BLOODSTOCK’S 11 BANDS OF CHRISTMAS



As December extends its frosty fingers, BLOODSTOCK is getting in the festive spirit with some early Xmas gifts by way of another chunky 2024 announcement.  If you’re hoping for some heavy metal next summer, BLOODSTOCK’s got your presents wrapped up with a bow on top!  And if you want to give the gift of heavy metal (yes, we mean a ticket for BLOODSTOCK 2024), you can now download a special festive card when you order at the ticket store to help present it to the lucky recipient! 

Don’t miss BLOODSTOCK’s Festive Facebook Live at 7pm on Dec 7th  for some seasonal fun & oh maybe some prizes… and we suggest you keep your eyes (and your sprouts) peeled for who knows what other treats might be in store across the festival’s socials later this month… 



On the Ronnie James Dio main stage, grindcore & melodic death metal pioneers CARCASS land Sunday’s special guest slot.  The “most influential band out of Merseyside since The Beatles” released their current studio album, ‘Torn Arteries’ in 2021 via Nuclear Blast to colossal acclaim. 

Also appearing Sunday on the RJD main stage are South American progressive sludge metal project, CULTURA TRES.  Last year, the 4-piece, featuring Sepultura’s Paolo Pinto Jr on bass, released their 5th studio album, ‘Camino De Brujos’. 

Black metal icons, SATYRICON will return to the stage for the first time in 5 years to headline Sunday’s Sophie Lancaster stage.  In what are becoming increasingly rare appearances, frontman Satyr informs us: “The way SATYRICON’s attitude has resonated with English fans throughout our journey as a band, has made us feel that playing there isn’t so much a visit, but rather a homecoming. Having decided to do only a few select shows, we can’t go everywhere, but fortunately there are a few places our hearts seem to take us, one way or the other. Like England.”  

The mighty SYLOSIS steam into a Saturday slot on the Sophie stage.  Their latest album, ‘A Sign Of Things To Come’ landed in September and the Brit metal heavyweights told us, “We can’t wait to be back at BLOODSTOCK!  We’ve had some amazing shows over the years, but it feels like next year is going to be really special!”  We can’t wait either!  In the meantime, get a load of new song ‘Descent’ taken from that brand new release. 

Also appearing on Saturday’s Sophie stage are American goth metal project, LUDOVICO TECHNIQUE.  Fronted by enigmatic songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ben V, they released their most recent album ‘Haunted People’ in 2022.  Check out their epic video for ‘Live As Myself’, taken from that album, here
Ahoy!  Metal pirates RED RUM also grab a Saturday Sophie slot.  If you like your pirate tunes laden with riffs and melodies, RED RUM aren’t to be missed.  Sing along with ‘We Pirates’ taken from their current album, ‘Book of Legends’ out now on Trollzorn Records.  

SADUS bring their death/thrash sounds to BLOODSTOCK’s Sophie stage for the first time ever on Sunday.  The band came off an extended hiatus in 2017 and signed to Nuclear Blast for the recent release of new studio album, ‘The Shadow Inside’.  Check out the lyric video for album track, ‘Ride The Knife’
On Sunday’s Sophie stage bill, expect to see Spanish alt metal collective, ANKOR.  Fronted by Jessie Williams (who hails from Bristol, UK), the band blend metalcore with progressive and electro elements, creating a sound of their very own. 

If you’re a weekend ticket holder, the party starts early for you on Thursday.  Once you’ve set up camp and had your first cold one, prog metal Swedes EVERGREY are set to headline Thursday’s Sophie stage, with earlier evening sets from classic heavy metallers TAILGUNNER and Bournemouth rock n’ roll squad, SOUTH OF SALEM.  

OVER 40 NEW BANDS AND DAY SPLITS ANNOUNCED
FOR DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2023 

The greatest rock and metal festival of all time, Download Festival, announces 44 new names and the day splits for 2023’s mammoth line-up. New names include the blistering Halestorm, Alter Bridge, Neck Deep, Bob Vylan, Carcass, Five Finger Death Punch, Jinjer, Coheed and Cambria, Electric Callboy, Hot Milk and The Amity Affliction, who will join the celebration of Download’s 20-year legacy at the hallowed grounds of Donington Park across four days over 8-11 June 2023. They join headliners Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon and Metallica, who will deliver two massive no-repeat performances. Weekend and day tickets are now on sale, as well as a very limited amount of camping tickets and new VIP options: www.downloadfestival.co.uk.
 
