Download Festival, the world’s premier rock and metal event, adds another 14 acts to an already huge bill, including All Time Low, The Temperance Movement, The Wildhearts, and Napalm Death. Download Festival takes place on 10-12 June 2016 in Donington Park. Tickets are on sale now.
Joining headliners Rammstein, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden for three days of unmissable rock are All Time Low. With over 1.1 million sales and more than 100 million Youtube views, the US pop-punk rockers are riding high after the last album, Future Hearts topped the UK charts at the end of 2015.
Returning to their Midlands roots are British grindcore pioneers Napalm Death. Since forming in 1981, Napalm Death have gone on to influence a legion of hardcore fans and musicians alike, they’ll be joined by Geordie punk rockers The Wildhearts whose original member Ginger will be returning to the line up after various solo projects.
Californian skate punk legends, Pennywise, will play Download Festival for the first time in over 10 years, headlining the third stage on Saturday. Their speedy and infectiously catchy punk anthems will ensure everyone knows why they are still one of the most relevant forces in punk today.
Bringing some powerful blues-rock to the festival’s Lemmy Stage, will be critically acclaimed The Temperance Movement, whose recent UK tour was lauded as one of the highlights of rock already this year. Currently one of the rock community’s most revered underground bands Glassjaw, will be making their debut Download appearance in June. The post-punk innovators have recently debuted six brand new songs and will be bringing their unmissable east coast underground sound to Download.
Texan hard-rockers Scorpion Child will be joining the line-up to showcase their 1970s Krautrock and Psychedelia inspired metal sound as will Scandinavian garage-rock band Royal Republic. Making their Download debuts are trans-Atlantic blues, rock and soul quartet Buck & Evans. Joining them and tipping their hat to the likes of Mastodon and Avenged Sevenfold are Scattering Ashes and psych-rockers Weirds who will be bringing their trademark energetic and eclectic show to Download.
Metalcore supergroup, Devil You Know, brings together John Sankey, Francesco Artusato, Howard Jones and Logan Mader to create a blinding sound. Their latest album Stay of Execution was released at the end of last year, ready to be executed to the Download crowd this summer.
UK’s own The Raven Age will be joining the line up fresh off the back of supporting Download’s own headliners Iron Maiden on their 2016 world tour as will The Shrine who’ll be bringing their LA skater vibes to Donington.
Download Festival is the home of rock music and takes place on the sacred grounds of Donington Park, which have been associated with rock since the eighties. The festival attracts icons of rock and metal to its main stage, plus some of the best and hottest new acts in the world. AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Rage Against The Machine, Slipknot, Linkin Park and many more have all headlined its main stage.
Download Festival, in one of its biggest announcements yet confirms 33 new additions for 2016 including Shinedown, Killswitch Engage, Down, Don Broco, Architects, Neck Deep, Tremonti and more. Download Festival takes place 10-12 June 2016 in Donington Park and tickets are on sale now.
Download Festival, the world’s premier rock and metal festival, returns for 2016 with one of its biggest lineups to date. Joining headliners Rammstein, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden for a weekend of incredible rock music are Shinedown, who played an unforgettable set at the festival in 2012. The band’s latest album Threat To Survival shot to Number 13 in the UK charts earlier this year.
Killswitch Engage, dubbed “the people’s champions of metal”, will make the floor move under your feet with a jaw-droppingly outstanding set; Down, featuring former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo, will deliver some booming dark riffs and all out metal; Don Broco, who celebrated a Number 6 album earlier this year forAutomatic, will bring charisma by the bucketload with a chaotic and immensely enjoyable live set, and Brighton metallers Architects are confirmed for a ferocious, boundlessly energetic set ensuing some gigantic circle pits.
Neck Deep are making waves as the heroes of UK pop-punk. The Wrexham five-piece have been on tour with Bring Me The Horizon and All Time Low, and will headline their own tour next year; Tremonti, fronted by former Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti, are known for their fast and heavy headbang-worthy riffs; French band Gojira will provide some full on heavy metal throwing crowds into an absolute meltdown; bringing Satan back to the masses, Swedish six-piece Ghost are confirmed for some sticky-sweet hooks and melodies, and lots of satanic musings.
