Download 2020: The Moaning After The Day Before…

By Rich Hobson

Yes folks, its that time of year again; people complain and speculate all summer, looking towards what the future will bring for Download Festival, only to unleash a tsunami of whining petulance the second a band gets announced. So, the news is in (a bit early if you frequent the wrong parts of the web) and its official – the 2020 Download Festival headliners are KISS, Iron Maiden and System of a Down.

So… let’s be honest. Following on from a year where Download managed to bag Def Leppard playing one of their biggest records, Slipknot on the back of an enormous comeback and fucking TOOL (for the first time in 13 years no less), nothing short of an actual unicorn was going to do for the following year’s picks. Fans hoped over AC/DC (a decade on from their last spot), contemplated Metallica (also a decade since they’ve been around) and bafflingly wondered about Rammstein or Green Day (a band already dropping summer stadium dates in the UK ain’t gonna happen any time soon). But, that’s not what they got, is it.

On paper, Download 2020’s headliners make sense – even if they do feel a bit uninspired. Personal vendettas against KISS aside, the band still stand as a singular influence on the world of heavy rock and metal, influencing everything from theatrics to stagecraft. They might not be anywhere in the realm of their former highs, but the band’s threat to finally take the KISS machine off the road warrants enough eyebrow raising that bringing them round for one last blast of flame n hairspray on Friday night makes perfect sense (though we’ll admit, the fact its not billed as ‘Last Ever UK show’ suggests there’s still life in the dead horse yet).

System of a Down weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders last time they played. Ironically one of the more controversial choices for headliner in 2020, SOAD haven’t put out a record in 14 years, but have also trundled round enough times that some of the novelty has started to wear off on the novelty machine. Not enough they don’t pull massive crowds however, and if the band can put their demons to bed and come out with an absolute barnstorming set in June, we’ll be right down the front howling away like its 2005 all over again.

Old reliable, Iron Maiden are basically a license to print money at this point, attracting fans to festivals, arenas and magazines every single time they roll around. The band’s ‘Legacy of the Beast’ tour last year featured an absolute monster of a setlist, digging up long-buried classics like ‘Flight of Icarus’ to absolutely bring down the house. This one’s a no-brainer really: no, its not enormously exciting to have Iron Maiden again, but you just can’t fuck with a band who have stood at the top of the game for 40 years and refused to back down on their approach to heavy metal. (EDITORIAL NOTE: Ironically, in a break with the tradition of previous years, this is not Maiden’s only UK outdoor show next year, as they are also playing the much smaller Belsonic festival in Belfast‘s Ormeau Park two days later.)

Of course, as always with Download, the festival lives and dies by its undercard. 2019 seemed like a landmark achievement for getting the right bands in the right place, promoting the likes of Power Trip, Skindred and Behemoth to the main stage to take their rightful place at the head of a thousands strong crowd. 2020 isn’t slacking on its big-name additions out the gates: Deftones taking up prominent billing is a very welcome sight to see, particularly as the band arrive at Donington on the 20^th anniversary of their stunning ‘White Pony’ release. Equally, if Korn can put on even half the performance they did in 2016, we’ll be grinning ear to ear as they more than proved their worthiness to conquer enormous crowds (though this time we hope the weather is a little better!).

Its crazy to think that The Offspring headlined back in the day, but it’s fair to say the band have more than enough massive tunes to warrant some high bill placement over the weekend. We’ve reached a point where Gojira are the great shining hope of extreme metal on a mass scale, the band feeling altogether too big for academies. So here’s hoping for a massive spot at Download 2020, giving the French prog masters the respect they deserve. Speaking of massive, we’re expecting big things of Disturbed after their last performance, David Draiman and co earning their sub status last time they played by putting on a brilliantly diverse and powerful set.

On the lower rungs of the line-up, Download have taken a punt on fan-favourites who have earned some controversy in their time, for varying reasons. Scottish pirate metallers Alestorm are most definitely ridiculous, but they also just so happen to pull some of the biggest crowds outside of the headliners. Similarly, Black Veil Brides have earned some notoriety for looking like ’80s Motley Crue and sounding like late ’00s Nickelback, winning over a shrieking contingent of fans nevertheless. Modern Download can’t seem to move past its sappy radio rock phase, so it’s not surprising to see Daughtry pop up on the roster – Shinedown are probably busy, after all. The return of Of Mice & Men will please many – the band have been actively clawing their way up the metalcore scene for a full decade as of next year, making a poignant point to see the band reassert their dominance with a new record in tow.

So, there it is, folks. Not precisely the most exciting or enthralling Download announcement, but one which promises the kind of reliable fun we’ve come to expect from Donington park each June. Quite how the line-up develops from here we’re yet to see, but you can bet we’ll be here with more commentary as things arise.

Download 2020 takes place over the weekend of 12 – 14 June 2020. Tickets go on sale HERE tomorrow (Wednesday 25 September) at 2pm.