DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL Preview: ROLO TOMASSI, THUNDER and 6 More Bands to Check Out on Saturday

Headlined by Avenged Sevenfold, Guns n’ Roses and Ozzy Osbourne, the highlight of the UK rock calendar, Download Festival returns to Castle Donington this weekend. Once you’ve checked out our picks from Friday’s line-up, then check out some of our picks for Saturday.

1. Death Blooms
Now there is no denying that the majority of you will wake up as hungover as fuck on Saturday morning so what better way to shake off the cobwebs than with a blast of UK alt-metal courtesy of one of the up and coming new talents on the scene Death Blooms? Sharing a band name with a Mudvayne track, these Liverpool/Manchester based bruisers kick off the Dogtooth stage nice and early so, if you’ve got the stomach for it on Saturday morning make sure you’re there nice and early for these boys.

2. Thy Art Is Murder
A few hundred yards away Axl Rose and Co will be ploughing their way through a stamina-sapping three hour set on the Main Stage however, if it’s a real stamina-sapper that you want, the Dogtooth stage will be the place to be on Saturday evening as Australian death metal titans Thy Art Is Murder slam skulls into mush with what will be one of the most brutal sets of the weekend. Remember that hangover you were shaking off earlier today? Well, by the end of TAIM’s set, that head will be just as fucking sore as it was twelve hours earlier.

3. The Faim
Sticking with Australia for our next band, we checked out The Faim during their recent set at Slam Dunk Festival a couple of weeks ago and were as impressed as producer extraordinaire John Feldmenn was by this energetic Aussie outfit. So much so that we implore you to head over to the Avalanche Stage on Saturday afternoon to check out what we hope will become one of your new favourite bands.

4. Rolo Tomassi
Yesterday it was the turn of Employed To Serve to bring a slice of female-fronted chaotic hardcore to Download Festival but, on Saturday, that honour goes to the glorious Rolo Tomassi who have, quite frankly, turned us into a pile of gibbering wrecks every time we’ve seen them. Fronted by Eva Spence, don’t expect these Sheffield noisemongers to hold back as they unleash merry hell during their set on the Avalanche Stage this Saturday.

5. Lawnmower Deth
They’ve become a bit of a regular at Download Festival in recent years but, come on, who doesn’t like a bit of Lawnmower Deth? We know they’re fucking dumb and we’re not expecting anything radically different from their stint on the Zippo Stage but if it’s all getting a bit serious elsewhere and you fancy watching a bunch of blokes who should know better acting like utter bellends then you know where you need to be on Saturday afternoon.

6. Parkway Drive
Honestly, we’ll be surprised if there is anything left of the Zippo Stage by the time Parkway Drive have finished their set as Zippo Stage headliners. The Byron Bay metalcore band have gone from strength to strength over the years and with their new album Reverence taking them from rising stars of the metal scene to future arena headliners, expect their headline set to be one of those unforgettable Download Festival moments.

7. Thunder
UK blues rockers Thunder have been plying their trade for many years now so it’s always nice to see their name pop up on a bill like this one at Download on Saturday. Nestled nicely at the higher end of proceedings on the Main Stage on Saturday expect Danny Bowes and his smartly-dressed band mates to provide the afternoon with a classy set of all the crowd pleasers from their impressive back catalogue.

8. Guns N’ Roses
There isn’t a rock band bigger than the Saturday night Main Stage headliners Guns N’ Roses and, provided his highness turns up on time, it would appear that the Hollywood rock icons are going to be treating fans to a sensational career spanning three hour set. If, like us you were lucky enough to see the band first time around, then you’ll be suitable shitting yourself with excitement at the thought of hearing some of those classics being reeled out by a band once labelled as “the most dangerous band in the world“.

Download Festival takes place from 8 – 10 June 2018 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire. Tickets available now at www.downloadfestival.co.uk/tickets.