Back on British soil, Billy Talent are preparing to deliver a storming set for crowds in Donington Park. The Canadian sensations will also release a new album in 2016; Saxon will bring some classic rock and guitar heavy tunes; Australian metal-core band The Amity Affliction will put on a great live set mesmerising crowds and are bound to create a raucous mosh pit; Halestorm, led by awesome frontwoman Lizzie Hale, return with some hard, riffy rock; one of the hottest bands in the ‘alternative’ world, US band Beartooth are confirmed, and Glasgow rockers Twin Atlantic, whose last two albums scored Top 5 in the UK Rock & Metal chart, will bring their unique pop rock sounds to Download.
Californian metallers Atreyu are renowned for their high-energy and impassioned sets; self-proclaimed “party-metallers” Attila will bring a heavy-hitting set; reggae-metal group Skindred will get the pit bouncing and rocking and are guaranteed to please the crowds at Donington; former Gallows frontman Frank Carter is confirmed with his new band The Rattlesnakes; Milton Keynes five-piece Tesseract, one of progressive metal’s elite, will send the audience into overdrive with a flawless performance; and with some big, belligerent metal, Counting Days are also confirmed.
Controversial electronic punk rap group Ho99o9 will be bringing their raucous live show to Donington; Milk Teeth have rapidly been gaining widespread acclaim for their nineties grunge nostalgia. Dead! went out on tour with Young Guns this year and have established themselves as one of the hottest bands to look out for in 2016, as have Exeter three-piece Black Foxxes, who have sold out every London show they’ve played. Fort Hope have been championed by Radio 1 this year and their album Courage reached Number 8 on the UK Rock & Metal Chart.
Rival Sons have earned a name as “one of the hottest rock bands on the planet” and will bring an awe-inspiring set of raw power and soulful, bluesy rock; hard rockers Breaking Benjamin are back following a five-year hiatus and will be loud and glorious; American thrash metallers Havok will bring exactly that; Dutch synth-metal band Delain are known for their upbeat energetic performances and US rockers Skillet are set to bring one hell of a monster show. Bringing some fun and thrash metal, Lawnmower Deth are also confirmed to play next year. The band are currently battling it out for the Christmas number one spot with their version of ‘Kids in America’.
Headlining the third stage on Friday, Gutterdämmerung – the brand new rock ‘n’ roll film from Belgian-Swedish visual artist Bjorn Tagemose billed as a “loud and dark fairy tale” – will be screened at Download. The film features the combined might of Slash, Iggy Pop, Josh Homme, Henry Rollins, Lemmy, Tom Araya and many more of hard rock’s finest.
Download Festival is the home of rock music and takes place on the sacred grounds of Donington Park, which have been associated with rock since the eighties. The festival attracts icons of rock and metal to its Main Stage, plus the best hot and new acts in the world. AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Rage Against The Machine, Slipknot, Linkin Park and many more have all headlined its main stage.
Download Festival announce an incredible six acts added to the line up for next years’ festival; Korn, Motörhead, Deftones, Megadeth, Nightwish and Disturbed join the already announced UK show exclusive headliners; Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Rammstein, as Download Festival returns for its 14th year to Donington park on 10,11 and 12 June 2016.
True pioneers of the whole Nu-Metal era, Korn will play Friday 10 June at Download Festival. Jonathan Davis, Munky, Head, Fieldy and Ray will bring that signature rumble to the spiritual home of rock. Their highly anticipated 12th studio album is due for release this year, ahead of what is a welcomed return to Donington. After a tumultuous few years, and fresh from the release of Bad Magic, the mighty Motörhead, the ultimate British rock ‘n’ roll institution, will play Download Festival on Friday 10 June. The pure embodiment of a rock – front man Ian Fraser 'Lemmy' Kilmister will bring swagger and attitude, and we’re certain of a few things – there will be No Sleep Till’ Donington, they are Motörhead, and they play rock'n'roll like no other.