The biggest annual gathering of the rock and metal tribes will be joined by 44 new names, including the Grammy-winning Halestorm, hard rock frontrunners Alter Bridge, heavy metal behemoths Five Finger Death Punch, MOBO’s first ever Best Alternative Music Act Bob Vylan, Welsh pop punk kings Neck Deep, Las Vegas glam rockers Palaye Royale, and effervescent partycore group Electric Callboy.
 
Joining them at the hallowed grounds will be Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil with his grindcore extreme metal side project Empire State Bastard, metalcore veterans Hatebreed, progressive rock icons Coheed and Cambria, death metal heroes Carcass, throwback rap rockers Joey Valence & Brae, dual-fronted power pop rockers Hot Milk, bright Leeds metalcore outfit Caskets and frenetic Yorkshire-based rock group Dinosaur Pile-Up. Californian punk veterans The Bronx will also be returning to Donington, along with metalcore legend and former lead vocalist of The Dillinger Escape Plan Greg Puciato, and LA metal heavyweights Bad Wolves.
 
Download Festival continues to showcase the best of the international metal scene, with Dutch symphonic metal group Epica, Ukrainian progressive metal band Jinjer, globe-trotting Mongolian warriors The Hu, Australian metalcore heroes The Amity Affliction, Scandinavian pop-rockers Smash Into Pieces, Swedish metal ringmasters Avatar, French gothic electronic musician Perturbator, incendiary Canadian heavy rock duo Cleopatrick, Mexican metal sisters The Warning and French dark-synth pioneer Carpenter Brut all on the bill.
 
Alongside them will be Maryland stoner metal monarchs Clutch, pop punk reformists Mom Jeans, two-time Polaris Music Prize nominees PUP, doom-trap purveyor Mimi Barks, contemporary heavy metallers Spirit Adrift, Essex alt-rock quintet Tigress and Hunstanton’s finest, Deaf Havana. And from the bloodline that brought us the late Eddie Van Halen, we have Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH.
 
Last but not least, we have fist-pumping doom outfit Green Lung, the theatrically bleak A.A. Williams, eloquent emo-infused alt-rockers Beauty School, ostentatious Wyoming metallers Antisaint, punishing riff purveyors Undeath and Metallica protégés Taipei Houston. Not to mention that  Fearless Vampire Killers are back, and their flair for the dramatic and vaudevillian is sure to charm the Donington crowds.
 
Aside from bands, Download Festival are pleased to announce a brand new Camping Plus five-day ticket, which includes toilets and showers in a private campsite. For those who already have a four or five day camping tickets, upgrades are available. For something a little different, a selection of new and unique accommodations have been added to The Rock Retreat including The Skoolie, Fire Truck and Billy The Snail.
 
For more information on VIP options, camping tickets, weekend and day tickets, please go to: www.downloadfestival.co.uk.

First DOWNLOAD 2019 Announcement!

DOWNLOADERS! It’s time, your first announcement is here and we’re hyped to reveal that your #DL2019 headliners are Def Leppard, Slipknot and ToolPlus, SEVENTEEN of the most awesome bands in the world including Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, Whitesnakeand Rob Zombie are also coming to rock Donington Park to its metal core on 14th-16th June 2019.

Classic rock powerhouse Def Leppard are making a spectacular return to headline the Main Stage on Friday at Download and we cannot wait.

In what will be their ONLY UK appearance of 2019, the Sheffield legends will be playing their seminal album ‘Hysteria’ in full and more.

Def Leppard front man Joe Elliott has said: “We are delighted to be going back to headline Download in 2019! The festival has a very special place in our hearts and it’s such a great place to play. We will be playing Hysteria in full – yes, in full! – plus a load more of the hits, and we are going to put on a very special show for our UK fans. Can’t wait to see you all there!”

