Download Festival is one of the most popular festivals in Europe and has been a staple of UK alternative culture for decades. Download 2024 saw its fair share of problems: technical faults, dodgy food vendors, shuttle confusion, inclement weather and so much mud.
It may shock people to learn given RAMzine’s iconic car park reviews that I, Lamestream Lydia, do not drive and resorted to using the shuttle bus from Derby. The shuttle bus from Derby was a smooth ride that wasn’t overly crowded. Shuttle connections were available to the opposite end of the compound and these were hard to follow due to buses picking up people seemingly at random. This whole incident was ironed out after a while but it was frustrating on the day considering some people couldn’t make the massive journey to the other side of the compound without the bus.
Once my tent was up in the camping area, it was time to wander around with a drink in hand and pay for insane nonsense at aptly titled shops like Random Sh*t. It’s all in good fun and I for one am not above paying for random sh*t. The first two days in heavy metal Blackpool (AKA District X) were a blur of elaborate costumes, blaring music and wild shenanigans all catered by the loudest Co-op on the planet.
My nights on the campsite typically ended with the Hammer Horror films played at the Outpost which included classics like Quatermass Experiment, The Unknown and the brand new Dr Jekyll starring Eddie Izzard. These movies varied in quality but it was fun seeing them on a big screen in a massive crowd under a beautiful night sky all while struggling to see after getting through my poorly portioned Long Island Iced Tea which probably had more use as fuel at the local airfield.
The first band I saw at Download was Slay Duggee, a heavy metal band for kids. Their stage show was a fantastic introduction to the world of heavy metal led by a group of wise-cracking animals in heavy metal shirts.
While Slay Duggee may be aimed towards kids, there’s a great deal for adults as the band played crossover thrash versions of ‘I’m Still Standing,’ ‘Sticky Stick’ and the Spongebob Squarepants theme. There were a wealth of surprises including an appearance from Download Dog as well as the school of sharks and dolphins circulating the tent. They are highly recommended for headbanger kids, headbanger parents and headbanger kids at heart.
Download, home. At least it was before the rain f***** everything up. Number Of The Beef are known for a wealth of covers but this set was a special Grand Theft Auto San Andreas set made up of classics from Radio X, a rock and metal radio station made up of songs by Rage Against The Machine, Jane’s Addiction and Soundgarden.
This was a set I was particularly looking forward to given how much time I spent roaming the streets of Los Santos and running over pedestrians and gang members while ‘Them Bones’ by Alice In Chains blasts through the car radio. The band did a fantastic job recreating some very difficult tracks including ‘Cult Of Personality’ and ‘Been Caught Stealing’ by Jane’s Addiction.
The set ended with a chorus of drunk Downloaders screaming the immortal lines from Rage Against The Machines Christmas number one: ‘Killing In The Name’. Even if you feel this song is overplayed, it’s still a brilliantly fun time screaming “f*** you, I won’t do what you tell me” with middle fingers raised to the sky. Be sure to check out Number Of The Beef as they tour around the UK and check out our interview with frontman Tom Hynes.
Everyone who wasn’t there is a straight-up busta who picked the wrong house, fool. Hopefully Number Of The Beef will take a crack at K-DST in the future, that’s sure to go down better than two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda.
Having heard a cover of ‘Du Hast’ in the distance and being drawn to it like a pirate ship being drawn to a siren call, we found Old Time Sailors. This band had far too many people to count on stage all playing folk music versions of rock songs on traditional instruments.
Imagine if Dropkick Murphys were more interested in being pirates instead of Irish and you’ve more or less got Old Time Sailors. One of the most surprising moments of the set was a cover of ‘Start Wearing Purple’ by Gogol Bordello, a modern folk-punk classic that some may remember from Slam Dunk 2023.
There was a wealth of drunken shenanigans, sea shanties and acts of piracy taking place in the crowd and you can catch them back on the shores of England in September lest ye walk the plank like the treacherous sea dog ye be. This will probably be the last time I use pirate speak in this article but no promises.
Friday
The first day of Download seemed to be fairly smooth with the morning being fairly sunny but threatening clouds were looming in the distance. Could it be the dreaded Drownload? Yes. Yes, it was.
But the indomitable human spirit prevails as thousands of people banded together and refused to let a bit of precipitation ruin a weekend of heavy metal shenanigans or at least that’s what many would have said on the Friday. The British are no strangers to rain and can power through even the most hellish of situations with one powerful phrase: “it is what it is”.
Upon entering the arena, the grass was still green and the sun was shining and it couldn’t have been a more promising start to the weekend. With the hopeful optimism in our hearts and wellies on our feet, we made our way to the first act…
I made my way to the Opus Stage just in time for Harajukucore band, Hanabie. Hanabie had been a point of interest long before entering Donnington, their brand of kawaii metalcore seemed unique and the live show is just as ferociously adorable as the record.
Hanabie may be a bit of an acquired taste in the same way Babymetal was when they first appeared on the scene but things have changed a bit since then. The vibe of the set is super sweet and sugary bubblegum J-pop mixed with crushing breakdowns and fierce vocals on tracks like ‘Neet Game’.
