machine Head tonight?” before inciting circle pits and a giant wall-of-death “push back, push back”, for ‘CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE’.

‘The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears’ sees bright red ticker tape confetti raining down like a cloud of blood, and there’s a very providential rainbow just to the right of their stage during ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’. I can dig a god who loves Machine Head.

“I went crazy at download festival, chant with me!” is the scream that ends the show, ‘Davidian’ and ‘Halo’ are beyond sublime, and this is the first time this weekend I’ve seen some proper old school hair-windmilling and headbanging – it’s a comfort. I have no notes, it was perfection.

So, we sacrificed most of Avenged Sevenfold for Machine Head, and I’m not sorry about it. Getting across the arena in the waning light, with even the access roads now covered in a sucking gloop of mud… treacherous. We didn’t make it far down the hill but I can totally appreciate the reason A7X were booked onto that Sunday headline slot – they are smashing it. Sadly they seem to have been hit with a couple of unfortunate coincidences this evening, as the field is nowhere near as full as it was for last night’s FOB set.

The weather has done a number on people’s resolve, I think a lot have favoured heading off early or following Machine Head, and there is information circulating already about car-parking being horrendous with cars stuck in the mud. At any rate there’s a steady stream of people heading for the exits.

Regardless, there’s a lot of people down the front having the time of their lives still, and you can’t overstate A7X’s incredible melodic guitar work for a great way to cap this weekend of amazing musical talent. ‘Hail To The King’ was dedicated to all the Dads in the audience, on Father’s Day, a nice moment – especially when so many have brought their children with them this weekend.

© Andrew Whitton for Download Festival

“We’ve played many times…. Download festival, and we are honoured. You have so much great fucking music that comes to the UK, so much.” Shouts vocalist M. Shadows, but unfortunately as they dive into ‘Nightmare’ the main stage suffers from a power outage issue that seems them summarily cut off, only to be karaoke’d by the crowd. It does seem like there have been more than a few issues with sound this weekend.

Luckily it is fairly quickly resolved so that the band can come back for ‘Unholy Confessions’, ‘A Little Piece of Heaven’ into ‘Save Me’ and finally ‘Cosmic’. They might not be on my personal highlight menu for the weekend, but it was a great show.

It would be remiss of me to note a few things that have come up post-festival, even though it isn’t all good news. Rob Kellas (of the now infamous TPDTV gang) reported that his sister Mary Kellas was hit with food poisoning after eating one of the giant yorkshire pudding meals, and had to leave the site early due to being so ill. Photos have also arisen of raw chicken being served to punters, and a brisket stall also being the culprit for multiple food poisoning incidents this weekend. Apparently environmental health had been contacted and the affected outlets were shut down once it had been reported to them.

I must also note that there has been yet another significant and obvious price hike on the arena food, there now aren’t many meals available under the £12 mark. The inclusion of an alcohol-free cocktail bar has been a great one, but I do wish that this was part of their regular bar options instead of having to take a trek to the specific area to get one. Merchandise offerings were decent, and the queues to get stuff was nowhere near as bad as last year due to seemingly having a lot more staff on board. I do however wish DL would take a leaf out of Wacken’s book, and offer some cheaper small items for sale – or bring back the reusable branded beer cups that can be taken home as souvenirs.

Thefts seem to also have been a massive issue this year, with one photographer working the festival asking for help online as someone had actually unclipped and stolen a lens off her camera as she was walking through the site. A huge number of phone thefts have also been spoken about online, and even Frank Carter had a sentimental item – a gold chain, stolen from around his neck whilst crowd surfing; “Which one of you c***s stole my f***ing chain. I’m fuming. I’ve had that chain for 10 years. And do you know what, I’ve sacrificed it to the mosh pits of Download. If 24-carat gold doesn’t buy us some f***ing love…”.

All in, I’d say there were some significant issues that need to be addressed following the festival this year, but despite that and the unfavourable weather – we still had a fucking magnificent time. This is testimony to the family, the ethos, the vibe of this festival, long live Download. See you next year!

DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2022 – THE BIG REVIEW!

by
Photo credit: Ⓒ Beth Miller for Download Festival

WELL THEN. Three whole years since the last proper Download Festival. Yeah yeah there was the Pilot last year, but it’s not the same. This is it, this is the return. Was it triumphant? Let’s discuss.

Donington Park opens its doors for the hoardes of giddy metalheads on Thursday, with the newly situated campsites filling from West Carpark quickly. Let’s have a moment for the new site layout; the campsites are now located considerably closer to the arena (they used to be at the opposite end of the racetrack) and the arena is accessed by travelling through the brand new Village area which is now on hard-standing.

There are a few things to note about this arrangement though. If you’ve managed to park in West Carpark, you are indeed only a shortish walk to your camping. However, once this is full the East and North Carparks are utilized and they are predictably – on the other side of the racetrack, a journey of epic proportions to your campsite. I suppose the question is, would you rather walk further to the arena every day, or have to cart all your camping stuff further on the way in and on the way out?

It must also be noted that whilst quiet camping does still exist, they’ve chosen to back the brand new (and considerably larger) Doghouse stage onto it. With music going on until 3am, it seems sort of redundant but hey, hopefully you brought earplugs.

The Village itself is a thing of beauty. Despite this being a rare good weather Download rather than a washout, it really is just such a good move to have the entire place on a tarmac surface. Immediately as you enter the area there is an enormous pop-up Co-Op selling practically everything you might need for the weekend, including fairly priced crates of beer and the cheeky sandwich meal deal which costs about a third of the price of a soggy burrito from the arena. Even for non-campers this is a short walk from the arena to keep your costs down, and I think its really important to stress that this is a great way of ensuring that people aren’t entirely priced out of coming to this festival, when food and drink prices seem set to continue to rise exponentially.

As for entertainment, this year we have an entire arcade replete with coin machines and Dance Dance Revolution, as well as the traditional fairground rides such as minor-whiplash-dodgems and possibly-the-worst-ghost-train-in-the-world. The new Doghouse is the real MVP though, a huge square post-apocalyptic shipping container park with a stage and a bar. It’s worth noting that this whole move really improves accessibility for everyone. RIP and Disability Camping guests are no longer miles from the night-time action, and the tarmac makes getting there much easier, a huge step towards making Download a much more inclusive festival.

For morning people you can give yourself a boost by joining in with some Rockfit, frame trampolining or rock aerobics – flashback to Download’s at-home content during Lockdown in 2020. In the evenings there’s stand up comedy in The Sidesplitter, and then the infamous Doghouse clubnights returning with a bang. I must give a mention here to Thursday night’s Punk Rock Factory who honestly I’d love to see hitting up the main arena next year, a punk Disney cover band. There is just something joyous about seeing a group of big burly dudes belting out songs from Encanto, truly they absolutely slap, and seemed to have the full support of a packed Doghouse.

Aside from this we also have another attempt at implementing a cashless festival, thankfully without a return to the RFID fiasco of a previous Download, though it does seem most of the shops are still accepting cash regardless. We also have renamed stages for 2022 – Apex and Opus in place of various previous names such as Lemmy and Dio, but let’s face it, everyone calls them Main and Second anyway.

Friday

It’s Friday, the gates are open and the sun is shining. Not packing a raincoat feels absolutely reckless for this festival, but the weather app assures me that everything will be ok so sun-cream it is. As seasoned Download goers, we head straight for a merch tent because everyone knows they can and absolutely will sell out of stuff. As per usual nothing has changed and there are simply too few staff to appropriately manage the volume of people queuing, and we wait a solid hour and a half to get our stuff. I think I’ve said this in every review but really, just drop more staff on for the first day, I beg.

