Muddiest festival ever?

[@theamateur88]

Last year we were praying for some rain, this year we were praying for it to stop lol

[@jeroen0011]

Sounds exactly like Graspop this year in comparison with last 2 years :), tbf Last 2 days was quite good weather and barely rain but the mud never went in most areas

[@3xceed]

Was my first year attending and I'll definitely be there again next year. Will remember to bring my own food though as I lost the Friday to food poisoning same as many others

[@SteveOGRock]

Ah damn, sorry to hear that. Onwards and upwards next year!

[@birnekaskade12]

I really love how chill you approached this festival. Always go easy on yourself or else you have no fun :) great Review Steve!

[@SteveOGRock]

100%! Took many years to learn that one 😅

[@brynrobs]

So good to hear Heilung get a mention. We intended to turn up for a bit then leave early for QOTSA however ended up staying the whole set. Its so hard to describe just how good Heilung sounded so happy we were there to see it.

[@inlesinlet]

I haven't been to a festival in... over a decade now. I'm heading for one next week. Autistic, petite female travels alone to another country to attend a festival... when I haven't gone anywhere outside of my own *county* since the panini started. What could possibly go wrong??? 🤣 To say the nerves are high is an understatement. So the "boring" part of this video is highly, highly appreciated! And *thankfully* Google Street View shows that the festival area is mainly asphalt and gravel. Phew! Will be packing my good rain jacket just in case. Thanks for sharing your decades of festival experience and wisdom with those of us who are less fortunate.

[@SteveOGRock]

I don’t know whether it’s an autocorrect or intentional that you referred to the pandemic as the “panini” but I am absolutely going to start calling it that myself 😂 Magnificent. I’m excited for you and your adventure next week! Calm and breathe. It will be worth the courage. You got this 💪🏻

[@inlesinlet]

@@SteveOGRock It was intentional -- something people online was calling the pandemic in the start to like not be targeted by algorithms or something, but it just stuck in my head 😂 And thank you very much! The nerves are high, but the excitement is higher.

[@TheSplendidCatDuck]

❤Panini

[@davekennedy6315]

Enjoy it, I predict you'll have the greatest time in years!

[@hexedriffsstudio]

Download has gone from being a true metal festival to a predominantly (means mostly for anyone who doesn't know*) Pop Rock/Synth festival like Reading & Leeds nowadays. Such a shame. It's use to stand for helping promote & push newer/younger talent etc... its the absolute opposite now. Everyone i know who use to go now dont OR, they've all said 'they wont go ever again! Its awful!'. RIP Download 2003-2019. You had a damn good run! Thank god we have Bloodstock for being an actual TRUE metal festival!! Before anyone says some thing dumb, No! this isnt 'metal elitist'. Not at all. just stating facts. you can literally see it on the past bills put out, it's slowly getting less & less heavy (which is what it stood for*) & going more & more radio/mainstream. That's fine, just not what Download was created for : )

[@davewilliams5357]

as a wheelchair user i went sunday and all i got to see was most of main stage code orange was code orange normal for them other stages were a waste of time even trying my wheels became hay collectors lol

[@phatlyt]

Heilung are my favourite group, I know Kai quite well too, as they describe it, it's amplified history, some of those songs are from runinc and slavic passages dating back thousands of years, and yes, there is the opening ritual, as kai for one, is a shaman, but it's the traditional blessings given before a ritual in asatru/ heathenry, and a closing blessing, it's much more than music, its history.

[@Strutsss]

Won’t be able to see them in London since Live Nation decided to fuck us over with £77 for the ticket.

[@nissyenarts]

Heilung seeing live is a memory i'll cherish forever. These people are just geniuses. One of the best gigs i've ever been to.

[@dimitrisjimmygtheodorou8478]

Download has gone to shit....waste of money.....the line up is atrocious....

[@2000dibbz]

I had such a good time. Saw loads of bands. Ate great food. Yeah, the mud and rain made everything 10x more difficult, but I'd do it again right now given the chance!! Great video!

[@SteveOGRock]

🤘🏻

[@monkeynova2012]

Either I’m getting old or metal has gone to shit, just like everything else in this world.

