Festivals

Exactly ten years to the date after its original release, Long Island hardcore innovators glassjaw will perform their landmark “Worship & Tribute” album in its entirety exclusively at SONISPHERE. Formed in 1993, glassjaw took their hardcore and punk influences and DIY attitude to create a genre defying sound entirely their own.

Over the years the band has brought their art to the public through undisclosed elaborate algorithms and sequential coding which up to now has baffled modern day mathematicians, scientists and fans alike. So, with releases such as 8/8, 9/9, 10/10, 11/11, 12/12, 01/01/11 and 07,07,07, one questions how, 10 years later, another significant sequential date of 8/7 could have been planned out with such accuracy. The Mayan calendar doesn’t have shit on these guys.

Now, glassjaw play the historic KNEBWORTH, a fitting site for this pioneering collective from Long Island, NY with a punk rock ethos and a desire to challenge the boundaries of guitar music.

Another ten year anniversary comes in the form of HUNDRED REASONS’ “Ideas Above Our Station”, which the Aldershot quintet will perform in full in BOHEMIA on the Friday. From the moment the band played their first show at London’s Kingston Peel, it was obvious HUNDRED REASONS were gong to make a name for themselves. Within months they were being offered high-profile support slots, plastered all over Kerrang! Magazine and generally creating a buzz wherever they went.

Earning a Top 10 (#6) chart position on its release in May 2002, “Ideas Above Our Station” is HUNDRED REASONS’ biggest selling album to date. Featuring chart topping singles including “If I Could”, Silver” and “Falter”, HUNDRED REASONS will see a packed out BOHEMIA relive a magical moment in music’s history.

Says guitarist Larry Hibbitt:

“We are galactically excited to be playing Sonisphere Festival 2012. It's been way too long and we can't wait to get back to doing exactly what we do best. See you at the front."

BLACK STONE CHERRY makes their SONISPHERE debut on the APOLLO stage on the Friday. With last year’s “Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” rapturously received by a rock loving public, crashing into number 1 in the UK Rock Charts, the rapidly rising Kentucky quartet shows no sign of slowing down as they kick off a SOLD OUT UK TOUR later this week.

“Now we can check off another goal on the ole BSC "wanna do it" list!” says guitarist Ben Wells. “We can't wait to make our debut at Sonisphere 2012!!”

With gargantuan riffs and even bigger hooks, songs like “Rain Wizard” and “Blind Man” to dish out, SONISPHERE is serving the hottest piece of the BLACK STONE CHERRY pie so far.

If there’s one man capable of getting 60,000 music fans to go loco it’s SKINDRED’s Benji Webbe. The charismatic frontman has led his raga-punk troupe since 1998, earning a reputation as one of the best live acts around today. With an instantly recognisable sound totally their own, their musical mix of metal, reggae, dance and punk is at it’s height, as they headline the sold-out JAGERMEISTER MUSIC tour next month. Says Benji:

“We've built this band on being a solid, tight live act, and what more of a perfect platform can one ask for other than Sonisphere Festival Knebworth 2012. We are so thankful and honoured to be invited back once again! We are gunna get this place rocking. We are gunna get this place bouncing. WE ARE GUNNA GET YOU Bitches! SD crew step up!”

Whether it’s a packed out club or a huge festival field the size of KNEBWORTH, one can be certain that everybody in sight will have no option but to let the music take over, and their set on SONISPHERE’s SATURN stage will be one of Saturday’s highlights.

Legendary post-punk heroes NEW MODEL ARMY join the SONISPHERE cast for a very special late night set on Friday night in BOHEMIA after headliners KISS wrap up the APOLLO stage. Forming in Bradford in 1980, NMA earned a highly dedicated and impassioned fanbase through their combination of angry punk, modern-day protest folk and anthemic political chanting, which included the likes of Brazilian metallers SEPULTURA who covered “The Hunt”. Their set in BOHEMIA will be highly anticipated, and serve to showcase the diversity and wide range of music on offer at SONISPHERE this summer.

Since their formation in 1993, ELECTRIC WIZARD’s name was a familiar one amongst metal underground, but in 2007 – perhaps after a pact with the devil himself – the Dorset four-piece have been riding a black wave of success off the back of their “Witchcult Today” album. 2010’s “Black Masses” has only seen that success continue, with the band poised to play their biggest headline show to date later this month at London’s Forum. Sludgey, heavy, the epitome of doom, let us pray that BOHEMIA’s structure can withstand the WIZARD’s down-tuned onslaught.

A bunch of men travelling around the world selling their wares, plundering booty and devouring rum – the natural merger of touring band and buccaneering pirates has long been inevitable, and leading that charge are Scotsmen ALESTORM. Having just completed a sell out tour of the UK, Describing themselves as “True Scottish Pirate Metal”, these swashbuckling scallywags combine elements of folk and power metal with nautical nastiness and are announced hot off the back of a sold out UK tour. Ideal festival fun, ALESTORM will shiver your timbers and blow you down when they open the SATURN stage on Saturday.

If one day dictionaries have audio examples of definitions replacing the current standard text format, one wouldn’t be surprised to hear CROWBAR’s “Broken Glass” under the “Heavy” entry. Led by Kirk Windstein – now also one of the leading forces in DOWN – these sludge metal pioneers were one of the first bands to show the world that being heavy is not just about playing fast, and in fact that the opposite is true. With heavy hitters like “”All I Had (I Gave)”, “Nothing” and “Planets Collide”, their exclusive festival appearance will test BOHEMIA’s structural integrity to its limits.

Norwegian black’n’rollers KVELERTAK return to SONISPHERE for a second time after their 2010 appearance in the wake of a massive buzz. That a six piece from Stavanger, Norway who sing about Norse mythology and Viking folklore solely in their native tongue, could become one of the hottest and most talked about acts of late is testament to just how awesome their music is, and their only UK show of 2012 on Sunday in BOHEMIA will be a triumphant return.

Alternative rock heroes SEETHER play their only UK festival on SONISPHERE’s SATURN stage on the Sunday. The South African post-grunge trio have enjoyed massive success in the States, making them one of SA’s biggest musical exports, with four out of six records earning gold status. Currently touring with multi-platinum rockers 3 DOORS DOWN, SEETHER are slowly but surely winning over fans on this side of the pond, and their exclusive festival appearance at SONISPHERE will show us why.

The first band to be announced for the RED BULL BEDROOM JAM stage is Kerrang! Introducing stars THE GETAWAY PLAN. "To be able to say that we are a part of the Sonisphere festival this year is an absolute honour.” Says frontman Matthew Wright. “This is going to be our first time to the UK and our first ever show outside of Australia. We're over the fucking moon!" The Aussie rockers make their UK debut at SONISPHERE on the Saturday, giving UK fans the first chance to see why Australian rock fans have ensured chart topping success for the alt-rock four piece.