The merch options are outstanding though, apart from the regular tshirts and such, there is a plethora of weird shit you can buy and I am HERE FOR IT. Download Monopoly for campsite mornings? Got you covered. Cafetiere and laser engraved wooden cups? No problem. We also love the fully embroidered denim jacket, the extremely handy new tote bags, and of course the plushie deranged Download Dog. There’s also a whole section for babies/kids which is nice, considering there seem to be a lot more of them in attendance this year. Mini metalheads everywhere you look – this is the next gen, teach them well.

Luckily the queue for said merchandise is situated right alongside the hill-top Dogtooth Stage, where we manage to catch a sweaty but brilliant set from The Scratch. Acoustic Irish folk music overlayed with heavy metal and a dedication to getting the crowd involved, makes for a unique and undeniably fun experience. Yelling “…if you’re really confused about what we’re doing, that’s fine, we’re confused as well… but we can still have fun” the band really sum up how it is to watch their show. I would absolutely go and see them again.

Over to Kris Barras on the Opus stage for some melodic rock and roll in the sunshine, playing bluesy summery riffs to a huge crowd. It’s perfect beer-drinking, feel good summer music that makes you feel like you’re in an 80’s TV show driving the Sunset Strip.

Skynd’s unique ‘true crime’ industrial rock sound is testament to the expansion of genre Download have been working towards over the last few years, something a little unusual and interesting, with songs named after infamous death events. Skynd’s unusual vocal style ranging from effeminate cheerleader-esque chanting to deep rasping creep is really something different, and sets the tone for how many new and challenging female artists we’re about to see this weekend.

Bury Tomorrow pull off a convincing enough set, but hero vocalist Myles Kennedy over on the Opus stage is just beyond compare – I genuinely believe he’s one of the best rock voices of all time. Dead Poet Society on the Dogtooth stage play to a jammed tent, and even spend a little time after their set taking photos with fans.

Firmly established Download regulars Black Veil Brides are tearing up the Apex stage to a mass of sweaty face-paint melting goths and some early crowd-surfers, but it’s Skindred who take the crown for band of the day with their energetic and powerful set. Whilst it’s true that we see them pretty much every year at least once, they never seem to disappoint. Benji always has a fun outfit, this time a lightning bold studded red leather set with a plumed hat, and they roll through a mix of old and new making sure to hit the highs of ‘Pressure’ and ‘Nobody’, as well as joking around with extremely British singsongs of “if you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”. “2 years without any fucking music” as Benji puts it, is enough time for everyone to get really amped up for ‘Kill The Power’ in which they also voice support for Ukraine, and a right old rowdy Newport Helicopter of windmilling tshirts during ‘Warning’. Oh Skindred, we’ve missed you.

Photo credit: Ⓒ James Bridle for Download Festival

Over on the Opus stage, the Aussies are at it again. Reckless wonders Airborne, who were once lambasted by security for climbing the stage rigging at Download sans harness – for shits and gigs, yell out “…if we’re still here, and you’re still here, metal still exists…”. Which when you consider their death-wish antics, is perhaps not the most solid flex.

A Day To Remember blast punky metal across the main stage area as the sun shines, before Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes take on the Opus stage with their classic punk rock sounds and social commentary. Frank, ever the cheeky chap shouts out “Moment of silence for all the bands that we just murdered” before clambering out onto the shoulders of fans to continue singing.

In a bold but timely statement Frank says “This is a ladies and non-binary only moshpit for this song. Fellas on the sidelines, protect this space. This is a safe space for those people to have a good time without getting groped or punched. For too long rock and roll has been unequal. I’m sorry I didn’t have the mindset to do this sooner, in 10 years time I promise you this will be a very different space for our children”. Whilst this may be somewhat performatory in practice (it’s one song in a weekend of bands), it does send a message that people are listening and beginning to take notice of what female and NB metal fans have been saying for years. Though generally pit-etiquette is known to be good at Download, it’s really refreshing to see how the festival is evolving into a more inclusive space for everyone to enjoy the music.