[@RockonSam]

Agree with a lot you said here. My top 5 this year: Pantera, limp bizkit, sum41, busted, while she sleeps. So gutted with what happened to babymetal. Was so looking forward to seeing them

[@MushyLeeeeeek]

Heilung made my Friday absolutely brilliant

[@IanPotts-lv6os]

Hope maiden skip this now. I mean look at some of them on stage what a load of crap

[@charlieh8111]

This was my first festival (bit late to the party at 36..), I loved Brownload!! Limp Biz, Bowling, Sum 41 and Offspring were my faves.. danced like a nutter to L.B. Definitely going back

[@SteveOGRock]

Oh wow! That’s quite a first festival! Usually the weather isn’t so horrendous and it’s an even more enjoyable experience 🤘🏻

[@MrBloodthirstyalex]

Oh man, I appreciate that Download is missions regardless of the weather, in the slurry, it was treacherous, I was so proud of my partner and myself getting to see 38 acts over the 5 days! Highlights for me were: Limp Bizkit, Pantera, Fit for a King, RORY, Vukovi, Bambie Thug, Wargasm, Parkway Drive, Machine Head... too many to name! We had a blast!

[@joegriffithsmusic]

I branded this year as brownload

[@PhilipJames-t1g]

Didn’t waste my money this year. Nothing to do with the weather, just the poor lineup.

[@machinainc5812]

38:15 DL has been going on for 20 years at this point, they had more then time to improve the blind spots. Still one of the best Rock Fests in the world imo. Weather allowing of course.

[@elizabethsamways7624]

My daughter went this year. Its not festival without the mud.

[@DerekGowran]

Stop being so nice...If the bands are crap SAY THEY ARE CRAP..If the sound guys are crap...SAY THEY ARE CRAP..

[@LCampbell1990]

The mud did my fu**ing head in 😂 but I still had great fun!! Gutted Electric Callboy pulled out due to sickness - people felt very flat after they cancelled. My mate caught Hanabie! But the Apex stage sadly the sound all weekend was having some problems, the sound wasn’t great at all tbh! ✨

[@nickwait5260]

Not gonna lie, I've always wanted to go to a big music festival like this (live in New Zealand so we get jack sh*t over here) but this straight up turned me off entirely. That sounded like a miserable experience tbh haha. Love the optimism amongst all that though.

[@clownose2831]

Nordic folk doom, busted and teenage dirtbag😆😁my god if the castle donnington 80s crowds could see the future 😆 even the name "download" sounds like a computer science geeks meeting and not a rock/metal festival 😂😎

[@Ari11P]

I was at DL this year, and the arena was an absolute mess, almost impossible to walk, it was literally ice skating through mud and water, very dangerous and slippery indeed! For this reason, mainly, I could not see the many bands I wished to watch, I needed to choose just one stage per day and a good spot and just watch all the bands there. On Friday, I stayed just on the Apex stage and enjoyed watching Royal Blood, but their presentation was somewhat marred because of the technical difficulties in a couple of songs; they needed to start over again. For QOST, l quite enjoyed their performance! On Saturday, I stayed at the Opus stage and watched Bleed from Within (the set was really short, a shame, but I will be watching them support Slipknot later in the year, so hopefully will be better), watched While She Sleeps (great set, one of my highlights of the weekend); Slaughter to prevail was insane, great performance but that blast of rain didn't help, they needed to delay the start a bit. My highlight was the legendary Pantera; they absolutely smashed and played all the classical songs! On Sunday, I started on the Opus stage and watched Allien Weaponry (great performance, some circle/mosh pits behind me) and then moved to the Apex stage and watched from Creeper to A7X, the highlight for me was Limp Bizkit, was in the front barrier and almost got smashed there, people were doing surfcrowd and pushing and singing like crazy, but I enjoyed a lot, they played twice Break stuff (my favourite song of them btw), it is pure nostalgia and they were really great!! My opinion is that, despite DL and other festivals being in farmland, they happen at the same place every year, so the organisers need to start urgently to think about infrastructure considering the not reliable weather the U.K, unfortunately, has (last year was great weather, very enjoyable but this year was almost impossible to stay on site). There are some parts that are already concreted, so I wonder why they do not do the same with Arena, at least. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my time there again; it is one of my highlights of the year.

