Slipknot are the Saturday headliner at Download and their sound check early this morning ensured plenty of festival goers didn’t miss the early action today.

Kahmel Farahani and Dany Jones
15th June 2019: 2.30pm

The early start must mean that Corey Taylor has his troops totally geared up for tonight’s show, or maybe they forgot to reset their watches after arriving in the UK and are still working on American time.

Slipknot’s first headline appearance at Download, in 2009, would also be their last UK performance with bassist Paul Gray before his untimely death in 2010. Their performance was later released as the live DVD, ‘(sic) nesses’.

All three of this weekend’s headliners have had top billing before and the subject if future headliners has been a hot topic for some years now. Download promoter, Andy Copping, spoke to Music Week and gave some clues about who might headline in the coming years:

“I look at bands that haven’t headlined the festival that definitely could and some have been around a while and some haven’t,” he said.

“Green Day – never headlined; Blink-182 – never headlined; Foo Fighters – never headlined; Alter Bridge, Disturbed and Deftones… Five Finger Death Punch have the potential.

“Those have all just come straight off my tongue. Then you’ve got the younger element: Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, Bring Me The Horizon, A Day To Remember, who are all snapping at the heels.”

One band who never headlined was Nirvana. It very nearly happened in the early nineties when original Donington promoter and Monster Of Rock founder Maurice Jones put up a £1million guarantee (roughly £666million in today’s money) but even that couldn’t make what would have been Nirvana’s only ever UK major festival appearance happen.

But it was definitely smelling just like teen spirit at Download’s Zippo Stage this morning as Elvana, the Elvis singing Nervana tribute act, actually drew a really big crowd to the second stage.

‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, complete with cheerleaders handling the backing vocals, was just what this crowd needed and it has definitely set the tone for the day.

Power Trip had a massive say in that too as their sound was unbelievably loud and intense and permeated across the entire site as the band ripped through a hardcore mix of thrash and punk which the hardy souls down the front lapped up.

The Texans had the whole arena buzzing in fact, as you can see right here.

Row…Row…Row…Row @powertriptx @DownloadFest #download2019 #downloadfestival #DL2019 pic.twitter.com/cMqtsps0Pd

— 🖤 The Talisman 🖤 (@16Moonchild) June 15, 2019

“Who’s excited for Behemoth?” asks singer Riley Gale. “This one goes out to them – it’s called ‘Crucifixation’…”

We’re looking forward to Behemoth a lot and there’s a fair chance they could take the headline of our next article which will be online in a couple of hours or so.

DOWNLOAD 2019 STAGE TIMES

Saturday 15th June
Main Stage
Slipknot – 9.10pm
Die Antwoord – 6.40pm
Trivium – 5pm
Skindred – 3.35pm
Behemoth – 2.20pm

Zippo Encore Stage
Halestorm – 7.45pm
Stone Temple Pilots – 6.20pm
Three Days Grace – 5.10pm
Brothers Osborne – 4pm
Epica – 2.55pm
Animals As Leaders – 1.50pm

The Avalanche Stage hosted by Kerrang! Radio
Simple Creatures – 8.40pm
The Wonder Years – 7.25pm
nothing,nowhere. – 6.10pm
Trash Boat – 5.05pm
Roam – 4pm
Palisades – 2.55pm

The Dogtooth Stage
Carcass – 7.40pm
Batushka – 6.35pm
Intervals – 5.35pm
The Hu – 4.35pm
Riding The Low – 3.35pm
Lovebites – 2.40pm
Queen Zee – 1.45pm

Sunday 16th June
Main Stage
Tool – 9.25pm
The Smashing Pumpkins – 7.10pm
Lamb Of God – 5.20pm
Amon Amarth – 3.50pm
Godsmack – 2.30pm
Underoath – 1.10pm
I Prevail – 12pm
Cane Hill – 11am

Zippo Encore Stage
Slayer – 8.45pm
Dream Theater – 7pm
Anthrax – 5.35pm
Beartooth – 4.20pm
State Champs – 3.10pm
Starset – 2.05pm
Badflower – 1pm
Dinosaur Pile-Up – 12pm
Like A Storm – 11am

The Avalanche Stage hosted by Kerrang! Radio
Enter Shikari – 8.20pm
Fever 333 – 7.10pm
Palaye Royale – 6pm
The Amity Affliction – 5pm
Our Last Night – 4pm
Black Peaks – 3pm
Heart Of A Coward – 2pm
Allusinlove – 1pm
Black Futures – 12pm
RedHook – 11am

The Dogtooth Stage
Municipal Waste – 7.50pm
Whitechapel – 6.50pm
coldrain – 5.50pm
Alcest – 4.50pm
Toska – 4pm
Crystal Lake – 3.10pm
Kim Jennett – 2.20pm
Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics – 1.30pm
Blurred Vision – 12.40pm
Wolf Jaw – 11.50am
Lost In Stereo – 11am

Download takes place at Donington Park, which is just off the M1 and right next to East Midlands Airport on Friday 14th to Sunday 16th June 2019. Tickets are still available right here.