The forerunners of the new wave British heavy metal movement, Def Leppard have sold over 100 million records. Donington is going to be the ONLY place in the UK this year where you can watch them rip through a full-throttle stadium-sized show and scream along to classics like ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’, ‘Love Bites’, ‘Rock Of Ages’ and countless more.

So, get set to rock like an ‘Animal’ as it’s going to be unforgettable Main Stage headline set for the Download family.

Meet your next headliners, the mighty masked metallers Slipknot! One of the most defining acts of the last two decades, the sheer power of Slipknot’s live sets have gone down in Download legend.

With a back catalogue of rock club classics – ‘Duality’, ‘Spit It Out’, ‘Before I Forget’ and ‘Psychosocial’ – Iowa’s sickest sons are going to bring the mosh for their Saturday headline set.

An appearance thirteen years in the making, we are totally psyched to announce that Tool will be making their grand return to headline Sunday at Download.

The Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum, prog-metal titans are set to take you on a grandiose career spanning journey of classic albums ‘Undertow’, ‘Lateralus’, and ‘10,000 Days’.

If those legendary headliners weren’t enough we’ve got SEVENTEEN more bands to announce today.

After slaying the Main Stage with Guns N’ Roses at #DL2018, living guitar god Slash couldn’t stay away and is riffing his way back to Donington for #DL2019 with Alter Bridge frontman for Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.

Fresh from releasing their phenomenal third album ‘Living The Dream’, Slash and Myles Kennedy and The Conspirator’s set is going to have you wailing to signature slick solos and out of this world rock anthems.

“Here I go again on my own, Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known!” is going to ring out loud and proud over Donington Park as Whitesnake are coming to Download 2019.

Whitesnake front man David Coverdale said: “Once again, we’ve been honoured to be invited to participate in the legendary DOWNLOAD 2019…Can’t Wait To See You All & Kick Arse Together!!!…So Ready 2 Rock!!!”

If metal is your lifeblood, get ready for a large transfusion as Rob Zombie is once again going to turn Download into his own twisted carnival with a set bursting with stomp-laden classics and new tracks.

Plus, Trivium will be taking Donington by the horns to turn your stomachs with their roaring metal, Swedish death metallers Amon Amarth are going to pack a deadly punch with their Viking inspired cinematic metal and Carcass will remind you why they’re the gore-grind forefathers.

Still want more? Dutch outfit Delain, led by the world-class frontwoman Charlotte Wessels, will be a must-see for all of you symphonic metal fans. Whilst, in a Download first Die Antwoord will be getting you bouncing hard to their Zef style hip-hop.

And, punk rock covers supergroup Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, featuring members of NOFX, Foo Fighters, Lagwagon, Swingin’ Utters, are going to have you and your mates gasping for breath shouting along to their rapid-fire covers.

If you’re looking for a one way ticket to prog paradise, Sweden’s Opeth are going to deliver a set filled with classics and tracks from their 2016 acclaimed album, ‘Sorceress’.

New-school thrashers Power Trip are going to make their Download debut and get you headbanging to tracks from their sophomore album, ‘Nightmare Logic’.

And, Californian ska-punk heroes Reel Big Fish will get Donington bouncing to some solid rocksteady riffs.

Download Festival favourites Skindred are going to shake the Donington hills with their ragga metal. The unmatched energy and exuberance of frontman Benji Webbe is sure to see the return of the Newport Helicopter originating at Download 2011.

Hotly-tipped sci-fi, conceptual rockers Starset also join the line up with an ambitious, gigantic rock set that is destined for the stadiums in the future. And, Tesla will serve up classic hard rock anthems in mammoth portions for you to sink your teeth into.

Ready to give us a surefire singalong are Queensland metalcore veterans The Amity Affliction with syrupy hooks, melodic metalcore and ferocious breakdowns.

And, finally open your arms wide to welcome back post-hardcore pioneers Underoath as the trailblazers make their first appearance back at the festival since 2005.

36 Crazyfists, Corrosion of Conformity and more added to Download Festival

With, unbelievably, less than two months to go until Download 2015, the finishing touches are being added to this year’s masterpiece of a line-up, and today sees twenty five more flashes of colour streaking the tableau of Europe’s biggest rock and metal festival.

