The big review: Download 2026 – Saturday

Sun's out, Guns out! Day two of Download 2026 sees a lack of rain and the big ball in the sky putting in an appearance. And another massive raft of bands to turn Donington Park into a mega party. Here, we bring you all the action, all day long, as it happens. Let's go!

Rather fittingly among the banners of lava cracking through rock, the floor is lava at Avalanche stage right now. Texas’ Die Spitz rocket themselves around the space, and charge like bulls seeing red. There’s even some rock ‘n’ roll handstand work. Among asking for barks from Donington Park and requests for pits through cheerleader chants, they transition between their speedy punk offerings to the slow and sludgy. Punishers offers a moment of still, but when closing out with Throw Yourself To The Sword, its galloping guitar riff is a rallying battle call that keeps Download on its toes. Feral and fiery and completely on-brand for this lot. (RR)

Dave Stephens gives Download a choice: circle-pit or sing along. There will be no standing still for We Came As Romans, no option which leaves anything other than punters' lungs emptied and endorphins spiking. The Michigan mob play a huge crowd at lunchtime, with far more bodies crammed in than some headline sets. Refusing to waste the opportunity, they bring the fire in waves, from a tarmac-rattling Cold Like War to the mercurial hurt of culture wound. Like their band name on the big screen, the pit keeps spinning, and voices are on high. But it's the emotion underpinning that which hits hardest. "This shit's hard," Dave says, opening his heart to introduce No Rest For The Dreamer. "You're going to fail a lot. But you can't be afraid to fail. You've got to be ready to dust yourself off and come back stronger." After all these years, that's exactly what WCAR continue to do. (SL)

There’s an almost comical moment when, having already brandished a ceremonial dagger, Lowen singer Nina Saeidi then pulls out what can only be described as A Fuck-Off Sword. Almost comical, were it not such an overbearingly powerful flex. At first, it seems like their Middle-Eastern doom-infused metal might lose a little something in the daylight, and being up against the ferociously loud LANDMVRKS on the Main Stage. Not a bit of it. Between the weapons, imagery on the screen behind them and a superbly enthusiastic male belly dancer, they’re an event worth seeing. And when they hit full power, it’s genuinely affecting, with Nina’s incredible voice melding with the enormous, trancing riffs and rhythms to create a perfect storm of otherworldly energy. Lowen were already one of the British underground’s most promising bands. Now they’re blossoming into something truly magical. (NR)

Everything about LANDMVRKS’ Download debut is suitably massive. They're flanked on stage by two giant mermaid-like gargoyles, because why not, and there are enough flames bursting up around them to toast a month's supply of marshmallows. It's hardly a hollow spectacle, though, considering they sound equally massive, not to mention very slick. Creatures makes for a properly pummelling opener, A Line In The Dust is a masterclass in controlled command, and Self Made Black Hole is a bloodthirsty, glass-gargling send off. Even as they ride a tidal wave of emotion through a set comprising songs delving to the depths of depression and burnout, they exude a real air of cool. “Merci beaucoup!” vocalist Florent Salfati says as they finish their set. And merci to you too. You rocked. (EW)

White text on Charlie Rolfe’s skirt asks a crucial question that As Everything Unfolds have been asking themselves as of late: do you believe in destiny? It’s the crux of their recent record DID YOU ASK TO BE SET FREE?, and the band are putting on a scorching display for one of its standout tracks, GASOLINE. Not in an easy vocal register to tackle live by any means, Charlie stretches to meet its every demand. The band are here earlier than planned following a late minute set time change, and they make sure people know who they are with the treasured Ultraviolet and the song that started it all, On The Inside. They smash it out of Donington Park like it’s their destiny. (RR)

