2018 Download Festival Review @ Flemington Racecourse

Download Festival made its Australian debut on Saturday (24 March) at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse with a well-rounded set of international and Australian talent.

The inaugural event had high expectations with the legendary three-day UK version of the festival boasting some of the best line-ups in the world.

Although a modest line-up in comparison, the first Australian Download Festival had an insane timetable of artists playing back to back, with a mix of metal, punk and rock spread throughout the day.


Not even a downpour of rain could deter anyone from starting the day early.

Click here for more photos from the event.

The day started off with High Tension opening the main stage and bringing in a good-sized crowd early.

Download may have been their biggest concert to date and it was well deserved for the band who have had a massive few years off their 2015 release ‘Bully’.

High Tension fit right in on the main stage and crushed their short, 30-minute set keeping the intensity and intimacy of their club shows intact.

Clowns opened The Avalanche stage, which hosted the majority of the punk acts for the day. Clowns brought in a massive crowd for an early afternoon slot.

Last year’s release ‘Lucid Again’ was one of best Australian punk releases of the year and the band have been touring relentlessly since. Their hard work seemed to pay off as most people in the crowd were singing along and breaking a sweat.


Although Ocean Grove have only been around for a short while, they took to the main stage and owned it. The band arguably saw their career highlight two nights prior as they opened for Limp Bizkit in Adelaide with Of Mice & Men.

Some of this star power seemed to rub off on the band as they paraded onto the stage with confidence, performing one of the biggest sets of their career in their home town. Ocean Grove got a tick of approval from the crowd with their sound and stage presence sharing similarities to headliners Korn and Limp Bizkit.

Of Mice & Men returned to Australia for the first time with bassist Aaron Pauley taking over vocal duties since the departure of original vocalist Austin Carlile. Although disappointing for long-term Of Mice & Men fans, this new formation still managed to deliver a killer set.

The band have gone through a slight reinvention in their 2018 album ‘Defy’. The band are blowing away all expectations since Austin’s departure and have recovered excellently.

Trophy Eyes got one of the biggest crowds of the day to their afternoon slot in The Avalanche tent, filling it to the near brim.

The band had just returned to Australia after recording their new album and were well overdue for a live performance. Their latest single ‘Hurt’ has become a hit, highlighting the best of their pop influences.

Their 2016 album ‘Chemical Miracle’ held the majority of the setlist and got the strongest reactions from the crowd. If their next album sees the same success as ‘Chemical Miracle’ then Trophy Eyes are set to have a gigantic year.

An hour performance for Mastodon just isn’t enough anymore. It was the first time Australian’s experienced their new album ‘Emperor Of Sand’, which was featured heavily throughout the set. While their 2014 album ‘Once More ‘Round The Sun’ was still new to certain ears.

Now becoming headliners in their own right, Mastodon only touched the tip of their discography and left many wanting more.

Although originally sticking out like a sore thumb to some Download Festival Fans, Good Charlotte had plenty of people ecstatic to see them back.

Even if you tried, no one could resist singing along to the nostalgic, teen-ridden angst of ‘The Anthem’ and ‘The River’. Good Charlotte won most of the crowd over by the end of their set with smiles showing all round.

Without a doubt Limp Bizkit were the highlight of the day. After becoming an unexpected favourite at Soundwave 2012 the band became the must-see festival act.


The band haven’t released any new material since 2011 and they are refreshingly self-aware of what the crowd wants to hear. Providing a nostalgic setlist the band covered everything from ‘Break Stuff’, ‘Rollin’, ‘My Generation’ and ‘My Way’ without seeming to lose a touch in their live shows over the years.

Prophets Of Rage were the most anticipated act of the night and treated the audience to a taste of Rage Against The Machine classics that haven’t been heard on Australian shores in years.

Their original material wasn’t as well-received, although enjoyable in their own right, the crowd was there to experience the familiar. This supergroup included a taste of Cypress Hill and Public Enemy while the band took a moment to pay respects to Chris Cornell with an Audioslave cover: ‘Like A Stone’.


Korn and NOFX battled it out to close off the night, with the mammoth noise of Korn polluting The Avalanche stage for those who came to see NOFX.

Fat Mike laughed it off and the band delivered laughs and hits as they joked through their set in between classics such as ‘Linoleum’ and ‘Dinosaurs Will Die’.


Their new album proved to be a favourite as ‘Six Years On Dope’ and ‘I Don’t Like Me Anymore’ kept the momentum going.

Korn attracted most of the crowd to the main stage with their hour and a half long, exclusive Australian performance.

Some doubts were thrown about as to whether Korn were a worthy headliner in the year 2018, however, the size of the crowd proved they were as everyone sang and moshed to their massive performance.


Download Festival received a massive crowd for its first visit and have finally filled the gap left by Soundwave Festival. Hopefully this is just a taste of what’s to come and next year’s line-up can expand even further as the festival grows.