Review by Sheri Bicheno for MPM
Download 2025 last day is here and its a beautiful morning after a bought of rain!
Heading over to the Opus to catch some of Orbit Culture put me right in the mood for the day to come.
While We Serve delivered a tight plethora of blistering djent infused riffs and hammering drums that woke Download up and rattled bones first thing on a Sunday morning.
A stunning fusion of melodics and barking gutturals within the inferno created on stage showcased some of the best modern metal on offer today.
With newest single Death Above Life making its debut, this was absolutely mesmerising.
Chunky bassnotes Fredrik Lennartsson wields merges with Richard Hannson’s chugging riffs to form a death march alongside slabs of crunching tech infused skills of Christopher Wallerstedt’s kit techniques.
The delivery of this track was pure carnage with two circle pits kicking up dust and Niklas Karlsson displaying some of the best vocals to kickstart the day. His range reaches your core and shakes your insides with low growls and stomach turning gutturals.
With its wpic melodics entwined with some gorgeously heavy sections, i have another new favourite track!!
Staying at the Opus, Australian outfit Vowws brought a whole different dimension of rock fusions with Dark Pop elements and synth style keys.
Bloods On Fire gave 80’s style pop elements with fresh and catchy vocals infused with low ebbed riffs over shimmering keys and winding clean vocals.
ESSEFF reminded me a little of Queens of The Stone Age in places with some of the vocal styles amidst some sleazy frequencies.
The beat of SHUDDER keeps catchy with winding harmonies and mystery shrouded vocals. There’s a deep dreamscape amongst this track with Max and Rizz combining floating vocals and epic guitar sections to float you into the atmospherics.
A chill but energy creating offering for the morning to absorb some of the vibes these guys put out.
My first time seeing Vowws and I really enjoyed them.
Over to the Apex stage for the first band of the stage today.
It goes without saying that Scotland has immeasurable talent when it comes to metal and always one band that springs to mind and has gone from strength to strength are Bleed From Within.
These guys work like crazy and I am so happy to see they landed a spot at Downloads main stage to fly the flag for Scottish bands.
As the sun starts to come out, the intro chimes from the stage and the guys come out, fists in the air smiling.
Accompanied by some stunning images on the backdrop, Bleed From Within launch into Hands of Sin adorned with hammering groove riffed strings and the rawness of death metal soaked drums.
Anthemic in places that melt with raw energy, the moods from the crowd rises – the dust kicked up by the centre stage clouds above the pit – it must be carnage down the front already!!
“Download let me see those fists!!”
Vocalist Scott Kennedy commands the energy and is met with a roar of approval and hundreds of hands in the air.
Into Nothing throws a chonky energy into the crowd with brutal riffs and stunning drums.
Ali Richardson is a fantastic drummer, injecting suspense and pummeling fury into the slabs of heaviness and touches of tempo changes.
Scott Kennedy displays wailing roars amongst barking gutturals alongside Snev Jones and Goonzi Gowans’ bone crushing riffs as flames shoot into the air from the stage and carries the energy into the crowd.
Levitate and I Am Damnation are both tracks that are favourites of mine taken from their 2022 album Shrine.
These are full of catharsis amongst the stunning heavy layers and are delivered with mood.
Davie Provan has some stunning basswork that glues the underlining together. He creates huge soundscapes amongst bludgeoning riffs between the guitars and sets the pace along with the drums.
“We came to Download 20 years ago on the megabus from Glasgow” Scott addresses the crowd.
“Fast forward 20 years, Bleed From Within are on main stage!” And he thanks everyone for being behind them.
And that right there is something I adore about Bleed From Within… through their deliverance of some of the most stunning music created in modern metal, they are humble and throughout their set today they do it grinning from ear to ear.
Rounding off with In Place of Your Halo, Scott gets involved in crowdsurfing whilst delivering his killer vocals and we see Bagpipes brought on stage and traditional Scottish drums running throughout, just as the heavens open and top off an EXPERIENCE of a set.
I head over to the Dogtooth Stage to go catch a band I’ve never seen nor heard of and by the Gods, I have no clue what rock I’ve been under…this was definitely one of those hidden gems you find and suddenly you’ve got another favourite band.
LA Fairy Doom innovators Faetooth blew my mind.
I adore doom. I am a nature loving Pagan. I adore music that you can feel.
Faetooth are a spiritual yet heavy experience with tonnes of gorgeous layers of slow dragging bassnotes and riffs with jawdropping vocals ranging from clean, beautiful notes to high end screams that touch your core.
White Noise ripples in echoing beautiful melodics with guitars peddling darkened riffs amongst stunning duo vocals.
Jenna Garcia and Ari May are the epitome of how light and dark vocals work together here. Angelic notes ying yang together with scratching gutturals and deliver a pit of beautiful, dark moods amongst the chugging strings and Rah Kanan’s hypnotic techniques behind her kit.
Death of Day reminds me of a 90’s grunge vibe input with sedating doom guitars delivering slow and sensual frequencies until the heightened vocal screams come crashing in and pull the ground from beneath you.
Folklore and talks of spiritualism is a strong theme with Faetooth and one i can get on board with completely. There’s a celestial and almost ritualistic element around the feeling of this band and the way they deliver from stage is so intoxicating.
Discarnate and Echolalia are both major examples of this.
Giving heavy low ebbed frequencies and mesmerising melodics amongst bludgeoning ambience and riffs pulls you deep whilst some of the vocals, particularly on the latter, pierce through you and find the way to root you to the spot.
Stunning.
Staying at The DogTooth Stage, an Orange and Blue hue comes over the space and introduce winding riffs as atmospheric metal takes its shape as Vower.
Winding riffs come over the stage and we’re launched into Satellites.
These guys give me the same vibes as Karnivool in places – only heavier, with their high end spectrums of ambience and progressive elements.
Stunning soundscapes fill the stage and looking around, the crowd is getting fuller and fuller.
With soaring beautiful vocals and riffs that melt with the beats of the kit, you’re pulled into a gorgeous vortex of emotionally charged melodics.
Shroud brings edges of tech fuelled grooves and gruelling screams whilst new track Deadweight edges more towards the heavier groove notes of Vower.
Stunning guitar sections rain down on echoing screams and soundscapes that have you headbanging but being whisked off into another dimension.
Though they’ve been a band for a year, I’ve a feeling these lads are going to smash right into 2026 with a tonne of force behind them.
Back quickly over to the Apex stage where Jinjer are partway through their set before the secret set over at Avalanche.
A band I adore, the atmosphere of these guys always, without fail, is absolutely hypnotising.
Green Serpent is a new track in their set and has me planted to the spot.
With gentle strings starting off, Tati Shmayluk releases some of the most beautiful clean vocals peacefully unwinding into the swirls of melodies as a vortex of groove infused beats unfolds.
Don’t be fooled – this track is as brutal as it is beautiful.
Roman Ibramkhalilov is an absolute artist on guitar. He uses different soundscapes to paint the moods from his dark groove tones to mesmerising melodics against the tempo changes of heaviness that are injected by Vladislav Ulasevich.
It’s a new track and one that I was instantly pulled in by.
Over to the Avalanche Stage to go witness the worst kept secret of Download. It’s none other than Yorkshire favourite heavy weights Malevolence.
The heat is up and the lads take to the stage with full force.
Kicking things off with a newer track from the brand new album, If It’s All The Same To You sets the facemelting moods into the crowd that’s spilling out of the sides of the stage tent.
It is CARNAGE – the maddening riffs that bleed through speedy drum blasts get the crowd rowdy and moving from the get go, bodies flying about and heads going at breakneck speeds.
The weight of the riffs on this new offering are bulldozing and offers a mix of both slabs of chunky sections and fear inducing groove notes. Someone in the crowd has a headbanging Sooty hand puppet going mental and everyone is just living their best life under the immense energy of these guys.
Catapulting through Life Sentence, the chaos continues. Alex Taylor’s signature visceral vocals blister through with a range that commands attention.
“I’ll tell you a little story” Alex addresses the crowd.
“This was released 10 years ago when we released this next song, we approached all the big labels and no one gave a f*ck. Watch what happens now when we play this track.”
Self Supremacy begins with a powerful sound that aligns with the energy of the crowd, as the mood ignites with twisting riffs that enhance the intensity during one of the largest circle pit pits witnessed at the Avalanche of the day.
Josh Baines and Konan Hall drive the intense atmosphere with their intertwining riffs, featuring intricate edges and rhythm patterns that elevate the energy into territories of fervor and intensity.
The solo is killer, maintaining the track’s inferno as Charlie Thorpe handles the kit with ever jawdropping breakdowns and blast beats. This fusion of hardcore and tech-infused sounds provides an unmatched energy that captivates everyone.
