LIVE: Download Festival 2024

As the final day of Download dawns, we remind ourselves that it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re on the home stretch. With an abundance of tremendous music ahead of us and brightening skies above our heads, let’s celebrate the finest of the worlds rock and metal scene and cheer for ourselves for rising above the annoyances of yesterday. Before we start “rollin, rollin, rollin” ourselves back to the real world, we’ve got a full day of tremendous acts to catch!

Words: Kate Allvey. Images: Penny Bennett and Download Festival

Code Orange

“Wake the fuck up,” screams Code Orange vocalist Jami Morgan and there’s no way we could stay asleep with their opening volley of maximum volume metalcore. Morgan’s bleeding by the end of first song ‘Grooming My Replacement’, their moodiness Korn-ish without being corny, their harshness the brutal shaking we need to start the third day of Download. In fact, they try to play on after the end time of their shortened set and that level of dedication to providing music to make our teeth rattle needs to be applauded.

Creeper

Combine AFI, Misfits, the Damned and the cast of Phantom of the Opera, and what do you get? Southampton’s own Creeper, adding a dash of drama to the main stage. ‘Cry To Heaven’ drags power chords and maximum gothic intonation from vocalist Will Gould into the daylight, explaining why there’s such a big turnout for a band so early on the bill. The duelling drums between Gould and second vocalist Hannah Greenwood, the retro anti-cuteness of ‘Down Below’ or the fact they are so damn stylish as a band could also be the big factors in drawing the masses to the bottom of the hill, but with a surprise appearance from Dan Jacobs of Atreyu on ‘Lovers Led Astray’, our early rising is richly rewarded.

Kerry King

The legendary guitarist is intent on forging his own path away from Slayer, and his set at Download is the first time his solo supergroup (featured members past and present of Machine Head, Death Angel and Testament) have visited the UK. It’s a set that’s understandably heavy on songs from his recent solo debut, ‘From Hell I Rise’, which if we dare say it, sounds very close to everything else King has worked on in his career, the extent that ‘Raining Blood’ and ‘Black Magic’ are indistinguishable from the solo tracks. The classic metal sound is a quintessential part of Download and there’s a transparent reason why King at the top of the heavy metal pantheon, and his set is very much playing to the guitar worshippers in the crowd. ‘Toxic’, “about the fucked up state of politics and politicians across the world” according to vocalist Mark Osegueda, feels a bit clumsy considering the nuanced political statements shared by many other acts, but the old school aggression is a welcome oasis in the Download experience.

Parkway Drive

“Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone,” warned Friday headliners Queens of the Stone Age on ‘The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret’, and the rumour mill had been running overtime about who might fill the empty slot on Sunday. Slipknot and My Chemical Romance were mentioned, as were heretical swedes Ghost, but the alert finally confirmed an hour before their set that Australian metalcore superstars Parkway Drive would be the surprise addition. Naturally, the crowd stretched twenty metres in every direction outside the tiny Dogtooth Stage, with nervous security unsure of the severity of the upcoming band posted on every corner. They needn’t have worried though. Parkway Drive create the kind of uplifting atmosphere that every festival needs, a shared community of folk ready to dance through ‘Glitch’s unearthly guitar as the ground squelches beneath our feet. They drag out the bridge of ‘Prey’ for heightened pleasure before ‘Idols and Anchors’ satisfying payoff and slow-motion slamming. We embrace for ‘Wild Eyes’, the passion poured into the drums diffusing out into the clearing sky.

Of Mice and Men

Heavy, bouncing and compelling, Of Mice and Men capture the interest of those for whom the stage-clashing Sum 41 are anathema. ‘Obsolete’s grow up emo translates into all seeing darkness that hypnotises onlookers rather than provoking a visceral reaction, until singalong song ‘Castaway’ adds a little cyber energy for our approval and we’re suddenly dancing like our lives depend on it. ‘Would You Still Be There’ feels like it belongs in the future, an era yet to be discovered that grabs a full tent who sing as they run in, and ‘O.G. Loko’ is a big fan favourite, even with toddlers dressed as unicorns who perch on their parents’ shoulders and mash their hands to the roof of the tent in time to the music.

