In the first part of our Download XXI (or Download 2024 if you prefer) review we take you across bands we checked out on the Friday and Saturday. There was rain, there was mud, there were logistical site issues, but there were also many many riffs - and a lot of fun was had.
First up for us were Urne (11/13) up on the Dogtooth Stage. Given the wave of bands pulling out due to the Barclays sponsorship issue, Urne actually ended up hitting the stage at a slightly different time than originally planned but it absolutely did not stop the place being packed to the rafters. The band focussed on tracks from A Feast On Sorrow and given their super short set time seemed to absolutely blast through to pack in as much as they could. Truly an excellent sight to see Urne go from strength to strength at the moment - one of the biggest crowds at the fourth stage all weekend.
A short walk away over on the Opus Stage (second stage) were Soft Play (11/13). The consistently enthusiastic duo of Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent absolutely capitalised on the fact there was still a mid-afternoon first day energy in the air for their set. Pulling a large crowd, and despite a few tech glitches here and there (albeit that seemed to be more due to their own overzealous nature than anything else) the duo flew through a set of tracks new and old. The big crowd-surfing crescendo ended up hilariously flat as the festival simply cut the sound and footage whilst one of the two was carried around - presumably they'd gone over their timeslot.
Following straight on from Soft Play on the same stage were the legendary Mr. Bungle (12/13). For those unsure, this is of course one of Mike Patton's projects with a line up currently including Dave Lombardo of Slayer fame on drums and Anthrax's Scott Ian on rhythm guitar. The most recent release from Mr. Bungle was very Thrash heavy (makes sense considering the current line-up) and the set at Download centred almost purely on this. It's no surprise that the crowd completely lost it at points - circle pits and more aplenty - even during the more than excellent cover of True by Spandau Ballet. A cover which showed the full breadth of Mike Patton's vocal abilities as the band go from a standard straight run through of the track integrated with heavy brain-rattling breakdowns. All in, their set was up there as one of the best all weekend, one which felt like it went by in a flash.
As we started to reach the tail end of Friday, Royal Blood (9/13) played out a sub-headline set on the main stage which was unfortunately hampered by tech issues throughout. The band were already struggling to attract large numbers - there's no doubt it was one of the smallest sub-headline crowds on main for a long time - so each time the tech issues crept in at a point where they'd seemingly got things motoring you couldn't help but feel bad for them. The two main tracks affected were Come On Over and Little Monster - two favourites for even a casual crowd. They persevered but it wasn't world-beating.
Closing out the Friday night the best headline slot of the weekend by Queens Of The Stone Age (13/13). The best Rock band on the planet proved exactly why they're often given this, or similar, moniker as their 18-song set felt like a genuine celebration of all things old and new for QOTSA. Opening with the popular Little Sister, the band actually came on slightly earlier than anticipated which caused swathes of people clamouring towards the main stage. The set was dotted with classics, often in great one-two combinations - for example Go With The Flow in to The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret, Sick, Sick, Sick in to I Sat By The Ocean or the ultimate combo of Millionaire, No One Knows and A Song For The Dead to close out the set. The whole band were on absolutely blinding form - just pure bangers back-to-back without any theatrics. Josh Homme seemed to really relish the fact QOTSA were headlining at Donington for the first time - his beaming smile not leaving his face for the whole set. An attempt to get the crowd to harmonise at the end of Make It Wit Chu finally came to fruition after a few attempts, something Homme took great delight in before picking his guitar back up to thrash through Millionaire. A level of seemingly effortless quality so high it felt almost unfair on their peers across the rest of the line up.
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Starting off the Saturday for us is a slightly abridged review for Bleed From Within. We're not giving a score as travel issues meant only the very end of the set was caught but we did want to pinpoint how fun it was to see Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett join the Scottish Metal unit on stage for a version of Enter Sandman. It was revealed in the lead up to the festival that the comedy duo were on site filming an episode of their Sky TV show at Download this year - we can't wait to see it. We've since heard that Bleed From Within's set was dramatically hampered by tech issues causing for their show to be cut short. Here's hoping they'll be invited back in the near future to make up for it.
