Download Festival

Download Festival 2015 Review

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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 CAVELERA CONSPIRACY 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
 
Words by
Jack Trace

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

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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. 

Download Festival 2015 add Pro Wrestling and more to its programme

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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.

Fightstar, A, Apocalyptica and more added to Download 2015 lineup

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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 one of 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, Northlane and H.E.A.T.

Andrew WK, In Flames, Testament and more added to Download 2015 lineup

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Hard-partying punk philosopher Andrew W.K. will make his debut at Download festival in 2015. The rocker cum self-help guru cum motivational speaker has been tirelessly spreading his philosophy of partying over the past decade, delivering lectures at such revered institutions as Oxford and Yale Universities. But in 2015 he will finally take his place on the most prestigious stage of all when he performs at Donington for the first time.

The man himself feels that the iconic festival will be inkeeping with his lifestyle:

Aaaaahhhhhhrrrrgggaaaa!!! I'm totally chuffed about playing and partying at my first ever Download! I've no doubt that it will be partier than even the partiest party I've ever been to!

Swedish metal giants In Flames will also return to Download in 2015; the infernal five-piece spent much of 2014 in the recording studio but are set to roar back on to the UK live scene to set Europe’s biggest rock and metal festival alight this summer.

Lead singer Anders Friden said: 

It will be fantastic to be back on UK soil. Download has always been a great festival. We’re looking forward to meeting friends and playing our take on heavy metal in front of some of the greatest fans that there is.

They will be joined by seminal thrash heavyweights Testament seven years on from their only previous Download performance.

Guitarist Alex Skolnick looked forward to rejoining the pantheon of British rock and metal: I recall reading about Download as a teen, seeing early pics of Maiden, AC/DC and other greats all sharing a bill there (back when it was "Castle Donington"), thinking how lucky they have it in the UK and dreaming about one day playing an incredible event like that with so many bands. Well, dreams can come true, so on behalf of all of Testament, let me say how thrilled we are to be appearing at Download 2015!

Following his surprise departure from Asking Alexandria last week, Danny Worsnop’s new project, We Are Harlot – whose music draws on the awesome tradition of its 1980s classic rock forebears – are also bound for Download 2015.

Grunge legends L7’s addition to the line-up is their first confirmed UK live date in over fifteen years. Having lit up the musical world with their refreshingly grizzly sound and their resolute, tampon-chucking, live-TV-panty-dropping, one-night-stand-raffling refusal to give a f**k, L7enraptured fans by announcing that they were once more ‘hungry for stink’ at the end of 2014.

Among other renowned acts joining the line-up are titanic metal supergroup Hellyeah, featuring former Mudvayne singer Chad Gray,Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell and legendary Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul.

US metallers All That Remains add yet more bulk to the bill with their huge choruses and relentless driving melodies.

Homegrown horror rockers Fearless Vampire Killers also bring their inimitable iron-clad gothic theatricality to the line-up, fresh from the release of new album Unbreakable Hearts.

Guitarist and co-vocalist Kier Kemp looked ahead to the festival: 

Download's line-up totally fucking owns this year! We're just super happy to be part of it all again. We've been working on a lot of stuff behind the scenes. New material, new direction and this will mark a new era for FVK. Download is going to be the perfect forum to show this all to the world.

Elsewhere, ahead of their headline performance, Kiss’ former axe man Ace Frehley will hit Download with a sharp dose of his distinctively grungy sound following the release of mega album Space Invader in 2014.

On bringing his solo project to Donington Frehley said: 

I'm really looking forward to rockin' out in the UK at Download…It's been 7 years since my last appearance and my new band kicks ass!

Acclaimed Alter Bridge and Creed shredder, Mark Tremonti, is also added to the line-up under the guise of his hard-rocking solo act Tremonti, which sees him team up with fellow rock royal Wolfgang Van Halen on bass, with the duo having confirmed recently that they are working on a new album.

His fellow hard rockers and hellraising progeny of Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders, will share material from their hugely anticipated new album,The Killer Instinct, with the Download faithful for the first time.

British rockers Thunder are also confirmed ahead of the release of their first record in six years, Wonder Days, which is due for release in February.

Thunder’s Danny Bowes said:

Download is one of my favourite festivals in the world, so I can’t wait for June to come around. Donington was where we made our mark back in 1532 [sic], so it's fitting somehow to be back at Download this year when we release 'Wonder Days', our first studio album for 6 years, and it’ll be great to see how the new tracks go down alongside the classics. The Download crowd is always amazing, so as my dear old Mum used to say, "Let’s have it!”…

They will be joined by melodic metalcore superstars The Ghost Inside, following the release of their massive album Dear Youth last November.