The sun was shining and the audience was littered with wonderful weirdos in elaborate costumes including a crowd-surfing Ali G. It really was a perfect set to open my (personally) first Download 2024 with. Having never experienced Download before, I already started to feel my guard lowering in what felt like a true safe space.
The band asked “Do you like sweets?” before kicking into ‘We Love Sweets’. The whole set is absolutely adorable and could be the only band to start a mosh pit filled with cuteness and aggression. Highly recommended for the Anime crowd and pretty much anyone who has a sweet tooth.
One of the most controversial additions to Download 2024 was the viral emo act, heel wrestler and general target for the chronically online; TX2. The tent was surprisingly filling up which was a welcome surprise and it seemed like the majority of these people were here to give support but a handful were not…
TX2 puts on a high-energy show as he races around the stage with reckless abandon and even gives himself a potential concussion as he audibly hits himself with the mic. His set is full of songs that have since become staples of TikTok like the Buckcherry swagger of ‘I Would Hate Me Too’ and ‘Swing at Me’. All of these tracks go down really well in a live setting and his vocals are really solid which makes it all the more impressive when you take into consideration that he started learning to properly sing later on in life.
It’s impossible to talk about this set without talking about the people throwing cups of urine. Don’t throw piss at shows because not only is it incredibly unhygienic and disrespectful, you’re going to drench people that the cup is hurtling towards. Be a normal person and don’t throw things in general, you can get through 25 minutes of music you don’t like or you can leave.
TX2 ended his set by saying “One day we’re gonna tour the world” and hopefully he does. It seems that so far TX2’s biggest crime is just being a little bit cringe and being cringe but owning it is exactly what the emo scene was built upon. TX2 prioritised putting on a show for the people that wanted to see him and ignored the haters like a true professional and to foreshadow the interview a bit, he was a lovely person to speak to. Hopefully, we’ll be able to catch him again soon… You can check out our interview with TX2 here.
Halocene were over on the Opus Stage and it seemed like a solid chunk of people were waiting for Scene Queen (including myself) but were pleasantly surprised by the show Halocene put on. The set was littered with covers from pop acts and even ‘The Kill’ by 30 Seconds To Mars, a personal favourite of mine.
Halocene started to gain momentum on social media with their cover of ‘Unholy’ by Sam Smith and Kim Petras so it would only make sense to play it at what could be their biggest UK show yet. ‘Unholy’ is a deeply layered song with a great deal of subtext but it can also stand alone as a track of smouldering intensity once you add crunchy guitars behind it.
The set ended with an original track, ‘We Are The Storm,’ this track was an anthemic number that just kept building and building in intensity. Addie Nicole’s vocals soared higher than some of the planes that flew above Download festival and the noise of jet engines accompanied the buildup on the last chorus making for an epic display. It even started raining for the first time this weekend which was an epic moment that filled the audience with dread as nobody could have prepared for what was to come in the following days.
A personal highlight was seeing Addie trying to climb back on stage and hearing someone in the audience scream “YOU CAN DO IT!” like Rob Schneider in The Waterboy.
The Opus Stage saw a massive turnout, including “a very large number of Pikachus” who had all gathered to see her majesty herself, Scene Queen. The audience was full to bursting with assorted LGBT flags, Pikachu costumes and more pink than a Mean Girls Broadway run.
Scene Queen came on to her brand new single ‘Finger’ which is sure to go down well once she starts doing more conventional touring for her new album Hot Singles in Your Area. The whole set was a beautifully inclusive display of aggressive tracks you could dance to and throw elbows to. It was a free-for-all in the best way possible where the only rules were to pick each other up.
Scene Queen ripped through modern bimbocore classics like ‘18+,’ ‘Pink Paper’ and ‘Barbie and Ken’. The peak of the set was the moment our beloved Scene Queen asked “Is it okay if we do a bit of gay sh*t?” before blasting through the bisexual national anthem ‘Pink Panther’. “Kiss a boy, kiss a girl or kiss both” demanded Scene Queen as a legion of ADHD-addled queer people and Pikachus scrambled together in a Twerklepit fueled by their hatred of the patriarchy and love of all things pink.
The elephant in the room for Download festival was the Barclay’s sponsorship, a number of bands pulled out and even more threatened to pull out if Barclay’s remained a part of Download Festival. Scene Queen donated her fee to charities dedicated to helping the Palestinian people. This would not be the first time Palestine would be mentioned this weekend but it would be my first time encountering it.
Taking a bit of a break to get food and do interviews, I caught the very end of Polyphia’s set on the main stage and it was more or less what I expected but with added pyro. Polyphia are probably the most technically proficient musicians at this entire festival and you can tell the technical elements play second fiddle to songwriting and hooks.