Alternative rock mainstays, Deftones join an already mind-blowing Saturday line up. With the highly anticipated release of their eighth studio album, Deftones will bring a live show of epic proportions to the hallowed grounds of Donington next year. The Sacramento quintet have evolved since their inception, but inarguably they maintain the essential soundtrack to all hardcore fans. Deftones are Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Frank Delgado, Abe Cunningham and Sergio Vega. Metal veterans, Megadeth, release their 15th album Dystopia early next year, which will no doubt excite the fans ahead of their Saturday performance at Download Festival.
On Sunday 11 June, symphonic operatic metallers, Nightwish, come with heavy guitars, intense instrumentals and edgy duet vocals from Floor Jansen and Marco Hietala. Their hypnotising take on metal melodrama will no doubt lure the crowds to Donington next year. Returning from their hiatus, Disturbed released the epic Immortalized in August this year, a long awaited album of epic proportions proving that their live show next year will be nothing short of unmissable. Now resurrected – their dark metal craft and distinctive sound claimed the number 1 album spot in the US. Disturbed are: David Draiman, John Moyer, Dan Donegan, and Mike Wengren.
Rammstein announced as the third and final headliner for Download Festival 2016. Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden also headlining the 3 day metal fest, taking place on 10-12 June 2016 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire.
Headlining Friday 10 June at the home of rock, German visual masters,Rammstein will bring their outlandish pyrotechnics and techno theatre to Donington. Always putting on a live performance of epic proportions, the Goth industrial group will no doubt open the show in spectacular fashion. Rammstein return to Donington having headlined Download, Europe’s biggest rock and metal festival, in 2013.
Epic in scale and capable of touching all of the senses; a dark and spectacular fairy-tale laced with controversy and don’t-try-this-at-home theatrics, Rammstein are: Till Lindemann and Flake Lorenz, Christoph Schneider, Paul Landers, Richard Z. Kruspe and Oliver Riedel. Rammstein said: “Download is a festival; it is not a moon landing"
IRON MAIDEN will make a spectacular return to Download Festival on Sunday 12 June to headline the final day of Download Festival, their only UK show of 2016. The band will fly in to East Midlands Airport on their enormous Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet Ed Force One, piloted by Bruce Dickinson and carrying band, crew, stage production and equipment over 55,000 miles around the world, visiting 35 countries on The Book Of Souls World Tour.
Bruce Dickinson comments:
'Download is a very special place for us. Not just because it’s always great to play on home turf but because there’s a truly unique vibe there, it’s the very heart of England and of Metal, so a fitting place for Iron Maiden! The crowd is always fiercely passionate and the whole band feeds off that famous Donington energy. We aim to deliver a really memorable show for our fans to close the 2016 Festival. Although this is our sixth time headlining at Castle Donington, it’s the first time we’ve been able to land Ed Force One right on the doorstep of the Festival site!.'
'We haven't decided on the set list as yet and won’t until we start rehearsing but we really look forward to playing a number of new songs live, especially as the recording was so much live. However, as it’s been a while since we saw you all, I am sure we will include plenty of older fan favourites too. I think the fans will be delighted by what we have in mind. We are also in the middle of creating the new show and rest assured we are working hard to bring you all something spectacular, something with a lot of heart!!! You certainly deserve it for your patience. '
The legendary Black Sabbath – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler – will headline Download Festival 2016 on Saturday 11 June. Nearly five decades on from their beginnings in Birmingham, the band – who have been widely proclaimed as ‘The Greatest Metal Band of All Time’ – will be coming back to Donington Park as part of their FINAL ever tour entitled “The End”, which will see their biggest and most mesmerising production to date.
Ozzy Osbourne commented:
“Download is my absolute favourite summer festival. It’s always like coming home. See you all there!”