Thy Art Is Murder

Thy Art Is Murder kick off to a slow and dirty start with ‘Slaves Beyond Death’ keeping the contrast high between the stages, guttural screaming from Tyler Miller as the only appropriate accompaniment to the drum onslaught from Jesse Beahler. In each circle of friends in the crowd, one person loves Thy Art Is Murder and slams like it’s their calling in life while the rest look on politely. At the front, the core acknowledged as “muddy and disgusting” by Miller (a fair statement) will place this as their top set of the weekend, feeling every second of the beautiful juxtaposition between the barrage of noise highlighted with sirens and the late afternoon sunshine. ‘Blood Throne’ is just the perfect example of the kind of wholesome brutality that characterises this corner of the spectrum of bands at Download.

Corey Taylor

The Slipknot frontman has shed his mask both literally and metaphorically to present a set that’s equal parts raw, sophisticated and silly. ‘Post Traumatic Blues’ comes across as very classic rock until he opens his mouth and let’s out the the full hardcore roar he’s known for, minimising the melodic parts of his range. A show like this, with roughly half the crowd in Slipknot shirts, is like shooting fish in a barrel for him but he puts his all into the solos, determined to live up to his own legend. “There’s no way I was missing this show,” he says sincerely, referring to his health issues which prevented him from touring earlier this year, and with a clean, gleaming smile, he takes over on rhythm guitar for ‘Black Eyes Blue’. Much of his set tackles serious topics with gravity and charisma, until he breaks into the SpongeBob Squarepants theme, winning over those hesitant about his solo prowess with his humour.

Limp Bizkit

It’s impossible to separate Limp Bizkit’s performance from the inexplicable cult status, and they were, without a doubt, the band with both the biggest crowd and the most enthusiastic response of the weekend. However, the choice to alternate each song with a recording of a pop song, which frontman Fred Durst sways awkwardly through, was an odd one, as was bookending their set by playing ‘Break Stuff’ twice. “We’re just kinda warming the place up for Avenged Sevenfold, keeping it mellow for you guys,” he explains in one of the excruciatingly long pauses between songs. But when they decide to focus, Limp Bizkit still have the magic that sent them to the top of the charts. The reaction to ‘Rollin (Air Raid Vehicle)’ and ‘Take A Look Around’ is genuinely vibrant, creating the atmosphere that you’ve seen on countless YouTube videos and desperately hope to experience for yourself. Yes, there’s a distinct irony in a fifty-three year old with a Santa beard singing about how people don’t understand ‘My Generation’, but the sheer joy that most take from hearing their karaoke staples played across the main stage is infectious. They know how to manipulate, how to masterfully create a buildup, and when they use their maximum energy, it’s easy to see how they’ve won over so many fans who weren’t there the first time around. Thousands simply go home after Limp Bizkit’s set, their Download weekend concluded with a satisfying high.

Avenged Sevenfold

As the sun sets on another Download Festival, we enter the rich and mysterious world of Avenged Sevenfold. There’s so many sides to their set, from complex narratives, sweet moments and even some plan old rock songs, and they emerge from technical issues as a triumphant headliner. Early song ’Afterlife’ stimulates our remaining brain cells like a sledgehammer with choruses that reach to the darkening sky as ghostly visuals fade to dust in our final twiddly guitar fix of the weekend. “Today is a special day, it’s Father’s Day. There is nothing cooler in this world than being a good dad,” declared vocalist M.Shadows before ‘Hail To The King’, and our weary fists punch upwards in a show of survival as we wail the chorus back. They dedicate ‘Fiction’ to former member The Rev, who passed away in 2009, their baroque piano sincerity prevailing in a tender and honest moment without pretension.

Of course, their most straightforward songs smack the hardest. ‘Bat Country’ is a huge hitter, provoking manic dancing between the drying puddles, and ‘Nightmare’ wins the fight against sound system issues to emerge as the memorable anthem of the last day. ‘A Little Piece Of Heaven’ shakes us through a nightmare with thunderous glee and the level of spectacle you’d expect from a headliner, with monstrous skeletons serenading on the saxophone projected behind. The misty and mystical penultimate ‘Save Me’ drifts into ‘Cosmic’ as an emotional finale, bidding farewell to the weekend in a way that feels fundamentally right and giving us the closure we crave to before rejoining the real world.

LIVE: Download Festival 2024 – Sunday