[@temmieinnit]

second year going in a row, the contrast in my energy is insane with being able to sit down last year compared to 2024 😭

[@SteveOGRock]

🫂

[@donnythedk]

Made the trip for the 6th time from Iceland this year. Favourites were, Slaughter to prevail, Fit for a King. Parkway drive up close was amazing aswell. Atreyu was super aswell. lot of great stuff on the smaller stages.

[@craigsibson6541]

I was at drown load a few years back when Maiden headlined and will never forget the moment the ground on the hill just couldn't take any more water and literally turned liquid. A tsunami of mud just rolled down the hill through all the tents and vendors it was horrible. That was Maiden but this year's pile of shit line up was definitely not worth a light shower let alone a deluge. Download I'm afraid to say is dying a slow death which is sad. The demand is there and it has so much potential but the fact that 4 and 5 day events on the continent are getting much better line ups each year, the inevitable crap weather and the imperfect site. Although hollowed ground from the much missed Monsters Of Rock festival. They need to re-develop the layout because the long walk from camping to the arena is 1 hour! So there's no nipping back to the tent. You're out for the day when you leave. No chance of a quick power nap. The bad weather (just push it back to July!) the horrendous queues get worse each year. The prices are standard for UK festivals but still astronomical for crap food. It's just badly organised and badly run for years now. Things need to change Download!

[@delix787]

Do you know the drama that surrounding Avenged Sevenfold right now with Download?

[@adamprice4172]

I am 4 mins into the video and watching one of your videos for the first time. PLEASE can you stop the random zooming in and out while you are talking. So unnecessary and almost making me dizzy.

[@benjamindunlin9200]

2012 by far the worst year fir mud in my opinion. unfortunately you cant control the weather. however i agree on the toilet situation, defiantly need a better plan. taking my two boys next year both 9 & 7 (first timers) can't wait!

[@crazybrave1982]

Everything at this festival...isn't his thing apparently. Maybe go to Glastonbury instead?

[@deanl1108]

It was better when it was called monsters of rock festival.

[@liveloud9894]

2012, 2016 stick in my mind as drownloads Didn’t go this year I’m going to a metal festival instead , Bloodstock 👍

[@anthonycook5238]

25:47 , Code Orange and spite are two bands that I’ve noticed have great. Stage presents definitely the rock ‘n’ roll attitude to how they do music and stuff, but I think they get a little too caught up in their own personalities sometimes. , at the same time I am a punk guy I appreciate seeing around and shit like that. Fuck that. Guitar

[@NevilleBamshu23]

You obviously weren't at Glastonbury 98... that was a swamp...

[@markymark8008]

For me Machine Head stole the weekend with a brilliant set. Had to queue for over 3 and a half hours to get into the arena on Sunday already had wristband needs sorting out shouldn’t have missed bands when you get there early!!

[@alm5266]

Muddiest festival ever? Glastonbury 1997 would like a word!

[@stormynortherner]

It's a wheelie bin 😀 I had a great time. Bizarrely my fave set on Friday was Busted, which I was not expecting!

[@Themartinezjoeshow]

Great review I look forward to this yearly. An your thoughts of the festival and bands. I have been to Woodstock 94 and 99 for festivals. An always wanted to go to Wacken. But dont know if I will ever do. So I live vicariously through your stories. Thank you

[@SteveOGRock]

Oh wow, the legendary Woodstock! That’s so cool! And thanks!

[@Pickledmunchkin]

Muddiest? Nahhh this was tame compared to 2012

[@PixieBudgets]

Been download a few times. from my experience it has only got worse lol first few years i went was bone dry!

[@Lucatoire]

I was there for Drownload, it was definitely more muddy that year in the sense that it was deeper, thicker mud based on the footage I've seen. That year was exhausting because I had to unstick my foot at every step, it looked like it was more soupy, wet mud this year. I'm sure it was just as intense to be surrounded by but not as physically demanding to navigate. I'm off to bloodstock and arctangent this year, pray for minimal rain because I'm too old and tired for those conditions! I hope you had an awesome download this year.

