Download Festival XXII: Sleep Token Win Over the Doubters with Epic Headline Set (Day 2)

Day Two of Download Festival saw one of the festival’s most controversial headliners set to close out the night in the form of mysterious masked collective Sleep Token. A headliner who has courted controversy since their announcement, the Download audience was split 50/50 down the middle, meaning this was the perfect opportunity for the genre-smashing outfit to silence the critics.

Opening the main stage were rising Yorkshire modern metal crew Static Dress, who are rapidly becoming a band to take note of. With a frontman who looks the spitting image of fellow Yorkshireman Yungblud, Static Dress are the perfect example of how the British metal scene has a very healthy future ahead of it. Over on the Opus Stage, the rumoured “secret band” never materialized, so all of those excited fans sporting Trivium t-shirts never got their wish. However, guitarist Sophie Lloyd made up for it by pulling out some of the best guitar poses you’re ever likely to see while bringing out a selection of her mates, including Nathan James from hard rockers Inglorious.

Back over on the mainstage, the metal juggernaut that is Hatebreed are tearing up a right dust storm. Slamming through opener “I Will Be Heard”, frontman Jamey Jasta leads the chaos with fist-pumping encouragement. The pit opens up time and time again. The dust swirls around the field. Bodies spilled over the barrier. Every festival needs a Hatebreed on their bill. It’s a similar scene on the Opus Stage where fellow Connecticut band Currents bring the mosh while Holy Wars pull a packed tent for the set on the Dogtooth stage.

Wrapping up the mid-afternoon of the Saturday, the main stage saw rock tornado Palaye Royale tearing up a punk rock’n’roll treat on the main stage. Trashy, loud, raucous, perfect for an overcast Saturday afternoon. If they’re as raucous as this on a festival stage, expect their Winter UK dates to be absolute carnage. Sticking with the more brutal side of the alternative scene, Polaris brought an armoury of neck-snapping, crunchy metalcore bangers to the Opus Stage, proving, like Currents before them, there is still very much a welcome place on the Download bill for the heavier side of the scene.

When Download were looking for a band to kick off the evening party on Saturday, they made the perfect choice in Bedford alt-rockers Don Broco. Frontman Rob Damiani recalls the band’s first appearance at Download in 2009 and, as the field bounces as one to “Pretty” and “Technology”, it’s easy to see why they’re so high up on the bill in 2025. Jacksonville hard rockers Shinedown fill the Special Guest slot on the mainstage, and as frontman Brent Smith roots himself at the edge of the thrust jutting out from the stage, he leads his band through the kind of hard rock set that has the grounds of Castle Donington shaking.

Saturday’s line-up seems to be one for the controversial bands. However, in the case of punk rock icons the Sex Pistols, the controversy in 2025 comes in the form of new frontman Frank Carter. Now, while there can be little doubt he is the only man for the job, there are still some stalwarts who can’t accept it. As was the case on their recent tour, Carter proved himself more than up for the job and, while they might not be the most dangerous band on the planet anymore, Carter and the rest of the band showed they can still kick up a riot with classics like “Holidays In The Sun.”

It was left to one of the mainstays of the British black metal scene, the majestic Cradle of Filth to bring the curtain down on the Dogtooth stage and, while we weren’t around long enough to see frontman Dani Filth propose to his girlfriend on stage, we were around long enough to witness the band deliver a brutal, epic set of vampiric black metal.

This just left the controversial headliner Sleep Token to wrap up this Saturday night. A band that not only split opinion in the Download community but across the alternative scene as a whole, anyone who thought the masked collective were going to deliver anything short of jaw-dropping was in for a shock. Of course, the band pulled out all of the stops for their Download headline set, but did it change anyone’s opinion? Probably not. The haters probably still hated them. They gave their congregation everything they wished for, and those who still aren’t sure what all the fuss is about still probably left none the wiser. All in all, though, Sleep Token started as one of the most talked-about bands on the bill and, by 11 pm on Saturday night, left as one as well.

Download Festival returns from the 10th to 14th June 2026. Keep updated on all the news on the official website.

Download Festival XXII @ Castle Donington (Leicestershire, UK) on June 14th, 2025

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