‘Playing God’ has become the new end goal for beginner guitarists around the world and it’s easy to see why; it’s absolutely preposterous to see it done so perfectly. There’s so much going on between the hybrid picking and harmonics that it becomes hard to follow unless you’re a seasoned guitar player. Polyphia tracks are more than just a collection of advanced noise, there’s a wealth of earworms and hooks dotted around and while Polyphia aren’t especially active on stage, you can tell that they’re all feeling the music in an incredibly deep and personal way.
The set ended with ‘GOAT,’ a song that should be used for entrance themes at sporting events. Just imagine seeing someone like Cannello Alvarez walking towards the ring with this blaring through the speakers and hearing hundreds of thousands of people screaming. That’s the vibe of ‘GOAT’ and it translates beautifully to the Apex Stage of Download. ‘GOAT’ even inspired a mosh pit, it wasn’t crazy because it was largely made up of guitar nerds who were too busy gushing over Tim Henson’s flawless technique but it was still an entertaining sight to see.
Black Stone Cherry on the Apex Stage was an exciting event considering thousands of people discovered their November UK tour featuring Skillet Ayron Jones upon entering the arena. A Black Stone Cherry show is a display of whiskey-drenched Southern rock n roll swagger held together by air-tight performances. The guitar tones were incredible, particularly the lead tones during all the solos. The whole band was on fire and the crowd was thoroughly obsessed as Black Stone Cherry didn’t miss a beat. Even John Fred Young’s drum solo continued after he’d dropped a stick mid-fill.
Black Stone Cherry were built for stages and crowds this size with hard rock anthems like ‘Blame It On The Boom Boom’ and ‘Me And Mary Jane’ causing a commotion in the puddles of Donnington. From where I was standing, it was hard to make out what frontman Chris Robertson was saying but it didn’t really matter, his mellifluous southern drawl was a smooth contrast to the raucous noise that was coming from the stage. He could have been saying anything but all I heard was “party” and party we did.
The timings were tight but the stages were fairly close together without causing the sound to overlap. Everyone got to hear Black Stone Cherry perform their sludgy heavy metal classic ‘Lonely Train’ in full before heading over for one of the weirder acts or Download 2024, which was a massive achievement.
For many, Mr Bungle was their most highly anticipated act of the entire festival. Boasting an all-star lineup including Scott Ian (Anthrax, S.O.D), Dave Lombardo (ex Slayer, ex Testament, ex Suicidal Tendencies) and the indescribable Mike Patton (Faith No More). The band came on to a hilarious caterwaul of ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ before ripping through a phenomenal set full of balls-to-the-wall thrash with some thoroughly bizarre covers sprinkled throughout.
Tracks like ‘Speak English’ or ‘Die And Hell Awaits’ were welcome additions and made perfect sense when you see who’s in the band but made for a hilarious contrast during their cover of ‘True’ by Spandau Ballet and ‘I’m Not in Love’ by 10cc. Mr Bungle only played one track from the older albums and that was ‘My Ass Is On Fire’ which is sure to confuse the people just discovering them and disappoint the old heads but Mr Bungle has always been about experimentation and challenging expectations.
Mr Bungle was very high on my list of priorities, so much so that I’d bought a ticket for the Manchester show in case I couldn’t get to Download. All expectations were exceeded as I stood completely dumbfounded, laughing hysterically and screaming “go f*** yourself” to the tune of ‘All By Myself’ by Eric Carmen. Truly a glorious display of insane nonsense crafted by one of the most unique and deranged frontmen in music.
On the Opus Stage was easily the most unique and widely discussed band of the festival: Heilung. Heilung was less of a rock band fit for Download and more of a stage show with the same grandeur and intensity of a mega headliner albeit with much less accessible music.
It’s hard to talk about their set due to cultural differences and a lack of understanding and it’s even harder to make it sound appealing to the average person but it really is a show that needs to be experienced instead of seen. There were countless people on stage playing strange instruments most Downloaders had never seen before as they played a set of beautiful folk music enhanced by gorgeous costuming, dancing, rhythmic tribal drums and throat singing.
You can make the argument that Heilung’s music had more in common with dance music, particularly towards the end of their set as the tight rhythms took precedence on some of the longer songs. It’s also hard to pinpoint a particular song to check out as the whole set felt like a cohesive experience. Honestly just go see them in April.
The whole experience seemed to be divisive as some called it one of the best sets of the entire weekend and others called it pretentious dreck. Having just announced a UK tour, you can find out for yourself. Regardless of how you feel, there was absolutely nothing else like Heilung at Download and potentially anywhere else. Watch our interview with Kai Uwe Faust and Maria Franz here.
The headliners of Download 2024 have been a controversial talking point with some applauding Download for taking chances on bands that aren’t Slipknot, Metallica or Iron Maiden and others calling them not fit for the main stage.
In theory, Queens Of The Stone Age should be a perfect fit: they have countless classic songs, a critically acclaimed new album and a grand stage show that has sold out arenas across the UK – but unfortunately, this seemed like an off-day for Josh Homme. Some of their recent shows have featured a charismatic and engaging frontman and others… this.
