The big review: Download 2026 – Friday

And we're off! Download 2026 is finally here, and after some wet weather threatening to derail the fun, the sun's finally rocked up, and it's party time once again.

As well as a staggering line-up, topped by Limp Bizkit, Guns N' Roses and Linkin Park, this year's fest is bigger than ever - literally. The Apex Stage is even more hench and massive than previous years, while the Opus, Avalanche and Dogtooth stages have all been expanded as well. Perfect for one of the biggest-selling weekend's in Download history.

Here, we bring you all the action from across the weekend as it happens. So, get ready to bounce in the moshpit as rock's biggest party takes over Donington Park once again!

Creeper could be Download's house band at this point, having played five years out of the past six, on every stage, and this year playing twice. Unsurprisingly, the crowd will drink every drop of their sexy, bloodsoaked rock 'n' roll. Opener Mistress Of Death conjures instant sing-alongs, Headstones is a hot-blooded party starter, while Hannah Greenwood takes the lead to awe-inspiring effect on the slinking goth cabaret of Razor Wire. Her bandmates are on great form too, with guitarist Ian Miles headbanging so hard he could risk becoming the second member of Creeper to have his head severed (if you know, you know). Talking of which, it happens to vocalist William Von Ghould again at the end of the set, in which the Mistress of Death grabs him by the scruff and shoves him into the guillotine. Which technically scuppers Sunday's second appearance. Worth it, though... (EW)

"Hang on a minute," asks one gobsmacked punter on his way out of a packed Avalanche tent. "Is this a pro-drink driving song?!" With Lakeview smirking through the intro tape to unapologetically boozy highlight Bad Day To Be A Beer - a news report on good old boys angry about being told when they can and can't get behind the wheel - it's hard not to wonder whether the Pennsylvanian lot are broadly taking the piss. Not so, apparently. Delivering a weirdly effective blend of metalcore and pop-country with otherwise straight faces and blue collar earnestness, core duo Jesse Denaro and Luke Healy seem fully bought-in, pouring heart and soul into their songs and punctuating them with messages about not trusting the government and working-class unity. "What binds us together is our differences," they announce. "One person picks up where the last one left off." Judging by the mass sing-along for twangy closer Home Team, it's a message that many of the Download audience are on board with. Yee'haw! (SL)

Hollywood Undead might have discarded their colourful masks since they first landed on Download's Main Stage back in 2009 but very little else has changed about their in their IQ-obliterating rap rock nonsense. There's no masking the bare-faced boneheaeedness of songs like Coming In Hot and Saviour anyway, but that's very much the appeal for a massive crowd happy to shout back every bawdy rhyme while soaking up the sun (and a Jagerbomb or five). An impromptu chorus of Sweet Caroline before the acoustic-driven Bullet unexpectedly gets the biggest sing-along of the day, but it's duly upstaged by Everywhere I Go, which remains an irresistible, brain-munching earworm. It's not big or clever, but it is terribly good fun. (SL)

Beneath a sparkling pink banner donning their name is Berlin’s Vianova. Alexander Kerski marks the end of their tracks with a little “Hell yeah!”. Relaxed and low-key during the inbetweens, his vocals go the complete opposite when in performance mode, soaring between unclean sounds that grumble up right from the gut, to controlled high-pitch levels that match up to Mariah Carey at Christmas time. And, the kooky bunch have managed to pull off a miracle: with two drummers having fallen sick, their guitarist is filling in on drums today after just three days of practice. Can we get a hell yeah?! (RR)

If Marc ‘Zelli' Zellweger seems extra vicious today, it's apparently because he's hangry. “They only gave us one free meal for the whole day and it's for dinner,” the Paleface Swiss frontman grumbles, “and I'm a sassy little bitch when I'm hungry.” The rumblings of his empty stomach get channeled into a fireball of a set as the corrosive riffs of The Orphan and the merciless Hated, not to mention Zelli's barbed screams, get crowdsurfers barrelling over the heads of their fellow gig goers. Later, Everything Is Fine counteracts the fury with heart-tearing emotion, and as the crowd are swept away with it, Zelli cracks a smile. Paleface Swiss have whipped everyone here into a feral state, solidifying their emerging reputation as an epic live band. Now, can someone get them some sandwiches? (EW)

