Download Festival 2018: 7 Best Performances

Long live Ozzy Osbourne!

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Ross Halfin

Download Festival delivers every year in a myriad of ways. It's a community for fans like few other places, a haven for rock bands so big they can ask for their own porcelain toilets and three and a half hour sets and a point on the calendar for rock fans that feels almost historical now. It knows where it came from, you can see where it's headed and it defies the adage that rock music is dying with every year.

This year was no different with several generous slices of rock goodness from all manner of genre pies, catering to a vast audience with more accessibility and more concern than ever before. And it didn't rain. Somehow.

But what were the real highlights? The bands who put in the best few hours of performance over a busy weekend showcasing the world's biggest and best rock music? Shout outs to the likes of Bullet For My Valentine, Wayward Sons, Neck Deep and Dragonforce for good shows, but the really great acts were a step above.

Considering the biggest narrative was about Axl Rose and Slash's return to the main stage, you might be surprised to know they didn't make the top rung...

7. Marmozets

Marmozets are like a force of nature on stage, appearing with the kind of charisma and energy that you'd expect of veterans with far more years behind them. They're loud, polished and very accomplished at what they do, with a more refined sound now that hasn't lost all of their older raw energy but which feels a lot more mature.

And when there's really not enough diversity on the full list of bands, seeing Marmozets rock this hard is a great, great thing. Even without having to acknowledge that, it's certainly no caveat to their ability.

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