Get To Know The 2018 Download Festival Australia Lineup

Alright, ya’ damn fiends. As we’re sure you’re all aware by now, the lineup for the first-ever Download Festival Australia has just landed, and it’s a lot to take in.

28 bands — around a third of whom are Aussie — topped by a nu-metal fan’s wet dream of Korn, Limp Bizkit and Prophets Of Rage, are all hitting the stage at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse in March 2018.

And look, it’s not quite Soundwave-level huge, but that’s probably a good thing, seeing as how Australia’s former premier metal festival crashed and burned in a fire of debt back in 2015 after biting off more than it could chew.

Download is starting small, kicking off down under with a modest (but still pretty solid) one-dayer in the Victorian capital, with a view to establishing a sustainable event that could expand across Australia in the near future.

And its debut lineup has got something for all breeds of heavy music fan, from metal to punk, grindcore, hardcore and metalcore. It’s a real mixed bag of brutality.

So keep calm, hail satan and cancel your next haircut as you get to know the official 2018 Download Festival Australia lineup in the gallery below.

Get To Know The 2018 Download Festival Australia Lineup

(In no particular order…)

Download Festival Australia 2018 Lineup

Korn (Only Australian Show)

Prophets Of Rage

Limp Bizkit

Mastodon

Good Charlotte

NOFX

Suicidal Tendencies

Gojira

Amon Amarth

Arch Enemy

Falling In Reverse

Neck Deep

Sabaton

Hot Water Music

Of Mice & Men

The Story So Far

Northlane

Trophy Eyes

Nails

Issues

Bad Cop/Bad Cop

Ocean Grove

Psycroptic

King Parrot

Clowns

Chase Atlantic

Cursed Earth

Alpha Wolf

Download Festival Australia 2018

Tickets on sale 9am AEDT Thursday, 16th November

Saturday, 24th March

Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne (18+)

Tickets: Official Website

Get To Know The 2018 Download Festival Australia Lineup

Korn

Festival organisers say the nu-metal legends' Download Melbourne show will be the only show of their upcoming trip down under. Korn last toured Australia as part of the now-defunct Soundwave Festival in 2014, and for a while were trying to schedule a 2017 tour of Australia.
Bad Cop/Bad Cop

The only all-female act on the lineup, this LA punk quartet will bring their politically-charged new album Warriors to Australia for Download next year. (Photo: Lindsey Byrnes)
Amon Amarth

No strangers to the pit, these Swedish metal legends have been telling tales of Viking mythology since the '90s. This time around, they'll be returning to Australia with their latest album Magma in tow.
NOFX

Fat Mike and co. were scheduled to perform at Soundwave Festival in 2016, before the event went under. They'll return in 2018, backed by their latest album 'First Ditch Effort'. (Photo: Joe Leonard)
Suicidal Tendencies

The band's ever-changing roster of hardcore punks hasn't stopped them from knocking out 13 studio albums over the past three decades. Their current lineup features Mike "Cyco Miko" Muir, Dean Pleasants, Jeff Pogan, Ra Díaz and ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.
Sabaton

This Swedish war machine will leave a trail of destruction in its wake, as it powers its way through crowds with latest album The Last Stand. Bring your helmets.
Chase Atlantic

This trio of two Aussie brothers and their mate make dark alternative pop that's dotted with rock and RnB influences. They dropped their self-titled debut album earlier this year.
Gojira

The French quartet have been messing with our heads through their intricate metal compositions since 1996, and have played at the now-defunct Soundwave Festival (RIP) in the past.
Arch Enemy

Fronted by Canada's Alissa White-Gluz, this Swedish band have spent two decades travelling the world with their melodic death metal, including their 10th and latest album Will to Power.
Neck Deep

These English pop-punks might have an average age of just 23, but they're rising so quick it's making our heads spin. They unleashed their third album The Peace and the Panic in August. (Photo: Megan Thompson)
Mastodon

The prodigious metal stoners released their seventh album Emperor of Sand this year, and will be touring Australia for the first time since 2015.
Falling In Reverse

No stranger to controversy, Falling In Reverse's frontman Ronnie Radke will be the centre of attention during his band's Download set. In September he had a drink thrown at him after telling fans to "sit the fuck down".
Good Charlotte

The Madden brothers were "hustling" for a spot on the 2014 Soundwave Festival lineup, but it didn't happen. They'll return with their latest album Youth Authority, for their first Aussie show since 2012.
Prophets Of Rage

This furious supergroup features members of Rage Against The Machine, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill, and they recently revealed they were planning their Aussie debut for 2018 off the back of their debut self-titled album.
Psycroptic

Hailing from the dark depths of Tasmania, these death metal heads have a stack of albums under their belts, and have toured with the likes of Nile and Deicide. Their latest album was released in 2015.
Hot Water Music

These Florida punks have been in the game a looong time. They released their latest album Light It Up earlier this year, and that's exactly what they plan to do at Download next year.
Ocean Grove

This Melbourne crew's debut album The Rhapsody Tapes has made some serious waves this year (an ocean's worth, you could say), and they're ready to rep some nu-metal for their hometown. (Photo: Thomas Elliott)
Clowns

These Melbourne punks aren't clowning around. Their molotov cocktail of punk, hardcore, rock and melodic pop came to the fore earlier this year with their latest album Lucid Again, which they were kind enough to chat about in this track-by-track breakdown.
King Parrot

The Melburnian trouble-makers are off chops, and are known for a thrash punk frenzy that's as arousing as it is brutal. Just watch this video for proof.
Nails

This savage California grindcore outfit have gone hell for leather since forming in 2009, and will be touring Australia in support of their latest record You Will Never Be One of Us.
Of Mice & Men

Now without their former frontman Austin Carlile, these California metalcore heroes last toured Australia with A Day To Remember in 2016. (Photo: Lindsey Byrnes)
Limp Bizkit

Fred Durst and company went rollin' through Australia in 2013, and since then fans have been holding out for their long-awaited sixth album 'Stampede of the Disco Elephants'. (Photo: Chiaki Nozu / Getty Images)
Issues

This Atlanta outfit are known for their hybrid of metal and punk, with huge melodies and touches of hip hop and RnB rhythms. Just don't doubt their heaviness.
Northlane

This Sydney metalcore crew needs little introduction, having toured up a storm in the wake of their latest album Mesmer. They dropped a Silverchair cover recently -- could we see it played live at Download?
Trophy Eyes

This Newcastle five-piece have been selling out tours and playing international festival since they released their latest album Chemical Miracle last year.
The Story So Far

The hardcore-infused pop-punk group have been rocking out since 2007, and have three albums to their name. And that's The Story So Far.
High Tension

These Melbourne metal punks have been dealing blows for the last six years, and they're not stopping anytime soon.
Make Them Suffer

The Perth metalcore outfit released their third studio album ‘Worlds Apart’ in 2017, and completed a 140-date world tour (!) in the same year.
Cast Down

This Melbourne hardcore/punk/metal outfit were the final band to be added to Download's debut Melbourne lineup, after claiming victory in a triple j Unearthed competition.