Frank also takes a jab with “This song is about Rishi [Sunak] telling me to get a fucking job. I’ve got two you bastard, how many am I supposed to have?” as massive ticker-tape explosions flutter over the crowd. It’s been an interesting set, and I’m all for artists using their platform to highlight important issues – it’s punk’s legacy.

After hitting up the legendary Bunnymans Bunnychow for dinner (South African firey chilli shoved into half a loaf of bread, the stuff of festival dreams) the Apex hill is filling up in anticipation of tonight’s headliner KISS.

The stage is draped with an enormous KISS banner, the sides flanked with KISS ARMY insignias, and the roof a hive of ring shaped lighting like something from sci-fi. Giant inflatable metallic effigies of the band members stand either side of the stage, blowing in the wind threatening to squash the puny worshippers below. As a tape begins to roll on the screens, of the band making their way through dressing rooms and corridors to get to the stage, I can’t help but giggle. We’re in a field, miles from anything solid, with only tents and tour buses back there. It’s all part of the KISS schtick though isn’t it.

“You wanted the best, you got the best!” yells Paul Stanley, aka The Starchild as a rain of sparkly pyro falls from the centre of the stage and the banner is dropped. As usual, they are dressed to the nines in, well, quite possibly bigger than nine-inch platform shoes and their signature shiny glam get-up – and there’s a part of me watching this, that is just a bit sad that nothing comes after this. We won’t witness this level of ridiculousness again, it’s an ending era. KISS are known for keeping it strictly performance. They have a script and they rarely step outside of it, which is professional I guess, if a little wooden sometimes. “This song is about putting something in your mouth…” comes before they drop into ‘Lick It Up’ but it’s the same sentence we heard last time we saw them here. I’m not sure whether I enjoy this from a nostalgia perspective – like re-watching your favourite movie when you feel down – or if I wish they’d break character just once, for this one final time.

‘Calling Dr Love’ is followed by ‘Tears Are Falling’ and then the more recent ‘Psycho Circus’ pulls up to a long drum solo from The Cat, who is raised up onto a giant platform. Presumably giving the other band members a much needed breather. I don’t hate it, it isn’t obscenely long… but the following instrumental really is. The solo is another thing from an older time, new bands don’t do it, or it’s a few seconds while someone grabs a drink. Another nail in the coffin of what it meant to be a headliner.

Luckily the band put on a great show regardless, Gene Simmons bleeding from the mouth whilst flapping his monumentally long tongue is an image burned into the rock retina for life. Jamming his iconic axe shaped bass whilst high up on a platform amongst the mysterons covered in images of his own face… you can’t get more Gene than that really.

“It’s the last time we’re gonna be together… and because it’s the last time, I’m gonna come out there and be with you. But you have to invite me… count to three and say my name…” calls Stanley, despite the fact that this is precisely the same way it went down the last time they played here, which obviously many of the fans remember all to well. Regardless, it is really fun to see him whizz from the stage to the sound tent on a circus ring zip wire to play ‘Love Gun’, and the epic ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’, amongst the sparkly light of a giant projected disco ball.

Closing out with three song encore, the end finally comes with ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’. Big inflatable KISS branded beach balls are thrown into the crowd, ticker tape explosions go off, and fireworks erupt from the top of the stage as they lament “We’re gonna miss you so much, we bow to you. It’s so special every time we come here”. Now, plenty of bands have said it’s their ‘final show’ before (cough, Aerosmith, cough Black Sabbath). KISS have been one of them… over 19 times according to Steve Tyler. This time though, it really does seem like they’re done. Some of the vibrancy was missing, it was too rehearsed.

It’s testimony to their skill as musicians and performers that the show was still great, and I will be forever sad that my child won’t get to remember seeing one of, if not the most iconic bands in the world, but maybe it is time to open the gates for new things. KISS have done thousands of gigs, sold millions of records and have the weirdest and most diverse collection of merch on this earth (KISS condoms anyone?) so… fair play to them. I’m glad I was here for the last show… probably.