It’s anyone’s guess why he seems so offbeat and uneasy but the crowd picked up on the strange energy he was putting out towards the middle of the set. He does manage to get the crowd amped with bits of rockstar bravado saying things like “is tonight yours?” and “security works for me” but to be fair, you could say almost anything on the main stage and have it sound awesome.
The majority of the set was filled with the usual classics, ‘Little Sister,’ ‘Sick Sick Sick,’ ‘Go With The Flow,’ the smooth yet dusty hard rock banger ‘My God Is The Sun’ and ‘Millionaire’ which was on the Tony Hawk’s Underground soundtrack (I had to bring it up somewhere). The songs were all there, but the stage presence just felt off and it got worse when some tracks like ‘Make It Wit Chu’ turned into Grateful Dead-style jams that seemed to go on forever.
The set ended with ‘No One Knows,’ a Kerrang staple and eternal banger and ‘A Song For The Dead’ which will go down in history as the greatest drum intro of the 21st century. There’s so much power on this song, even a less than stellar set couldn’t diminish that.
Queens Of The Stone Age weren’t awful but they weren’t really up to the standard of some of the other bands that have taken the mainstage to headline Download. It’s a disappointment but perhaps a headline tour would be more comfortable for them.
Saturday
Torrential downpour and thunder threatened Download and it eventually hit fairly hard but nowhere near hard enough to break the spirits of the thousands of dedicated rock fans there to see Pantera, The Offspring, Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes and so much more.
The morning was absurdly busy for Team RAM as we ripped through interviews but towards the afternoon, we finally made our way to the arena to get a good look at all the chaos in the flooded mud bath we once called Donnington.
Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes are an act I’ve been trying to see for a long time and there couldn’t be a more perfect place to catch them than on the Apex Stage at Download. Having walked past him several times in the press area without noticing, I instantly noticed his pink cardigan and thought “that’s who that was” and proceeded to get what I can only describe as delayed starstruck.
Frank merrily skipped across the stage with absolute carnage accompanying him as he opened a female-only mosh pit early on in the set in the name of equality. Frank established himself as a fairly down-to-earth and caring gentleman with a rockstar swagger as he crowd-surfed with a mic in his teeth, danced around like some kind of madman and even stopped to help an overwhelmed crying kid in the audience. It was a heartwarming moment that will be talked about at every Christmas dinner at that kid’s family from now until the inevitable heat death of the universe.
There were theories that the secret set could be by Frank Carter and the Sex Pistols and you can definitely see some John Lydon in his delivery albeit without the contrarianism or butter. The secret set wasn’t Frank Carter and the Sex Pistols but that is sure to be a fantastic show whenever it makes its way across the UK.
Babymetal was one of the big upsets of the weekend. The weather was getting worse and worse as time went on which led to major delays as the band were forced off stage to rectify technical problems.
Only 4 songs were played on this set and vocals were really difficult to make out during their set. For what it’s worth, the choreography and skill on display were still spectacular given the circumstances as Download got to experience the bombastic opening of ‘Babymetal Death’ and the magical djenty riffing of ‘Karate’.
Some may have been disappointed that the fabled Electric Callboy appearance didn’t happen during ‘Ratata’ but the song still got a massive reaction from the swarming crowd with enough pyrotechnics to melt every bit of chocolate in Donnington. Babymetal have come a long way from being a divisive punchline on the internet and seem to have been welcomed into the metal community without question. Would have been nice to have some chocolate in this set but they’re almost certain to come back in the future.
Ne Obliviscaris were over on the Dogtooth Stage and their set seemed like a nightmare to put together considering most of their songs are at least 10 minutes long. This will be one of the last chances to catch Ne Obliviscaris before their Citadel set at Damnation Fest in Manchester in November so it was nice to see them go through a bit of Exul.
The Dogtooth tent has been a struggle to get into through most of the weekend and the sound from the Apex Stage tends to bleed through which makes it hard to follow what is going, especially given how complex Ne Obliviscaris’ music is. Despite all these problems, the band put on a stellar show complete with phenomenal musicianship that sounded identical to the record.
Ne Obliviscaris are a bit of an acquired taste and their breed of Dream Theater-tinged melodic death metal may be a severe turn off for some but if you like your music to feature grand sweeping overtures full of highly technical riffing then Ne Obliviscaris are well worth your time.
Over on the Apex Stage, British electro/metalcore/etc band Enter Shikari started up their set with a sprawling crowd. Enter Shikari are a band that are highly skilled and engaging on the record but it’s their live show that brings them to another level. Frontman Rou Reynolds dances around the stage like it’s his own personal playground.
The whole set was full of wonderful surprises including an appearance from Download staples Wargasm on ‘The Void States Back’ and there was even a rainbow just in time for Pride Month. “There’s a lovely rainbow over there” declared Rou as he continued to dance like his life depended on it.
Classics like ‘Sssnakepit,’ ‘Satellites’ and ‘The Dreamer’s Hotel’ were brilliant additions but my personal favourite moment was during ‘Bloodshot’ where Rou climbed a ladder and fell through some kind of X ray machine. It’s a unique bit that builds tension and creates some sense of danger and mystery as it ‘…Unfolds’.
