Faith No More

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…

Open’er Festival Review 2014

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Set in a military airfield base Open’er Festival is spread across 4 days hosting an array of international artists along with some renowned Polish bands. Uniquely set up, the festival has everything laid out on the edges of the site, leaving plenty of space to relax and explore. Taking full advantage of it’s airfield location, the festival showcases all sorts of entertainment from fashion shows to the silent disco in the elusive bunkers, and if bunkers don’t appeal to you then you can choose between the festivals five stages to listen to your favourite bands. 

The best thing about most European festivals is that they don’t start until later in the day, so if (like me) you’re a tourist from another land, you’ve got time to explore what the city has to offer. The free shuttle bus service runs every few minutes, so no long waits to get you to and from the site! The journey into Gdynia city centre takes around 15 minutes and once in town it’s a 10 minute walk to the beach from where you can explore the town or simply relax on the beach.

Arriving on site I was greeted by a number of food and drinks outlets along with an official merchandise outlet. Sponsored by Heineken the festival has plenty of beer on tap, but if Heineken isn’t your chosen tipple then there are other options including Desperados and Guinness, both on tap along with a wine stall. The downside is that you can’t drink alcohol near the stages. Restricted to the food and drinks court, you can sip on a pint whilst listening to your favourite band from a distance. It’s not all bad as it not only keeps the site clean but also invites you to spend time in other areas of the site.

The main stage, also known as the Open’er stage is where the headliners perform, and to kicks things off on day one was Interpol. Playing to an energetic audience they started things off with Say Hello To The Angels, followed by Evil, C’Mere and finishing their set with Slow Hands. And whilst Interpol were finishing up their set Metronomy were taking to the tent stage. Making my way to the tent I was greeted by I’m Aquarius, followed by Reservoir and The Upsetter. 

Next up on the Open’er stage were The Black Keys who played a stellar set of songs from all of their albums including their earlier hits Strange Times, The Next Girl, to their latest track Fever. And if that wasn’t enough they came back on stage for an encore and finished with Little Black Submarines and I Got Mine. Closing day one was Haim on the tent stage and Foster the People on Open’er. It wasn’t long into Haim’s set when members of the crowd began shouting out ‘Marry Me’ to which the band members responded with ‘yes, we’ll come to Poland to find our husbands’. Playing all the hits from their debut album they ended with The Wire and Let Me Go. And as the sun settled over the airfield Foster the People ended day one with an hour and a half performance including Best Friend, Coming of Age, Ask Yourself and the much loved summer track Pumped Up Kicks. 

Photo courtesy of Opener.pl

Day two saw the likes of MGMT, The Afghan Whigs, Jaguar Ma, Rudimental and headliners Pearl Jam take to the stages. Paying tribute to the late Bobby Womack The Afghan Whigs covered the classic Across 110th Street. 

Pearl Jam were by far the highlight of the night with a 23 strong song set list starting with Better Man followed by Even Flow, Jeremy and Alive. Pulling in the biggest crowd Eddie Vedder did not disappoint leaving the crowd hyped up and wanting more.

A tough headliner to follow, the penultimate day saw Jack White headline, but not before Foals played an impressive set which provoked an equally impressive mosh pit. Buzzing from their electric performance I headed straight to the Alter stage to check out newcomers Royal Blood. The duo, aided with just a drum kit and guitar sent the crowd into a frenzy, and if their show is anything to go by then these guys are the ones to watch out for. 

Playing songs from his new album Lazaretto, Jack White kicked off his set with High Ball Stepper, and for anyone wanting to hear some track from The White Stripes then you were in luck as he rocked out to Icky Thump along with Seven Nation Army. The night came to an end when Lykke Li entertained the crowd. Unfortunately her set was suddenly cut short, but not before playing hit single Gunshot and I Never Learn.

Photo courtesy of Opener.pl

The fourth and final day at Open’er did not disappoint. Saving the best headliner to last – Faith No More. But before they took to the stage The Horrors opened the main stage, pulling in the smallest crowd. Unimpressed with their set, revellers flocked to the Here and Now stage to check out Hip Hop artist Pusha T, who delivered a much more energetic performance to a small but content crowd.

Debuting two new songs on a white stage filled with flowers, Faith No More were victorious in their headline set, returning for an encore that included Failing To Pieces, Matador and We Care A Lot. And whilst the rockers had pulled in the largest crowd for the whole weekend Bastille entertained an equally modest crowd on the Here and Now Stage covering TLC’s No Scrubs and ending with Pompeii. 

And for those that could pull themselves away from Bastille and head to the tent were greeted with an extra long set from Warpaint. Rounding off this years Open’er festival was Phoenix who played an electric set including hits Lasso and Rome.

