Download Festival –LIVE REVIEW by Carina Lawrence / Dark Art Conspiracy

Download Festival’s 20th anniversary saw a record-breaking 100,000 attendees to the hallowed grounds of Donington Park, becoming its most successful year ever. The fastest-selling Download in its 20-year history, 2023’s edition showcased world-class rock and metal across four days and six stages. The sold-out festival spanned four days for the first time ever, with two headline sets from Metallica, and a set each from Bring Me The Horizon and Slipknot.

Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go as planned for me, as I was meant to attend for the whole four days. But I only managed to do the opening day on Thursday, 8th June, as I got sick on Friday and had to leave, which was very rubbish and disappointing. Still, these things happen, so here is my review of the first opening day of Download Festival 2023, which took place on Thursday, 8th June, and what I did see was fantastic and was worth it just for the one day.

The first band of the day for me was Canadian Hardcore Punks Cancer Bats, who crushed it with a rammed Opus stage with the sun blazing. Their hardcore hits went down a treat, and they got in all their best tracks, kicking off with ‘Pneumonia Hawk’ and later with ‘Gatekeeper’, ‘Lucififer’s Rocking Chair’ and one from their latest album, 2022’s ‘Psychic Jailbreak’ playing the title track. ‘Radiate’ particularly hit hard with the crowd also. Their lively and booming set closed out with the likes of ‘Bricks & Mortar’ and their signature cover of Beastie Boys’ ‘Sabotage’. Everyone was in the moment and moshing along, including the band. They were having such a blast they lost track of the time, as their closer, ‘Hail Destroyer’ was unfortunately cut short due to their set overrunning, but despite this, it was a cracking and vigorous set which was one of my favourites of the day.

American punk hardcore rockers The Bronx were in their element and pleased to be playing to a large crowd at the Opus stage, with frontman Matt Caughthran declaring, “This is an amazing moment for us,” and he later jumped into the crowd to revel in the glorious moment. The band have now been around for two decades, and their passion and musicianship are evident. They put on a riveting performance with their great hits such as “Shitty Future”, “Heart Attack American”, and closing with “Around The Horn”. A short but very enjoyable set!

Ukrainian progressive groove metallers Jinjer are always a force to be reckoned with. This is the second time I have seen them. They delivered on all fronts on the main Apex stage. They opened with the popular ‘Perennial’, which highlighting their crushing sound immediately. Vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk was ever impressive with her mighty fierce roars, which can quickly shift into clean, beautiful vocals. She has a tremendous commanding stage presence and expressed her gratitude to the eager crowds for their support of their country during the war with Russia. Later in the set, they played other stompers like ‘Copycat’ and ‘Teacher, Teacher!’ A very triumphant and monumental set for the band and the massive crowd. I’m sure we will be seeing more of them at future events!

Hard rockers Halestorm strutted their stuff with massive amounts of swagger from the get-go diving straight into their best anthemic hard rock hits opening with the infectiously catchy ‘I Miss The Misery’ with the bonus of a capella of ‘Raise Your Horns’ with vocalist Lzzy Hale quickly showing off her vast and staggering capabilities and then keeping the momentum high they followed with ‘Love Bites’ (So Do I) and ‘I Get Off’ which transitioned into a piano-led capella from Lzzy of ‘Crazy On You’, keeping things vibrant and unexpected. I liked that they played all their most successful songs but added a spin to them rather than sticking to the norm, which sometimes can be hit or miss, but it was a resounding hit in their delivery and style. The band kept swinging out their best with the crowd pleaser ‘Freak Like Me’, and from a personal point of view, I was thrilled as they played one of my favourites, the haunting, powerful and beautiful, ‘Familiar Taste Of Poison’ which was a splendid moment. Drummer Arejay Hale got his time to shine with a fun drum solo which started with regular drumsticks. Then, he upped the stakes by switching to massive sticks to show off his impressive drum skills, keeping the crowd on their toes. As their set drew to a close, they pulled out some of their newer tracks with the hefty ‘Back From The Dead’ before ending on the perfect closer of ‘The Steeple’ with Lzzy appropriately quoting the song and declaring, “This is our church and you are our people!” and that was certainly the case as they nailed their short but thrilling set. I have seen the band a few times, but this was one of their best performances where they gave it their all and then some.