SATURDAY

Opening the Apex stage this morning are The Raven Age, good hearty metal despite the thin arena at this time, but Cassyette edges them out as the Opus stage opener with an absolutely huge crowd. Swinging her long blonde Pippi Longstocking braids as she thrashes around the stage, you can see exactly why she’s been booked – what a bloody epic voice. Again, it’s awesome to see more women hitting the big stages at Download this year, and absolutely smashing it. Those Damn Crows keep the vibe going, but there’s definitely an element of crowd fatigue in this heat – us pasty Brits are just crap at sunshine.

Sheffield lads Malevolent come in with their full force, pulling out all the stops in their exceptionally heavy set. “This goes out to anyone who has ever told you, you can’t do something because of how you look or who you are” says frontman Alex Taylor, before they muster up three massive circle-pits in the crowd.

Ice Nine Kills may have a bit of a gimmicky schtick when it comes to band theme, rocking up in suits to mimic American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman, these guys are a self-professed Horror Metal band. However, there is nothing gimmicky about their musical talent, these guys absolutely kill it – if you can excuse the pun. Yeah sure they have some Alice Cooper-esque snuff theatre going on, stage knives and a creepy clown… but I defy anyone to try not to join in with the likes of ‘Hip To Be Scared’ and ‘The American Nightmare’. They’ve gone straight to the top of my post-Download playlist.

Photo credit: Ⓒ  Sam McMahon for Download Festival

Black Label Society, owners of very lush hair, gather a huge crowd at the Apex stage. With Zakk Wylde’s signature sound resonating across the arena, this just feels like peak Download. There are so many memories tied to that sound at this event. Later Shinedown absolutely tear it up, yelling “Ladies and Gentlemen, we made it, we are here and we’re all alive” and treating us to the hits we want to hear ‘Second Chance’ and ‘Cut The Cord’. The “Freedom” refrain really has some topical context for this crowd, after a couple of years of strict lockdowns and Covid worries.

Deftones are predictably great but we’ve been round the block a few times and I’m really only in it for ‘My Own Summer’ at this point, so it’s time to take a walk around the site and grab some food. One thing I really want to mention is that the quality of stuff you can buy from Download shops is actually really exciting. You can grab your next pair of skate trainers for a fraction of the cost of online stores, get hold of some unusual patches for your battle jacket, and there’s the likes of Mysticum Luna selling some  beautiful jewellery. If that’s not your jam, you can queue up in the morning to book yourself a tattoo slot at Old Sarum – I wonder how many people now have a Download Dog tattoo?

On the Opus stage Megadeth have the most ridiculous set of mega-stacked amps (there is no way at least half of those aren’t just for show, come on now) and Funeral For A Friend are bringing back those nostalgic emo kid vibes on The Avalanche stage. Sepultura play to a bursting at the seams Dogtooth tent, it’s hot, it’s heavy, it’s everything it should be – I just wish I could get further into the tent than the gate.

Looking at the arena tonight, it’s pretty clear there are a lot of day-ticket holders here specifically for this. It’s twice as packed as last night, people shoulder to shoulder right to the back of the hill and spilling out both sides around the sound tent. To say Iron Maiden are an institution at Donington would be putting it mildly. We’ve been waiting three years for this, let’s go.

As the traditional UFO ‘Doctor Doctor’ heralds them onto the stage, we take our first look at the set up for this ‘Legacy of The Beast’ tour, which centres on Japanese/Shinobi imagery due to their newest released ‘Senjutsu’. The stage is all green-roofed pagodas, Nikko’s brand new drum set is covered in the beautiful album artwork, and as the band take the stage we note that Bruce has gone full top-knot presumably in a nod to the theme. Rocking some almost spray-on leather pants (he does it better than Ross Geller though) Bruce is immediately and unwaveringly as brilliant as ever. If you think there’s a more iconic vocalist in metal I can’t hear you over the sound of Bruce belting the living shit out of ‘The Writing On The Wall’. You’d think after 34 years playing here, and the 7th inning as headliners, that something would eventually dip… the speed, the sound quality, the theatricality, the energy. No. Not our Iron Maiden. They are the lifeblood of this festival and all those before it on this hallowed ground, and they truly sound better than ever.