I left Open’er feeling very content that I’d witnessed some of the most amazing acts, consumed enough Heineken to last a life time. This festival is all about quality music and it shows, here’s hoping thats next years line up will be just as good!

Black Sabbath will rock British Summer Time Hyde Park 2014

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The legendary Ozzy Osbourne and his band mates Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi will be headlining the same stage that fellow rock legends The Rolling Stones presided over for two historic gigs last year. 

Not content with just playing the park, British Summer Time becomes Black Sabbath Time! Announcing their show with an impressive takeover of the Royal Park, the band will blaze onto the Great Oak Stage in Hyde Park for their first ever performance at the venue later this year.

Hailing from Birmingham in the late '60s, Black Sabbath are the undisputed founders of British heavy rock. They have always undoubtedly been one of the best live bands in the world. In 2013, the band returned in the most triumphant style with a global number one album, sell out tours and a prestigious Classic Rock Living Legends award. From their first visit to London to record their debut album to selling out the O2 last year, the band have one ambition left, to melt the faces off the Hyde Park crowd.

As Ozzy says: "The first time I came to London I didn't have a pot to piss in and I spent the advance I got for the first album on a new pair of shoes and some Brut aftershave. Returning almost 50 years on, we are doing a bit better for ourselves so I may even splash out on some new aftershave before taking to the stage at Hyde Park, the most beautiful park in London that has opened its gates to so many legends in the past. We are beyond honoured to be allowed to put on a show and hope that the Royals will enjoy it!"

Support for the show will come from Soundgarden and special guests Faith No More.

Emerging from the alternative scene of Seattle in the early 90’s,Soundgarden are widely regarded as one of the originators of grunge, alongside Nirvana and Pearl Jam. They have since gone on to sell 22 Million records worldwide and received 2 Grammy Awards, for ‘Spoonman’ and ‘Black Hole Sun’, both taken from their album ‘Superunknown’. Following their split in 1997, they reformed in 2010 and they released their last album ‘King Animal’in 2012 to critical acclaim. Get ready to welcome Soundgarden back to the stage at London’s Hyde Park!

Faith No More have earned a huge cult following since releasing their debut album ‘We Care A Lot’ in 1985. Instrumental in the alternative metal genre, Metallica, Nirvana and Guns ‘N’ Roses have all cited them as influencing their sound. A fearsome reputation as a live act, they have released five albums, winning 3 Grammy Awards, and 5 MTV Awards, until they dissolved the band in 1998. In 2009, following an eleven year hiatus, Faith No More reformed, touring Europe and USA, playing their own dates, alongside numerous festivals, reminding fans and critics alike what an amazing live act they are. It’s time to bring Faith No More back to London, to storm the stage at BST Hyde Park.

Other artists to entertain throughout the afternoon include: Motorhead,Soulfly, Wolfmother Gallows, Hell, Kobra and the Lotus, Bo Ningen, Rise To Remain and Broken Hands… to name a few.

Black Sabbath headline 4th July and join the already announced Neil Youngand McBusted nights (12th and 6th July respectively). Other artists to be announced…

Line Up on July 4th: 

Great Oak Stage
Black Sabbath
Soundgarden
Faith No More
Motorhead
Soulfly

The Barclaycard Theatre
Wolfmother
Hell
Kobra and The Lotus
Broken Hands
The Bots

Village Hall
Gallows
Bo Ningen
The Gravel Tones
Hang The Bastard
A Plastic Rose

Summer Stage
Rise To Remain
Blitz Kids
The Struts
The First

Volt announce Faith No More as headliner

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Fans of electronic music also have a lot to cheer about, as they can meet acts like Caspa, Toddla T and Camo & Crooked in Soporon, Hungary, between 27-30 June 2012.

VOLT started precisely 19 years ago, on 4 April 1993. That was the day when Zoltán Fülöp and Norbert Lobenwein – directors of the festival – organized a big party for Easter Sunday in Sopron. The event turned out to be a success, still they never thought that they will expect more than 100 thousand fans for the 20th edition in 2012. Now they do…

Of course they also didn’t think about the distant possibility to host Mike Patton’s iconic Faith No More on their event. Now it’s a reality. The band had a 10 years break before reuniting a few years ago, but their biggest hits (songs like Easy, Epic, Midlife Crisis, A Small Victory, etc.) are regularly played on radios across the globe. They are only playing some of the most famous festivals, so VOLT is proud to be on their tour list. The day of their VOLT gig – 28 June – will have an especially strong line-up with acts like Chase & Status, Simple Plan, Hadouken!, Katy B and Mac Miller also playing.