Download festival promoter, Andy Copping has said:
“I cannot wait for this year- three of the biggest names in rock are heading to Donington. Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath have legacies to rival Download Festival and its rich rock heritage, it’s a match made in rock heaven. The mighty Iron Maiden back after another yet another number 1 album, the legendary Black Sabbath on their final tour and Rammstein who blow me away every time I see them – their headlining set at Download 2016 will make rock history”
The legendary Black Sabbath – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler – will be returning to headline Download Festival 2016 on Saturday 11 June.
Nearly five decades on from their beginnings in Birmingham, the band – who have been widely proclaimed as ‘The Greatest Metal Band of All Time’ – will be coming back to the spiritual home of rock at Donington Park as part of their FINAL ever tour entitled “The End”, which will see their biggest and most mesmerising production to date.
Ozzy Osbourne commented:
'Download is my absolute favourite summer festival. It’s always like coming home. See you all there!'
With IRON MAIDEN already announced to headline Sunday 12 June, Download Festival still has details of one more headliner to announce. Watch this space
Download Festival 2016, the UK’s ultimate rock festival is back, announcing IRON MAIDEN as festival closing headliners on Sunday 12 June 2016. The 3 day rock and metal fest is set to take place on 10-12 June 2016 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire.
IRON MAIDEN will make a spectacular return to Download Festival on Sunday 12 June to headline the final day of Download Festival, their only UK show of 2016. The band will fly in to East Midlands Airport on their enormous Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet Ed Force One, piloted by Bruce Dickinson and carrying band, crew, stage production and equipment over 55,000 miles around the world, visiting 35 countries on The Book Of Souls World Tour.
Bruce comments:
“Download is a very special place for us. Not just because it’s always great to play on home turf but because there’s a truly unique vibe there, it’s the very heart of England and of Metal, so a fitting place for Iron Maiden! The crowd is always fiercely passionate and the whole band feeds off that famous Donington energy. We aim to deliver a really memorable show for our fans to close the 2016 Festival. Although this is our sixth time headlining at Castle Donington, it’s the first time we’ve been able to land Ed Force One right on the doorstep of the Festival site!”
“We haven't decided on the set list as yet and won’t until we start rehearsing but we really look forward to playing a number of new songs live, especially as the recording was so much live. However, as it’s been a while since we saw you all, I am sure we will include plenty of older fan favourites too. I think the fans will be delighted by what we have in mind. We are also in the middle of creating the new show and rest assured we are working hard to bring you all something spectacular, something with a lot of heart!!! You certainly deserve it for your patience. “
With thousands of die hard rock fans of all ages making the annual piligmage to Donnington on Wednesday, they were met with two days of stunning blue skies over the Castle, leading up to Friday it looked set to be a glorious weekend of sunshine and Metal. But would it be DOWNLOAD Festival without the rain?
Grey clouds formed as MODESTEP warmed up the MainStage at around 4:30pm on friday night, with a weird blend of dubstep and metal, half of their slot appeared to be a DJ set rather than a gig, seemingly out of place considering the rest of the Bill. As the heavens opened, there was still a a huge turn out for the original leaders of new wave of british heavy metal JUDAS PRIEST. Rob Halford may have struggled with some of the high vocals he’s always famous for but with hits like 'breaking the Law' was guaranteed to get older fans rocking, the motorbike and whip for the finale however needed to be left in 1969.
The anticipation for SLIPKNOT reached fever pitch, with many crowd members in masks and the boiler suits, and not even the monsoon like rain could dampen the assaulting experience of IOWAs finest export.
Any notions of them being a gimmick band with their masks and image, have been wiped since cementing themselves in Donnington history with their huge performances since 2009. Back with a New album and seemingly re-energised, the band made made their thundering riffs and singalong chorus’ wash over the adoring cult of maggots(sic) with ease and Mick Seven being one of the best guitarists I’ve ever witnessed glaring out over the audience whilst his shredding hands blurred over his guitar neck. A triumphant performance, even if it was there no doubt it would be.
Photo by Gobinder Jitta courtesy of Download Festival
With 24 hours of rain, the arena opened on Saturday half an hour later due to safety concerns, sawdust saved the afternoon from a wash out and first catching APOCALYPTA on the Encore stage was an intriguing set of classical strings and metal.
