Download Festival, Day 5: Sunday 14th June 2026

18 June 2026

Kicking off Sunday morning are Spitting Glass, a band who’ve created a huge buzz upon the release of just one single. It means that there’s a huge weight of expectation hanging over their appearance, and that’s heightened by the huge crowd they’ve drawn. It is 11am and the Dogtooth tent is full to capacity and the hangovers that many are nursing are blown away by Spitting Glass and their incendiary sound. A ferocious blast beat shatters the still and then the band arrive, a tightly wound ball of aggression and they instigate the very first pit of the day (it’s that kind of music). New tracks such as ‘Monitor Me’ suggest they’ve got plenty in the tank, whilst that single (‘1HP’) becomes more visceral in the live arena. Future mayhem beckons.

If you can imagine the Beastie Boys and Rage Against The Machine placed in a particle collider and fused together with red hot heat, then you’ll have something approaching the frenetic energy of Private School. Their vocalist in particular is a nervous ball of energy, ADHD mixed with a caffeine overdose, he’s all over the stage like a rash and delivers his vocals in a rapid fire manner and is in perfect sync with the music. The band deliver a bunch of sick beats that draw equally from hardcore and metal, the result being a sound that is at once heavy and agile and moves with a kind of savage grace that leaps straight for the jugular. Private School have picked up the baton and they’re running with it.

Formed by a bunch of high school friends in 2008, it has been a long road out of Sherman, Texas, for Kublai Khan TX. They haven’t travelled all this way to take prisoners and they immediately stomp all over the stage like a 900lb gorilla. Vocalist Matt is suffering from some serious back problems, but what he lacks in movement he more than makes up for in aggression and is the very embodiment of stoicism. He unleashes some quite unearthly screams (perhaps due to his back pain) which in turn only serves to fire up the crowd and the swirling circle pit is exactly what you’d expect at a hardcore show with lots of two steps and windmill kicking. It’s volatile and violent, but what did you expect from a bunch of musical hoodlums from Texas? Unforgettable.

After the dust that Kublai Khan TX have kicked up over on the Apex stage, things take a more sedate turn over on the Dogtooth. Wayside aren’t here to waste to waste and they get straight down to business with a sound that draws equally from indie and alternative rock, along with a strong focus on important stuff like song structure and melody. Although they were born beneath sunny skies, I’m picking up a definite northern English vibe that is more in tune with the darkness of Joy Division and Echo And The Bunnymen, along with a touch of Midwest emo. It’s a heady mix with their latest single suggesting that they could be 2026’s breakout band.

Once Bloodywood were India’s best kept secret, but it didn’t take long for the Western world to cotton on and now Download is falling under their spell. They are a band who’ve absorbed their natural surroundings and that makes a three-dimensional sound that melds traditional Indian folk instruments to traditional metal and the result is forward facing and undeniably original. It’s a sound that has instigated all sorts of chaos in front of the stage, so much so that the band call time so things can calm down a notch. But it is soon back to the insane action, yet it is all in the right spirit and features good natured moshing and circle pits. It’s easy to see why Bloodywood have conquered half the world, and on the strength of this performance, it is only a matter of time until the other half falls.

Over in the Dogtooth tent German metalcore crew Annisokay are stirring things up nicely, raising the temperature with a bunch of songs that seem tailor made for the Download crew. Having released five solid albums, some hard decisions must be made when compiling songs for a set list lasting only 25-minutes, yet Annisokay do a good job in touching all bases, assembling songs that ebb and flow into each other and display a sound that’s equally fluid with lighter passages seguing into the heavier effortlessly. The band look genuinely surprised at the big crowd they’ve drawn, but they shouldn’t be because they’re a band heading for the top and their songs are the rocket fuel that will get them there.

Surprise sets are becoming a regular thing at Download, but surprises don’t come much nicer than Skindred. It might be a secret set, but someone has let the cat out of the bag and we are packed into the Dogtooth like sardines. It’s standing room only as the crowd are teased with several cheesy songs by way of introductions and means that when the band finally do arrive they are welcomed like returning heroes. Undoubtedly the finest thing to come out of the M4, Skindred are at a highpoint having just released an album that reached number one in the official charts and it has given them a confidence that only comes from a band at the top of their game. It’s been a long hard road out of Wales, but the band’s perseverance is finally paying dividends. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the band have an arsenal full of cracking tunes, half a dozen of which are delivered by Benji and band in the only way they know how (i.e., with plenty of effervescence). Skindred might be the UK’s best kept secret…but not for much longer.

There’s something about American hardcore punk that’s irrepressible. It’s a quality that is ever present; no matter how raucous and rowdy things get there’s always a strong focus on melody and song structure. A good example would be Los Angeles’ Social Distortion, a band who took the rage of punk and fused it to a melodic sensibility. It’s a sound that’s made for dancing and moshing (preferably at the same time) and there’s plenty of both going on in the late afternoon sunshine. The most frightening thing about this crew is that they are still relevant, those social conditions that first informed the band’s sound are still here today (only the names have changed), but on the plus side it means Social Distortion are as hard hitting as ever and their set packs a potent punch.

