For 20 years, Download Festival has been the molten heart of the UK metal and rock community, but 2023 might just have been the most memorable year yet. Yes, the traffic was horrendous, while no shade and sun hotter than Satan’s BBQ had turned the whole shebang into some kind of endurance test by the end. But when it came to really important stuff – y’know, the music – Download’s 20th anniversary held nothing back.
Expanding to four full days, this year saw Metallica play - twice - another incendiary victory lap from Slipknot, and Download’s first new headliner in six years in Bring Me The Horizon, all supported by an undercard creaking under the weight of fresh voices and headliners of the future.