I had to fight the urge to shake people who didn’t clap during ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner,’ a classic anthem that demands audience participation. Most of the parties I had attended when I was younger would have kicked out anyone who didn’t clap and I would urge Download to enforce the same policy. If this set wasn’t enough then you can catch Enter Shikari on a newly announced UK tour this November/December.
Alpha Wolf was directly across from Enter Shikari on the Dogtooth Stage. While the Apex Stage is an oppressively loud environment that tends to bleed into the Dogtooth Stage, Alpha Wolf did their best to deliver a forceful punch in the face with their breed of nu metalcore.
Holding Absence frontman Lucas Woodland appeared during 60cm of Steel. It feels like even if you didn’t see Holding Absence, you will have seen Lucas Woodland at Download 2024, the man is omnipresent and he brought an intense metal energy you wouldn’t typically associate with him.
There’s so much pent-up hostility that goes into the songs and getting it out in a safe environment is especially difficult to explain to people who aren’t in the scene. How do you explain that phrases like “this is a f*ck you song, so f*ck you” are pivotal in improving mental health and easing stress before running into people for the better part of half an hour?
‘Sucks To Suck’ is a personal favourite from the new record Half Living Things, largely due to the walking bastion of hilarious anger we’ve all come to know as Ice T. It would be a dream to see Ice T perform this track on stage with them someday but Alpha Wolf handled it expertly alone armed with pure aggression and vicious intensity. See our interview with Alpa Wolf here.
The Offspring took to the Apex Stage and if you decided to see Enter Shikari instead of The Offspring at Slam Dunk 2023 then this was a pretty solid show of what you missed. The whole show was full of double-time punk rock antics and the same youthful silliness we’ve all come to expect from The Offspring. This set also boasted the largest crowd of Download and of The Offspring’s career with 2,536,407 people in attendance (you’ll know what we mean if you were watching).
Some criticised The Offspring’s Slam Dunk set for wasting time goofing off when they could have played more songs but what’s more punk than goofing off when you could be doing something more important? Noodle noodles his way through covers of ‘Blitzkreig Bop’ and ‘The Hall Of The Mountain King’ which were interesting additions that couldn’t be further apart in the grand scheme of music but still added a lot.
The band played all the classics: ‘Self Esteem,’ ‘Come Out And Play,’ ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’. If you’ve ever listened to it while cleaning yourself out on a skateboard then it’s on the setlist. Despite being in their 50s, The Offspring still felt like a bunch of goofball punks running from security at the local mall after stealing traffic cones to bring to their skater punk hideout at the abandoned construction site just outside of town. It’s just a shame their set clashed with one of the biggest acts of the entire festival…
An absolutely crammed Opus stage saw the return of a titans of heavy metal and one of the most highly anticipated sets of the weekend: a heartfelt tribute to Vinne Paul and Dimebag Darrell in the form of Pantera. The stage could barely contain this vulgar display of power as Phil Anselmo, Rex Brown, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante and the only man who could possibly stand on the same spot as Dime: Mr Zakk Wylde.
Pantera was always going to be a massive draw, this would be their first UK appearance in 20 years and many were curious about how this would all go and it absolutely ripped. Wall to wall chaos in the audience as people who may not have even been alive at the same time as Dime banged their heads and moshed to heavy metal masterpieces like ‘Mouth For War,’ ‘Becoming,’ ‘5 Minutes Alone,’ ‘I’m Broken,’ the classics just kept coming.
Some may be critical of Zakk playing certain parts differently to Dime but Zakk has always been clear that his versions of these songs are his versions. We will never hear the original versions again and to even try to recapture that energy would be blasphemous but Zakk still did an incredible job on some absurdly difficult passages.
The rain came during the guitar solo of ‘Floods’ and to this day, it could be the most metal thing I’ve ever seen. It was enough to make a grown man cry as a group of legends banded together to lay tribute to their fallen brothers. Phil says “Every note we play goes out to Vincent and Dime” and you can feel the love and respect he has for the legacy they helped create. You can make arguments that it’s disrespectful to play these songs as Pantera or it’s just a tribute or a cash grab but it’s an immensely satisfying feeling knowing we can still hear eternal bangers like ‘Cowboys From Hell’ and the immortal riff from ‘Walk’ live once more.
The first majorly upsetting clash for me this weekend was from industrial metal legends Fear Factory clashing with Saturday headliners Fall Out Boy. Fear Factory was close to inaccessible as the Dogtooth tent was filled to capacity but Fear Factory are a band that can punch through any obstacle you put in their way.
The band ripped off classics like ‘Shock,’ ‘What Will Become’ and the devastating nu-metal-tinged steamroller of ‘Edge Crusher’. This really was a greatest hits set in the best way possible, Dino Cazares was in perfect form and you could tell how amped he was for this set from our interview with him earlier that day.
‘Linchpin’ is sure to get everything that isn’t bolted down up in the air as that machine gun riff blasts through the speakers causing unprecedented damage to everything in its wake. It was great to hear more modern tracks like ‘Recharged’ and ‘Disruptor’ when Fear Factory could have easily hid behind a set of tracks from Obsolete or Demanufacture. It shows a band that’s willing to move forward and innovate with their sound.