Eddie makes a surprisingly early appearance dressed as a Samurai, in order to go about executing the band members with a giant katana, and Bruce quips “You alright? That was bit fucking casual… you alright?” as the crowd warms up a bit from their viewing stupor. If you haven’t seen Maiden before, it’s a lot to take in. If you have, it’s a lot to take in.

Multiple set changes are expected with Maiden for sure, but wow is it slick tonight. Using curtain structures to create background sets means they basically drop away in seconds to be replaced by another – something that really just adds to the magic of their show. This next one is a full on church, replete with stained glass windows and flaming chandeliers.

Calling out “The last three years of all our lives, has been largely fucking shit. In this field is where it fucking stops. We’re one big family, the Maiden family. We don’t care what colour, size or anything you are… you are our Blood Brothers” they drop headfirst into the anthem. Not to get too corny, but there is something so uplifting, so uniting about hearing this after the hard couple of years we’ve just been through.

Now, Bruce has always been known to be a bit… extra. But tonight he really doubles down, in a floaty veiled cape, he capers about the stage brandishing a giant disco cross for ‘The Sign of The Cross’ and then in a bonkers turn of events, trying to brandish a Ghostbusters style dual flamethrower, AND his mic beneath an enormous winged angel for ‘Flight of Icarus’.

Fear of The Dark has always been my favourite, since I saw Maiden for the very first time at the very first Download festival in 2003. My friend lifted me up from our spot 10 or so rows from the front, so that I could look across the crowd at the sea of lights. At that time it was proper lighters, not blue phone screens, and it is one of my most magical memories. Tonight, I was watching from the side, much further back, with my 2 year old daughter – doing a small cry, thinking about how grateful I am to be back here, after everything, and it was perfect.

‘Hallowed Be They Name’, ‘The Number of The Beast’ and the eponymous ‘Iron Maiden’ are just beyond reproach, it’s ridiculous how Iron Maiden manage to gut punch us every time, they just get into your bones. There’s a giant inflatable beast Eddie… everyone is singing, everyone is headbanging, everyone thinks they’re in the band too… “Scream for me Donington!” elicits the monumental roar of thousands of metal fans in their element.

The stage lights dip, but no-one moves an inch. The encore is spectacular, with Bruce admitting “Wish I was down there with you, it’s fucking cold up here” into the amazingly clear moonlight night, before donning the signature Redcoat and flag for ‘The Trooper’, and the return of Eddie for a duel.

‘The Clansman’ (another chance to yell FREEDOM into the sky) and ‘Run To The Hills’ are magnificent, but there’s nothing quite like the closing gem ‘Aces High’ complete with a fucking massive Spitfire flying, in my opinion, terrifyingly close to their heads, on stage. Bruce gives it his full force, rocking a flying cap and goggles as the band wheel around the stage delivering the most powerful, energetic performance you can imagine. They are just such pros, I genuinely don’t know what we’ll do when they finally call time. With their outro of Monty Python’s ‘Always Look on the bright side of life’, there is a collective sigh and we all begin to leave the arena. The hour plus queue to leave the car-park tells you that everyone stayed for this, what a bloody amazing night.

SUNDAY

Kicking things off for today at the Apex stage are homegrown electro-rock duo Wargasm, who sponsor a pretty brutal circle pit for so early in the morning. Two guys dressed as bananas are gleefully smashing into each other, as Milkie Way kicks and screams her way through the excellently named ‘D.R.I.L.D.O’ and ‘Backyard Bastards’. A live debut of ‘Fukstar’ and an N*E*R*D cover of ‘Lapdance’ also go down well with the crowd.

