Download XXIII. Saturday opened at Donington Park in the very best way as both The Wildhearts and Pussy Liquor brought pure, unfiltered riotous and honest rock ‘n’ roll to the masses, making enough glorious noise to wake up even the most hungover camper.
Download XXIII – Saturday, 13 June 2026
Words: Paul Monkhouse
Photography: Matt Pratt
At the opposite end of the scale, South Arcade bounced around the Apex stage with their TikTok-fuelled Y2K punk pop that got things off to a Sunny D start with As Everything Unfolds leaning into a rawer and more brutal noise that brought melody and modern muscle bristling with barbs over at Opus, Die Spitz equally thrilling as the Texas quartet grabbed Download by the throat and shook it until it bled.
With a gorgeous set by Lowen and We Came As Romans’ epic and soaring Metalcore, there was something for everyone, and it would be a very ill-tempered person who would not be able to smile at the sight of BABYMETAL in full flow, the weather this year smiling down on them as the Fox Force did their thing.
Opus saw the very welcome return of Bush, the suspicion that Gavin Rossdale has his portrait somewhere in an attic drifting across minds as the eternally young frontman tore into some of their greatest hits.
Amongst an embarrassment of riches, Marmozets played one of the sets of the weekend, the Avalanche stage rammed full of the sort of fervent crowd that many headliners would give their right arms for as Becca Bottomley and company played a selection of fan favourites and tracks from the recently released Co.War.Dice album.
Also, a little earlier in the same place, Melrose Avenue shone and showed they are ready for the really big leagues as a full to capacity crowd saw the Australian pop Metalcore act make a Download debut that was nothing short of triumphant.
Trivium returned once more to Download and displayed exactly why they are Metal royalty, Matt Heafy, Corey Beaulieu, Paolo Gregoletto and Alex Rϋdinger laying down such monsters as Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr, Like Light To The Flies and In Waves.
Bringing some old school NWOBHM, veterans Sweet Savage showed that good songs and great performances stand the test of time as Behemoth and Architects brought everything up to date with bruising intensity that will see Metal develop into the next decade, the latter having to overcome a seemingly endless series of stops to their set by concerned security staff as the massive crowd let loose.
At the top of the tree, Guns N’ Roses have nothing to prove, so the fact that they play sets that hang above the three-hour mark is both an illustration of their legendary status and their vitality.
A band that changed the face of the scene forever, there are few bigger acts on the planet, and their return to the top spot at Download follows in the footsteps of the biggest hitters being put on the Saturday night.
All the hits are here, and a set that starts with Welcome To The Jungle and follows it with numbers like It’s So Easy, Mr Brownstone, and You Could Be Mine has everyone up from the off.
Throwing in plentiful covers, seeing the expected standards of Live And Let Die and Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door alongside Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Black Leather and Wichita Lineman, keeps the crowd singing along.
But despite a fine run to the finish, the crowd has thinned considerably since the initial first flush. With Sweet Child O’ Mine, Don’t Cry, November Rain, Nightrain and Paradise City bringing the night to an end, it is a collection of the thousands of the truly committed who have not yet headed for their beds after a long, hot day or the temptation of All American Rejects who have lured them elsewhere.
GNR are a machine, but the feeling was that this particular band need a bit of restoration and arguably a shorter, punchier set to sustain the power.
