Download Festival 2023 Review & Photos – Day One

Tigress (7) kick off Download 2023 in the Avalanche tent, with a rapidly swelling crowd drawn in by Katy Jacksons powerful vocals. Tigress are one of those bands who’ve been around awhile between the current band and their previous life as The Hype Theory, and this feels like an opportunity they’ve been after for awhile. They grab it firmly with both hands, with songs like Human and Disconnect going down a storm. It’ll be very interesting to see if they can kick on from here. A highly enjoyable start to the day. JG

Canadian punk rockers Cancer Bats (8) get off to a flying start over on the Opus Stage.
Overflowing with energy, the four piece from Toronto seem unstoppable as they plough
through a no nonsense set packed with hits like Lucifers Rocking Chair and Bricks and
Mortar. Throwing in a few choice cuts from their latest album, Psychic Jailbreak along the
way for good measure.

Unfortunately though, all does not end well for the boys. Who get cut short during their final
track, Hail Destroyer. The crowd urge them to play on and much to their credit they do
exactly that. Unfortunately though, with their allotted time expired the band get left high and
dry by the sound desk. Bringing an otherwise fantastic set to an anticlimactic end and
leaving behind more than a few unhappy fans. HL

Having recently completed an incredibly successful comeback tour, Hundred Reasons (9) stroll onto the Opus Stage with all the confidence of a band who have done all this before. Clearly thriving in their long awaited return, the Aldershot quartet open with Glorious Sunset, from new album of the same name. With guitarist Larry Hibbitt and bassist Andy Gilmour proudly supporting trans rights shirts (woohoo), the seasoned professionals quickly have the sizable crowd eating out of their palms with back to back heavy-hitters, What You’ll Get and I’ll Find You. Pretty soon everyone bouncing about like they’re teenagers again. While classics Falter and Silver, slow things down, with Colin Doran’s rasping vocals resonating around the mobbed second stage.

Hundred Reasons are in their element, clearly enjoying every second of the show. For the crowd, it’s like being reunited with an old friend, and realising that, even after several years, you can pick up exactly where you left off. All too soon the set comes to a close with anthem If I Could. If we could, we would most definitely stay with Hundred Reasons for ages. Band of the weekend for sure. See you soon, we hope! LF

Halestorm (6) hit the Apex Stage at 100 miles an hour, determined to make the most of their biggest Download slot in their thirteen years of playing the festival. Kicking off with two of their biggest hits, I Miss The Misery and Love Bites, it was one hell of a statement. In his exclusive interview with Rock Sins at Download (full thing coming soon), drummer Arejay Hale talked about Halestorm wanting to give people special moments at festivals like Download, and this certainly was one. It was also something they couldn’t quite keep up for the rest of their set.

Frontloaded with older, more well known material, getting past songs like Freak Like Me and Familiar Taste Of Poison to the no less impressive but less well known Bombshell and Takes My Life there was a bit of a drop from the audience. Lzzy Hale, clearly determined to give everyone a show to remember also pushed her voice too hard on occasion; sometimes when you’re that good less is more. We are also begging our friend Arejay to drop the drum solo every once in awhile – please? The Steeple ensured things finished in a triumphant fashion. A good performance, but some minor tweaks may be needed for their Wembley show in December to reach the maximum potential Halestorm are capable of. JG

In our Download 2023 preview, Alter Bridge (10) were referred to as being forced to take the bridesmaids role once again this year at Download. Well whether they minded or not, they put on a flawless performance that even Metallica would struggle to follow. The absolutely ginormous crowd was treated to a stunning opening run of Silver Tongue, a thunderous Addicted To Pain – a song that seems to get heavier each time it is played live and the anthemic Ghost Of Days Gone By.

The jangly guitar intro of Myles Kennedy, still the most pristine man in all of Rock, signified the start of Cry Of Achilles – a highlight of any Alter Bridge show and this was no different. With only an hour for this set, there was no space for Familiar slow numbers like Watch Over You. It was full power Alter Bridge all the way, through the monstrous This Is War, a belting Come To Life and a simmering Sin After Sin.

Blackbird, one of the 21st centuries true hard rock anthems has even more weight and emotion behind it as it is dedicated to Kerrang’s much loved and much missed photographer Ashley Maile, visibly affecting many audience members. The finish line was in sight and a sprint through Isolation led to the obligatory Metalingus, which was a fantastic way to finish things all too soon. This website has long championed the case for Alter Bridge to headline the Download Festival and this performance was the strongest evidence so far that it is what they deserve, and that the people will turn out for them. 2025 anyone? JG

The Alter Bridge setlist was:

Silver Tongue
Addicted To Pain
Ghosts Of Days Gone By
Cry Of Achilles
This Is War
Come To Life
Sin After Sin
Blackbird dedicated to Ashley Maile
Isolation
Metalingus

While Team Rock Sins’ reviewers were on duty across three of Download 2023’s four stages, photographer Jemma Dodd was snapping pictures of the Download house band, otherwise known as Skindred! Having stepped in for Five Finger Death Punch at short notice, the Welsh favourites played to an enormous crowd who got the usual excellent live show from Benji Webbe and friends. Check out a couple of photos from Skindred’s set below:

Avalanche stage headliners, and self-proclaimed Kings of the New Age, State Champs (9), wasted no time whatsoever in closing proceedings with THE ultimate Pop Punk Party. On only their second show of the year, the East Coast contingent brought out all the big guns and high energy the Champs Fam have come to know and love. Whilst we imagine that a hotter than hell tent at good ‘ol Donington Park probably wasn’t quite the same as the Hawaiian Waterpark they opened their summer tour at, you can bet it was every bit as wild! 