"Download festival, it's time to turn up the heat," grins Jeremy Michael, earnestly. With a cool breeze beginning to blow through, a little fire is exactly what the Avalanche tent is crying out for, and Nevertel deliver in spades. It's the dualities of the Tampa crew that thrill the most, though. You have the contrast between violent delights like SYM and offerings as unexpectedly sensual as Everything In My Mind, or how Jem's melodic vocals break against those of harder-edged co-vocalist Raul Lopez. Despite the early slot on Download's third stage, the whole set feels remarkably slick, too, with tastefully minimalist visuals and the pulsating sound of Sacrifice and new song OTHERSIDE landing perfectly. The relatively mid-paced Criminal feels like a strangely unspectacular place to leave off. But, then again, these lads are clearly still just getting started. (SL)

Considering South Arcade’s dizzying ascent so far - they’re playing Brixton Academy next year without even having an album out - one might wonder how prepared they truly are for the big leagues. Today, they loudly answer: born ready. Between their giant spraypaint cans that puff out clouds of smoke, the searing blasts of pyro, and the way they carry an energy of both red carpet cool and giddy excitement, not to mention Harmony Cavelle going wild with a CO2 gun, the Oxford quartet are already the full package. They’ve got the supersized songs to match too, from the chunky curtain-raiser HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER to the sassy D.A.N.G.E.R and the electrifying 2005, all oozing colourful, kaleidoscopic energy. In fact, a festival might be the best place to experience them, given they have bucketloads of the carefree fun you want while necking pints in a field. Something's happening here, and you feel like even all this was just the smallest peek. (EW)

Donington is still wobbly from Friday night's rap rock onslaught come Saturday morning, but Frozemode take no prisoners picking up where Bizkit left off with a gloriously grimy assault on the Avalanche stage. The London crew are veterans of the festival circuit at this point, but there's still something ever so lovably shambolic about the banter-heavy interplay between triple vocalists I.V. Gatlin, Cho-Hollo and Lisong: an easygoing brotherly chemistry that's still wildly combustible when they decide to hit 'go'. Rock solid performances from their trio of balaclava'd instrumentalists keep the energy high on a thoroughly blazed Vermin and wonderfully grubby fresh cut Dirty Man, before half the band dive into the circle pit for firecracker closer MANGA MC. Icy cool. (SL)

Gangster’s Paradise soundtracks Tropic Gold as they roll out with swagger at the Dogtooth tent. Jacob Parris is draped in a shoulder padded blazer jacket, looking like the biz and sounding as such too. It might not even be midday yet, but they bring company with Harpy mastering her contribution to WITCH HOUSE. Closing out with HOLY HORROR, lyrics of ‘I fucking love that, I fucking love that’ become a reply to Download, as they grow gooey with their reception today. Not bad at all for an early set; tight and snappy, they conquer what they came for. (RR)

Is 11am too early for some blood-pumping djent? Actually, it might be. There's still a sleepy languor hanging over the crowd as Thornhill hit the stage, meaning they warm up slowly especially as they don't fire their biggest and best songs straight out the gate. By the time they saunter through the sinuous Silver Swarm and the scintillating Obsession, they're in better form, their snaking riffs hitting beautifully and the pit caving open (but the jump-the-fuck-up to closer Nerv seems a bit fatigued). To play this early is notoriously tough, and it's a win for Thornhill to be on the main stage for their Download debut, but a later slot - perhaps in a tent - might suit them better. Theirs is a sound that's more for night creature than early birds. (EW)

"We went through a lotta shit to get where we are today," Ginger tells The Wildhearts' massive audience. "Some of us didn't make it. But we did. We're here to celebrate life." Indeed, today's performance already comes with a tang of joyful defiance in light of the recent news that Ginger has cancer, but The Geordie Guns N' Roses are also on a form that would be delightfully fiery in any context. "I see yer drinking already," he grins, "God bless you all." Suckerpunch hits frightfully hard today, as does an uplifting You Are Not Your Diagnosis (dedicated to anyone living with mental health problems, noting that "The NHS is fucked. The good news is you're on your own and in good company"). Ginger's beautiful dog maggie even puts in an appearance. "She's even more famous than the fuckin' band," he laughs as she licks his face. But no dog could write a song that embodies the excitement, fun, singability and brilliance of rock 'n' roll fun at a place like download like the climactic I Wanna Go Where The People Go. A wonderful wake-up from one of the best ever to do it. (NR)