Festivals
Review
Download 2025: the highlights
The best of the fest, from Sleep Token’s history-making headline set to mysterious masked newcomer President’s inaugural rally
DLXXII celebrated its 22nd year with incredible sets from first-time headliners Green Day, Sleep Token and KORN taking over the main stage, while over at District X campers were treated to 5 days of non-stop entertainment as Vengaboys lead the party atmosphere.
Limited Early Bird tickets for Download 2026 are on sale now, with instalment plans and flexible payment options available at checkout. But if you can’t wait until next summer, relive this year’s highlights below.
SiM bring reggae-punk to the Apex Stage
Tasked with opening up the festival’s main stage for the weekend, as Japan’s SiM walk on to the sound of air raid sirens, they’re greeted by a sea of heavy music fans ready to be entertained. Luckily, as self-confessed providers of “reggae punk from the East”, entertainment is something that SiM are masters of. Opener ‘Get Up, Get Up’ slipping into a snippet of Bob Marley’s ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ before a huge breakdown complete with guttural screams from vocalist Manabu Taniguchi, their half hour set is centred on pure fun. Nobody is standing still once the ska rhythms of ‘Do The Dance’ and the mighty chorus of ‘The Rumbling’ take hold. “Next time Download!,” they’ll be eyeing up a bigger slot on their next visit to Donington Park.
Rise Against rally against a messed-up world
“This band was made for the year 2025,” frontman Tim McIlrath shrugs shortly before barrelling into ‘Prayer Of The Refugee’, a track centered on the discrimination faced by immigrants. First released in 2006, it’s a cut that sadly feels more relevant now than ever before, and the same can be said for the majority of songs the politically charged Chicagoans deal out during their main stage slot. Rattling through the fast melodic stylings of ‘Under The Knife’ and ‘Give It All’ with pyro blazing behind them, McIlrath ditching his guitar for the latter allowing him to roam the stage freely as mosh pits break out before him. Amid the mayhem, there’s a father crowd surfing during ‘Satellites’, his daughter perched atop his body riding him across the sea of people whilst holding up her metal horns. With a couple of tracks from forthcoming album Ricochet giving a glimpse into their next era too, the world has never needed Rise Against more.
Weezer bring a back-to-back set of singalong rock anthems
Simply put, Weezer are a band made for festivals, especially ones that are as sun-soaked as this weekend was. Far from the heaviest band on the line-up, instead their stock-in-trade is earworm hooks and nostalgic choruses, packing in an unbelievable amount of rock anthems from their three-decade-long career. Whilst the iconic driving riff of ‘Hash Pipe’ and the bright, breezy ‘Island In The Sun’ certainly stand out as highlights, it’s the band’s 1994 self-titled album that’s shown the most love, with eight of its ten tracks making the setlist. Emotional eight-minute closer ‘Only In Dreams’ sitting side-by-side with theatrical single ‘My Name Is Jonas’ and all-time modern rock classic ‘Buddy Holly’, there’s not a single face left without a smile once they’re done.
McFly earn their place among rock royalty
With Busted absolutely owning their set at Download 2024, it only makes sense that McFly got their shot this year. Getting straight into the action with a couple of guitar-centric cuts from 2023 album Power To Play, they were out to prove their rock credentials, even slotting in brief covers of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing In The Name’, Queen’s ‘Radio Ga Ga’, and Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ during their 50-minute set. ‘Star Girl’ unites thousands of voices with its ‘ooo’s before Dougie Poynter jokingly requests a wall of death for acoustic ballad ‘It’s All About You’, making some digs at frenemies Busted before an absolutely joyous finale of debut single ‘5 Colours In Her Hair’. They might stand out a little on a line-up stacked with riffs, screams, and breakdowns, but commanding crowds like this is what McFly were born to do.