Boundaries hit the scene in 2014 and since then they’ve been pumping out a virulent strain of melodic metalcore, bringing an emotional quality to a scene that is steeped in hyper masculinity. Powerful and bombastic, Boundaries hit the ground running with ‘Skies Cast Amber Black’ and from that point on they rarely look back. Their nine song set draws from each of their four albums, yet it is a set that fits together very well, the following ‘My Body Is A Cage’ sitting next to ‘Is Survived By’ quite effortlessly. The band’s early forays in hardcore is represented by ‘I’d Rather Not Say’ whilst their latter day metalcore leanings becomes apparent on ‘Bitter Ash, Bitter Love’, yet despite the years and stylistic shifts that separate these tracks the band make their set hang together as a cohesive whole. That’s no surprise because Boundaries and a band for whom no genre is off limits.

There are certain bands about whom you have a sixth sense, before you’ve even heard a note you kind of get the notion that they are going to kick ass, and that’s precisely the vibe I picked up from Gatecreeper. Then, when their amps were wheeled out adorned with skulls and chains, I new I was onto a winner. I’m pleased to say my premonition was correct and I was pleased to find that this Arizona crew deal a rather nice line in death metal. A twin guitar assault is dredged from the very depths of Hades whilst the rhythm section stomps like a serial killer on a naked rampage. However, it is vocalist Chase H. Mason who gives the band their unique edge; he avoids the usual death metal tropes and moulds words to the music like they are plasticine. Closer ‘Flame Thrower’ causes all sorts of carnage and marks the band as a contemporary force. By harking back to the golden age of death metal and repurposing it in their own image means Gatecreeper have a bright future.

To say that Spineshank are a seminal band would be the understatement of the year. Born in Los Angeles in 1996, they were responsible for reshaping heavy metal for the new millennium by introducing electronic elements and paved the way for countless imitators. The UK was the first band to catch onto what they were doing (even before their native America), so it’s only right that they should celebrate their thirtieth anniversary amongst the rolling hills of Leicestershire. It’s another packed Dogtooth tent with an excitement crackling the air as we await the band’s appearance and means that when the band finally arrive it is as if floodgates have opened and a sense of relief flows over us, we are safe in the knowledge that the band really are here and we can get down and enjoy their set. And it is an enjoyable set, being jam packed full of bangers with tracks such as ‘New Disease’ going exceptionally hard. With only 35-minutes to play, Spineshank waste little time on mindless banter, preferring to unleash their songs in quick succession and is an approach that separates the band from their peers and is probably the secret to their longevity.

Headlining the Dogtooth are Creeper, and worthy bill toppers they are too. It’s not my first time seeing the band live this year, having caught them recently in Milton Keynes (reviewed here), but I was intrigued to see how their show transferred to a festival stage…and the answer is very well. The darkness descending outside and the stage lights coming into full effect makes the perfect frame in which to view Creeper, and an eerie atmosphere hangs over the whole tent. When Creeper finally arrive they look like they’ve stepped straight out of The Lost Boys, and they sound like it too, delivering a set of songs that are very cinematic and fill our heads with visions of the darkest kind. Having returned from a successful jaunt in the States and a run of well received UK shows means Creeper are at the very top of their game. Although they have an hour to play with, there’s hardly any time wasted on between song banter, the band packing as many songs as possible into their sixty minute allocation. It’s that time of day where Creeper have some serious competition from other stages, yet the band have pulled in a large crowd with their unique brand of theatrical rock. A solid set that holds the crowd’s undivided attention until the final note rings out. Next time Creeper come to Download they’ll be heading the main stage, me thinks.

On what has been a special Download, it takes an equally special band to close the festival and that’s where Linkin Park step in. Just like Download itself, Linkin Park have undergone a complete transmogrification; after the untimely death of vocalist Chester Bennington in 2017, Linkin Park went on an indefinite hiatus and it seemed like the band would never perform again. However, thanks to the arrival of Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain the band healed their wounds and made a triumphant return in 2024. As with Download’s organic morphing into a more modern beast, so with Linkin Park who have shifted towards something newer, whilst simultaneously remaining easily identifiable. Of course, such a move is not without risk and it takes a brave band to show of their new wares in front of a festival crowd. But in a case of fortune favouring the brave Linkin Park hit the ground running after several intro tapes with ‘The Emptiness Machine’ and finds the band playing right in that sweet spot. It’s a strangely understated way to make an entrance, yet it is no less powerful for it, the band grabbing the crowd’s attention like a thief in the dark. With the stage bathed in ice white and glacial blue light, Linkin Park are greeted like returning heroes and the faith and patience fans have invested in the band are reward exponentially. Having a female vocalist has changed the dynamic of older songs such as ‘Crawling’, but certainly not to their detriment, Emily putting her own stamp on proceedings whilst retaining the essence of the original. Therefore, it’s pretty apt that this tour (and latest album) is titled From Zero; whilst there’s been no radical overhaul, there’s a feeling that things have been rebooted and reset, the band playing with a new found zest and lust for life. Whilst the new album provides the most songs (six), there’s still plenty of room for older classics, featuring five a piece from Meteora and Hybrid Theory and a selection of others including a nifty cover of Fort Minor’s ‘Where’d You Go’. It makes this the perfect set for the casual and serious fan alike, with Linkin Park bringing a successful set (and Download) to a triumphant conclusion with ‘Faint’, and as the Beastie Boys’ ‘Pass The Mic’ sends us away to our tents/cars it is with a feeling that we’ve witnessed something very, very special.

Another enjoyable Download finds it marching confidently into the future and with that in mind, our thoughts are already turning towards scoring tickets for next year’s event.

Linkin Park Set List: