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Not a long time ago, he was running jokes that Download, the biggest rock and metal festival in the UK, continued to look for new blood and dig the same 80s giants. But recent writings have begun to emphasize the first directors and make a little progress in representation. This year, fourteen-year veterans Guns N’ Roses are back, while Limp Bizkit will make their debut and Linkin Park, now fronted by Emily Armstrong, will be the first group to have a female singer top the bill. It only took 23 years.
On Friday, Swiss death rowers Paleface Swiss dominate the second round early on. Frontman Marc Zellweger is furious that the festival will only let him eat one free meal, and he takes his anger out on the devastating breakup. German party starters Electric Callboy command one of the weekend’s biggest crowds on the main stage before hip-hop legends – and popular inspirations – Cypress Hill descend seamlessly from classic to classic. Limp Bizkit will dedicate their set to the late singer Sam Rivers and his partner Dougie Miller, turning their set into a karaoke night, putting every word on video behind them. Take away the samples of Soft Cell and Spandau Ballet with horns in between their metal instruments and the show will be much shorter, but this will not disappoint the large crowd. Tens of thousands – many sporting a red Fred Durst cap – jump for joy, scream and mosh.
Saturday morning, Three British-Iranian Lowen enter the fourth stage with their Middle Eastern metal. Frontwoman Nina Saeidi evokes Iranian traditions with her piercing voice, not to mention her traditional dress. British sludge-metallers Conjurer are playing a song from their latest album, Unself, about singer/guitarist Dani Nightingale’s experiences as a non-binary person. Let Us Live, which roars in defense of trans people, is a sledgehammer-heavy picture.
Trivium are reliably explosive on the main stage, destroying 20 years of melodious but dangerous music in just under an hour, but the energy never stops thanks to Guns N’ Roses. Time has taken away Axl Rose’s voice, and he no longer connects with his limited audience. There’s no inter-song chatter – they don’t even give a title track – while the bandmates’ playing is flawless but lifeless. Amidst what has been promoted as a 200-minute set by GnR, Blood Incantation delivers a revival on stage four, their death-metal/kosmische mashup rocking the tent to the outside. Those who return to the title witness them finishing 40 minutes earlier than planned.
Sunday morning begins with a guitar response from UK avant-rockers Unpeople, arguably the loudest music of the weekend. Led by Wolfgang Van Halen (son of guitarist Eddie), Mammoth delivers a stripped-down show that owes more to the Foo Fighters and Alter Bridge than its father’s 70s glory. The Indian metal band Bloodywood is the best show of the weekend, full of inspirational messages and strong people, but the US rock group Letlive stole the whole festival from the third stage. Singer Jason Aalon Butler leads the band’s aggressive, cohesive ensemble, then rips out the drum kit and climbs outside. It sounds righteous and dangerous in all the ways that rock should be.
Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington is still missing nine years after his death, but his band is refusing to wallow in grief. Their performances of One Step Closer, Crawling and In the End reaffirm their status as defining songs for a generation, including Donington in a singalong, with Armstrong and bandmate Mike Shinoda all smiles. Fainting takes listeners back home for the last time in the 2000s, completing a variety of different downloads in successful ways.