As well as these rock and metal icons, Download 2015 will provide a platform for some of the genres’ finest young pretenders; King 810 have shot to the attention of rock fans over the past year, having had to pull out from last year’s festival at the last minute, and, fresh from their slot on Slipknot’s mammoth ‘Prepare For Hell’ Tour, Flint’s finest are ready for an all-action, all-conquering performance at Download.

Their fellow debutants Defeater’s Donington debut last year was also thwarted – by an injury to frontman Derek Archambault – but the Boston hardcore mob return stronger than ever in 2015 take their rightful place among rock’s live elite.

Also making their Donington bow are Utah deathcore maniacs Chelsea Grin, who join the line-up following the success of their savage 2014 record Ashes to Ashes.

For vocalist Alex Koehler, the band’s Download appearance represents the fulfilment of a long-held dream: We're all looking forward to playing Download festival this year. Ever since I watched Slipknot's live DVD filmed at download, I've been dying to experience it first-hand.

Local cult heroes, Nottingham metallers Evil Scarecrow, will be scuttling South West along the A52 to unleash the mighty Crabulon on unsuspecting legions of festivalgoers.

Frontman Dr Hell said: 

The first festival I attended was Metallica at Donington Park in 1994. Since that life altering occasion it’s been my lifelong ambition to play this hallowed ground and I finally, finally get to shout “Scream for me Donington!”. We are totally stocked beyond all belief. We are working on a very special show for this, one that will defy the world of physics.

Swedish metalheads Bombus will also fly into Donington for the first time armed to the teeth with their uncompromising breed of barnstorming, balls-out heavy metal, while Brighton punk rockers Gnarwolves make their biggest festival appearance to date, building on the release of their eponymous breakthrough album last year.

If that isn’t enough, alt-power-rockers Hands Like Houses add to the booming Australian delegation, while cult hardcore punks Stray from the Path also hit Download for the first time, as do hotly tipped punk rock tyros, Creeper and the new project form the post-hardcore marauders formerly known as Climate, Blood Youth.

Hands Like Houses see being part of the festival’s bill as the rock world’s ultimate bragging right: 

We are beyond excitement in announcing we'll be playing at Download Festival 2015! It's a huge honour to be invited to be part of such a massive bill and can't wait to get back to the UK for such an iconic rock event!

Blood Youth also looked forward to their debut: It’s every bands dream to be able to play a festival of such magnitude and legendary status. To say we've been given that opportunity is unreal and we're damn grateful. We look forward to tearing it up alongside so many great bands and hope to see you there.

This deluge of talent flooding Donington Park from June 12-14 will be joined by headliners Slipknot, Muse and Kiss, main support Judas Priest, Faith No More and Mötley Crüe and rock and metal megastars Black 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, Bill Idol, 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, Northlane and H.E.A.T.

Billy Idol, Lamb of God and more added to Download 2015 lineup

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Among the latest fleet of iconic names added to Europe’s biggest rock and metal festival this year is punk icon and Generation X frontman Billy Idol, who returns to Donington for the first time in five years.

Billy Idol said: 

It was a fantastic experience playing at Download 2010 in the teeming rain with the audience completely unfazed. So if that was fun, this year should be dynamite! See you there!

Groove metal giants Lamb of God return from hiatus in 2015 amid rumours of a new album to blow away the minds of the Download faithful.

Other massive bands joining them include Black Veil Brides – the hard rockers following in the tradition of fellow Download 2015 performers KISS  & Motley Crue with their raucous live performances and on-stage personas, while Rise Against return to bring a bit of poignancy and political edge to their barrage of heavy, melodic punk rock.

On playing Download Black Veil Brides said: 

We are absolutely honoured to once again have the opportunity to play on rocks biggest stage at the Download festival 2015! We've always had a blast and we are looking to make our third time the best one yet! Seeya Saturday!

Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath said:
The Download Fest always puts together one of the best and heaviest line-ups in the UK and we¹re pretty damn ready to get muddy with the best of them.

Elsewhere, America’s most successful rock performer in the Billboard charts, the four times Grammy-nominated Godsmack will perform at Download for the first time in 2015 following the release of their acclaimed 1000hop album earlier this year.

Tongue-in-cheek but firmly balls-out rockers Eagles of Death Metal will also swoop into Donington in 2015 to make their eagle-ly (soz)-awaited debut at the country’s primary rock and metal festival.