The surprise performance of the weekend were HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD, a mutant child of slipknot and Beastie Boys hailing from Los Angeles, the group stood out with a lively Saturday afternoon slot sending the young audience into a frenzy on the main stage.
Being a Motley Crue fan, watching BLACK VEIL BRIDES seemed to be like viewing a synthetic rip off, but with a fan base bordering on the obsessive and similarities with My Chemical Romance, they seemed to have found their own niche and have to be respected for their gutsy rock and roll attitude.
MARILYN MANSON seemed to be a disappointment, with such a legendary reputation and colourful past, his limp attempts to engage with the audience were not helped by the drifting sounds of MUSE from the MainStage, who’s light show could probably be seen from the moon. Is there anywhere to go for MUSE? with album after album of space rock anthems filling the biggest stadiums around, there were no surprises amongst the bells and whistles in their massive headline performance but undoubtably they still set the bar high for British bands.
Photo by Richard Johnson courtesy of Download Festival
Waking up to blazing sunshine on Sunday, the MainStage was set for a superb line up of heavy metal legends, first catching CAVELERACONSPIRACY sounding to me like a wall of noise, thankfully followed by BLACKBERRY SMOKE with their soothing sounds american southern Rock, like a young ZZ TOP were perfect for a Sunday afternoon and I will definitely be checking out their music again once back to civilisation.
BILLY IDOL never fails to impress, his new album material matches perfectly with his classic hits like 'White wedding' and 'Rebel Yell', and with his tongue in cheek shirtless leather jacket combo, he’s been a born entertainer since the 80s and there is still no stopping him. Followed by SLASH, the Guns N' Roses legend had a packed audience on the MainStage, with a back catalogue of hits from GNR, Velvet Revolver and now with Myles Kennedy on vocals, his blistering live performances of 'Paradise city', ‘Nightrain', and a finale of ‘slither' a highlight of how mad a crowd can go for rock and roll.
They’ve said all Bad things must come to an end, and Motley Crue on their final ever UK festival performance, smashed out their biggest and baddest hits including ‘looks that Kill’ and Girls Girls Girls with all the vigour of it being 1981. With minimal set design they let the music do the talking and Nikki Sixx as always with the biggest grin of the weekend on his face. True legends and good to see them go out with a bang, the only down point in a faultless performance was the sorely missed ‘Home sweet home’ but you can’t have it all!
And so to the finale of KISS, with more anthems than most bands can dream of, pyrotechnics and huge circus like stage show, when confetti cannons exploded it was a perfect end to an epic weekend, for those that stuck it out to the end they were rewarded, the spirit of rock and roll prevailed over rainstorms that threatened to wash away even the most enthusiastic fans.
Photo by Andrew Whitton courtesy of 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 headlinersSlipknot, Muse and Kiss, main support Judas Priest, Faith No More and Mötley Crüe, and such other musical giants as Marilyn Manson, Slash, Enter Shikari, Black Stone Cherry and A Day To Remember.
With such a titanic line-up of bands set to hit Europe’s biggest rock and metal music festival this year it’s easy to forget that Download is also the home of some of the most varied, exhilarating, weird, wonderful and outrageous on site entertainment in the festival world.
This year’s dress-up theme is Pro-Wrestling so it is highly appropriate that additions to the programme this year include the country’s finest independent wrestlers, the mighty PROGRESS Wrestling, and the continuation of the beef between Champion Jimmy Havoc and our very own figurehead, Download Dog.
Other new on-site features include the Dog’s Bed Stage – the fully equipped open mic experience that allows YOU to follow in the footsteps of rocks pantheon by performing at Donnington, a Pop-Up Art Gallery, LASER TAG – no explanation needed, the Hair of the Dog beer and real ale house, heavy metal mask making and circus skills Workshops, KISS face painting (bring your own tongue) and speed dating hosted by Heavy Metal Dating.
