Our Download Festival 2025 preview has reached the final day! Having brought you Team Rock Sins’ thoughts on day one (Friday) and day two (Saturday), here we are with the preview of the last day of action; The Sunday of Download 2025. Arguably the most stacked line up of all three days, there are some hard choices to make here. Download Senior Booker Kamran Haq described Sunday’s Apex Stage in our recent interview as possibly the heaviest main stage line up the festival has ever had on a single day! So, lets see which bands from the main stage and beyond our team have picked out for you….
Apex Stage:
KoRn (9:25pm)
If I was trapped on an Island with limited access to music, you bet KoRn would be one of the bands I would want in my ears. Over the Download Festivals’ 22 year History, KoRn have provided Donington with some of its most iconic and memorable moments. Sub-headlining to Metallica in 04, Korn Karaoke in 06 and their legendary 2nd stage Headline Slot with the late Joey Jordison in 07.
Their festival closing slot on the Sunday has been a very long time coming and is well deserved. One of the most enduring bands in metal history finally ascending to the top of the mountain. What can you expect is 90 minutes of some of the biggest and best metal anthems played by kings of the game. Nearly 30 years since they first played Donington Park, KoRn are going to prove once and for all they have done their time and are going to show everyone why they are the leaders…and everyone else just follows. (SC)
SPIRITBOX (5:00pm)
Having rocked us all with their critically acclaimed sophomore album Tsunami Sea, Spiritbox, it seems, can do no wrong. With their Download debut in 2022 having since become the stuff of legend. The four piece from British Columbia have been elevated to a spot on the Apex Stage that truly befits their station.
With vocal powerhouse Courtney LaPlante at the helm, and hits like Yellow Jacket, Holy Roller and Soft Spine poised to set the crowd alight. Their set has the potential to be every bit as memorable as it is brutal! If you can’t wait for Sunday and want a gigantic spoiler, Spiritbox have just uploaded their Rock Am Ring set from last weekend in Germany. (JL)
POWER TRIP (1:10pm)
Bringing the noise to The Apex Stage Power Trip are returning after tragically losing frontman Riley Gale with Seth Gilmore leading the band for the last year. Expect an emotional return and neckache from songs like Executioner’s Tax and Hornet’s Nest showing that thrash is still alive and well. (GL)
Opus Stage:
THE SOUTHERN RIVER BAND (11:00am)
Holy shitballs what a way to kick off The Opus Stage on Sunday! The Southern River Band will be bringing their balls to the wall blues-tinged Southern Rock to Download first thing Sunday morning and fans of bands like Monster Truck and Airbourne. The Australian quartet are guaranteed to leave everyone in attendance with a shit eating grin and those on the sauce today would be well advised to have a couple in their hand to raise in full appreciation. With their fantastic musicianship on full display on songs like Stan Qualen and Chasin’ After Love this is guaranteed to be the first time they play such an early slot. (GL)
SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET (11:50am)
Those who like their music on the heavier side will be well advised to stick around The Opus Stage after The Southern River Band to check out Seven Hours After Violet featuring none other than SOAD’s Shavo show that you don’t need Daron Malakian to write a great metal song and with Left To Suffer’s Taylor Barber on vocals you know this is going to be sick. Paradise will get the pits moving while Sunrise will ensure no one leaves unsatisfied. (GL)
THE GHOST INSIDE (1:40pm)
The Ghost Inside have been making heads bang and taking names since they came screaming out of the gates with Fury and the Fallen Ones back in 2007. Never letting up, never quitting, even after a tragic tour bus accident in 2015 took the lives of both drivers. As well as the leg of drummer, Andrew Tkaczyk.
After a lengthy hiatus, The Ghost Inside returned to Download in 2022. Laying the Avalanche stage to waste with a melodic hardcore masterclass. Given the much more sizeable Opus Stage to play with and a bigger crowd along with it. We wouldn’t bet against them this year either. Especially if you like your breakdowns heavy! (JL)
AIRBOURNE (5:35pm)
Those familiar with Airbourne will no doubt observe the gantries either side of The Opus Stage covered over in order to stop frontman and lead guitarist Joel O’Keeffe climbing up to carry out some sort of ludicrously dangerous guitar solo from a ridiculous height, but whilst we may be denied that sort of death defying move there will no doubt be hit after hit after hit performed from Runnin’ Wild to No Way But The Hard Way, so if you haven’t seen them before make sure you do at this year’s Download Festival. (GL)
LORNA SHORE (6:45pm)
The Opus Stage is giving The Apex Stage some stiff competition this year and one of the reasons for that is one of the heaviest bands of the weekend – Lorna Shore. Expect blastbeats, death metal vocals, soaring keys and no face left after the band melts it off with bangers like Sun//Eater and the Pain Remains trilogy (if one can call it that). Afterwards go and find somewhere to sit and recover. (GL)
Dogtooth Stage:
PRESIDENT (4:25pm)
Another group of masked men taking over Download… and without Corey Taylor or Tobias Forge in sight? There must be something in the water. Despite being tucked away on the Dogtooth stage however, President’s recent appearance on the musical landscape has been making some pretty big waves.
Clearly taking a little inspiration from Point Break. Little else is known about the puzzling new supergroup. Is Patrick Swayze making his Download debut? Who really resides under those masks? We could tell you, but then we’d have to kill you. So you’re better off taking your chances and checking them out for yourselves! (JL)
SIKTH (10:05pm)
If reliving the peak of nu-metal and beyond with KoRn isn’t your thing, or you want to catch the start and then switch it up, look no further than Djent / tech metal icons and originators SikTh headlining the Dogtooth Stage. Lets face it, this is an utterly horrific clash, one of the worst of the weekend where many fans will wish they could clone themselves or split themselves in two. There’s no right answer here – but SikTh, headlining the small tent at Donington for your last band of the 2025 Download Festival, no-one is going to regret seeing that. (JG)
Last minute tickets for the Sunday of Download Festival 2025 and the festival as a whole are still available. If you want to join the annual pilgrimage to the UK’s spirital home of rock and metal, you can grab yourself tickets – either for a day or for the whole event – on this link!
Words by Jamie Giberti (JG), Greg Latham (GL), John Layland (JL) and Simon Crampton (SC).
