12 Bands We’re Rooting For At DOWNLOAD 2025

Sherwood may be built for the intimacy of the underground, but Download is a rare chance for lesser-known and boundary-pushing artists to play to huge, curious crowds.

From feral newcomers to genre-defining legends, these are the 12 acts we think you’d be mad to miss. If you’re one of the lucky ones heading to Donington, consider this your essential cheat sheet.

Svalbard

One of the UK underground’s most beloved extreme metal bands have heartbreakingly just announced it’s all over. This Download is one of your last chances to witness their searing brilliance on a big stage.

Alcest

Long before it was fashionable to fuse black metal with shoegaze, Alcest were carving a lane all their own. Ferocious blast beats and emotional beauty, they still do it better than anyone else.

Zetra

Goth metal synth cloaked in synths, ghost paint, and fog, Zetra’s sound is weighty but gorgeous, with brilliantly crafted songs that pull you into another world with a sound and atmosphere that’s immersive, emotional, and utterly their own.

Teen Mortgage

Teen Mortgage play raw, scrappy, no-gloss punk that channels the best of Ramones, Descendents and Misfits, delivering a much-needed injection of grit that’s been missing for years. It’s catchy, angry, and full of that wild energy that makes a punk a lifeline for so many teenagers.

Hatebreed

Fists in the air, voices united, Jamey Jasta is the most fired-up motivational speaker hardcore has ever had. For over two decades Hatebreed have been rallying crowds with lyrics that feel like a slap and a hug at the same time. Brutal, empowering, and unmissable.

Poppy

Poppy keeps getting heavier, every release takes it up a notch and yet the choruses are still catchy as hell. A true superstar who’s rewriting the rules of pop with brutal screams and sharp riffs to become one of the most exciting heavy artists on the planet.

Neckbreakker

Old-school death metal riffs with modern hardcore ferocity, Neckbreakker bring the grime and groove of classic death, but with the explosive intensity of bands like Knocked Loose and No Cure. These guys are young, brutal, and rising fast.

Cattle Decapitation

Cattle Decapitation have spent decades masterfully pushing grindcore to the limit, and are now writing some of the most intricate, dynamic, and punishing music in extreme metal. Travis Ryan is an untouchable, game-changing death metal vocalist, and the band keep levelling up with every release.

Whitechapel

Whitechapel’s new record Hymns In Dissonance might be the heaviest album of the year, with monstrous vocals, cavernous blast beats, and a three-guitar assault of precision shredding. If you want to be scared and overwhelmed by music, this is the set to see.

Jinjer

Ukraine’s finest, and one of the most ferocious bands on the planet, their latest album Dúel is unrelentingly tight, and easily one of the best metal releases of the year with huge choruses, monstrous growls, and jaw-dropping musicianship throughout.

Meshuggah

For years, Meshuggah operated on the fringes, but now they’re rightly seen as some of the most respected musicians on the planet. With a polyrhythmic, planet-flattening style that has been imitated endlessly, they only keep getting heavier and sharper.

Korn

When Korn arrived, they didn’t look or sound like other metal bands. It took a decade for the rest of the world to catch up, and most of the imitators are long gone, while Korn just keep going. Weird and joyous, seeing Korn live feels like being invited to the dirtiest outsider party in town.

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Mclusky - EartH, London, 29/06/2025