Green Day make their Download debut in impeccable style
With a trio of first-time Download headliners this year, Green Day were the last band to take on the mighty Apex Stage on Friday night. Well accustomed to playing huge stages and working equally huge crowds, the trio looked right at home from the minute the opening notes of ‘American Idiot’ kick in, an inflated hand holding a heart grenade in the middle of the stage. Frontman Billie-Joe Armstong on top form as he calls out Donald Trump and his administration on anti-war cut ‘Holiday’ before leading a chant of “you fat bastard” directed towards the leader, a fan joins them onstage for the furious tirade of ‘Know You Enemy’. Elsewhere, the iconic bassline of ‘Longview’ and the festival-ready choruses of ‘Minority’ and ‘Bobby Sux’ prove highlights, as well as a wonderfully timed flicker of rain during ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’. An absolutely unbeatable live band, it may have taken Green Day a long time to make their Download debut, but what a way to do it.
Artio wake up an early morning festival crowd
With a short 20-minute slot opening Saturday’s proceedings on the Dogtooth Stage, Leeds’ Artio had to make every single second count. The tent unusually packed out for an early 11am start, with just a handful of songs they make one hell of a statement. The glitchy synths of 2024 album title track ‘Babyface’ kicking things off, it’s not long before the circle pit begins, expanding with the boisterous chorus of latest single ‘Split Soul’. Vocalist Rae Brazill belting out every note with equal parts passion and precision, the four-piece took a brief opportunity and transformed it into their moment.
Hatebreed set the Apex Stage ablaze
With the heat blazing down on festival goers, the last thing we needed was the amount of pyro Hatebreed brought to the Apex Stage, but there’s no denying that it looked pretty damn cool. Plenty of hardcore anthems up their sleeves, the Connecticut riff-lovers came to Download with one thing in mind: circle pits. The likes of ‘Perseverance’ and ‘Destroy Everything’ whipping up some of the biggest of the weekend, a dust cloud forms and doesn’t fully settle until the band stepped offstage. Frontman Jamey Jasta introducing the ‘ball of death’ – their alternative to the classic wall of death – before giant inflatable balls roll across the audience, after three decades in the game he delivered a final message to the younger generation of moshers present: “You are the future. Start a band with all your friends, and we’ll see you at Download 2035”.
Mothica marks a powerful new era with a set of alternative pop magic
Bringing the ethereal world of 2024 full-length Kissing Death to the festival field, Mothica’s set feels like a new beginning of sorts. Debuting a new hair style (dubbed a “new hair-a” by the 30-year-old), it’s her first show in eight months, but now she commands a packed-out Avalanche Stage like it’s what she was put on this planet to do, with swaggering 2021 single ‘buzzkill’ and the propulsive ‘CASUALTY’ feeling particularly potent in the setting. With a reimagined version of ‘VICES’ debuted alongside a stunning cover of Bring Me The Horizon’s ‘Can You Feel My Heart’ and a closing rendition of Smash Mouth’s ‘All Star’, the Oklahoman made more than a few new fans during her 30 minutes in the spotlight.
Sleep Token write their own chapter within metal’s history books
All the eyes of the world seem to be on Sleep Token right now. Topping the bill following a history-making rise over the last few years, their first UK performance of the Even In Arcadia era felt truly special. An impeccable set design featuring tiered stone ruins and a literal waterfall, as pink petals fall from the sky during opener ‘Look To Windward’ Download Festival was whisked away into the band’s own world. Fresh singles ‘Caramel’ and ‘Damocles’ slotting in seamlessly alongside the smooth melodic flow of ‘Rain’ and the epic slow-build of ‘The Offering’, by the time ‘The Summoning’ transitioned into its slick funk outro it was impossible to deny that Sleep Token belonged in this spot. The ritual closing out with the crushing breakdown reached at the climax of 2023 title track ‘Take Me Back To Eden’, all those gathered on this night witnessed a vital moment in the story of modern metal.
Municipal Waste get the party started on the Opus Stage
The speakers blaring out Shania Twain’s ‘Man I Feel Like A Woman!’ as the Virginia thrash kings take to the stage, the tone for Municipal Waste’s return to Download was swiftly established. Delivering a set tightly packed with raucous party metal tunes, vocalist Tony Foresta’s early demand for the crowd to “f*ck shit up” was met by the opening of circle pits for the breakneck riffage of ‘Sadistic Magician’. The frontman also declaring everyone who refused to crowd surf during the short-but-sweet chugs of ‘We Want Death’ a Trump supporter before leading a mass flip-off to a plane flying overhead from East Midlands Airport, it’s chaos in its purest form, but what else do we come to Download Festival for?