[@jasonfisher8007]

It was the same slip slide stick this year Sunday was utterly exhausting, though you can do it I'm in my 50s and disabled and I managed

[@jasonedr]

Great review! RIP was the only respite from the mudload! Only problem now is it looks like I got Glasto toe and both my big toe nails are about to fall off… still was a killer weekend! MUDLOAD

[@SteveOGRock]

Oh shiiiiit dude. Sorry to hear that. Well earned! 😅

[@scottdiack711]

2012 was worse but sabbath we’re playing so it’s totally even 🎉🎉

[@Rose_19911]

how you know it was worse?

[@leccybadger]

​@@Rose_19911 quite possibly by attending both events? I attended in 2012 and it was grim. In fact, had we not been booked into a hotel, we wouldn't have stayed! 😂😂😂

[@ldickens5247]

Karnivool boring? But Viking wailing is good? Bore off mate!

[@andyk6230]

Aren't you a bit old for standing in a muddy field? Leave it for the kids mate

[@davidedwards1786]

Try download 2016 now that was what you call muddy 🤙👍

[@SteveOGRock]

Yeah that was probably the worst weather year goin’

[@Sam_Stanton]

Glad you compared it to Drownload haha I know that one was worse that this year haha

[@jakep5442]

He choose not to watch Offspring over Pantera 🙃

[@SteveOGRock]

Musical taste is subjective

[@XyreinCS]

was my first ever festival experience, im glad it was so muddy because now it can only get better next year :D

[@yellowseven48]

Nah 2016 was muddier

[@michaelcrook2583]

Only just discovered you. You give some of the best overall reviews of the bands out of all festival goers content I've seen. Thumbs up. Well done

[@SteveOGRock]

Cheers Michael! Very kind of you to say so 💙 Glad you enjoyed it!

[@anthonycook5238]

Another thing I think you need to understand that a lot of these bands have traveling engineers so if it’s a band that’s been around for 2030 years. There’s a good chance. They have a very well qualified and experienced engineer on the road with them not the smaller band they may not be traveling with an engineer and just need to use the festivals from the house engine or if they are traveling, maybe they’re not as experienced , I just wanna clarify things it kind of seems like you’re putting everything off on one sound guy, but we need to understand is that there’s a traveling engineer and the front of the house and they run a split to connect the two boards to each other everything is a filter too , piece of equipment they’re running through adds new sounds , most venues either use L acoustics or JBL’s vrx , And when you’ve only had time to do one sound check, dude your EQ settings on your board and everything are not there. You don’t have the time like you do it. Any other show where you can adjust your compression and stuff your equalizers are set up for different PAs that do different things. , I understand being opinionated on the sound , but in the same breath, everybody is a “ sound guy “

[@SteveOGRock]

Oh I wasn’t blaming any sound guys here. These stages seem to have this balance of sound every year. My guess is there are limits to how loud the tent stages can go so that they don’t cause issues for the bigger stages and it makes it hard to create the ideal volume along with the balance of frequencies. It’s more location issue than sound engineer issue.

[@dgator75]

How does someone sit through offspring and several bleh bands but not watch Royal Blood??

[@SteveOGRock]

Music taste is ultimately subjective my friend. Royal Blood just doesn’t quite do it for me 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@GaryDay_Barefoot_Engineer]

Make Them Sufffer set had just mad weather. Looked round and it was raining on one side of the tent but not on the other! And you wasn't only one going back to guest area for a nice sit down 🤣

[@SteveOGRock]

Hahaaaa yes my fellow rest-needing kindred spirit 🫂

[@LCampbell1990]

You were stood a few rows behind me for FOB lol

[@Andypowerhouse]

Linkin park rule!!!!🔥🤘🏼♥️🤘🏼🔥🔥

[@philmac8201]

2016 was the muddiest i can remember

[@stevethom4329]

Bambie was epic, and by far the best of the day

[@DrewFortune97]

5:01😂😂😂

[@SteveOGRock]

🤯😂

[@lydiasaskia1893]

we had to sleep in the carpark on Saturday night. so many cars got stuck in the mud and no one was letting anybody out so we ended up just camping there for the night.

[@SteveOGRock]

Holy hell! 🤯

[@MissAmandasparrow8]

What really pissed me off was the fact that the dogtooth stage decided that at the point when the main headliners started around 9pm,they turned up the sound to full whack so that everybody who were farther up couldnt hear nothing from the main act!

