Presented By Live Nation, UNIFIED & Secret Sounds

Premiere Gladys Berejiklian’s excessive police presence could not dampen the spirits of heavy music lovers in Sydney! 20,000 heavy music fans descended on Parramatta Park for Download Sydney’s debut.

Thrash metal kings Slayer closed out the festival with a mind blowing set; smashing through a mammoth 90 minute set to farewell fans on their final world tour. Emotional disciples hanging off every word from frontman Tom Araya and soaking in every riff.

UK heavy metal legends Judas Priest, US metal gods Anthrax and Seattle rockers Alice Chains also delivered stand out sets of the day.

New Zealand trio Alien Weaponry set the bar high early on the main stage with a blistering set inspiring an endless circle mosh.

Late to the line-up—but what an addition—the almighty Airbourne shredded it up before they’re off to record their next record. Local legends Amity Affliction, Polaris and High Tension delivered mind blowing sets to make Australia proud!

Organisers were thrilled with respectful crowd behaviour, working with emergency services to complete a safe and incident free event with four medical transfers, three for pre-existing medical conditions, one for a fence jump gone wrong. Download patrons proving once again they can have a drama free good time.