REVIEW: Download Festival 2023

20 years ago I was single, family and children free, living the life of Riley. 2 decades on, married with 3 children and 2 cats, this kind of growth can bring life changing euphoria, charming commotion, and a dusting of elation through the sands of time. This same timeline has introduced similar emotions since the first headliners Iron Maiden and Audioslave endorsed the return to Doningtons Derbyshire spacious splendid fields for heavy metals premiere music festival.

Download Festival 2023 sees a fourth day added to the normal 3 day festival for the biggest party of all rock parties to get underway. There’s the usual abundance of family fun with fairground rides, big wheel included, delicious food and sweet treats, stalls selling a wide range of clothing including official merchandise, an array of head gear including helmets adorned with devil horns, the now infamous tattoo booth giving permanent reminders of the weekend to plucky punters, all music environments being in close proximity to each other gave plenty of chances for careful consideration of who to witness where and when to apply KISS style makeup.

Whilst previous years have seen the heavy metal gala extravaganza experience a littering of logistical issues including rain downpours making a mud bath of the site, this year’s traffic situation was unprecedented. Traffic stretching back for miles on motorways, small country roads being obstructed until the early morning hours, it was little wonder many felt the need to express their anger and indignation all over socials. I sincerely hope the majority who made excursions to Download made it to the site safely and were rewarded with gratifying, festive, sun kissed adventures.

Across the weekend bountiful euphoric, theatrical and earth shattering turbulence shuddered and shook all in attendance, airplanes landing in the local airport were guilty as charged, the same sensations struck witnesses to the core, the shenanigans on Dogtooth, Avalanche, Opus and Apex stages being the main reason for the vast crowds to shout or even raw ‘YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!’ their approvals.

Yorkshire 5 piece Caskets awaken the mammoth baying crowd Guiding Light and Glass Heart shattering the slumbering souls; State Champs take no prisoners with their authentic dense solid tunes Outta My Head, Criminal and Half Empty; Jinjer literally bolt out of the blocks Ape and Copycat has everyone metaphorically swinging from the rafters; Graphic Nature take no prisoners with their eerie stage presence Into The Dark and Bad Blood smoothly shift gears.

The colossal Apex stage hosts the biggest bands over the weekend. Halestorm hit you harder than a speeding train, singer Lizzy Hale deserves an Olympic medal with her lung bursting vocals on the likes of I Get off and Back From The Dead; Pendulum swing where it hurts still capturing hearts with their pop like anthems Self v Self and Watercolour; Hot Milk screech and vomit their lyrics as only they can Party On My Deathbed and Split Personality entrance their gathering; Ice Nine Kills whilst not formed from the ashes of well-known Nottingham indie shop IT Is The End and SAVAGES displays heinous chords; AlterBridge move from first to sixth gear in quick time, with tinges of blues and hard rock smattering their set which includes favourites Addicted to Pain and Isolation.

Headliners across the long weekend bare pure emotion. Friday sees Sheffield’s own Bring Me The Horizon heavily graffitied Oli Sykes leads the band into new songs including eruptive opener AmEN, Sykes demands the crowd form a number of circle pits, the crowd all duly obliged with carnage unfolding lift right and centre. A huge wall of video screens is as dramatic as the guests that appear on stage, Nova Twins blend perfectly on 1 x 1 whilst Evanescence’s Amy Lee unveils herself from under her hood lending a hand on One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest As You March Towards Death and Nihilist Blues.

Sunday brings yet more musical assaults not for the faint hearted, Slipknot have the audience in the palm of their hands for their fifth appearance at the festival. A gigantic curtain with the familiar scribbled format of the bands names draped across the stage, as the curtain falls the manic masked band pummel and thrash as only they can with a demonic version of Liberate, huge applause is also given for Clown’s appearance on stage, making his appearance after supporting his Wife at home. Eyeless, Left Behind and Wait and Bleed are further examples of Slipknots fatal musical deliverance, there is nothing quite like these infernal bandits.

For many the absolute must was witnessing the return of Metallica to the festival for their record tenth showing on the lawns of Donington for a awe inspiring 2 nights.

The decorated 4 piece don’t need to do much on the floorboards to receive deafening applause, crowd surfing, circle pits and just general frenetic adoration. James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo know exactly which buttons to press when in the presence of the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen at Download, the field leading up to the main stage had been extended dramatically with spectacular results.

Entering the stage to the now familiar ACDC It’s A Long Way To The Top and The Ecstasy Of Gold; Creeping Death, Harvester of Sorrow, Leper Messiah, Orion leave little time to take breath, with each of the band members approaching their 60th year, it beggars belief at points watching the breakneck speed the quartet play at, but its refreshing to capture a band at the peak of the talents not needing any gimmicks to seduce their fans into submission. Yes, there’s fire and brimstone, whenever isn’t there when a heavy metal bunch of rock Gods are in attendance, but to see their songs being played as they should be, fierce, crunching chords of Whiskey In The Jar, with a dedication to Phil Lynatt, One, Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman being a fitting end to the 20th anniversary festival, the bands two nights at the festival was a masterstroke celebrating its 20th anniversary.

A memorable and significant 4 night outdoor stretch of opera, assonance, and rock ragtime with everything around the festival being an overly fitting support unit to blow out the candles on another hefty year of revelry, festivity and carnival atmosphere. Bring on the next 20 years.

Tickets for Download 2024 can be preordered here