[@Nocturnal177]

I mean I was happy when fear factory came on to drown out the sound of fall out boy (no hate to fall out boy)

[@tekinmustafamusic6223]

You put down one of the greatest bands ever in karnivool but gave raves about the band in the trash cans. All credit lost

[@SteveOGRock]

Music taste is full of subjectivity my friend. There is no “correct” assessment. Your assessment that Karnivool is one of the greatest bands ever is a subjective one.

[@matthewsleet4513]

Did RIP for first time. It saved the day, that mud was tough. Bands of the weekend were imminence (great sound for that 4th stage), pantera and while she sleeps. Checked out defects because of your download Friday video too :). No squits here, so that’s a win (although I was 90% Imodium the whole festival just in case of any of that craziness)

[@SteveOGRock]

Imodium ftw! 😅 That’s so cool you checked out Defects from my preview vid. Quality band.

[@LiljaStorm]

Dang, i missed it. With Heilung and Hanabie two of my favorit bands at one festival at the same day.

[@SteveOGRock]

🫂

[@TomFord-kp8fh]

Hahahaha excellent so glad it rained.

[@canisaybum]

Didn't see any metal bands then?

[@davidbrown6415]

So, you missed most of the festival!

[@przemoc19225004]

You go to metal festival and choosing Fallout Boy over Pantera? And you dare calling yourself a metalhead? Pfff...

[@SteveOGRock]

So all metalheads need to like Pantera? Seems a bit restrictive my friend.

[@przemoc19225004]

@@SteveOGRock not necessary... But every single metalhead would choose Pantera over funky-pop-hard-rock-wannabes like Fallout Boys...

[@stormynortherner]

Bowling for Soup/Sum 41/Limp Bizkit was a fantastic end to the festival. I watched about 20 mins of Avenged but they really didn't grab me (even though I like a lot of their material).

[@nathanmcmahon2743]

I don’t understand you including videos of the bands and talking about the sound, and talking over it. So I can’t hear what they sounded like.

[@SteveOGRock]

iPhone microphones are not great for capturing live sound. It absolutely doesn’t do the live sound experience justice.

[@nathanmcmahon2743]

@@SteveOGRockthat’s cool. But some bands I didn’t know at all, and so couldn’t even tell from your video if they were something I’d be interested in. Even with bad sound quality you can get a “vibe” for how the concert might have been, or if it’s music worth pursuing further. Thanks for the video anyhoo!

[@ricky69win]

Think you saw 3 bands the same as me which is WHY Download is so good

[@SteveOGRock]

🤘🏻

[@jeremyruh5219]

Woodstock was so much worse

[@machinainc5812]

I been going since DL’s inception in 2004 (Linkin Park, Korn, surprise Metallica gig…) but i missed this year. Im glad lol

[@krissymarklewis1793]

Nice review, I stopped going to festivals about 10 years ago, mainly as I have trouble walking sometimes and can't stand the mud. i went Reading once and the campsite was about 2 hrs walk from the main stage which was ridiculous.

[@Alexandria87]

They get muddy as hell and the show STILL goes on! Meanwhile, BRRF last year gets "chance of heavy rain" on the last two days of the festival and fucking cancel it 😡😡😡

[@alistairgirvan9238]

Hey, totally agree with your review of Download, was there with my 12 year old daughter for her first festival, the crush for Wheatus was insane :) Was great that they played 'Teenage Dirtbag' as port of BFS's set, which made her weekend. They definitely need to do something about the toilets for next year. We saw a few different acts to you, Kerry King was pretty slick, as was Tom Morello and we really enjoyed Corey Taylor, he was only at about 85% as he'd been really unwell and cancelled 2 festival slots before dragging his ass along...

[@jamiecurley1720]

We call them 'Wheelie bins'

[@bibbletang]

Nope. 2016 was far worse

[@alexfrommwa]

It was my first ever festival! I had a lot of people say “it’s not normally like this!” I think it was a lot of fun and have already booked for next year!

[@jamienicol7477]

Yeah you missed brownload in 2012. Before they put all the dranage paths and trackway in blue behind the village was an ankle breaker.

[@SallyGraham-ys7sp]

2012 was virtually knee deep in mud, some folks left before it started, the camping ground was horrible.