The set ended with a triple hit of ‘Replica,’ ‘Demanufacture’ and ‘Zero Signal,’ three absolute classics in the Fear Factory discography. It’s clear that Fear Factory are still dedicated to capturing that sound they’ve worked so hard to create with new vocalist Milo Silvestro while also pushing themselves as musicians, some of these riffs are not easy to keep up with but it’s comforting knowing the machine is still working to the best of its ability as it devastated all that stands in its way.
Fall Out Boy was the highlight of the entire festival for so many but the way their set was constructed and the clash with Fear Factory caused upset for some, including myself. Fall Out Boy put together their version of the Eras tour with classics from each album being played in neat chronological order.
Fear Factory’s set ran into Fall Out Boy’s set so if you saw Fear Factory you missed: ‘This Ain’t a Scene,’ ‘Sugar We’re a Going Down,’ ‘Thanks for the Mmrs’ and the best song to come out the entire emo movement: ‘Dance Dance’. It’s hard to feel disappointed about this considering I still got to hear eternal classics like ‘I Don’t Care,’ ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark,’ ‘Uma Thurman’ and ‘Centuries’.
Fall Out Boy put in an unreasonable amount of effort on the set design and bits including Pete Wentz flying away with balloons, a giant claw machine and magic 8 ball and of course; lots and lots and lots of fire. If you’re not confident in your set at Download just put fire in it, everybody loves fire.
It’s no secret that Fall Out Boy are all awkward people, Patrick Stump is a phenomenal vocalist but he seems like the type who will do whatever he can to not have to talk on mic and that’s why we have Pete Wentz. Pete’s warm persona was only outshined by his glorious head of hair as he helped out a couple with their gender reveal. “Is it gonna be a Fall Out Boy or a Fall Out Girl” said Pete before revealing that the lucky couple will in fact be having a boy and will likely be naming it Download.
The set ended with ‘Saturday’ and a legion of Downloaders got to experience this banger while trudging through mud back to their campsites, exhausted but full of memories of an amazing set. You thought I’d make a Simpsons reference somewhere in this set didn’t you? Well, I tried my best but I failed miserably. The lesson is never try.
Sunday
Sunday was a rough day for all involved. The mud had become viscous sludge and made traversal incredibly difficult and the majority of bands on the bill had to cut their sets short due to the arena opening an hour later than planned which led to some very public meltdowns including the now legendary stage trashing from Code Orange.
With many people feeling the effects of the rain, some had opted to go home and end on a high note but the sun had come out for everyone who stayed which made for an awkward experience for those who came with ponchos and raincoats.
Lord Of The Lost opened the Apex Stage with a 20-minute set which disappointed many including Lord Of The Lost themselves but they still pushed through and gave a highly energised set full of industrial weirdness and classic European heavy metal.
It’s hard to get a good representation of you as a band when your set is so short but they gave it their best shot as they ripped through tracks like ‘We’re All Created’ and the iconic Eurovision entry, ‘Blood And Glitter’.
Lord Of The Lost is a middle ground between Rammstein and The Prodigy, their sound is super energised and theatrical but still heavy and rhythmic. Their short set is a highly truncated version of the headline show so be sure to keep an eye out for a UK tour in the future. While they didn’t have the longest set, you can still check out our interview here.
Hailing from New Zealand and taking over the Opus Stage was Alien Weaponry. Anyone who saw Gojira’s last tour will vividly remember the unique sounds of Alien Weaponry, a monstrously heavy band with respect and love for their Maori heritage flowing through their veins.
Alien Weaponry are a band that have this intense aura as drummer Henry De Jong performs a Haka before the set begins properly. This whole display sets a tone of intensity that permeates through their sadly short set. The riffing and the drumming on tracks like ‘Kai Tangata’ are as punishing as they are tight.
There really isn’t anything like Alien Weaponry out there and their embracing of their own culture and history is deeply fascinating and is likely the first experience of Maori culture to a great deal of British people in the audience. Highly recommended to people willing to open their minds and hearts to other cultures while accepting and repenting for the flaws of their own. See our interview with the band here.
Creeper have been gaining momentum over the last few years so it’s only natural they’d end up on the Apex Stage with the oddball breed of spooky rockabilly music. Their sound can be best described as the middle ground between Danzig and Ghost, there’s a clear punk attitude mixed in with some heavy metal harmonised guitar work. There’s something for everyone. “Download are you down with the devil?” asked frontman Will Gould before continuing to prance around the stage to the bright and colourful high energy of Down Below.
There’s a great deal of production value and fun gimmicks on stage like the pyrotechnics and ghost dancer girls parading around the stage to ‘Lovers Led Astray’ which also featured an appearance from Atreyu guitarist Dan Jacobs. Creeper have announced a co-headline appearance at Wembley with Black Veil Brides on Devil’s Night and there really couldn’t be a more perfect lineup to celebrate Halloween with. There’s a great deal of camp value and fun to be had with Creeper and the fact that the songs can stand alone without all this production value speaks to the quality of the band. Creeper were an absolute delight at Download but a terrifying nightmare in Minecraft.
