REVIEW: Download Festival DLXXIII review

The last recorded earthquake directly affecting the Castle Donington area occurred on October 10, 2012. Over the weekend of 10^th – 14^th June 2026 similar tremors would have been felt when the UK’s biggest and best rock festival gathered together a wide breadth of uniquely stunning performers.

The bad boys of pop, recently reunited Five garnered District X on Thursday night, the tent was packed to the rafters of fervent fans baying for some of the 90’s best get up and dance tracks, Got The Feelin’, Slam Dunk Da Funk, Let’s Dance and Keep On Movin’ were universally accepted with glee as was an unexpected on stage engagement proposal, a mighty fine way to break the ice of the festival.

Friday nights festivities delivered some stellar acts including James And The Cold Gun, James Joseph barked the orders, taking tenners for the best dance move for Guessing Games, but then circle pits are announced and duly twirled by gleeful attendees. Pendulum aren’t normally famed for Sesame Street creations, but their creepy cousins entered stage left before Rob Swire dons his best voice on Sorry You’re Not A Winner, a wild favourite for the baying crowds.

Feeder headlined the mainstage of Download back in 2005 when they were the festivals debut Friday night headliner, 21 years later they’re back delivering a set as vibrant and popular as ever, Feeling A Moment, Buck Rogers and Just The Way I’m Feeling do little but spark the decked out crowd chiming back the lyrics to Grant Nicholas. Back over on Apex Cypress Hill hark back the years with their stunning hip hop set filled with the best feet tapping tunes, I Could Just Kill A Man , A To The K, Insane In The Brain with a finale of a cover of House Of Pain Jump Around this is the perfect build up to tonight’s headliners.

Limp Bizkit last Download appearance in 2024 featured Sam Rivers, following his tragic passing in 2025 Fred Durst and co have carried on the rap punk mantle with gusto and tonight’s appearance is simply sensational. The packed out crowd are all fully under the spell of Durst, getting up at any instruction from the stage, Wes Borland, decked out in stunning disguise as the normal throws some tough and precise chords, further helping to whip up the crowd to a frenzy, with the help of crowd members being brought up on the stage, dancers and special guests help to make Rollin, Behind Blue Eyes and Break Stuff even more bouncy than they’ve ever been.

Saturday begins where Friday left off, over on the Avalanche Stage Nevertel delivering a smooth and slick set even if it is early in the day, this feels like a headline set in the making, the likes of the jaw dropping Sacrifice whet the appetite for more. Over on the Dogtooth stage Conjurer bring out all the best spells to bring the crowd under their control. Brady Deeprose conducts a set of deep dark almost satanic rituals leaving those who fear of the dark screaming for help.

On a slightly lighter note Baby Metal bring their A game to the Apex stage, certain a Download favourite Su-imetal chimes from the stage, there’s no sugar coating their set, maybe apart from Gimme Chocolate, some of the best shredding takes place in their set, whilst the story interludes bring a sense of normality for fleeting moments before bedlam kicks off again. Trivium follow up with a set for the ages, Matt Heafy has a grin almost as big as the Cheshire Cat, and it’s little wonder why as his band mates rip into Down From The Sky, Throes Of Perdition and In Waves the baying throngs can do nothing but create circle upon circle pits, bedlam does indeed unfold before our very eyes.

Saturday nights headliners need little introduction. Guns N Roses have been here before when it was Monsters Of Rock plus a few years ago with the reformed original line up. With a mammoth 3 and ½ hour set promised there’s little time to sit down and relax, Welcome To The Jungle does indeed invite all to feast on some of the most loved rock anthems, You Could Be Mine, It’s So Easy, Sex Pistols cover Black Leather plus the timeless November Rain, and set closer Paradise City do little but stoke the bands fire to keep on burning, who knows when it’ll extinguish.

Sundays revelries begin over on Opus Stage with Mammoth “I think it’s time we take the throne,” barks Wolfgang Van Halen, leaving no stone unturned just like his father Eddie, the set is downright hard hitting especially on Same Old Song. Dogtooth Stage welcomes Decessus with gusto, vocalist Ignacia Fernández barks some of the most chilling vocals of the weekend, its hard to know where she gets her vocal chords from, some other dimension of the universe obviously. TX2 seemed to have attracted their haters in the past, some recall bottles of who know what being thrown at them, but todays set is only full of admirers as they hit hard on Avalanche Stage.

Well worn rock indie trio Ash take to the mid-afternoon slot with gusto, there is much love for the band in droves, Shining Light, Gold Finger and a crowd surfing bonanza of Girl From Mars help confirm to the band that they are adored. Back over on the Apex stage we witness something demonic and downright theatrical, Ice Nine Kills bring out all the show stopping tricks, from rotting corpses, chainsaws and knives, they not only deliver death defying stunts but they also bring a life halting spectacle, Spencer Charnas might look all innocent in his best attire, but when Hannibal Lecter is brought out centre stage you can sense the mood change especially when Lecter runs to devour his victim mid song, chilling yet brilliant.

On to Sundays headliners and what a way to close the festival. Linkin Park last appeared at Download with Chester Bennington, since his all too soon 2017 passing the remaining band members drafted in the magnificent Emily Armstrong to achieve the first ever female headlining act at Download and what a band to achieve such a feat. The Emptiness Machine is a fitting way to kick things off, their triumphant comeback single is met by wild praise from the baying throngs packing out the fields, From Two Faced to What I’ve Done, to Numb there’s little time to take a breath, leaving the stacked out first few rows of crowds down the front exuding steam, the band deliver a set for the ages, one to never be forgotten, emotively Emily enthuses “We love you so fucking much,” and its hard to not agree with those sentiments to all who were involved with the 2026 festival.

Download festival can be found here