PRESIDENT make their arrival with a punishingly tight set
Since the mysterious masked musician’s arrival on the scene via a series of cryptic videos, PRESIDENT’s inaugural rally has been a major talking point amongst the rock community. With Dogtooth Stage tent clearly on every festival goer’s agenda this afternoon, curiosity peaked following the release of debut singles ‘In The Name Of The Father’ and ‘Fearless’, the two serving as bookends to a set that feels momentous. The Cross of Lorraine plastered onto a podium centre stage, the project’s leader has some serious pipes in their possession, delivering a handful of previously unheard cuts with brute force and precision. The opening chapter to a movement many are now desperate to see unfold further, as far as first shows go – this was a bloody big one.
Spiritbox claim their crown whilst decimating the Apex Stage
Playing their first ever UK show at the festival back in 2022, unleashing the fury of Eternal Blueon an overspilling Avalanche Stage tent, Spirtbox’s booking as one of the final main stage acts of the weekend this year is indicative of their stratospheric rise. Celebrating the release of second album Tsunami Sea earlier this year, the Apex Stage was built for someone like Courtney LaPlante to reign over it, and that’s exactly what the vocalist does as she powers through the sinister swell of ‘Riding The Wave’ and the blazingly intense ‘Soft Spine’. An absolute powerhouse vocalist whether she’s belting out ethereal cleans or blood-curdling screams, she’s joined onstage by three musicians at the top of their game, every riff hitting you right in the gut. Solidifying everything the Canadian quartet have been building recently, it’s a main stage Donington set that’s sure to be the first of many.
Lorna Shore prove that deathcore is alive and well
It’s almost hard to believe that vocalist Will Ramos is human with some of the noses coming out of his mouth during Lorna Shore’s Opus Stage set. Whether he’s delivering sickening lows on ‘Oblivion’ or blood-curdling pig squeals on genre-defining ‘To The Hellfire’, the limits of his vocal talents seem to know no bounds, joined onstage by some of the finest musicians in deathcore. An absolutely spectacular display is rounded off with explosive closer ‘Pain Remains III: In A Sea Of Fire’. Losing count of the number of crowd surfers making their way over the barrier, the New Jersey trailblazer’s return to Donington was a total triumph.
Bullet For My Valentine mark 20 years of The Poison
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of debut album The Poison this year, Bullet for My Valentine have been dealing out metal anthems to Donington crowds for over two decades. Finding a home in these fields, their return to the Apex Stage came directly before Korn’s history-making headliner, and there was no better way to get the adrenaline pumping. Ploughing through their 2005 effort in full, singles ‘4 Words (To Choke Upon)’ and ‘Tears Don’t Fall’ feel predictably massive, whilst deeper cuts ‘Hand Of Blood’ and the record’s title track also succeed in getting fists pumping. A mighty nod to the past rounded off with run-throughs of 2021 single ‘Knives’ and the ground-shaking ‘Waking The Demon’, the Welsh metal titans truly belong on Download’s biggest stage.
Korn make history as they close out Download 2025
Let’s be honest, Korn are long overdue their crowning as Download headliners. A band whose legacy in the nu-metal world and beyond is absolutely undeniable, they closed out the festival’s 22nd outing with a bang. Vocalist Jonathan Davis delivering his signature scats over genre-defining hits like ‘Blind’, ‘A.D.I.D.A.S’, and ‘Coming Undone’, every minute felt utterly defiant. Circle pits taking over the area in front of the Apex Stage as fists pumped in the air, after 30 years of waiting the California metal legends finally got their moment, refusing to squander a single second of it. A euphoric final singalong to iconic metal anthem ‘Freak On A Leash’ bringing the evening to a close, 80,000 heavy music fans walked away desperate to return to these fields again next year.
Top photo by Joseph Okpako/WireImage