Due to interviews, I only caught the last few songs of Kerry King’s new project but they still made a brilliant impression. A few years have passed since Slayer retired and it was amazing to hear the mighty thunderclap of ‘Raining Blood’ once again as this powerhouse of thrash metal legends played a mix of Slayer classics and cuts from Kerry King’s debut solo album From Hell I Rise.
It was ironic that one of the few moments that would be improved by torrential rain saw beautiful shining skies but there had been enough rain for one weekend. Vocalist Mark Osegueda does a pitch-perfect impression of Slayer vocalist Tom Araya throughout the set before saying “Thank you for exchanging aggression with us” as the band finished with the Drop B rager ‘From Hell I Rise,’ a personal favourite from the new album.
Kerry King is far from an eclectic musician but it feels comfortable knowing that there’s still a bit of Slayer DNA still travelling around the globe ready to part the skies and drench all in their path with a torrential downpour of blood.
Many people spent the weeks leading up to Download 2024 speculating on who the secret set could be: My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Weezer, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Garth Brooks, Frankie Muniz were all solid guesses but it seemed like nobody was right as Parkway Drive announced they would be playing Download on their Instagram that fateful Sunday morning.
Getting it out of the way quickly, this set should have been on a bigger stage. There was no way inside the Dogtooth Stage tent and hardly anyone could see the band but the sound still carried due to Parkway Drive’s crisp and clear tones blasting through a powerful speaker system.
The absolute hero of this set was the one drunken man armed with only an inflatable guitar and music in his heart creating his own circle pit outside the tent. This man was an absolute legend as he brought people out to dance in his pit and just be a genuine lover of music. A true king of metal.
Headlining Download 2025 is a possibility for Parkway Drive but we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds but until then, it was time to turn around and watch another set of goofballs do their thing.
Bowling For Soup haven’t played Download in 10 years but they fit perfectly on the Apex Stage. Their whacky back and forth mixed with their collection of youthful comedy pop-punk anthems made them a brilliant addition to an already stacked day of incredible music.
Brendan B Brown of Wheatus showed up on stage to perform ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ and further led to confusion about whether or not Teenage Dirtbag was a Bowling song or a Wheatus song. Incidentally, ‘Stacy’s Mom’ is a song by Fountains of Wayne. I Saved you Googling that, you’re welcome.
Cramming all your classics and banter into a 45-minute slot is a massive task for most bands but for Bowling For Soup it seemed nearly impossible. ‘Girl All the Bad Guys Want,’ ‘High School Never Ends’ and ‘1985,’ the reminder that existence is fleeting and the time in which your presence on this earth will be acknowledged is incredibly limited, all briefly cured everyone’s chronic knee pain and got a largely middle-aged crowd moving.
Chris Burney was not present at Download and his presence was sorely missed but we can all hope that he’ll be present at the UK tour with Wheatus in February. While Chris wasn’t there, we can at least enjoy Jaret’s son Everett dressed as a tortilla which surely won’t lead to an entire wave of people showing up to Bowling for Soup shows in tortilla costumes.
The set ended with a group hug on stage and I’m sure if Bowling For Soup could hug everyone in the audience, they would. A group of absolute icons and you can check out our interview with Jaret here.
Sum 41’s final UK festival appearance on the Apex Stage garnered a massive crowd desperate to say their goodbyes before the final UK tour in October. Despite it being a sombre occasion, Sum 41 were dead set on making this a brilliant celebration of their time as a band and of the dedicated fans that have made Sum 41 a household name amongst rock fans.
“We’ve got old songs, even older songs and the oldest songs,” said frontman Derryck Wibley as he made it clear that time was short. 45 minutes isn’t a particularly long time in the grand scheme of things, especially when you’ve been a band for almost 30 years but they did their best to get through all the classics.
Most bands would be tempted to play the hits but Sum 41 spiced it up with a track from their latest double album: Heaven X Hell. ‘Landmines’ went down a storm and it’s a shame it didn’t have enough time to become a setlist staple but the brief time we had with it in the set was fantastic.
‘Motivation,’ ‘Fat Lip,’ ‘In Too Deep,’ the list goes on and even though Sum 41 are in the middle of playing their last shows, they still gave it their all and so did Download. A fitting send-off to one of the best pop-punk bands to ever hit the stage.
The set ended with the most metal pop punk song ever written: ‘Still Waiting’. This track caused unmitigated chaos in the marshes of Download and will be remembered as one of the best closing songs any band has ever put in their set.
The Apex Stage saw a former underdog return to rapturous applause and a band some believe should have been the headliner: Limp Bizkit. At a certain point in history, Limp Bizkit was massively hated but you wouldn’t believe that was ever the case if you saw their set at Download 2024.
