It’s almost time to hit the hallowed Donington turf once again! Download Festival 2026 is upon us in less than a weeks’ time, and so the Rock Sins team has been pouring over the line up to bring you what we think will be the acts not to miss as the first full day of Download 2026 burst into life!
Limp Bizkit
Where / When: Apex Stage, 8:50pm
Fred Durst and his merry men finally headline a Download Festival, 23 years after they were first meant to. Drawing what was reported as the biggest crowd of the weekend at Donington two years ago, it felt inevitable that Limp Bizkit would headline here one day. This is a little bit sooner than we expected, but we’re not complaining. A series of nu metal classics are an absolute certainty. What we’d really love this time is some deeper Bizkit cuts, rather than them wandering into extensive covers land which they have been known to do in recent times. Nonetheless, it will be a probably excellent culmination of the Friday afternoon / evening party run of bands (Pendulum, Electric Callboy, Cyprus Hill, Limp Bizkit)
Cypress Hill
Where / When: Apex Stage, 7:00pm
“Uh, do you know guys know Insane In The Brain?”
“We mostly know classical, but we could give it a shot”
An exchange on The Simpsons that introduced Cypress Hill to the mainstream. The legendary hip hop outfit are a dream band for many Download festival goers in terms of “left field” bands being booked over the years. In 2026, those dreams become a reality. Hearing songs from Black Sunday like the aforementioned Insane In The Brain, Hits From The Bong and I Wanna Get High is going to be quite the experience. They may well also drop their cover of Rage Against The Machine’s Bombtrack given where they are. One of the genuinely don’t miss sets of the weekend, even if you are a casual fan or curious, because who knows when you will have another chance.
Stampin’ Ground
Where/when: The Dogtooth Stage, 6:45pm
UK groove metal veterans Stampin’ Ground return to Download for the first time since the very first installment 23 years ago! Having played on the main stage back in 2003 they’re in the more cosy confines of The Dogtooth Stage this time around. This may well provide the perfect setting for fans old and new to throw down to the likes of Everybody Owes A Death, Bear The Scars and their arguably biggest track, Officer Down. This has the potential with the right audience to be on the level of Anaal Nathrakh’s ridiculously great performance from last year. We can’t wait!
Drain
Where/when: The Avalanche Stage, 4:20pm
When the Rock Sins editors asked around the team as to which bands, other than a few of the obvious contenders we should include in this preview, the name that came up most were hardcore / old school thrash crossover act Drain. Sounding like Slayer or Testament one minute and NYC hardcore like Madball the next, and sometimes all at once, we can only imagine that Drain in the setting of the Avalanche Stage may be akin to someone throwing a lit grenade in there and enjoying watching it go off. If Pendulum (who are on at the same time) are not your thing, go see Drain. You might discover your new favourite band.
Creeper
Where/when: Opus Stage, 3:50pm
The UK’s favourite horror punks have fully embraced their 80’s glam metal side on their last two Sanguivore albums. Over a decade has somehow passed since Creeper first came to the wider public consciousness and they have provided us many wonderful moments, and a couple of cracking albums along the way. We are still waiting for them to have that moment that pushes them higher than their current standing in the UK rock and metal scene, and maybe doing double duty at Download in 2026 (they’re also headlining the Dogtooth Stage on Sunday) can be that for them! Expect stage blood, make up and leather galore, and some fine singalongs too.
Sleep Theory
Where/when: Avalanche Stage, 6:00pm
One of the rising stars of the commercial US rock / metal scene of the last couple of years, Sleep Theory’s first UK tour earlier this year had venued being upgraded not once, not twice, but in some cases FOUR times. The whole thing still sold out too, even with much bigger venues on show. This bodes very well for the Tennessee natives Donington debut! Their 2025 album Afterglow has racked up some very impressive streaming numbers too, so expect to hear the likes of Static and Hourglass being belted back at frontman Cullen Moore at top volume.
Electric Callboy
Where/when: Apex Stage, 5:30pm
Germany’s favourite party metal(core) export return to Download for their biggest slot so far. Love them or hate them, you cannot deny the Electric Callboy phenomenon. Friends of ours here at Rock Sins, Waterlines once told us that if you don’t like Electric Callboy you don’t like fun. While we know this isn’t a universal opinion, we reckon the fields of Donington will be bursting at the seams bouncing along to Hypa Hypa. Given they’re playing the next day, will we get a Babymetal appearance for Ratatata? Or the much loved Everytime We Touch Cascada cover? You’ll just have to go along and find out!
Periphery
Where/when: Opus Stage, 5:00pm
If mind bending djent / tech metal riff wizardry is your thing, you need to be at the Opus Stage at 5pm sharp for Periphery. They’ve been around for long enough now for people to know what they’re getting from the Australian riff benders, but their recently released album A Pale White Dot is getting heralded as some of their heaviest and most experimental work to date. There’s no Meshuggah this year, but Periphery should do plenty to keep those who love their tech metal very satisfied.
Silly Goose
Where/when: Avalanche Stage, 1:50pm
One of the best named bands to surface in recent times, Atlanta trio Silly Goose are among those flying the flag for a new (nu?) generation of genre blending heavy music that sounds suspiciously like the second (or third) coming of nu metal. Originally brought to our attention through a recommendation on the WrestleTalk Podcast (shout out Luke, Oli and Dan), if you were a child or teen of the Attitude Era (Millenials, for those who don’t speak wrestling parlance), there is a high chance of you enjoying Silly Goose. There’s beats, there’s riffs, there’s some very clever lyrical work going on here. If you’re unsure where to be early on on Friday, go and give Silly Goose a try. We don’t think you will regret it.
Feeder
Where/when: Avalanche Stage, 7:55pm
Looking back to the mighty 2005 installment of the Download Festival, it seems almost crazy that Feeder headlined the main stage on that first night of the festival. An attempt that year to make the first day feel noticably different to what had been on the bill for the first two years of Download resulted in an eclectic main stage line up with Megadeth’s then supposed UK farewell (twenty one years later they’re only now properly retiring, maybe), The Distillers, Billy Idol and topping things off were Feeder! They may be headlining a more intimate setting on this return, and not as big as they once were, but Grant and Taka have been steadily releasing good quality music throughout most of that gap. Plus we all know when the old favourites hit, that tent is going to go mad. Buck Rogers anyone?
Honourable mentions: Halestorm, POD, Pendulum, Daughtry, Silent Plant, Rain City Drive, Cavalera Chaos AD, Corrosion Of Conformity.
Weekend tickets and Friday day tickets for Download Festival 2026 are now completely sold out – but if you get lucky you might be able to get one on re-sale (you can try here on this link).
Stay tuned for more Download 2026 previews as we count down to the gates opening on Wednesday June 10th!
Metallica header photo from 2023 courtesy of the Download Festival Team and Todd Owyoung.