“I wanna see a f*cking warzone!” Alex signals and the crowd dares not defy.
Intensity brings a different meaning with the live setting of Keep Your Distance.
Here glows the complex bass lines of Wilkie Robinson among the driving rhythms and the sharp riffs. A barrage of beatings accompanies the intense singing of Alex and Konan, delivering an overwhelming surge of energy.
This all leads to finale, On Broken Glass, which always gives me spinetingling chills.
Full of emotion and intensity, this track is brimming with stunning riffs that crash in with the duo voice – Konan’s stunning vocals and Alex’s growls, exploring the themes of toxic situations.
A beautiful mix of melodics and heavy layers to blow you away.
Heading back over to the Apex for a while, djent masters Messhugah turn up the heat in this already blistering sun with Rational Gaze underway and rips through the enormous crowd with hammering frequency.
The scorching Swedes have been active for 38 years, boasting a collection of albums that showcases some of the most intense and terrifying technical death metal available. The music they create has motivated countless math and tech metal bands over the years and today we see why…
“What a lovely day for Metal, right?” Jens Kidman greets everyone and launches into God He See’s In Mirrors.
This meaty riff induced piece highlights their incorporation of unconventional time signatures and complex guitar work. Jens Kidman possesses a chill demeanor at the front of the stage, seamlessly blending his powerful voice with the chaotic melodies produced by Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström.
Born In Dissonance hammers in furious drums from Tomas Haake with maddening riffs underlining the tempo and ever changing spiral of facemelting sonic assaults these guys deliver. Dick Lövgren weighs in with chunky bassnotes under the layers of trampling drums to give the glue in that absolutely filthy soundscape.
Crowd favourite Swarm sees the mosh pit kick up so much dust you can barely see the stage and Jens banters with the crowd.
“This is high! You guys high?” And is met with the crowd chanting MESSHUGAH.
Bleed launches into a tirade of riffs and intricate tech beats storming down on the stage whilst Demiurge tops off the set with a killer paced vibe and sees the crowd go feral!
Jens’ vocals are as ever, top form and he delivers them with ground shaking depths of gutturals.
Always a killer set from Messhugah.
Back over to the Opus and the field is absolutely rammed full awaiting Jerry Cantrell.
In the midst of the I Want Blood Tour in the US, his appearance at Download Festival this year has gone down a storm.
Sweeping melodies rang through the stage of slow and hypnotic riffs that introduces the set with Psychotic Break.
A dark and haunting opener, this was met with a loud cheer from the crowd and watching the stage was pretty fascinating.
Them Bones was the first Alice In Chains number to be bestowed upon us – the guitar work here is exquisite, with layers of chugging melodies blending sludgy riffs and grunge induced sections.
With Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato on co- lead vocals, the signature sound of Alice In Chains was encapsulated through some classic further numbers such as Would? and Rooster.
Having never had the chance to see Alice In Chains before, this was a total injection of nostalgia and an intoxicating one.
Witnessing Jerry and co was like watching the blueprint of grunge crafted. The guy possesses a distinctive sound that really resonates, from nostalgia to swirling moments of emotional catharsis, there’s no boundaries in getting lost in this performance.
From the standout track I Want Blood to Atone, every song seemed to stitch tales directly into the souls of the audience. His voice and guitaring remains every bit as unfiltered as ever; that gritty, echoing tone that has woven itself into the essence of rock music for many years.
Observing him during his game felt as though he and the band existed in a different realm, yet his bond with everyone present was strikingly authentic and present.
Staying at Opus, i was ready to witness and absorb some pure fun energy that comes with watching the guys from Airbourne.
I’d seen these guys many years ago in Birmingham around 2011 and was blown away with the pure energy and production of their set.
Now 14 years later, the Australian rock n roll train are larger than life still and bring a tonne of good atmospherics to their set.
With a suspense intro, the guys immediately jump on stage complete with sparks flying in the air and crash right into Ready to Rock.
An old school rock beginning sets the mood for the huge crowd in front of them where people are moving, dancing and headbanging.
Immediately running around the stage emitting some pure energetic showmanship, the guys fly through this first track with a killer amount of fun, riffs and hard beats.
Girls In Black turns up the heat with some highly electric energy and insane solos. Frontman Joel O’Keefe is piggybacked and taken from side stage into the crowd whilst going nuts on guitar, cracking a beer open on his head and interacting with the crowd.
