As the final day dawned, the exhaustion was starting to set in, but with so many good bands on the day, the excitement was winning the battle. The final day of the festival was more of a nod to the traditionalists. With some long-standing performers on the bill and a traditionally metal band as the headliners, this felt like Download of old. Of the bands on the main stage, I have reviewed four of them in the last year, and I was particularly anticipating Korn’s headline set.
Commencing with Orbit Culture on the Apex stage, the day was getting off to a heavier start. The Swedish melodic death metal band had supported Trivium and Bullet for My Valentine on the UK leg of their Poisoned Ascendancy tour earlier in the year. The group made the most of the extended stage. The group was unfortunately limited to five songs but was able to give a live debut to newly released track “Death Above Life.” The band had the crowd sing the words of the new track and also created a wall of death to get them in the mood for the rest of the day.
Moving to the Opus stage, Australian “death-pop” duo Vowws were in full effect. The now Los Angeles-based group could be heard delivering their blend of industrial, post-punk, and electronic music. Aesthetically, they looked dark and moody with the lead singer wearing a long black cloak, sunglasses, and smoking. Given how hot the day was, this was clearly an artist giving their all for their stage persona.
Returning back to the main stage, former Slipknot supports Bleed From Within took to the stage. With their use of heavy breakdowns, growling vocals, and groove-infused riffs, it didn’t take long for the crowd to warm to them. Scott Kennedy struck a great rapport with the audience, and it didn’t take long for crowd surfers to start flying over the security barriers. The band also made good use of pyrotechnics, which added to their overall show. Mosh pits erupted, adding to the overall enjoyment of the Glaswegians’ set.
Next to the Opus stage was The Ghost Inside, nearly 10 years on from their horrific accident that killed members of their touring party and severely injured three of the band. The band clearly draws on their past in their lyrics about overcoming adversity. Their blend of aggressive, metallic guitar riffs and breakdowns with melodic emotional vocals clearly resonated with the crowd. Jon Vigil mentioned their tragedy when addressing those gathered and how he thought that they would never experience events like Download again. Throughout the set, there was crowd interaction with singing and also a stream of crowd surfers.
Remaining in situ, next up were Alien Ant Farm. Having spent my 20s listening to tracks such as “Movies” and “Smooth Criminal,” I was excited to see the band live for the first time. Lead singer Dryden Mitchell acknowledged that it was Father’s Day and requested a fathers-only mosh pit. The crowd sang along with their bigger aforementioned tracks.
Back on the main stage, Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah took to the stage and delivered a technically brilliant set. Having watched the band previously, I am in awe of Tomas Haake’s double pedal work, and this was clearly on display. The group delighted the crowd with their complex rhythms, and the group clearly accelerated the number of crowd surfers. Many were disappointed when the 8-track performance ended following “Demiurge.”
One of the joys of modern Download is the ability to walk from one band to another and hear a completely different sound, and there are very few more contrasting than Meshuggah and next act Jerry Cantrell. The Alice in Chains main man, accompanied by his band, played a mixture of his own material and the AiC back catalogue, playing major hits “Them Bones,” “Would,” and the set finale “Rooster.” The crowd sang along in good spirits, proving that grunge is still alive and kicking.
Remaining at the Opus, we were in for a real treat. I have been to many festivals in my time, and some of the highlights have been Australian rockers Airbourne. If ever there was a band that was built for live performance, it’s them. To put it mildly, Joel O’Keeffe is nuts. I have seen him climb the staging whilst having security follow him to get him down, ride on the shoulders of security and around the crowd, among many other theatrics, so I was heavily anticipating this set. He didn’t disappoint. There was beer throwing, pyrotechnics, and a highly energetic performance from the band that really got the crowd in the mood for the later stages of the day. As with many acts of the day, there were crowd surfers galore.
With the day approaching the twilight hours, there were two more bands on my list. I was disappointed not to be able to see Steel Panther headline the Opus stage but instead moved to the front of the crowd for Bullet For My Valentine. The Welsh metallers are my second most seen band after Iron Maiden. Delivering their debut album “The Poison” in its entirety, the old school faithful would not be disappointed. The album that has no filler, in my opinion, was well received by the crowd, who were at their absolute best for “Tears Don’t Fall,” not missing a single word in their backing accompaniment for Matt Tuck. The band made great use of pyrotechnics and encouraged those gathered to clap along. Tuck promised new music was to be forthcoming later this year and put the band forward as future headliners. Judging by the reaction, this is probably not far from becoming a reality. After final album track “The End,” the group performed a two-track encore of “Knives” and “Waking The Demon” before vacating the stage for first-time headliners Korn to set up.
Overhead, the clouds loomed menacingly as they had for Friday night headliners Green Day, and some of the crowd started to don their rain ponchos in anticipation. However, this was not the anticipation for most—that was reserved for the band from Bakersfield whose climb to the top has been 30 years in the making. This year marked the group’s tenth performance at the festival, and it was only fitting that they be the closers to this monumental event. Few bands have a phrase that encapsulates their live performances. Maiden with their “scream for me,” but among that list are Korn with “Are you ready?” The bass lines rumbled like an earthquake, and the crowd exploded as Jonathan Davis uttered the immortal words. Accompanying the sound was a mesmerizing light show that mimicked the rain that was threatening overhead. In what felt almost like a greatest hits set, Korn delivered fan favorite after fan favorite. On stage, the band exuded a dark intensity illuminated by their elaborate visual effects. The crowd was treated to Davis playing the bagpipes, and as with many other acts of the day, there were crowd surfers aplenty. I spent the last half of the set checking behind me for fear of being kicked in the head.
Overall, the performance was an unmitigated success and capped an incredible weekend of music. The festival has barely ended, and as with many fellow festival-goers, I am left yearning to return to the hallowed Donington turf. A year seems too long to wait. Simply put, what an experience.
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