Welsh heavy metallers Skindred replaced Five Finger Death Punch at the last minute, armed with the task of headlining the second stage. Skindred is no stranger to Download Festival, having played countless times. Their reggae-infused metal always hits hard, and this was no exception. Regardless of how many times you may have seen them, it’s hard to resist their infectious grooves with crowd pleasers like ‘Pressure’, ‘Kill The Power’ and ‘Nobody’. They saved one of their finest for the closing of their fun and lively set with ‘Warning’ with a surprise guest of Lzzy Hale joining in, making for a special moment whilst everyone jumped around doing the signature Newport Helicopter move. Always a great sight to behold.

Metal masters Metallica return to Donnington for the ninth time, and this time for the special 20th anniversary edition, they have two headline sets with no repeats, a rare headline treat! Their set started with images of the band’s history displayed on the many screens and towers, which was a nice touch and suitably warmed up the crowd and tension before going into the opener, ‘Creeping Death’ followed quickly by ‘Harvester Of Sorrow’ and ‘Leper Messiah’. The band and frontman James Hetfield looked right at home as they should and sounded and looked fantastic, with James beaming with joy and respect. Later in the set, we were graced with ‘King Nothing’, which went down a storm and was a great addition that I wasn’t expecting. Of course, having recently released their eleventh album, ’72 Seasons’, they played a few new ones with ‘Lux Æterna’, ‘Screaming Suicide’ and’ ‘Sleepwalk My Life Away’, which all sounded brilliant live and were well-received with the crowd. They pulled out some cracking classics, which were a pleasure to witness with ‘Fade To Black’ and ‘Orion’. As we approached the final part of their massive set, they bought some of their biggest tracks such as ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ which is always beautiful to hear and to see everyone swaying and holding up their lights or phones. To up the pace again, they didn’t hold back, as they fired off with ‘Sad But True’, ‘Blackened’ and the explosive and fun ‘Fuel’, which, as you can imagine, heated things up with plenty of actual fire. They threw ‘The Day That Never Comes’ from ‘Death Magnetic’ into the mix, which was good to hear and kept things varied. Saving some of their best for last for the epic close of their opening day first headline set, they went with the crushing ‘Seek & Destroy’ and ‘Master Of Puppets’ combo, which ended the night on a massive metal high and was a perfect set to appease the masses with some expected and unexpected offerings. They justified why they are metal legends and proved that even with a hefty two-hour set, they have plenty more to play due to their long and successful history. How many metal bands could ever headline twice at the same event?!

The opening day of Download Festival 2023 was a diverse, fun and heaving affair with all the rock and metal fans descending in the blazing sun and basking in the glorious music once again at the UK’s biggest rock/metal event.

Here are some photos of the festival over the weekend:

Friday Headliners Bring Me The Horizon:

Architects pulled in a massive crowd on Friday, 9th June, on the main stage:

General photo of the hordes of rockers and metalheads!

With the 20th Anniversary selling out and being the fastest-selling Download Festival, it was an enormous success, so it will be very exciting and interesting to see what 2024’s event holds! In 2024, Download Festival will return to Donington for three days from Friday 14 June to Sunday 16 June. Limited Early Bird tickets are on sale now at www.downloadfestival.co.uk.

In other Download news, they present the ‘Get Your Rocks Off’ tour : A Riotous Journey Through Rock History.

The Get Your Rocks Off show is a sensory feast, studded with interactive moments that will leave you breathless. Audiences can expect an unparalleled sonic experience, featuring an explosive catalogue of iconic bands, artists, and their music. Brace yourselves to hear the thunderous anthems of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Nirvana, Slipknot, Rage Against The Machine, System of a Down, Green Day, Linkin Park, Mötley Crüe, Metallica, and so much more. This is a rock extravaganza like no other, where the heart-pounding energy of live performance collides with the timeless power of rock and roll.
 
Get Your Rocks Off will ignite the spirits of rock aficionados and introduce a new generation to the power of these timeless anthems. With electrifying performances, mind-blowing visuals, and an infectious energy that will have you on your feet, this tour is not to be missed.
 
Tickets for the Get Your Rocks Off tour are on sale now at livenation.co.uk.
 
GET YOUR ROCKS OFF UK TOUR DATES
 
September 2023
 
Fri 15 September O2 Ritz Manchester
 
Fri 22 September O2 Institute Birmingham
 
Sat 23 September O2 Academy Bristol

Main image photo credit – Todd Owyoung