Download XXIII – DAY 1 (Friday)

Day one at Download Festival brought chaos, breakdowns and Fred Durst, who is still somehow winning

It is June and this only means one thing: the annual migration to Donington has begun. Thousands of people dressed almost exclusively in black have gathered in a giant field in the middle of nowhere to ignore hydration, sleep and basic common sense in pursuit of heavy music, moshpits and shenanigans. Day one of Download Festival is finally here, and it wasted no time reminding everyone why this festival remains the spiritual home of organised chaos.

Opening the day were Silent Planet, who immediately set the intellectual benchmark uncomfortably high for everyone else. Their brand of metalcore has always felt heavier than average not just because of the breakdowns, but because there is actual meaning behind the violence. Silent Planet are emotionally intense in every single way and they hit Download with enough force to register on a geological level (aka they wanted to cause an earthquake which was pretty bold and yet not impossible). Highlight track was of course “Antimatter”, which was a great one to finally catch live and had the moshpits splitting open since the start of the day.

And then came Paleface Swiss, who effectively asked one simple question: What if violence had a soundtrack. The answer was catastrophic, as their set (and the audience response to it) were pure aggression. Crowd surfers came over the barrier in industrial quantities, so much that the photographers were kicked out of the photopit early. Security here deserved hazard pay! Frontman Marc "Zelli" Zellweger controlled the madness with alarming easy, commanding every collective breakdown like an orchestra conductor. The band did not only bring violence, but also the first pyros of the day, plus the collective spirit of shouting the word ‘FUCK’ during “Best Before: Death” that felt oddly satisfactory. Who knew that shouting angrily amongst thousands would be so therapeutic.

Staying on the second stage, Creeper followed with a complete tonal change, proving once again that theatrical commitment is a very underrated skill. Their vampire aesthetic against broad daylight felt visually absurd but it somehow worked. Creeper do not just perform songs, they build mythology and audience participation. Their set felt less like a gig and more like a live-action chapter in an ongoing goth narrative. To end off their own version of the Dracula garden party, the Mistress of Death came on stage to chop off the frontman’s head with a guillotine. What a way to end their first set of the weekend!

Over on the Apex Stage, which by the way is the largest stage in the UK surpassing Glastonbury, Electric Callboy delivered what can only be described as a “Rammstein Rave Party”. Download crowds can sometimes feel unwelcome to music that doesn’t always fit the ‘heavy’ box, but the beauty of a multi-faceted festival is that you discover genres and bands that you didn’t think would work, and yet they become a highlight of your weekend. The result was thousands of people dancing and bouncing, fully embracing the ridiculous joy of “Tanzeid”. Definitely one of the bands that stood out to me through the weekend and gave me a well needed serotonin boost.

Back into second stage, one of the day’s most surprising victories came from Daughtry. For some, this may have been approached with cautious scepticism, but by the end of his set, any doubt had been evaporated. Massive vocals, massive fires, a tight band and a remarkably strong crowd response made this one of day one’s unexpected highlights. Credit where it’s due: they showed up and absolutely delivered. Highlight song of the set was of course “Pieces”, which live sounds even more grand than the studio version.

Now, I am slightly biased in saying this, but the band that understood the assignment better than anyone was the next one: Halestorm. Lzzy Hale remains one of the most charismatic and commanding front people in modern rock, and tonight she had complete control of the crowd of Donington. Her vocal performance was absurdly strong, holding a high note long enough to make people reconsider all their life choices. The band is technically brilliant and completely locked in their art, and they know exactly how to command a festival crowd. Playing “I Miss The Misery” second on their set was also an amazing bonus! Whilst most bands shy away from starting their set with their most famous songs, sometimes a strong initiation is all that is needed to get the crowd going crazy.

Headlining Dogtooth, Corrosion of Conformity delivered a timely reminder that riffs still remain undefeated. Playing a small stage headline slot against the main headliner of Download is very tough, yet Corrosion of Conformity had the tent full to the brim. There are no gimmicks and algorithms in their set, no attempts to become viral or create optimised 30-second clips to engage the online metrics. Just massive, dirty and uncompromising riffs that had heads rolling. Their set was almost defiant in the best way, making a statement that heavy music existed before trends, social media and labels.

Then came the main event.

I have genuinely never seen Download Festival so packed with people flogging since 4pm to fill the field. Rumours have it that there were 100,000 people for Limp Bizkit, who closed out day one with a headline set that many bands spend their entire careers trying to achieve. Whatever you opinion on them, their ability to command a festival crowd is undeniable. And Fred Durst remains weirdly elite at this. He understands momentum, pacing and crowd psychology, achieving a spectacle at a level most frontmen never reach. Having the lyrics of each song displayed on the massive screen behind them prompted some of the biggest sing-alongs in the festival’s history, and the energy honestly never dipped. Nostalgia can only get you this far, but Limp Bizkit knew how to deliver!

Day one of Download XXII was everything this festival should be: loud, chaotic, occasionally ridiculous and completely unforgettable. It bring variety and a celebration of heavy music in all its forms. If day one is any indication of how the rest of the weekend is going to be, we are all in for a gloriously unhinged time.