And if all works out with the Heavy Metal Dating, you can practise tying the knot in Download’s Chapel of Love at the Inflatable Church. Alongside those wishing to get married (sadly not legally) there will be a host of other activities in the chapel – from the Morning Glory Rock Spandex Workout to Air Guitar Competitions and much more.
If that doesn’t get your motor revving then bear in mind that all of this insane entertainment comes to you in addition to Download favourites, The Doghouse – featuring such iconic rock club nights as Uprawr, Voodoo Rocks, Alpha, Face Down & Ultimate Power, as well as internet sensations and fast food-themedBlack Sabbath covers band Mac Sabbath – the big top Cinema, comedy and silent disco in the Side Splitter, medieval carnage courtesy of Demolition Download, and the instantly iconic Download Totem.
Away from the delirious awesomeness of the live music and the on-site entertainment Download continues to expand its amazing gastronomic offering with the likes of Goodness Gracious, Texas Smoker and Kwacker making mouths water this year, while the Seat of Luxury pass offers the cleanest, most refreshing high-tech festival toilet experience in the history of music festival toilets.
Remember that time Lord Somersby rocked Download? Well Lord Somersby has made his mark in many places, but never has he rocked out at Donington Park. This year, we are bringing his literal home, the Manor, including bar and DJ, to the spiritual home of rock. See you at the bar for a Somersby cider?
Some of rock’s biggest bands will grace the Zippo Encore stage, and the festival experience continues at the Zippo area where festival-goers can get their hands on the infamous limited edition Download Festival lighter, design their own Zippo lighters and take part in competitions to win side-of-stage experiences.
And then there’s the music…Download 2015 will be headlined by Slipknot, Muse and Kiss, with main support coming from Judas Priest, Faith No Moreand Motley Crue, with other musical beasts unleashed on the Donington faithful including Marilyn Manson, Slash, Enter Shikari, Black Veil Brides andBlack Stone Cherry.
Download 2015 comes a huge step closer today with DAY TICKETS for Europe’s biggest rock and metal music festival set to go on sale at 9am on Friday 27 February and a whopping 38 bands joining the line-up.
Bands joining the line-up include the mighty Fightstar: a decade on from their debut release, the post hardcore giants came back from a 4 year hiatus at the end of last year for a triumphant run of sold out shows celebrating their 10th anniversary and return to the Donington stage for the first time since their main stage performance in 2008.
Charlie Simpson from Fightstar said:
We are incredibly excited to be playing our first festival appearance in five years at this year’s Download Festival. Download has always been oneof our favourite festivals in the calendar and this year is going to be the best yet! We can't wait to hit the stage again and enjoy the mayhem.
Cult British alt-pop punks, ‘A’, are another act to return after years of rumours and hearsay for their first Donington appearance in a decade.
Speaking on their Download Festival comeback, frontman Adam Perry said:
We are stoked to be playing Download again, I think the last time we played it was 10 years ago in 2005, so it’s been while! We are excited to announce that Shay (formally of Kids in Glass Houses) will be joining us on bass for the show and it feels great to have “A” back in our lives. Looking forward to seeing some old and new faces down the front!
Alongside them, Apocalyptica, the world’s favourite titans of neoclassical metal return to Download for the first time in seven years to prove that the cello can be as mighty as the axe, while two giants of rock and metal music over the past 20 years, Max and Igor, bring the Cavalera Conspiracy to Donington for the first time in seven years.
Apocalyptica’s Eicca Toppinen said:
It has been a while since we played Download last. We love the festival and have great memories to play there and to see other bands and friends.Finally we release a new studio album – Shadowmaker – and we are proud we are able to premiere the new touring cycle for England at Download.
Meanwhile neither Cavalera brother pulled their punches when describing what Download fans can expect.
Iggor said:
I am super excited to be part of this amazing line up for Download 2015, we can't wait to hit the stage and display some brutality from our new record. See you all on the pit!
Max said:
I am excited to return to Download with Cavalera Conspiracy! I promise you all the most brutal show ever!