Opening with ‘Just Sound’, State Champs took the crowd up WAY too high to come down in a furious charge that only got higher and higher as the set unwound. Backed up by ‘Mine Is Gold’ and ‘Eventually’, the bangers just kept on rolling. Each song garnering a more thunderous reception than the last. Whilst the setlist favoured the bands newest anthems, it was naturally State Champs’ well established set staples that received the biggest receptions. Scores of surfers rode the pop punk waves whilst the masses lost it, as the likes of ‘Frozen’, ‘Elevated’ and ‘All You Are Is History’ roared. And a rainbow of disco lights illuminated the night for ‘Act Like That’ as Download danced. The hype and joyous vibes never wavering for a single moment. All that was missing was an acoustic rendition or two. 

Frankly, it was “Criminal” it had to end after a mere 60 minutes on stage. Surely the Champs have played their way onto the Main Stage for their future fourth visit to Donington!? So come get your crown because we certainly think so. CF

Perturbator (9) only manage to draw a small crowd in the Dogtooth Tent due to the other clashes at the time but that doesn’t stop their set from feeling like the peak of the party. Combining elements of his more atmospheric music with the high energy synthwave keeps the crowd on their toes and dialled in at all times. With Carpenter Brut set to play the same slot the following day, synthwave has properly arrived at Download Festival and this was the perfect weekend for it.

With perhaps the best use of lighting across the whole festival, Perturbator do so much with so little despite the music alternating from soundtrack sections to dripping in neon excess. With a set that capitalised on the right people at the right place at the right time, Perturbator delivered a highlight of the weekend that had the atmosphere of a secret nightclub that you need a password to get into. Only those in the know got to find out but when they got there, nothing outside of those walls mattered. KD

As the sun slowly slips away behind the Dogtooth Stage, it’s time for the first headliner of the
weekend and they don’t come much bigger than Metallica (9)! Regular visitors to Donington
since their inaugural Monsters of Rock performance back in 1985. The thrash metal pioneers
have put eight headline shows under their belts at Download since their first appearance
here back in 2004. Making their vice like hold over the top of the bill something of a running
gag in the festivals early years.

There’s no shortage of anticipation in the crowd tonight however. With most of the audience
still jostling for the best view of the Apex Stage as Ecstasy of Gold fades away and the
staccato attack of Creeping Death’s opening riff kicks in to an enormous cheer. Nothing but
a fast four count from Lars separates follow up tracks Harvester of Sorrow and Leper
Messiah either. Both of which sound absolutely immense, with Papa Het’s vocals in
particular being on some of their best form in years.

With plenty of momentum now on their side, the band sprinkle in a little new material from
their latest album 72 Seasons. Dropping a double bill of Lux Æterna and Screaming Suicide
that blends in nicely after their opening salvo of old favourites. The only thing that’s lacking is
James’s trademark banter, although it only takes Lars breaking his snare during Fade To
Black to bring back the wise cracking Hetfield of old, even if it is only momentarily.

After marking the halfway point of their set with a stunning rendition of Orion, making its first
outing at Donington since 2006, there isn’t much that can stop the Bay Area titans. Death
Magnetic single, The Day That Never Comes, feels a little underwhelming sandwiched in
between the swagger of Sad But True and the sheer ferocity of Blackened. It doesn’t really
matter however as by that point, Metallica have the crowd completely under their spell.

All good things must come to an end however and after a blistering performance of Fuel, the
pyro for which probably leaves a few on the front row short of their eyebrows. Fan favourites
Seek and Destroy and Master of Puppets bring Metallica’s first heavy metal masterclass of
the weekend to a fitting close. With the rapturous ovation that follows proving precisely why
they’ve been invited back to Donington in all its various incarnations so many times over the last forty years! HL

The Metallica setlist was:

The Esctasy Of Gold (intro)
Creeping Death
Harvester Of Sorrow
Leper Messiah
King Nothing
Lux Æterna
Screaming Suicide
Fade To Black
Sleepwalk My Life Away
Orion
Nothing Else Matters
The Day That Never Comes
——————————
Blackened
Fuel
Seek And Destroy
Master Of Puppets

A stunning (and freezing) end to the first day of Download 2023 and the bulk of those in attendance still had three more full days to look forward to! Stay tuned to Rock Sins for full coverage of the 2023 Download Festival days two, three and four!

Tickets for Download Festival 2024 are on sale now!

Reviews by Jamie Giberti (JG), Hank Layland (HL), Kyle Dimond (KD), Lisa Fox (LF) and Claire Frays (CF).