Photo credit: Ⓒ Sam McMahon for Download Festival

On the Dogtooth stage, drag artist Bimini serves us a fucking stunning outfit and an equally fun mash up of The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’ and Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ gone metal. It’s very very weird, and I like it. “This is my first festival… You know what, we’re a queer fucking band, and we’re gonna fuck it up” they say, with new music being debuted ‘Don’t Fuck With My Groove’ which is undeniably outside of what we are used to hearing at Download. A cover of Peaches sends us over the edge, I want to see Bimini bring a bigger, more extravagant show next time. Spotted in the Bimini crowd: Zoe London, having an excellent time!

We’ve decided to sit down and have some lunch at the main stage, which means catching Alestorm today. Somewhat unwillingly. If you haven’t heard about their recent controversy over leaked group chat messages which highlight some pretty stark racism and misogyny – just take it from us, it was not ok. These messages were authenticated/claimed by lead singer Chris Bowes at the time, and apologized for, but when you’ve been talking about competitions to see who can sleep with the most barely legal fans on tour… it’s gonna fuck up your reputation as a fairly wholesome fun band.

It’s actually a bit of a surprise that they were still booked for Download following this. There’s a bit of a disconnect between what looks like the purposeful move to give more female artists stage time, and having Alestorm back on the bill. Between bands Download has opted for screen messages about consent and respect all weekend, a purposeful effort towards changing the culture of festivals and making them safe for everyone – which I fully endorse and applaud. So yeah… it’s strange.

They’re on stage anyway, giant inflatable duck in tow, yelling “We’re only here to have fun” and while there is a decent crowd, it’s markedly less than I would expect them to pull at this festival. They play their hits (indistinguishably all about drinking, it’s the schtick) ‘Mexico’ and ‘Fucked With An Anchor’ to a sea of crowd surfers, but there’s definitely a flatness to the performance compared to other times we’ve seen them. Around us a lot of people are looking unimpressed, and it’s probably not just to do with the show.

Conversely, The Hara absolutely rip it up on the Avalanche stage, with their really interesting tech fuelled set. As a three-piece alt rock outfit, I did not expect their sound to be so complex, but with all the extra electronic fills, it is a serious sucker punch. I totally expect to see more of them at Download in the future.

Rise against are coming back with a new album, but the familiar punk-rock feels we love, “…this is a song about what we’ve all been doing the last two years… it’s called Survive” and closing ‘Saviour’ in the sunshine is just bringing us all happiness as we sing along.

Over on the Opus stage, Baroness as expected put on a fantastic show, and on the Apex stage Volbeat give us what we want with ‘Lola Montez’ and ‘Still Counting’ as well as their cutesy ‘I Only Want To Be With You’ Dusty Springfield cover.

Up next Korn give a blistering performance worthy of a headline slot, Jonathan Davis careening about the stage in leather pants is giving us the big 90’s nostalgia. There are bagpipes, there’s a snippet of ‘We Will Rock You’ in ‘Coming Undone’, they serve up ‘Falling Away From Me’ and ‘Freak On A Leash’ at an eardrum bursting level. It’s such an energetic performance, mirrored in the sheer number of crowdsurfers who are heading towards the front, and it seems like the whole crowd is into it.

Photo credit: Ⓒ David Dillon for Download Festival

Steel Panther are divisive. They started off as a joke band… but they have some catchy hits… they’re clearly joking… but the type of jokes they make are tired and largely misogynistic…

Yelling “That crowd reaction was pretty good for a Hoobastank concert” garners a laugh from only those old enough to know who Hoobastank are, but the zebra leggings and 80’s hair never fails to make me smile. “England is my second home. I speak the language. My Grandma is from here in Leicester, she used to cook for the whole family… crystal meth” is exactly what we expect from them, as well as their penchant for pulling ladies from the audience to dance with them. They do in fact have 17 girls for ’17 Girls In A Row’, and they are joined by guest Justin Hawkins of The Darkness – who just played the other stage – for ‘Party All Day’. ‘Asian Hooker’ and ‘Death To All But Metal’ are meant to be silly, but that’s part of the charm – it’s possibly the most packed this stage has been all weekend.