“This is Download 2024, right? But you’re gonna party like it’s 1999” declared Fred First as the skies beamed pure brilliant light on God’s favourite band (go read the bible, it’s in there). “Has this turned into a party yet?” Fred asked rhetorically knowing full well the party started when Limp Bizkit hit the stage.
Opening with the classic iconic snarled riff of ‘Break Stuff,’ Limp Bizkit set the fields of Download alight as frontman Fred Durst patrolled the stage doing whatever the hell he felt like doing at that time. Fred danced around, listened to his favourite tunes and told people to continue sending pictures of their genitals on Instagram like the benevolent gnome king he is.
Fred even reminded people what time it was before going into the Kerrang Radio staple ‘Rollin,’ one of the few rock songs that has mandatory choreography. The set continued with tracks like ‘Take a Look Around,’ ‘Nookie’ and the song Wes Borland has been dying to play: ‘Hot Dog’. They even played ‘Break Stuff’ a second time in case you missed it or just wanted to hear it again.
There’s a case to be made about Limp Bizkit headlining Download. We’re long past the days of Fred and the gang being pariahs. Limp Bizkit are finally a beloved band that garner love and respect despite being made up of gangsta Santa Claus, Ryuk from Death Note and one of the tightest rhythm sections in nu metal. Even Download boss Andy Copping got on stage to celebrate the ‘Nookie’ and just like that, most of the audience figured out their favourite set of the weekend.
Clashing partially with headliners Avenged Sevenfold but still making the most of the time they had, Machine Head took to the Opus Stage. Having witnessed Machine Head several times over the years, I had first hand knowledge that Machine Head would bring the pain live. The pain was brought in spades as they opened with the crushing groove metal riffing of ‘Imperium’.
The band continued to blast through immortal riffs like ‘Ten Ton Hammer,’ ‘Blood Sweat and Tears,’ ‘Locust’ and even newer tracks like ‘No Gods No Masters’ went down an absolute storm. Machine Head have this amazing quality to elevate tracks that aren’t as well liked such as ‘From This Day’ and ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ and turn them into absolute masterclasses of heavy metal in a live setting.
Robb Flynn is a master hype man in even the smallest rooms you can put him in, so imagine what he can do when you put him on a massive stage at Download surrounded by fire. It’s a shame Machine Head clashed with the Sunday headliners but we can still hope for a UK tour in the near future considering how long it’s been since the Vikings and Lionhearts tour with Amon Amarth.
Avenged Sevenfold have tried to headline Download a few times over the years with one of those times being a Covid year but they finally hit the stage armed with a brand new album, a killer lineup and some interesting choices of attire.
Some have criticised the set for leaning too heavily on the new album Life Is But a Dream but I’d argue that these tracks were improved in the live setting and gave many a new appreciation for the record. The stomping ‘Nobody’ worked as a slower heavy break in between the classics and the erratic and unpredictable ‘We Love You’ got the crowd ready to throw down when they weren’t experiencing violent tonal whiplash.
Obviously the set was full of anthems like the ultimate dual guitar solo of ‘Bat Country,’ the gigantic butt rock riffing of ‘Hail To The King’ and the punishing ‘Nightmare’ which saw the band using an AI filter over the video feed. This received a mix reception as many people in the back could only see the filter but from up close, it was an interesting effect that made this song feel all the more unsettling. It’s still disappointing that ‘Beast And The Harlot’ wasn’t on the setlist but there’s only so much time on the stage and you can’t get to everything.
Frontman M Shadows said “These tours get booked and everything is centred around Download” which is certainly true of the UK legs. Headlining Download is a massive undertaking and Avenged Sevenfold gave it their all and in my personal opinion, it paid off. As a longtime A7X fan, it was incredible to think how many classics were on the set I’d forgotten about. I haven’t listened to ‘Little Piece Of Heaven’ since 2011 and I still remember every single word.
M Shadows sounds brilliant in between talking about weird things like existing in a simulation but it’s easy to tune that stuff out and go back to enjoying the set and being complacent with your time in the programme. Dual guitar attack from Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance is on point as always and the seemingly impossible task of taking over for The Rev was fulfilled beautifully by the immensely talented Brooks Wackerman.
There were some minor technical issues during ‘Nightmare’ which caused a minor blackout but after a few minutes, A7X were back on stage with the ultimate 578 riff: ‘Unholy Confessions’. If you’ve ever put your guitar in Drop D then you’ve taken a crack at this classic iconic riff. Seeing it live played by the band themselves was a personal highlight of the entire weekend.
The set ended with ‘Cosmic,’ a grand prog rock track filled with lasers and light and with that, the sunset on Download 2024. Download has always been one of those things I’d abandoned hope of ever getting to experience given health problems and life getting in the way. Getting to see all this amazing music while getting drunk in a field with all these weird and wonderful people that I’d come to call my friends was everything I’d hoped it would be back when I was 15, dreaming of seeing the likes of Black Sabbath and Metallica in this world-famous arena.
Was it perfect? No, the mud was everywhere, my feet hurt, food was expensive and it was emotionally and physically draining at times. Would I do it again in 2025? In a heartbeat.
