Is this the most cursed edition of Download to ever go ahead? Optimism for the 2024 edition of the heavy metal festival was at a low from the off, when the two-thirds non-metal trio of Queens of the Stone Age, Fall Out Boy and Avenged Sevenfold were announced as headliners. Then, in the week before the event, the smaller stages were gutted by bands such as Pest Control and Ithaca pulling out over the sponsorship of Barclaycard, which has ties to defence companies supplying Israel.
Early on the Friday, as the festival begins, “bimbocore” provocateur Scene Queen announces on the second stage that Barclays has withdrawn its sponsorship of the weekend, and that she’ll be donating her payment to charities supporting Palestine. The Callous Daoboys, similarly, scream “Free Palestine!” after being one of the few acts to actually grace the fourth stage today. Their violin-backed mathcore makes for a brilliantly disorientating sonic cocktail.
On the main stage, Polyphia are just as distinct, with guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage shredding like virtuosos yet simultaneously playing tasteful, accessible melodies. Heilung follow with the most immersive set of the weekend: the Nordic folk trio expand to a dozens-strong collective of vocalists and costumed dancers, and in the process they sound incomparable to anything else.
No such effort comes from headliners Queens of the Stone Age. Josh Homme’s desert rockers bring little in the way of showmanship to convince their doubters, and there is no pyro or theatrics to accompany the near-two-hour march through their back-catalogue.
On Saturday, all-new troubles emerge, as bands from second-stage openers Heriot onwards have their set times slashed by technical issues. Rising stars Bleed from Within get an insulting 20-minute slot as a result, but still deliver a fiery barrage of melodeath and groove metal – plus a Metallica cover featuring comedians Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett. On the fourth stage, two-vocalist prog metal underdogs Ne Obliviscaris wrestle with an offensive mix, their normally expansive sound reduced to just drums, strings and one singer.
Even on the main stage, Babymetal start their show with no audible vocals. The kawaii metal sensations proceed to play a mere four songs, the middle of their show stolen by rain-related struggles. However the wrongs are righted in time for the victorious electronicore of While She Sleeps later in the day, and the northerners’ nonstop energy inspires the same from a rapt crowd. Fall Out Boy then pull out all the stops to prove they belong atop this bill. The pop-punks arrange a chronological setlist of hits, alongside spectacles as wild as bassist Pete Wentz getting hoisted into the air, holding balloons.
The arena opens an hour late on Sunday, ostensibly due to extra safety precautions on account of so much mud, and many bands are forced to play shortened sets. Main-stage hardcore booking Code Orange use their spot to start beef with tonight’s main event: “This goes out to Avenged Sevenfold for trying to fuck everyone’s sets,” declares guitarist Reba Meyers before Bleeding in the Blur. Creeper still shine despite their limited time, bringing Meat Loaf-like banger Cry to Heaven and some ghoulish backup dancers.
The closing trilogy of bands collectively make for the weekend’s strongest section. Limp Bizkit host a nu metal party that draws the largest crowd of the event, then Machine Head maintain that momentum with their thrash onslaught. Finally, Avenged Sevenfold bridge the ambition of latest album Life Is But a Dream… with their crowd-pleasing arena-metal classics.
So while an array of standout acts stop this incarnation from plummeting into total carnage, the onstage feuding, slashed sets and horrific mixing should be beneath heavy metal’s biggest annual retreat. £260 for a weekend camping ticket should buy a lot better than this.
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