Walking through the sludge back round the corner, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes (11/13) were finally getting their opportunity on the main stage at Download and they didn't fumble the chance (to be honest, not sure anyone would've expected them to). He's the ultimate festival act - always brings a good time, understands the assignment, and just totally gets it. The crowd patter between tracks from across his solo discography was on point, if at times a bit silly and as far as numbers were concerned, he pulled a lot of people. A particularly amusing moment later in the set came with Frank noticing a little boy crying his eyes out on someone's shoulders - to which he immediately invited them on stage to get them out of the crowd. The crying? It went nuclear. Good intentions which, unlike the set, didn't hit the mark.
Following The Rattlesnakes on the main stage came another set severely hampered by tech issues and weather - BABYMETAL (8/13). Following their opener, the band got about 60 seconds in to Distortion before the mother of all rainstorms hit causing them all to swiftly bail. The curse of BABYMETAL on the main stage unfortunately - anyone who attended back in 2016 must feel like they're reading about that day instead - it was almost a carbon copy. What they did play of their shortened set was energetic and fun, with the sound pulling through despite tech issues that followed the mad weather.
Walking back up the hill (which was now suitably torn to shreds) we next headed for Tom Morello (12/13) who proceeded to play out one of the surprise sets of the weekend. It shouldn't have been a surprise, he's an absolute legend who has penned absolute classics throughout his career - many of which he honoured during his set. The rain clouds had only slightly gone away, what we got here was a shower through sunshine which weirdly added to the whole thing, especially during a cover of Audioslave's Like A Stone - a song which has become "the" tribute to Chris Cornell since his untimely passing. The Rage Against The Machine medley midway through the set ignited the crowd to the point that their full play through of Killing In The Name later on was a full on karaoke moment with Morello pointing his mic out to the crowd. A cover of Springsteen's The Ghost Of Tom Joad was also well received as well as closer Power To The People - a John Lennon cover performed with Nandi Bushell on drums. A brilliant moment to close out - Nandi's a POWERFUL drummer who is just getting better and better and better. A particularly loud outro tape of Fuck The Tories by The Kunts had people still singing close to an hour after Morello's set in the nearby bars. Absolutely nailed it from front to back.
Next up for us were The Offspring (11/13) - a set mercifully greeted by possibly the longest spell of sunshine all day. Another vast crowd, the Punk legends are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year (I know... bloody hell) and they used their set at Download to crack out tracks sprawled across their back catalogue, touching no less than seven records. A cover of Blitzkrieg Bop was greeted well in the sunshine but as soon the band started belting through some of their own classics the place reached fever pitch. They were absolutely on point - not something we've always been able to say about them live over the years - but they're on a hot streak at the moment. Perfectly timed with their forthcoming record due out in October - safe to expect a headline tour on the horizon!
Following The Offspring, Pantera (9/13) came on the second stage. Pantera you ask? Yeah, we're not sure either. This was a really good tribute to the band formerly known as Pantera but as to be expected, there was something just a bit "off" about it all. Phil Anselmo did his best to take us back to the 1990s but, especially when Vinnie Paul came up on screen, you couldn't help but see this for what it is. A cynical cash grab doubled up as an in vain attempt for Anselmo to relaunch his reputation. The score given is for the band who provided a good backing track for some crowd karaoke.
Closing out proceedings on the Saturday, Fall Out Boy (11/13) were given their first pop at headlining the main stage at Donington. And they absolutely delivered for fans and casuals alike. Opting to take a page out of Taylor Swift's handbook (there's a reference you didn't expect), FOB took the crowd on a journey through the years, blasting through tracks from each of their albums chronologically. It meant they delivered on hits from start to finish as well as using the opportunity to crack out some of the fan favourite deeper cuts across their back catalogue. The band sounded on form and seemed to enjoy the occasion immensely. One thing is for sure, this won't be their last rodeo in this spot.