Download Festival 2024: Death By Metal And Mud In All Its Glorious Ways

Download Festival 2024. Another year down done at Download. If I had to express the experience as a title, it would be ‘Death by Metal and Mud’. In all of the most glorious ways, of course.

Gleeful exhaustion was rife as the festival attendees left Donington Park on Monday. Sunday’s glorious weather had swiped the spatterings of torrential rain that had started the weekend off from our minds.

But even if the rain had continued, there is no doubt it would have only added to the maddening stories when asked about this year’s festivities. But we were there for the music and got more than a manageable mouthful. 

The ‘secret set’ came from Australian Metalcore band Parkway Drive.

With sightings of the Parkway Drive tour bus spreading like wildfire across the festival arena, throngs of fans had already sunk themselves ten rows deep at the front of the Dogtooth stage.

The tent went off like a screamo air raid, and organisers could safely sit back with the knowledge that they had done it once again. 

In many respects, Sunday felt like the biggest night and by the time Monday rolled around, that stomach punch of all-too-soon nostalgia had hit.

As the unwashed but oh-so-satisfied festival goers began the trudge back to their cars – and a hot shower – it was worth noting the growing scale of Download. 

This year, the entire set-up felt larger. Not in physical size but in the extent to which organisers have added so much since the last. It is clear that, though the music is why we traipse to great lengths to get there, Download has become something much more than the fundamental offer.

With horror movie viewings, skate parks and more thematic antics on offer than ever before, it is worth going for a couple of extra days to fully embrace it. 

But the bands, artists, and acts are the main attraction, and though there were some initial hesitations about the line-up, the whole weekend was inconceivably great.

From hard rock to Deathcore Metal, we were able to embrace all aspects of the Heavy Metal music scene in a setting that really does make you feel right at home. 

Tickets for 2025 are already on sale, and with another sold-out year tucked under their arms, there is not much doubt we will be getting another batch of brilliant headliners. 

Here’s to another year of surviving the beast that was Download 2024. 

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Download Festival 2024

MetalTalk Download 2024 coverage can be found at MetalTalk.net/tag/download-2024.

Download Festival 2024 will mark the second year of the festival selling out, with weekend, day and camping tickets now completely gone. The festival will reunite its incredible community of fans for a jam-packed five-day event (June 12-16).

This year’s MetalTalk team is:

Monty Sewell

Photography:

Ryan Hildrew

For Download 2023 coverage, visit MetalTalk.net/tag/download-2023.

For Download 2022 coverage, visit MetalTalk.net/tag/download-2022.

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