[@ElMarcoHoJ]

It was muddy af, food poisoning was rife, the rain hardly stopped What a fucking amazing week. Can't wait for next year.

[@vincefreyne6078]

Stevie I did the one day on the Saturday. Please try and review CALVA LOUISE, (songs: Feast is Over', 'Over the Threshold', 'Under the Skin', they have 3 albums. Lead female vocalist is from Venezuela. They have heavy songs in Spanish and shes fluent in English, French, and Spanish. Watch there official videos too very futuristic if you like scifi. ALT BLK ERA, MALLAVORA especially! I recommend FREAKSHOW and NORMALLY LIKE THIS for ABE, and WAKE UP, SKIN, and IMPOSTER for Mallavora. My memories of the day is the rainbow completely took over the horizon at the lead man from Enter Shikara pointing to it and then decided to fall backwards on purpose into the disgusting mud from the height of the stage to the floor! Bambie Thug, Egregore, and her take on the Cramberries Zombie was ICONIC! I loved Doomsday Blue too! I didn't let the weather get the better of me or the conditions really. Took it in my stride! KNIFE BRIDE and RORY was very good and While She Sleeps. But left the event to the sound of OFFSPRING pretty fly for a white guy! I loved the day! The 3 hours beering it up going to the event and chilling out queuing up listening to my Spotify CAlva Louise setlist was just epic to start with. Thanks for your thoughts! Love hearing opinions from folk who know there stuff!

[@nickparkes479]

Nope, nowhere near as Muddy as Wacken 2017. That year was downright dangerous

[@L33ch97]

Yes I would have gone there just for Heilung. Have seen them before and they were absolutely amazing. So glad more people are discovering them and a metal festival seems like a good match for their style strangely.

[@donfranktv]

Great review of the festival - haven't been for a few years so it was interesting to see

[@SteveOGRock]

Cheers! Glad you found it valuable 💙

[@JAY61ish]

What kind of sound engineers are they employing ?? Folk paying big big money to go there and they can't even sort the sound out.. I started going to Download in 2004... went for 10 years then because of the weather and the extortionate prices i will not be going back there anytime soon..

[@deanl1108]

And a crap line up.

[@jwinnfield9192]

I haven’t been to festivals for years but why are your legs always so tired… it’s a special weekend… we used to eat, drink, sleep standing up… most of the time off the ground during great sets… tired legs? That’s a bit odd for a festival goer… must be a younger gen thing

[@hee163]

Honestly seeing and hearing so many people moan about the weather and mud has been worse than the reality of it. While you're there you just get on with enjoying the music and people, and the conditions become of very little consequence unless you have mobility issues. It was an awesome weekend, can't expect last year's perfect weather every time.

[@RichardBarclay]

Dogtooth stage sounds sucked, i can't believe i missed Machine Head to watch Erra on that shit sounding stage. I actually was at the arena from opening to closing every day 😭 Also I've been 11 times too, not the same 11 though. I've been 05-13, 15 and now 24

[@FeatherzMcG]

Heilung were incredible. I was already a fan, but I'd say their set was almost life-changing. Best act of my personal Download experience.

[@dunston666]

No excuse at all for bad sound anymore. The fact that you called this out twice in the first few minutes of this video is a pretty damning statement. Shamefull that with the price of a festival ticket, Download couldn't get this right.

[@martinwilliams5957]

What a load of shite

[@russellmcbride1242]

I bet GEL ripped!

[@jesperschultz5568]

I remember back in 1999...the best live experience ever happened in pouring rain. Baal - released their album - Sensorama. It was life changing. Anyways..Steve! - if you EVER run out of songs to react to..... mark my words: Haken - Eyes of Ebony. Haken - Canary Yellow. Whatever anyone might think of Haken, too proggy or whatever, they may never get to listen to these two songs. Fuggin amazing!! All I can say. Think you will appreciate both, but you probs always know em. Take care, overthere. Cheers :)

[@Alex-fo6bc]

Heilung is not a live show, it's a ritual! I loved their show in Milan a couple years back and they gave me so much energy

[@obirobkenobi3599]

Believe me . Wet Glastonbury is worse. 5 days and soooo much walking. Such a big site