Homegrown natural born killers Mallory Knox continued their meteoric rise with the release of their second album Assymetric in October and will give fans a taste of it at Download.

If those massive names aren’t enough, the sludgiest funk stoner rock beasts music has to offer, Clutch, return to Download after a four year absence, while DragonForce will also be blazing into Donington on a wave of the fastest, most frantic and fiery speed metal in the rock world.

Hardcore rap rockers Hollywood Undead will showcase material from new album, Day of the Dead, with the eponymous lead single providing some of the heaviest hooks ever from the LA six-piece.

Another rap-metal crossover joining the 2015 line-up, this time appearing at Download for the first time, is Body Count, fronted by rap legendIce-T.

More straight-edged rock comes in the form of prodigal Southern hardcore sons Every Time I Die, making their first Donington appearance in a decade, while Australia’s finest purveyors of anthemic metalcore Parkway Drive also return.

More long-lost friends join the party in the form of Swedish punk rockers Backyard Babies – making a first appearance in six years – while their compatriots H.E.A.T also bring their epic signature brand of Nordic hard rock to Donington.

Pennsylvania horror merchants Motionless in White make their first appearance since this year’s epic Reincarnate, while Download will also be treated to a savage dose of theatricality from symphonic metallers Crown the Empire, who make their debut in 2015, following the release of this summer’s The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways.

Adding to Download 2015’s burgeoning antipodean contingent and also making their debut this year are metalcore tyros Northlane, with yet another fresh slab of meat for rock and metal fans to get their teeth into are seasoned hardcore punk warriors Madball, who recently announced that they have begun recording an eighth studio album.

All of these incredible acts will join headliners Slipknot, Muse and Kiss, and main support Judas Priest, Faith No More and Mötley Crüe as well as an armada of the world’s finest vessels of rock and metal.

Kiss announced as Sunday night headliner for Download Festival 2015

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The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have carved themselves emphatically into the pantheon of Rock mythology with their huge choruses, unmistakable visuals and extraordinary, pyrotechnical live performances. KISS return to Donington having graced Monsters of Rock in 1988 and 1996 and headlined Download, Europe’s biggest rock and metal festival, in 2008.

Singer Paul Stanley sees Download as the ultimate measure of a rock band’s standing:

Download has become a tradition of stature that separates the pretenders from the contenders and the champs from the chimps. It will be an honour to take our turf and leave no doubt why we wear the crown.

Meanwhile, bassist Gene Simmons said: 

To all our fans – our intention is to get on that stage, blow the heavens to smithereens and take no prisoners.

Main support comes in the form of the final ever UK Festival Performance by iconic hell-raising metalheads Mötley Crüe. With the Crüe due to disband for good in early 2016, Download will have the honour and privilege of bringing a truly unique festival career to a blazing conclusion.

Bassist Nikki Sixxx said: 

It's always an over the top day and night at Download Festival and we’re really excited to be coming over to the UK and playing the show.

Rock legends making the ultimate festival pilgrimage don’t stop there as seminal shredder Slash polishes and shines the trusty top hat to make his second appearance at Download with one of rock’s top vocalists, Myles Kennedy, and The Conspirators.

Slash said: 

Download is a very special event for me. It's been a major destination since I started and I'm always excited to be a part of it.

Headlining the second stage and representing the new kids on the block are electronicore pioneers Enter Shikari, after the January 2015 release of their massively anticipated album The Mindsweep.

Singer Rou Reynolds is looking forward to the authentic festival experience:

The thing I love more than anything is playing outside, at night. We thank Download for the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the great outdoors and engulf and deluge festival-goers with our noise. It is an honour to be closing the night and because of this we will bring with us illuminations. Do attend.

Muse announced as Saturday headliner for Download Festival 2015

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Muse will make their debut at Europe’s biggest rock festival as Saturday’s main stage headliner at Download 2015.

Considered by many to be the greatest live act in the world, the genre-defying trio will follow in the footsteps of Rock Gods past and present when they walk the hallowed fields of Donington Park for the first time.

On their impending debut the band said:

We're really looking forward to Download. We’ve never played the festival before so it’s going to be really special.

Main support will come from alt-funk-rap-metal pioneers Faith No More, returning to the festival for the first time since their long-awaited comeback in 2009. The return of the San Francisco five-piece to Donington also coincides with the release of their first album in 18 years, due in April 2015, with first single Motherf****r set to drop at the end of this month.

Faith No More said: 

Hard to believe it’s been five years already, but what’s harder to deny is that a lot has changed. The last time we played Download the focus was on bringing back the past; now it’s all about the present and the future. Where it should be.