So, right up front I have to note going into this headline review, that the arena is stunningly under-filled already. You can basically walk to the front in a couple of minutes from either side. This shouldn’t happen for headliners.

Scot-rock stalwarts Biffy Clyro are no strangers to Download Festival, having headlined here in 2017. Given the fact that we’ve been in Covid central for a couple of years, this actually feels more recent than the five years it has actually been. There’s no doubt that the band are musically brilliant, and the stage set up is impressive in its own way, but perhaps overshadowed by the previous two nights of high production headline sets.

The hometown crowd is representing at the front with giant Scottish flags flying, and ‘Wolves of Winter’ is a soaring masterpiece which absolutely deserves a place here. Yelling “We’ve waited three years for this, I know you have too. It’s wonderful to be back together again” frontman Simon Neil is clearly having an excellent time up there, but I can’t help but see the crowd is thinning even further. I wonder if they can see this from up there, and feel a little sad for them.

‘Space’ and ‘Bubbles’ come before an encore of ‘The Captain’, ‘Cop Syrup’ and ‘Many of Horror’ – all of which are performed beautifully and confidently, but it obviously isn’t hitting with a huge proportion of the Download crowd who are opting to be elsewhere. The band finish up with a set of stage top fireworks, but it’s not the crowning finale it should have been for this, the triumphant return of Download festival. If Download wants to sell enough tickets next year, those headliners had better be closer aligned to the main formula than Biffy were this weekend.

In other entertainments, The Doghouse is bumping for another few hours yet with the likes of Lais MW & Lauren Cornelius serving up fun bouncy mixes and Limp Bizkit dance renditions. Here we’ll leave everyone to the wild abandon of the final night at camp.

Round-up

So what did we think of Download festival 2022?

Firstly, we were served an unusual dose of good fortune with the weather being dry. This festival is no joke when it’s wet, so it was nice to not have to think about boots and raincoats this year. The new site changes are a huge step in the right direction to making this festival more inclusive and accessible, as well as just generally better for everyone. It would be great to see some companies like Vodafone with their Haptic suits there, to deliver unique experiences of the music to deaf fans in the Download audience in the future.

There were a lot more kids this time around – a lot of lockdown babies and toddlers in attendance, which yes, changes the vibe a little sure, but ultimately this music is for everyone – and that includes parents without childcare options. There’s nothing like indoctrinating the youth into metal anyway.

In the news following the festival it has sadly been reported that two men have died (in unconnected incidents) and police are appealing to contact a man who had helped one of them. Contact details can be found on the BBC website if you have any information. The deaths are not being considered suspicious at this time, our thoughts go out to them and their families.

Next year is the huge 20th anniversary of Download and Andy Copping has stated that all headliners have been booked already – an unusual feat. The anticipation and anxiety over who it will be is already gut wrenching. With a lot of the big legacy bands shutting up shop, I simply can’t imagine how this will play out, but for myself – I’m hoping for a Rammstein return, and the yet-to-play rock legends Pearl Jam.

I’d also like to mention that every staff and security member we came across this weekend was friendly, helpful and genuinely nice. It really makes a difference to how smoothly the weekend runs. On top of that, the general effort into turning Download into a more green space, and a more diverse space is really good to see. It’s time for the rock and metal scene to evolve into something more inclusive – and I don’t think Download loses any of its integrity as one of the worlds’ best rock festivals by doing so.

In summation, this weekend has been characterised by a return to familiarity, pure joy and a feeling of freedom. There has been something intensely healing about being back at Donington, for a lot of people I spoke to over the weekend. It has indeed been three years of shit, but thanks in part to Download Festival – I feel like I’m on the road to recovery. Roll on the big anniversary in 2023, see you there!