Download XXIII – Day 2 (Saturday)

Download Festival XXIII Day Two Review: Identity Crisis Never Sounded This Good

Day two answered a question I didn’t realise Download Festival was asking: How many completely different versions of heavy music can coexist in one place before the entire festival has an identity crisis?

The answer, apparently, is all of them.

Saturday felt noticeably less focused than Friday, but somehow more representative of what modern Download has become. The old boundaries between rock, metal, hardcore, alternative, and whatever increasingly vague category we now call “heavy” continue to merge. And honestly, the festival is better for it. Download in 2026 no longer feels like a place obsessed with protecting genre purity. It feels like a place built around impact, whether that comes via blast beats, breakdowns, big choruses, or someone wielding a massive sword on stage. And yes, that last one happened (Lowen I am looking at you).

Early in the day, Nevertel delivered a set that probably would have deeply confused traditional Download crowds a decade ago. Today? They felt entirely at home. Their blend of modern alternative rock, electronic textures, and massive choruses landed surprisingly well, further proving that Download crowds have become far more open-minded than some people like to admit. Or perhaps everyone is just too tired to gatekeep properly by Saturday afternoon.

Over at Dogtooth, Lowen delivered one of the most interesting sets of the day. Unique is an overused word in music journalism, but here it genuinely applies. Their sound is distinct, atmospheric, and refreshingly difficult to categorise. They elevated everything even further with theatrics, on stage dancing and an array of sharp instruments, including an enormous sword. There’s something admirable about a band leaning fully into their identity without compromise, and the crowd response suggested plenty of new fans were won over.

Then Conjurer stepped in to remind everyone that heaviness isn’t measured purely by how many breakdowns you can fit into a set. Sometimes heaviness is density and atmosphere. Their performance was punishing in the best possible way; riffs like concrete slabs, brutal vocals, and bass lines heavy enough to alter posture. There were no gimmicks and theatrics in their set, but they did not need them.

An honourable mention also goes to South Arcade, who drew a massive crowd for their first ever Apex Stage performance. Their full Y2K aesthetic felt like stepping into a time capsule, albeit one powered by energy drinks and MySpace nostalgia. More importantly, they knew exactly how to work a festival crowd. Highlights of their set were “Riptide” and “2005”, two songs I didn’t think I’d listen to as I walked downhill, but there we go! Core memory unlocked.

Speaking of Apex, Black Veil Brides delivered one of the day’s biggest crowd moments. People who know me also know that I am an avid fan of the band; I have grown up with them and they are the reason I get to do be here. For years, conversations around the band have often focused more on image than music, a discussion that feels increasingly outdated. Standing in front of that massive audience, watching one huge singalong after another, it became difficult to understand why that debate persists at all. They brought fire, theatrics, confidence, and a setlist packed with songs people genuinely care about. More importantly, they understood the assignment: give the crowd spectacle, nostalgia, and songs big enough to carry across a festival field. They executed all three flawlessly.

Back up the hill, Self Deception delivered one of the most purely fun sets of the weekend. Big hooks, immediate crowd interaction, water pistols, and songs engineered to create movement made it feel like they were designed in a lab specifically for festival success. What Download knows how to do well is merge the whimsical with the heavy, and Self Deception know how to do both. Bringing on the pink colour and attitude into a festival of people mostly dressed for a funeral meant that there was a refreshing moment of silliness within the crowd. Make no mistake though, the band is very serious about what they do and they knew exactly how to cater to their audience.

At the same time, As It Is tapped directly into nostalgia, and the emotional response was impossible to ignore. Their set felt like a time machine back to a very specific era of people’s lives, an era likely involving side fringes, skinny jeans, and deeply dramatic Facebook statuses. But beneath the nostalgia there was genuine connection. The energy stayed high, but so did the emotional weight. Everyone in that crowd seemed to be revisiting an entire chapter of their own history.

Then came Behemoth, who unsurprisingly decided subtlety was unnecessary. I have to admit, seeing them in the blistering heat and smoldering sun ruined the vibe BUT, they still brought fire, ritual, anti-religious iconography and pure spectacle into the mix. Their set operated on a completely different level of presentation from almost everyone else that day. Despite the broad daylight, they somehow made Donington feel cinematic, ominous, and ritualistic. Every visual, every movement and every burst of flame served a purpose.

As the sun began setting over Donington, Architects delivered what was arguably the most emotionally resonant set of the entire weekend. Despite a few minor hiccups, this felt like the defining performance of Saturday. Very few bands have evolved under more scrutiny than Architects. Every creative decision they make seems to provoke debate: too heavy, not heavy enough, too polished, not polished enough. And yet, standing in that crowd, none of that discourse really mattered. They felt like the real headliners of the day. The production was enormous, the old material hit like a hammer to the head, the newer songs landed far better live than critics might admit, and the singalongs were massive. More importantly, there was genuine emotional connection throughout the set. It felt personal without losing scale, a difficult balance to achieve at festival level. To me, that was one of the best sets I have ever watched and they definitely deserve to be crowned the headliners of the day, especially if we consider the massive crowd they pulled from the other side of the field.

Then there was the giant looming presence over Saturday: Guns N’ Roses. Love them, hate them, endlessly debate whether they belong on a Download lineup, it ultimately changes nothing. They showed up, they played for three hours, they had a solid (though much smaller than expected) crowd and and they shredded guitars like their lives depended on it.

Day two ultimately showcased Download’s greatest strength: variety. Heavy music is no longer one thing, and Download is at its best when it embraces that reality rather than fighting it. Saturday brought different interpretations of what rock and metal can be, pulling huge crowds while giving audiences space to discover something new. At the end of the day, Download makes the pain in our feet and vocal chords worth it. Most of us are running on caffeine, suncream, and questionable nutritional decisions. And somehow, we still have day three.