Seminal post hardcore megaliths Funeral For A Friend make a first appearance in four years following the release of January’s enormous record Chapter and Verse.

Singer Matthew Davies-Kreye said: Download is a festival very close to our hearts and we're thrilled to have been invited back this year alongside some amazing bands.

Alaskan metalcore steamroller 36 Crazyfists are also basking in the glory of a huge new album, February’sTime and Trauma and will join FFAF in taking their place on the mainstage.

A long lost friend will also return as, amid reports that a new album is in the works, heavy metal titansCorrosion of Conformity, freshly reunited with vocalist/guitarist Pepper Keenan, come to Donington for the first time in twenty years having played Monsters of Rock in 1995, while a new friend arrives in the form of legendary Liverpudlian metallers Carcass give Download a first ever fistful of their mastery of every extreme genre from goregrind to melodic death metal.

For Carcass the appearance is the fulfilment of a long-held dream: Well, after years of badgering Andy Copping he has finally broken and agreed to let us despoil Download! We’re genuinely excited to finally get to play Castle Donington after all these years – maybe this time without rolling Landrovers and cracking shoulder bones on the journey there (a LONG story!). We hope to see some of you at a loose end, with no one better to watch at CARCASS’ ONLY UK festival appearance this Summer!

Corrosion of Conformity’s prodigal son Pepper Keenan was similarly excited about making along-awaited return: Super stoked about getting back to download with COC, always an honour. It's been waaaaay to long. Up the f***in hammers!

Another band to have a huge influence over their genre are pop-punk giants Yellowcard who make their first Download appearance when they headline the third stage on Sunday night.

One of the most distinctive and angry voices of their (or any) generation, crossover thrash frontiersmenSuicidal Tendencies play Download for the first time in five years following a(nother) hiatus and reunion, headlining the fourth stage on Sunday night.

Also making a long awaited return, having not played since 2009 are Gothic-ambient-alt metal sirensLacuna Coil, playing the main stage on Friday afternoon.

Elsewhere, homegrown supergroup Krokodil take their composite members’ most brutal musical sensibilities and crush them into some of the most soulsplittingly raucous groove metal on the scene, while another supergroup, this time from across the pond, Antemasque, features former members of The Mars Volta and At The Drive-In, blending the prog, funk and punk rock for which their progenitors were renowned to tumultuous effect.

Krokodil looked forward to returning to the site of one of their early triumphs: It's going to be so good to be back where it all began for us, so much has happened since our first show at Download 2013. Now the record’s out, it only seems right to be back there tearing sh*t up again with full f****ng force! Download, we're coming for you.

Canadian stadium rockers Three Days Grace will also (surprise!) join the line-up, while Reading thrash merchants Malefice will return following the planned release of a brand new E.P in May, and fellow homegrown axe-wielders The Wild Lies will provide a straight-up shot of pure undiluted classic hard rock.

Sharp dressed Texas deathcore desperados Upon A Burning Body will return to Donington having been denied their Download appearance last year when singer Danny Leal was taken ill at the last minute. But will they join recent collaborator Ice-T on the bill for their recent Pop Goes Pnk smash, Turn Down For What? we hear you ask…

Leal looked forward to regaining his birthright: DOWNLOAD! We are excited to be on this year’s line-up. Having to cancel last year was so upsetting for us and we do apologize. We are pumped and ready to come see all of you guys and completely make up for last year. Come say hello and let's crush this year!

Another act who had to had to pull out of their 2014 performance but return in 2015 is September Mourning, the alternative rock sect of the eponymous transmedia Gothic culture project, who take to Donington for the first time ahead of the release of their debut album.

If all that doesn’t dust your fretboard, Finnish folk-prog goliaths Von Hertzen Brothers will also set off on their maiden Donington expedition following the release of epic album, New Day Rising in March.

Also gracing Donington for the first time will be Brighton hard rock-breakbeats crossover maniacs TheQemists fresh from the release of their new album Warrior Sound, whose fellow Brightonians, classic rockers Colour of Noise make their debut ahead of the release of their eponymous debut album in September, while Londoners LTNT are another act embarking on a first tour of duty.

