Download Festival 2025 – Five MUST-SEE Bands!
As the UK’s premier heavy music festival descends once more on Donington Park, Download Festival 2025 promises another unforgettable weekend. Among the stacked lineup, a handful of acts stand out as unmissable – whether they're pushing boundaries, making history, or bringing sheer sonic power to the stage.
Here are five artists you must see this year.
Sleep Token
Sleep Token have become a phenomenon in modern metal, shrouded in mystery and soaked in emotion. Blending djent-heavy riffs with ethereal pop melodies and R&B-tinged vocals, their live performances are a spiritual experience. With latest album Take Me Back to Eden pushing genre boundaries even further, expect a mesmerising, deeply immersive set that turns the arena into their own shadowy temple.
Love them or hate them this set is going to be HUGE!
Sex Pistols with Frank Carter
Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising collaboration of the year, the surviving members of the Sex Pistols join forces with punk firebrand Frank Carter for a special Download appearance. Carter’s snarling presence brings fresh blood to the anarchic punk legacy.
Whether you're a die-hard punk historian or a Frank Carter fanatic, this is a set destined for the history books — we saw chaos, crowd surfs, and a lot of sneering attitude when they played Manchester last year. Expect lashings more this coming weekend!
Svalbard
Blending post-metal textures with the fury of hardcore and blackgaze, Svalbard are one of the most emotionally resonant and politically potent acts on the lineup. Their latest material is both crushingly heavy and beautifully melodic, delivered with raw conviction by Serena Cherry and company.
The band have recently announced the end is nigh for them and so this will be one of the last chances you ever get to see them! If you want a set that hits you in both the heart and the gut, make sure you’re front and centre for this one.
Opeth
Swedish prog-metal titans Opeth bring a wealth of musical mastery to Download. With a career that spans brutal death metal roots and later forays into lush 70s-inspired prog rock, their set promises to be a journey through decades of dark, intricate sound. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s dry wit and masterful musicianship only add to the experience. Whether you're there for the growls or the guitar solos, Opeth’s set is bound to be a highlight of the weekend.
Unpeople
A new name for many but destined to be a breakout act of 2025, Unpeople deliver gritty, riff-laden alt-metal with a haunting atmosphere. Their debut release has already stirred the underground scene with its blend of bleak lyricism and anthemic power. They blew the doors off Bloodstock Festival last year, catch them at Download before the secret’s fully out — this is the kind of band you’ll want bragging rights for seeing early on.
All photo credits: Tim Finch Photography
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