Other exciting acts bound for Donington include Modestep. The rock-dubstep crossover marauders join the line-up for Download 2015 ahead of the release of their hotly anticipated second album, London Road.
Josh from Modestep said:
“We feel privileged to be coming back to Download for a third time, we hope this will be our heaviest show yet. Our first ever show as a band was at Download, so it's always a moment for us to return.”
The Sword are also back, with the Texan stoner-doom-sludge-merchants confirmed for Download just in time to hit the studio in March to record their fifth album, while Sylosis bring their signature mix of thrash and death metal back to Download for the first time since the release of January’s gigantic album Dormant Heart.
Emerging fem-punk rockers The Pink Slips make their Download debut this year, fronted by seventeen year-old Grace McKagen, whose father has dabbled with the bass guitar once or twice at Donington over the years.
Another enfant terrible heading to Download is the UK’s premiere blues rock prodigy, Aaron Keylock, the seventeen year-old Oxford resident who already shreds like a rock heavyweight.
Among their fellow newcomers are metalcore cum punk powerhouse Beartooth, fronted by former Attack! Attack! frontman Caleb Shomo; and Butcher Babies, the Heavy Metal sirens famed for their confrontational performance style and horror-themed on-stage antics.
The Download faithful will also have a first opportunity to see Donington regular Ginger Wildheart moonlighting as an ass-kicking glam rocker with Hey! Hello!, and a first chance to witness former Ipso Facto singer Rosalie Cunningham’s intensely atmospheric progressive psych-rock project Purson..
Other homegrown talent coming to Download includes the melodic rock of Emp!re, powered along by Joe Green’s astonishing vocals, and London rap/electro/hardcore punk crossover experimentalists The One Hundred, while bands proudly maintaining the Midlands’ tradition of producing top class rock and metal music include Wolverhampton’s eighties-influenced melodic rockers Iconic Eye, their close neighbours, hardcore-grunge maestros God Damn, Telford’s uncompromising alt-grunge predators Hyena and Milton Keynes metallers Heart of a Coward – following the release of brutal new album Severance in November.
Other upcoming British acts setting foot on the iconic stages for the first time are Leeds alt-grungersAllUsOnDrugs, highly rated pop-punk quintet Roam, sludgy stoner rockers Dolomite Minor, Bath post-hardcore upstarts Decade, North East rockers Sirens In The Delta and pop punk tyros Love Zombies andTrash Boat.
Download 2015 will also feature some of the most mind-alteringly awesome new music from across the Atlantic and beyond, including the genetic experiment in post-apocalyptic doom-punk known as Code Orange whose fellow Pennsylvanians Crobot will also be serving up their steel-reinforced, supercharged blues rock to the Donington masses for the first time.
Other newcomers include Southern bluegrass-rock groovesters Blackberry Smoke, Texan Rockers American Fangs, the insane and distinctive melodic hooks of Dead Daisies – the Australian-American revolving door of Rock’s best and brightest – leaders in a genre of one and self-proclaimed “Hauntedmansioncore” proponentsNew Year’s Day, hard rockers Pop Evil and electronic horror-rockers Ghost Town.
In Hearts Wake join the Australian metalcore insurgency gripping Download this year, while highly-rated Finnish doom mongers Insomnium, New Zealand punk-rockers Rival State and Canadian melodic metalcore supremos Counterparts bring up-to-date what is becoming a truly breathtaking line-up.
This deluge of talent flooding Donington Park from June 12-14 will be joined by headliners Slipknot, Muse andKiss, main support Judas Priest, Faith No More and Mötley Crüe, and such rock and metal megastarsBlack Stone Cherry, Enter Shikari, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, A Day To Remember,Slash and Miles Kennedy, Black Veil Brides, Lamb of God, Rise Against, Billy Idol, L7, Andrew W.K, In Flames, Testament, Parkway Drive, Hollywood Undead, Clutch, Body Count, Eagles of Death Metal,Godsmack, Mallory Knox, Motionless in White, Madball, Every Time I Die, Dragonforce, Backyard Babies, Crown the Empire, NorthlaneandH.E.A.T.