Also making a long-awaited and eagerly anticipated return to Download as second stage headliner is Marilyn Manson, back on top form and, when he’s not jamming with Johnny Depp, back in the studio readying his new album Pale Emperor – which is set for its first UK festival outing at Donington.

Manson said: 

It's been a few years since I’ve been at download. The Pale Emperor will rise and I was born to cause chaos.

All these great bands will be joined by metallic pop-punk heroes A Day To Remember, playing Download for the fifth time and the first since the release of critically acclaimed album Common Courtesy.

The band see performing at Download as a sign of their progress up the rock ladder:

We have been playing download for years and I've always been proud to say I was just on the damn thing. So to be asked to be one of the main bands on one of the sickest rock festivals on the planet blows my mind. Haha we were a garage band…We in ADTR like to put on a spectacle, and we plan to do just that.

Acts already announced for Download Festival 2015 are Slipknot, Judas Priest, Black Stone Cherryand Five Finger Death Punch with many more to come, including Sunday’s headliner. Can you guess who it is? Go on. I bet the answer’s on the tip of your tongue…

Slipknot to headline Friday at Download Festival 2015

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The seven time Grammy-nominated Iowa nine have become one of the most iconic live acts in the musical world thanks to their extraordinary musicianship and dramatic, instantly recognisable aesthetic. Frontman Corey Taylor adds:

Being invited back to Download always feels like coming home. Headlining Download, for the 3rd time, feels like the culmination of a life's dream. It's an honor, a privilege and we're all looking forward to it.

Main support comes from locally-bred Metal Gods Judas Priest. The Birmingham rockers played the first Monsters of Rock in 1980 and come to Download for a second time, having previously played in 2008.

Priest are ecstatic at the prospect of renewing their longstanding acquaintance with Donington:

35 years ago Judas Priest took the stage for the first Monsters of Rock at Castle Donington!

We are thrilled to be performing at Download 2015 as the band continues its 40th anniversary 'Redeemer of Souls' World Tour that brings us home to see and hear the roar of our #priestfamily.

Headlining the second stage on Friday are Kentucky hard rockers Black Stone Cherry. Last year’s secret band return for a full set following the success of their titanic Magic Mountain album and hugely successful UK arena tour. Speaking on their return to Donington Park, guitarist Ben Wells said:

Getting the opportunity to not only return to one of our favourite festivals, but to come back as headliners of the 2nd stage, for the 2nd time is just UNREAL!  After the recent tour we just finished in the UK, we didn't know how to come back in a bad ass way and thanks to our friends at Download and the fans who keep us going, we'll be back to rock your ass and give you the best show we can!  Thank you all for this opportunity. We love you and we'll see ya in June!

Marauding alt-metallers Five Finger Death Punch also add their musical muscle to the line-up, coming to Donington for the first time since the release of last year’s blockbuster two-parter, The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell.

Download has become a key part of guitarist Zoltan Bathory’s live music calendar:

Playing Download Festival is always a highlight for us as it is a bona fide global Rock n' Roll destination everyone travels to and brings their A game to….Both the bands AND the audience. You rarely see crazy crowds like this. In fact, it is vividly etched into our memories since it was the place where we may have broken the record for biggest crowd surfing in recorded history.  I think the migration of Atlantic salmon took second place.

Download Festival 2014 stage times

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Check out the stage times for Download Festival 2014 right here!

Main Stage

Avenged Sevenfold
21:00-22:50

Rob Zombie
19:20-20:20

Within Temptation
17:55-18:55

Black Label Society
16:45-17:30

Skindred
15:35-16:20

Powerman 5000
14:40-15:15

Crossfaith
13:50-14:20

Miss May I
13:00-13:30

 
 
Linkin Park
21:05-22:50
Fall Out Boy
19:10-20:20

Bring Me The Horizon
17:40-18:40

Killswitch Engage
16:10-17:10

Bowling For Soup
15:00-15:45

While She Sleeps
13:55-14:35

Bury Tomorrow
12:50-13:30

Fozzy
11:55-12:25

Dying Fetus
11:00-11:30

 
 
