Show Recap: Sleep Token’s Headline Slot at Download Festival was One for the Books on Day Two

Day two, and you already know it’s a big one. While Friday saw me ease into the festival, today was all about the prog metal acts at Download. And arguably one of the most criticised headline slots to date…Sleep Token.

Let’s get into it!

Arriving fashionably late and to distorted guitar sounds, Loathe ripped up Download’s main stage for the very first time. Conscious of their time, the group dived straight into it, with juicy breakdowns for a new unreleased song. And I mean, this only confirms the fact that they’re working on a new album, right? Because they also released a new single a few weeks ago…

In terms of songs we do know, the Liverpudlian quartet played their famed nu-metal release, “New Faces in the Dark.” Though “Heavy Is the Head That Falls With the Weight of a Thousand Thoughts” really stood out as a major performance. It was by far the cleanest and most thrilling their vocalist, Kadeem France, has ever sounded. In fact, on this day, Loathe has never sounded better. Although capped at a pretty short set, France’s demonic gutturals instigated circle pits everywhere.

An overwhelming and abrupt sound of thrashing echoes boomed from Download’s Opus stage. Was there a thunderstorm brewing? Or was Kim Dracula about to make a very camp and dramatic entrance? I’m happy to confirm it was, in fact, the latter. Arriving onstage with his bleached blonde hair, purple lipstick and staple ‘Welcome to The Black Parade’ cosplay, Kim Dracula claimed the Opus stage with a very theatrical performance.

At first, I was shocked to see him on Download’s second stage. A place where the likes of Ghost, Evanescence, and Airbourne have each played. But, Kim Dracula’s set was everything and more. Jagged guitars, spooky villain-esque cackles, and sexy saxophone notes. The slapstick bass went crazy in his song “My Confession,” but nothing quite compared to the exhilarating energy he brought in his cover of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi.” Finishing things off with “Killdozer” (a song that saw him take off in the music industry), Kim Dragcula had goths and metalheads from around the world dancing.

The average metal fan probably wouldn’t consider Kim Dracula to be a serious artist. Whatever that even means. But he doesn’t care about what your metal is supposed to sound or look like. And guess what, it fucking works because on Saturday afternon, thousands came to see him.

Having taken a trip to the other side of the festival site, to tune into Split Chain’s set on The Avalanche stage, it was much to my delight that the band were already straight into the mania. Although Split Chain has only been a band for just two years, here they were, playing Download Festival to hundreds of people. The sound wasn’t particularly amazing, but the energy was there from start to finish. The group played a range of nu-metal, shoegaze tracks, including “bored.tired.torn,” and “I’m Not Dying To Be Here,” which are taken from their upcoming debut album.

“Thank you so much for spending your time here. You could be anywhere else. But right now you’re with us,” frontman Roberto Martínez-Cowles said. He later added, “From the bottom of our hearts, this means so much.”

Marching from the other side of the festival back to the main stage, I managed to catch Poppy during her second song, “BLOODMONEY.” A track taken from her 2020 album I Disagree (more). And while, over the years, there have been speculations as to whether the singer actually performs her fry screams on stage, I can confirm that she did on Saturday.

Bringing pure vocals and aggressive IT girl energy, Poppy thrashed into many fan favorites. Including her collaborative release with Knocked Loose, “V.A.N.” Unleashing the first bit of Pygro we’d seen all day, “Anything Like Me,” was bouncy, sassy and fun as ever. Leaving the stage temporarily, the singer returned with a creepy mask for her genre-bending, “Scary Mask.” When it comes to crazy fry screams and sombre vocals, Poppy is at the top of the game.

Now, time for a little dad rock magic. I’ve got to say, Eagles of Death Metal’s set was one of the funniest shows I’ve ever watched. And not entirely on purpose. Frontman Jesse Hughes spent most of it looking completely out of the loop, and waving his microphone around for fans to fill in the words he wasn’t singing. Which was a lot.

Other than that, EODM’s show felt like a karaoke sing-along. It was super fun, but I just couldn’t take it seriously at all. Their bassist, Jennie Vee, stole the show as she rocked up in the coolest gold cowboy suit. Covering Duran Duran’s “Save A Prayer,” Hughes waltzed around the stage, perching himself on the shoulders of fans as he sang along with them. Although the sound was pretty terrible for this set, the whole thing was pretty entertaining to watch.

At one point, Hughes announced to the crowd, “I feel like a solid gold erection. Incrusted in gold diamonds. Can you dig it.” As it came to the end of their set, Hughes re-entered the stage after exiting momentarily, with a cigarette in his hand and rounded up his band members for a group photo and a bow.

Over at the Dogtooth stage, the tent was overflowing with die-hard Cradle of Filth fans. Making a dramatic entrance, Sir Dani Filth walked onto stage and threw off his cape. If I were to summarise my highlights from this show, it would be: the blown up condoms floating around, Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka drumming inside of a metal cage and Dani Filth proposing to his fiancée. Yes, all of this really happened.

But to extend on Cradle of Filth’s show, it was nothing short of pure chaos. Pyro blasted out of the stage, and for a tented, smaller capacity venue, this was the first time I’d ever seen that at Download. Filth’s pig squeals and screams were as venomous and demonic as usual. This show was something straight out of a vampire horror movie.

I finished off the day back at the main stage for Sleep Token’s headline set. It’s crazy to think how far this band has come in such a short time. Headlining the biggest metal festival in the UK on the busiest day, over Green Day and Korn. Sleep Token is a band that has and continues to challenge the fundamentals of heavy music with every release. And their latest album, Even In Arcadia, has turned a few heads, since it’s the softest record they’ve made yet.

I think it’s fair to say a lot of fans were on edge on Saturday night. Wondering what Sleep Token’s setlist would entail. And to put it plainly, it was… a journey. For the first ten minutes or so, everything on stage was blacked out, and accompanied by the sound of heavy wind propelling through each speaker.

Sleep Token played all their cards right at the beginning. Appealing to the metal fans of Download Festival as they unleashed hard-hitting songs, “Look To Windward,” “The Offering,” and “Vore,” one right after the other. It was a promising start, and fans seemed to be engaged and somewhat relieved by the fact that the band had opened with their heavier material.

Also, the stage setup was truly a work of art. From the deep blue and purple stage lights to the backup singers floating at the top of the stage, and the waterfall that ran behind Vessel during “Emergence.” Which was definitely a standout from their entire set, as it was topped off with the smooth, mesmerising sounds of a saxophone. Show-wise, it was orchestrated pretty perfectly. It was impossible not to feel completely engrossed by it all.

But people were leaving. Fans in groups started making their way out towards the last few songs. And to be honest, I don’t blame them. The second I heard “Caramel,” I knew that we’d gotten to a point in the show where I’d probably stop enjoying it. Their set very quickly became background music for me.

Though a truly beautiful setup, I couldn’t help but feel bored during their softer songs.