Normality has rarely felt so euphoric. It’s been three years since rock music’s biggest annual blowout graced Donington Park in its full glory: after being cancelled in 2020 by the Covid-19 pandemic, Download returned last year as a shrunken, government-backed pilot event. The usual 80,000–110,000 capacity was slashed to 10,000, the number of stages was halved to two and every attendee needed proof of a negative PCR test. It was a welcome comeback after 15 gigless months, but it wasn’t the real thing.
The elation to be back is palpable as industrial metalcore hellraisers Heriot open the Dogtooth tent on Friday: their arrival prompts mass chanting, while their screeching riffs incite the first circle pit of the weekend. Representing the more melodic end of the genre outside are Bury Tomorrow, who’ve recently expanded to a six-piece lineup. The increased manpower lets them fill up the main stage, giving them the visuals for arena-level success, and their tunes show similar promise, especially when Black Flame triumphantly darts between singing and roars. It’s infinitely more invigorating than Theory’s misogyny-laden jock rock.