Aerosmith
21:15-22:50
Alter Bridge
19:10-20:25

Steel Panther
17:40-18:40

Volbeat
16:10-17:10

Joe Bonamassa
15:00-15:45

Richie Sambora
13:50-14:35

Buckcherry
12:50-13:25

Winger
11:55-12:25

Jake E. Lee's Red Dragon Cartel
11:00-11:30

The Zippo Encore Stage

The Offspring
21:25-22:45

Bad Religion
20:10-20:55

Flogging Molly
19:05-19:45

Rival Sons
18:00-18:40

The Temperance Movement
16:55-17:35

The Answer
15:50-16:30

Drenge
14:50-15:25

Tesla
13:50-14:25

Tax The Heat
13:00-13:25

Status Quo
20:50-22:00
Twisted Sister
19:20-20:20

The Wildhearts
18:15-18:55

Monster Magnet
17:10-17:50

Orange Goblin
16:15-16:45

Skid Row
15:20-15:50

Twenty One Pilots
14:25-14:55

The Boss Hoss
13:30-14:00

Chevelle
12:40-13:05

The Dirty Youth
11:50-12:15

Press To Meco
11:00-11:25

Trivium
20:50-22:00

The Pretty Reckless
19:25-20:20

Seether
18:15-18:55

Philip H Anselmo and The Illegals
17:10-17:50

Sabaton
16:15-16:45

Sepultura
15:20-15:50

Emmure
14:25-14:55

We Came As Romans
13:30-14:00

Skillet
12:40-13:05

Kill Devil Hill
11:50-12:15

Avatar
11:00-11:25

The Pepsi Max Stage

Opeth
21:00-22:00

Anathema
19:55-20:35

Letlive
18:50-19:30

Royal Blood
17:55-18:25

Quicksand
17:05-17:35

The Amity Affliction
16:15-16:45

Radkey
15:25-15:55

Turbo Wolf
14:35-15:05

IAMFIRE
13:45-14:15

No Hot Ashes
13:00-13:25

Behemoth
21:10-22:10

American Head Charge
20:05-20:45

The Black Dahlia Murder
19:00-19:40

Vamps
18:05-18:35

Blessthefall
17:15-17:45

Arcane Roots
16:25-16:55

Lonely The Brave
15:35-16:05

Marmozets
14:45-15:15

Upon A Burning Body
13:55-14:25

Lawnmower Deth
13:10-13:35

Zoax
12:25-12:50

Collibus
11:40-12:05
 

 
Dillinger Escape Plan
21:10-22:10

The Used
20:05-20:45

Suicide Silence
19:00-19:40

Against Me!
18:05-18:35

Memphis May Fire
17:15-17:45

Crazytown
15:35-16:05

The Treatment
14:45-15:15

Feed The Rhino
14:00-14:25

Thy Art Is Murder
13:15-13:40

The Graveltones
12:30-12:55

The Charm The Fury
11:45-12:10

The Red Bull Studio Stage

Dan Reed Network
22:15-22:55

Tyketto
21:20-21:50

Battlecross
20:30-20:55

Baby Godzilla
19:40-20:05

Huntress
18:50-19:15

Lyger
18:00-18:25

Drones
17:10-17:35

Page 44
16:20-16:45

Bloody Hammers
14:40-15:05

Bad Touch
13:50-14:15

Goldray
13:00-13:25

SikTh
21:55-22:25

The Howling
20:55-21:25

Malevolence
19:55-20:25

Martyr Defiled
18:55-19:25

New Politics
18:05-18:30

Nothing More
17:15-17:40

Skyharbor
16:25-16:50

Coldrain
15:35-16:00

Colt 45
13:10-13:35

Zebrahead
21:55-22:25

Monuments
20:55-21:25

Polar
19:55-20:25

Heart In Hand
18:55-19:25

Reignwolf
18:05-18:30

King 810
17:15-17:40

Magnus Puto
15:35-16:00

Kid Karate
13:55-14:20

Arthemis
12:25-12:50

Cytota
11:40-12:05

Dead City Streets
11:00-11:20

The Jagermeister Acoustic Stage

Jamie Lenman
19:15-19:40

The Answer
18:25-18:50

Danny Vaughn
17:35-18:00

New City Kings
16:45-17:10

The Mercy House
15:55-16:20

Mia Klose
15:05-15:30

Brother & Bones
14:15-14:40

Ginger Wildheart
20:25-20:55

Bowling For Soup
19:25-19:55

Anathema
18:30-18:55

Toby Jepson
17:40-18:05

Dave McPherson
16:50-17:15

Richards/Crane (featuring Whitfield Crane and Lee Richards)
16:00-16:25

Ducking Punches
15:10-15:35

Enemo-J
14:20-14:45

Nick Oliveri
20:25-20:55

Jon Gomm
19:25-19:55

Oxygen Thief
18:30-18:55

Milk Teeth
17:40-18:05

Versechorusverse
16:50-17:15

Fizzy Blood
16:00-16:25

Stormbringer
15:10-15:35