Show Recap: Korn Completes Download Festival with an Insane Day Three Headline Performance

The last day of a festival is always a weird one. On the one hand, you’re sad to be leaving the music, your friends and in some cases the obsessive drinking behind. On the other hand, all you can think about is reuniting with your bed after spending countless days camping.

On Sunday, the sun was blaring for what was meant to be our first act of the day: Orbit Culture. But their set was pushed back by around 35 minutes. This was supposedly due to rumours that Sleep Token’s stage setup took longer than expected to pack down.

Anyway, after rescheduling my day, I returned to the main stage for Jinjer’s set, and it didn’t disappoint. Although there’s something a little weird about seeing metal in broad daylight, being at Download allows you to create new norms.

The band introduced Jinjer with a heavy instrumental, and the singer jumped straight to it with killer vocals for their riotous “Duél.” Iluminous green snakes took over the screens for their second track, “Green Serpent,” which was an exhilarating song to watch.

Asking the crowd if they like hardcore before thrashing into “Fast Draw,” Jinjer’s vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk then proceeded to unleash the craziest fry screams I’d heard all weekend. The elongated gutturals on the word “draw” were insane, too. She really is an incomparable artist.

Throughout their set, a fan with a Ukrainian flag waved through the audience with the extremely inspirational words, “Puten walks on all fours,” on it. You can always trust a download crowd to take the piss out of raging facists and rightly so.

Over at Download’s second stage, smoke filled the air, signalling the arrival of Swedish extreme metal heads, Meshuggah. A nasty and rather serious-looking expression took over lead vocalist Jens Kidman’s face as the band charged into “Rational Gaze.”

“What a lovely day for a little metal, right? Well, we got some more for you, lovely people,” said Kidman. Shortly after, the band did what they do best: shred into some insane heavy metal. Kidman later asked the crowd if they were high, and sure enough, everyone cheered. Again, the band did what they do best, though this time chugged into insane blast beasts.

Having returned to the main stage a little later in the evening for Spiritbox‘s set, for the most part, I actually found this show to be pretty boring. Though Spiritbox brought a meaty setlist, having opened up with “Fata Morgana,” I found Courtney LaPlante’s stage presence to be a bit too nonchalant. Having seen them play Kerrang!’s Avalanche Stage a few years ago, and knowing the energy and the genuine excitement that vibrated off them, comparing that to Sunday’s show made me think, ‘wow, not only has this band come so far, but have they settled in the meantime?’

Again, this was another show with really stunning visuals. But, I couldn’t help but find myself feeling a little bored after a few songs in. LaPlante’s vocals, on the other hand, aren’t something to be messed with. Nor, underestimated. Her screams throughout “Jaded” were clean and cuthroat. “Holy Roller” also revived the energy, and “Soft Spine” was obliterating. Though the sound felt slightly off, as her mic would regularly cut in and out, chopping out certain notes.

By now, the sun was starting to fade, and the realisation of Korn’s headline show was getting closer and closer. In the interim, Bullet For My Valentine had the pleasure of gracing the main stage and what an incredible show that was.

“This is no regular Bullet set and you all know,” said frontman Matt Tuck. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut studio album, The Poison, it’s fair to say Sunday night’s Bullet show was one for the books. It’s been 21 years since the band first played Download, so emotions were high and celebrations were of importance. 

“It’s always a pleasure, it’s always an honour,” Tuck boomed into the mic, as he spoke about playing Download again. Throughout their set, the group played heartfelt bangers: “Tears Don’t Fall” to their heavier, more metalhead-approved tracks, “Her Voice Resides ” and “Room 409.” At points, Tuck stood in awe on stage, admiring the crowd as they sang choruses back to him word-for-word. 

And finally, the moment we’d all been waiting for. After multiple appearances, it’s taken Korn almost two decades to get to this point. A headliner spot at Download, and boy, did they deliver. This was arguably one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from them, and the most packed it had been the entire festival weekend.

A black curtain pulled up slowly, revealing Korn, while a creepy lullaby played in the background for their opening number, “Blind,” and what an introduction that was. In just the first few minutes, beers were flying over our heads, circle pits were forming in every corner, and crowd surfers were never-ending. At this point, Korn hadn’t even spoken to the crowd yet. They’d simply played one of their biggest anthems, and carnage began immediately.

Throwing out “Twist” as the second song was a feral move, as my friends and I were knocked from side to side, as people jumped like their lives depended on it.  Lights beamed down onto the stage, recreating rainfall for “Shoots and Ladders,” and of course, you already know, Jonathan Davis was playing his bagpipe.

In a complete turn of events, the band teased the ending of “Snakes and Ladders” into Metallica’s “One.” Korn shut Download Festival down with more than just a bang, but an explosion of their biggest, grittiest nu metal songs. The roaring cheers that came after every song were undefeated. Their set began and finished all too soon for me. I could’ve happily watched them for another two hours, they were that good.

It’s fair to say this year’s Download was full of firsts. From band celebrations to album anniversaries, and Korn receiving the main stage headliner slot they’ve always deserved.

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