“This is the lion’s den over here. Lions only!” declares P.O.D. vocalist Sonny Sanduval. There’s certainly a lion’s appetite for them among the very healthily-sized crowd this afternoon, who headbang and yell along eagerly to the kerosene-fueled opener Boom. Unfazed by the blasts of wind diluting their mix, P.O.D. balance their swagger with a hyperactive love for pleasing the “party people” in the crowd, with Sonny making an upbeat MC as he gets the crowd punching the air for a genuinely uplifting Youth Of A Nation. “I wish we had two more hours to play but we'll take what we can get.” Triumphant closer Alive gets dedicated to guitarist Marcos Curiel's new baby daughter, with a gigantic sing-along from the crowd helping to send it home. Decades of performing haven't worn down their clear love for it one bit and they might just be Download's dark horse. (EW)

“Real rock music still exists in 2026,” celebrates vocalist James Joseph, as James And The Cold Gun kick off. The Cardiff crew are giving it all they’ve got, but Donington Park is still waking up on this patch of the land. James pulls out his best bribes, calling on the Dogtooth tent to pull out its most weird dance moves for a tenner in reward for popular track Guessing Games. As he eventually calls for the circle pit, the band are finally speaking Download’s language. A slow but steady start swells into a rewarding set full of dizzying action, coming to a crescendo with Chewing Glass. It takes some determination, but what a result. (RR)

"Honk! Honk! Honk!" A surprise Mary Wyatt merch giveaway has punters around the rear of the Avalanche stage practicing their best farmyard sounds in return for freebies on Friday afternoon, but even that racket isn't as enthusiastically idiotic as Silly Goose. Between a high-energy barrage of hardcore-inflected rap rock (think Stray From The Path after a lobotomy) and approximately 1,000 instructions to "jump the fuck up", the Atlanta crew deliver more blunt force than real mischief, but they still put plenty of smiles on faces. Neither as outrageous as Hollywood Undead nor as bombastic as Limp Bizkit, there is a danger that they could suffer from their place in the, er, pecking order on today's stacked bill. But from box-fresh cuts Goodnight and Set It Off, to old favourite Bad Behaviour, they stubbornly hold their own. "I expected a little bit more energy from the UK," frontman Jackson Foster teases as they launch into a spring-loaded Tsunami. "Y'all feeling a little sleepy out there?" Absolutely not after this. (SL)

There's only one artist who could be announcing herself by blasting Barbie Girl across Donington Park. True to form, Scene Queen is popping the cork on Download in a glitter bomb of pink and profanity, which is all the more amusing when she mentions her family flew out to see her play “the most offensive set imaginable”. Said set is loaded with sledgehammer riffs, candyfloss hooks and cut-throat putdowns aimed at everyone from pretentious male musicians (Mutual Masturbation) to creepy catcallers (Pink Rover), plus some eye-watering screams for good measure. Though this set does a lot to loosen both hips and inhibitions, there's a note of sincerity too. “Love is love, trans rights are human fucking rights and rock and metal was made for the outcasts,” she declares. It's 50 per cent sex and 50 per cent violence, but 100 per cent party. (EW)

Native James grins with the suggestion of something wicked, like he knows what he’s got up his sleeve is going to shake Download to its core. Opening with the growl-heavy FALLEN, bodies pile into the pit and it doesn’t take long for him to notice. Taking a minute to catch his breath, a glimmer of AJ, the human behind the demon of Native James, peeps through proudly as the Avalanche tent chants his name over and over. You’d never guess this is his first time here as he delivers the mosh-inducing GTFU, and even brings out guest Frisco for unreleased track Never Been Scared. To close the show? None other than Professor Green rolls out. It’s so good it’s actually nutty. That first grin all makes sense. (RR)

'You make me feel nothing,' sings Matthew Flood as Caskets get the Opus Stage up and running. 'Leave me to rot!' Coupled with the stained glass on the video screens, big opener Make Me A Martyr should have the Leeds crew delivering something like a religious experience, but they're undermined by a choppy mix and substantial sound bleed from Scene Queen. Having made their way up the bill from a slot at the Dogtooth tent in 2023, however, these lads aren't about to back down, and seeing them crank the volume and lean into their slinky R&B grooves all the way to impassioned closer Glass Heart is a pulse pounding pleasure. "This is Day One of the best weekend of your lives!" Matthew grins. Not a bad way to get it started. (SL)