It's been a weird week for Slipknot. Between the Instagram announcement that Shawn 'Clown' Crahan would be sitting out the band's upcoming tour dates and whatever the hell is happening with Craig Jones - something that is still unclear at the time of writing - you'd be forgiven for having reservations about exactly what was going to happen when the masked maniacs turned up to Castle Donington to close out a historic sell-out year celebrating Download Festival's 20th anniversary.
But then Slipknot walk onstage and suddenly none of it matters, as those gathered at metal's spiritual home are treated to all the fury, bedlam and heart-racing brilliance that we've come to expect from Iowa's finest over the past 24 years.
On the day, there were ill omens that threatened disaster. Corey Taylor makes no secret of the voice issues he is suffering with throughout the performance, and just 40 miles down the road in Birmingham a storm of biblical proportions threatens to make its way east and break the spell of scorching sun that surely made Download 2023 one of the hottest - and driest - in its 20-year history.
