You can’t blame anyone that rocked up to Download 2023 in a huff or in a hurry. British rock’s biggest weekend has grown even bigger on its 20th anniversary, adding a full extra day and boasting a lineup so stacked that the festival is completely sold out for the very first time. However, 100,000 people descending onto rural Leicestershire is a surefire formula for chaos, and horror stories such as six-mile drives taking six hours are frequently spun across the weekend.
The good news is that every single road-weary festivalgoer will have something to make that trip worthwhile, with Metallica’s legions being especially spoiled. The biggest metal band ever headline the main stage on Thursday and Saturday, yet none of their four hours feel wasted. Must-hears Enter Sandman and Nothing Else Matters, long-untouched singles like King Nothing and beloved album cuts from Welcome Home (Sanitarium) to Battery make the twin sets the quintessential career recap. Given frontman James Hetfield’s recent on-stage lamentations about getting older and Metallica’s ever-slowing touring schedule, this feels like a victorious yet bittersweet apex for metal’s elder statesmen.