Swedish-American banditos Blues Pills combine smoky blues with thunderous hard rock powered by singer Elin Larsson’s incredible vocals, while surf/skate punks Fidlar are another act due to make their Download debut this year, as are homegrown dub-rave-punk experimentalists Get Hot.

Chunk, No, Captain Chunk! the French ‘easycore’ exports, will also make their first appearance, while fellow pop punk debutantes and Kerrang! Best Newcomer Award nominees E of E will be making the comparatively short trip from Dudley.

Coming from an even shorter distance are anthemic Derby rockers The Struts bringing with them a whole sackful of soaring choruses.

Blowing in from New Zealand to join compatriots Rival State on the bill come Like A Storm, who, as well as gaining a string of admirers for their mix of Spaghetti-Western swagger and hard rock steel, are one of the few rock bands to fully realise the awesome seismic power of the didgeridoo.

Country rockers The Cadillac Three are yet another newcomer, adding a touch of Nashville honky-tonk vibrancy to the cascade of rock anthems.

Arguably the easiest listening of the weekend (or hardest depending on your tastes) will come in the form of vocal harmonists The Lounge Kittens whose twist on rock and metal classic has earned them opening spots for Limp Bizkit and Steel Panther among others.

These incredible acts will join a pantheon of rock and metal gods at Download, including headlinersSlipknotMuse and Kiss, main support Judas PriestFaith No More and Mötley Crüe, and such other musical giants as Marilyn MansonSlashEnter ShikariBlack Stone Cherry and A Day To Remember

Sonisphere 2014 Day Splits announced plus more artists!

You can now start planning your Sonisphere itinerary as we present to you the day splits for this years summer festival which takes place at the legendary venue Knebworth Park.

We have also got a list of fourteen new bands which will join the massive lineup headlined by The Prodigy, Iron Maiden and Metallica.

Announced today we have, Gary Numan, Band of Skulls, Carcass, New Model Army, The Winery Dogs, The Bronx, Gallows, 65DaysOfStatic, Sebastian Bach, Chiodos, Bam Margera's Fuckface Unstoppable, Anti Nowhere League, Little Matador & The Lounge Kittens.

See the day splits below:

Friday
 
APOLLO STAGE:
 
THE PRODIGY
LIMP BIZKIT
BAND OF SKULLS
GARY NUMAN
ANTI-FLAG
THE DEFILED
 
BOHEMIA & OTHER STAGES:
 
ELECTRIC WIZARD
65DAYSOFSTATIC
DEVIL YOU KNOW
BAM  MARGERA'S FUCKFACE UNSTOPPABLE
YASHIN   
CARNIFEX
BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL
HOUNDS  
LITTLE MATADOR
 
Saturday
 
APOLLO STAGE:
IRON MAIDEN
DEFTONES
FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS
ANTHRAX
GHOST
 
SATURN STAGE:
SLAYER
CARCASS
THE WINERY DOGS
CHAS & DAVE
ALESTORM
 
BOHEMIA & OTHER STAGES:
THE SISTERS OF MERCY
NEW MODEL ARMY
DOG EAT DOG PLAYING ALL BORO KINGS
SEBASTIAN BACH   
WILKO JOHNSON
THE VIRGINMARYS    
RECKLESS LOVE  
BLITZ KIDS   
STAMPIN GROUND   
TURBOWOLF  
VOODOO SIX   
THE HELL
 
Sunday
 
APOLLO STAGE:
METALLICA
ALICE IN CHAINS
MASTODON
AIRBOURNE
DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT
GOJIRA
 
SATURN STAGE:
DREAM THEATER
DROPKICK MURPHYS
REEL BIG FISH
KARNIVOOL  
PROTEST THE HERO
 
BOHEMIA & OTHER STAGES:
THE BRONX
GALLOWS
CHIODOS  
KERBDOG
BLACK SPIDERS  
TRUCKFIGHTERS
SILVERSTEIN  
THE CADILLAC THREE
ONLY CRIME
ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE
ITCH  
KROKODIL