Back In The Game see’s huge riffs and Justin Street’s basswork to bring an anthemic chorus, which has he crowd totally capsuled into the awesome unity of fun and good feelings from the totally empowering moods and killer guitar solos.
A guitar interlude carries on as Joel steps forward…
“You see these Marshall amps? THESE are from England!” Joel grins at the crowd. “You see the lights?
Give it up for the Airbourne Road Crew!!”
A HUGE sweep of applause comes from the crowd and we’re back into a solo.
New track Gutsy that will appear on the upcoming new album injects another sense of nostalgic rock and roll with climbing guitar intersections. Joel and Brett Tyrell work exceptional layers of guitars here with that skippy beats on the tabs and winding signature riffs that come together with Ryan O’Keefe’s killer hard beats on the kit. This is proper old school rock and roll coming back to life.
Joel’s vocals are high end chords and clean, upbeat techniques that bring together that fun and upbeat mood in this stunning performance from Airbourne.
Keeping at the Opus Stage, it’s time for some ultimate Deathcore with favourites Lorna Shore’s return to Download.
As Sun//Eater winds its choral intro into the crowd, the band comes on stage with a smiling Will Ramos addressing the crowd
“DOWNLOAD. You ready to have some fun?? I wanna see that pit open up!”
And the crowd obeys.
Crowdsurfers already make their way to the barriers as the blast beats pummel the grounds by Austin Archey, one of the best drummers in deathcore today.
Will whirls across the stage delivering his signature filthy vocals that aligns with the rawness of melodics by Adam De Micco and riffs of Andrew O’connor.
Delivered with insane precision and purely disgustingly heavy breakdowns, the energy injects into the crowd and it is intense. Bodies flying about and crowdsurfers galore, we’re then treated to an appearance by Left to Suffer’s Taylor Barker on duo vocals.
Rolling into the epic feels of Cursed To Die and into neckbreaking speed of latest single Oblivion where we see an even deeper sink into darkness, if there ever could be with Lorna Shore, the emotions in these tracks are really high. With the latter exploring philosophical life questions that musically, leaves your skull dropping your head.
Intense asf!
Flames shoot to the rafters and the pit is feral for this newer track.
Ringing out the familiar darkened riffs of To The Hellfire, the ambience of the guitars and Michael Yager’s bassnotes taking president over this live setting, I adore watching this track live. You always feel its core reach you and take you in a vortex of utterly mood shifting dimensions.
With Pain Remains Parts I, II and III with a short cut out from technical difficulties, the guys quickly recover and banter with the crowd.
“I want everyone on their worst behaviour. Show me what this festival is made of. Kill eachother. But pick each other up.”
Will sets the mood and Download opens up the most feral pit of the day.
Heavy, atmospheric and ethereal in places, Lorna Shore are masters of their art, easily one of the best deathcore artists out there and continue to grow whilst showing the best side of their personality.
I stayed at the Opus for a little bit to witness Steel Panther unravelling their caricature on their own identity, with their humorous dialogue occupying nearly as much time in their performances as the music.
A huge audience gathered and thoroughly enjoyed every moment, singing along to openers Eyes of a Panther and Asian Hooker which delivers one hell of an experience and sparks the first singalong to their set.
Their unique flair is evident right from the start with second track Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) surrounding humour and delivering an experience beyond their album performances.
Its a heavy metal celebrations with tongue in cheek abundance and exaggerated comedic moments. The dynamics between band and audience are essential to their performance with someone from the crowd joining the stage for some of their set.
Heading over to the Dogtooth stage, Fit For An Autopsy hammered into their set with a packed out audience waaaaay too big for their allocated stage.
Getting into the crowd was a job and rightly so, these guys absolutely slap and bring their top game every single time.
Lower Purpose rammed into the crowd like a giant sledgehammer.
Groove infused, terror conjuring deathcore embodies these guys in their filthy soundscapes.
Warfare emits Joe Badolato’s intricate range of vocals from high end screams to utterly ground shaking gutturals alongside the crunching death march of riffs injected with striking rhythm sections and blasting slam style beats from Josean Orta.
“I need to see this place spinning” Joe commands the crowd – and i gotta say, I’ve never seen such a circle pit in the Dogtooth. Absolute chaos under the energy of the stage.
Pandora embodies blackened elements of the guitars and raw vocals roars with slam elements backing into the blast beats of the kit.
