Words by Tom Donno & Marta Tavares
Heading in to the arena early on Sunday it was great to see that there was absolutely no sign of a lull. Of course the glorious weather helped but a major contributing factor too was the fact that Bleed From Within (11/13) were putting on a performance so far beyond what their midday slot deserved. This band haven't always had the best of luck at this festival in recent years, with sound problems, weather and everything in between seeming to conspire against them. Today though, they had the main stage to throw their weight around alongside large-scale production to very positive effect indeed. God Complex in to The End Of All We Know in to In Place Of Your Halo as the run-in to close the set was exactly the kind of wallop everyone needed to kick-start their Sunday.
Immediately following this were Power Trip (11/13) who, despite coming on slightly late (an annoying trend for the main stage this year), absolutely ripped through their set at lightning pace. There was a hope that some new music might've started to rear it's head on this run but that wasn't to be as the band focussed on the ever popular Nightmare Logic material. Whilst of course different to Riley Gale, Seth Gilmore certainly has an imposing presence on stage and did a great job maintaining crowd energy throughout.
We stuck around the main stage for Jinjer (10/13) who drew as big a crowd as they did a few years ago in a similar slot. As ever they sounded crunchingly heavy with tracks from their latest record integrating perfectly amongst big hits like Pisces. Their die-hards were losing the plot throughout down the front and most other more casual fans spent half the set in awe of Tatiana's force to be reckoned with vocal range. We're excited to see where this current album cycle takes Jinjer - word is there's a lot of buzz around the European and UK dates they've announced for late 2025/early 2026.
Over on the Avalanche Stage at a similar sort of time, the almighty Malevolence (12/13) were absolutely laying waste to everything in sight in their so-called "secret" set. Speculation around who was going to be in this curious sized gap raged for weeks ahead of the festival - as the first arrivals landed on Wednesday and pictures of the lanyard with Malevolence's name confirmed inside the excitement meter notched up. Shout out to Download Festival here by the way, creating this level of buzz over a mid-afternoon slot served to cater a heavy UK act with a record due for release in the week after the festival was a brilliant move - more of that please. As far as the actual set was concerned, they blasted through to an absolutely packed tent which had descended into an amalgamation of limbs, dust, screaming vocal cords and all round mess. The reaction in particular for the two new tracks If It's All The Same To You and Trenches was particularly impressive. We wouldn't go so far as saying the band were taken aback here, it was more a "fuck yeah, of course" with chest-out pride. Main stage next year yeah?
Speaking of heavy... next up came the utterly imperious Meshuggah (12/13). Now, a mid-afternoon slot in the daytime did feel weird for a band who thrives in darkness but it just added to everyone's discombobulation being hammered by some of the heaviest music ever created at a moment where the sun beating down was at it's absolute peak incinerating everyone's skin. We say it every time we cover a Meshuggah live show but the level of synchronicity between all members on stage is at a level where it frankly embarrasses their peers. The final flurry of Swarm, Bleed and Demiurge triggered dust clouds from the pit so huge it was like they were using an extra smoke machine. Never mind the band being in sync, throughout their set this merged even further outwards so that every head, neck and grain of dust flowed to the mind-boggling groove of Meshuggah. None heavier.
After a short break (it was bloody hot alright!), we next caught Lorna Shore (10/13) over on the Opus Stage. Much like most of the bands on this stage this weekend they had to battle fairly relentlessly with some sound issues but in the moments where everything clicked, the band sounded absolutely enormous. The crowd that had gathered for it means they've almost certainly put in their claim to be bumped up to the Main Stage next time they're in town. A good set which was hampered by things out of their control really, to include a truly bizarre moment at the end where the sound was completely cut before being returned to them in order to do one more song. From what we could work out they hadn't gone over their allotted time - either way an almighty on-stage argument ensued between the band and whoever was catching their wrath side-stage. Selfishly for us, it led to an even more venomous thrash through of Pain Remains III: In A Sea Of Fire which was great.
Ambling back up to the Dogtooth Stage, we caught another set which ended up vying for the title of set of the weekend. Fit For An Autopsy (12/13) were absolutely brilliant. Barely catching so much as a breath between tracks, the US Deathcore unit absolutely hammered through a tent which descended into another swirling cacophony of limbs (seemed to be the Sunday theme). Second track Warfare hit like a sledgehammer to the ribs. Given the fact that as part of the walk across to catch this set, we overheard some of what was happening on the Main Stage (another yawn-fest from Bullet From My Valentine), this just felt so much more vibrant, urgent and exciting. The "deathcore" tag can often put off people but Fit For An Autopsy don't really fit that mold like a glove, there is a level of dynamism and musicianship many of their peers can only hope to achieve. Set closer Far From Heaven for example, is a track for the ages. We can't wait to see that one come to life on the Main Stage in years to come.
Concluding proceedings on Download Festival 2025, and finally (finally!) sitting atop the bill came Korn (12/13). Many have, and continue to, argue that the window to bump Korn up to the big slot had come and gone and this was all too late, but given the context of where they're at now and the recent revival in interest for all things Nu-Metal, it actually all felt very fitting to see the pioneers of an entire sub-genre given their dues in 2025. There aren't many bands who can have an opening gambit quite like Blind, Twist, Here To Stay, Got The Life and Clown. Like, come on. Despite this being a stage Korn have graced many times in the past, Jonathan Davis was quick to acknowledge this was a big moment for the band - with genuine appreciation given during short snippets in the set where the band weren't trying to dislodge the everything within a 5-mile radius. It was simply a greatest hits set, and because of that there just wasn't ever really a lull. The much asked for but rarely played Twisted Transistor got a showing later on in the set before the band closed out with the legendary Freak On A Leash. This is a band who have had unbelievable highs, grinding lows and periods of malaise in between. From being amongst the biggest Metal bands on the planet in the 1990s and early 2000s to a period lost in the wilderness (it's mad to think they were subbing Pendulum on the SECOND stage in 2011) through to now - it felt as it should have felt; triumphant.