Bone rattling beats and echoing melodics gave this a stunning mood nestled in the carnage these guys craft. Killer breakdowns and crowd bodies surfing around the pit, this set was blistering.
Fit For An Autopsy may have had their Download debut this year but I cannot see it being their last time. They annihilated their crowd and ruled that stage like it was a breeze.
Utter face melting. Every. Single. Time.
Time for the final hurrah of Download 2025 which takes shape as headliners long overdue – iconic nu metal kings KoRn are up and its hyping up to be one of the best choices of headliner Download Festival has seen for many years.
Spotlights search the black curtain concealing the stage and reach towards the outstretched gathering in front.
Lights blink behind the curtain on que with some synthy blasts and a disturbing keyed rendition of a nursery rhyme – Download is packed out and ready for this.
The air is filled with suspense as the iconic short blasts of scratchy strings and cymbal work rings out and falls into that intro riff that so many of us grew up with.
Waiting for the moment, all at once Jonathan Davis kicks us off with
“R U READY?”
…and the curtain falls revealing orange streams of lighting and the guys bringing the stage to absolute life with Blind.
Letting the mic to the crowd just before the chorus, the field could be heard for miles away singing the lyrics back to the stage.
Kicking things off with precision and pure and utter perfection, we’re in for one of the best headliners I’ve seen in my many years attending Download.
With playing Download over a span of 31 years since it was Donington/ Monsters of Rock and their first debut headline here, KoRn have pulled out all the stops.
Launching into Twist, the vibe for this short and killer interlude was high – keeping us moving and on our toes before taking us through nostalgia world with an incredible light filled and highly aggressive performance of Here To Stay, singalong Got The Life and the intoxicating catchiness of Clown.
Gorgeous teal and white blistering backdrops shimmered down onto the crowd for Did My Time – this is one of my favourites where the string work is concerned. Munky, Fieldy and Head bring together their signature bass slams and chunky riffs in sections of layers that come together to bring a catchy but deep hole of riffs and urban hooks that encompass some heavy melodics.
Echoing guitar work with some of the best cymbal wielding behind the kit crashes into a huge wave of heaviness under Jonathan’s unmistakable growls of intensity.
Bringing out the Bagpipes, Jonathan introduces one of my favourite tracks, Shoots and Ladders which focuses on heavy renditions of nursery rhymes in warped styles along with Jonathan’s epic scat singing, bringing in the crunch of guitars and drums that eventually Bleed into a short cover of Metallica’s One.
Early KoRn also saw the intensity of Ball Tongue make an appearance before a style turning point for Twisted Transistor.
With a more modern and in places, anthemic vibe for this track, this is one of the upbeat catchier sonic offerings from KoRn and has everyone around me, including me, dancing around like loons.
Blue ripples of light cast down to the stage and the winding riffs for A.D.I.D.A.S.
Jonathan’s showmanship as a frontman again shines here where he interacts with crowd reaction and gets them singing into the mic.
“Look at all you crazy motherf*ckers! Are you having a good time? Take a good look at yourselves. After 30 years of being here its the first time headlining!”
Roar of the audience is deafening!!
“I want you to play put your middle fingers in the air and shout as loud as you can F*CK THAT!”
The whoooooole of Download is a sea of flipping off and shouted on que as Jonathan launches into Ya’ll Want A Single…
An raw and aggressive number, his roars alongside the breakdowns here are unparalleled. Absolutely mind blowing!!
Before wrapping up, we’re left with 4 U and Falling Away From Me and Freak On A Leash as the parting gifts, leaving us in a dribbling mess in every corner of the field.
This performance was their absolute best I’ve ever seen them and whenever I’ve seen them live, it’s always been killer – but this was something special. There was something different in the air and the way they delivered their set.
Maybe just the mood of tens of thousands of KoRn lovers and the fact these guys still play as raw and as tight as the earlier days of their shows speaks volumes to the moods these guys created.
I was standing by myself for KoRn and where this band has sentiment to me, growing up with their music and my departed brother having introduced me to their music as a young kid, I was totally in my element – thrashing around, headbanging the life out of me and looking around, I was not actually alone.
It’s quite striking when you see a whole field of people moving the same ways as you.
Exiting the arena on a Richard Cheese jazz version of Freak On A Leash had everyone in fits of giggles… a great way to end a fantastic weekend.
I came away still buzzing and full of bounce.
Absolute pure reason why KoRn are still one of the best out there.
Monumental Download, hats off!
Photography by Pete Key and Download Festival.