Faith No More

If you’re not the rocker type, you might enjoy the gig of Caspa, DJ, producer and one of the best known representatives of the London underground scene, joined by MC Dynamite and Emalkay. Caspa already played some of the biggest festivals of the world, regularly performs at London’s legendary Fabric club and even has his own labels (amongst them Storming Productions and Dub Police), releasing dubstep and grime productions.

Another important program feature of this year’s VOLT is Camo & Krooked, arriving from nearby Vienna and presenting some of the most exciting drum’n’bass productions of these days. Already mega successful in the scene, the duo plays fast and modern tunes, touching drumstep and dubstep, but also staying true to the quality traditions of the genre.

Many fans have been waiting for the first Hungarian gig of Toddla T, known as a multi-sided e-musician, DJ, producer, radio presenter and mixtape guru, arriving from Sheffield. His style is close to grime and 2-step, but also no stranger to hiphop, garage and dancehall. Toddle T shows are highlighted by great vocalists and he already recorded two successful albums, featuring hit single Take It Back.

And VOLT wouldn’t be VOLT without the greatest Hungarian bands, including the already announced concert of Ákos and also presenting Hungarian allstars Quimby and Tankcsapda, starting to develop a good name for themselves internationally. The detailed programs of the stages are expected to be online within a few days, so make sure you regularly check the festival’s official website for updates. Also keep in mind that the reduced priced Early Bird tickets are only available until 15 April.

More information and tickets: www.volt.hu

Queen and Kiss to headline Sonisphere 2012

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KISS EUROPEAN EXCLUSIVE, 
QUEEN  EXCLUSIVE & 
FAITH NO MORE 
UK EXCLUSIVE HEADLINE SETS 
FOR SONISPHERE 2012

ONLY UK SHOWS OF 2012 FROM EVANESCENCE, MARILYN MANSON, INCUBUS, 
WITHIN TEMPTATION & WOLFMOTHER

EXCLUSIVE FESTIVAL APPEARANCES FROM MASTODON, ANDREW W.K., FLOGGING MOLLY, LACUNA COIL, GOJIRA, SWITCHFOOT, 
GHOST & KATATONIA

REFUSED TO PERFORM FIRST UK SHOW SINCE 1998 EXCLUSIVELY AT SONISPHERE

APPEARANCES FROM, THE DARKNESS, CYPRESS HILL, THE BLACKOUT, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM, & I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN CONFIRMED

TIM MINCHIN LEADS COMEDY ELEMENT WITH HEADLINE SLOT ON SATURN STAGE

Queen’ Brian May and Roger Taylor today confirmed the band will headline the second day of this year’s Sonisphere Festival appearing at the festival home ground Knebworth Park, Stevenage, on Saturday July 7.
 
Knebworth was the setting for Queen’s final concert with Freddie Mercury in August 1986.
 
May and Taylor also confirmed that for this special one-off concert they will be joined by US singer-songwriter Adam Lambert.
 
Since first encountering each other during American Idol Season 8 in May 2009 where Lambert joined the band to perform We Are the Champions the two have repeatedly hinted at a future collaboration, most recently with Taylor telling Billboard Magazine "He (Adam) has grown into a really great performer with an astonishing voice with a range that's great. We would like to work with him again. There's nothing signed just yet but …it could be very exciting."

 Queen

After their brief meeting on American Idol, the potent chemistry between Queen and Lambert finally broke the surface when at the invitation of Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor Lambert joined them for the closing showcase at the recent MTV Europe Awards where Queen were present to collect their Global Icon award. 
 
Their eight minute MTVE set ignited an immediate reaction across the internet with social network sites buzzing with excitement and campaigning for a more formal union between Queen and Lambert. The Sonisphere 2012 Knebworth stage will at last provide an eager public the opportunity to see May, Taylor and Lambert delve deeper into exploring their very evident artistic appreciation of one another.
 
Says Brian May: “Judging by my incoming mail, this decision will make a lot of people very happy. It's a worthy challenge for us, and I'm sure Adam would meet with Freddie's approval! And what better place to revisit, and walk those emotional paths than Knebworth? It will be a rush.” 
 
Lambert adds: “I'm completely in awe of the Queen phenomenon. The thought of sharing the stage for a full set is so beautifully surreal. I'm honoured to be able to pay my respects to Freddie's memory. He's a personal hero of mine and I am deeply grateful for the chance to sing such powerful music for fans of this legendary band. I know the evening will be a huge milestone for me, and with the support of Brian, Roger and the rest of the band I know magic will be on display.”
 
Queen’s previous performance at Knebworth Park, close on twenty-six years ago ,  August 9, 1986, was set up to be the glorious last stop for the band’s monstrously successful Magic Tour which had spread out across Europe over eight weeks of that summer.  Over a million people had already paid to see them.
 
Now riding one of the highest crests in their career, Queen drew a record crowd of 120,000, their biggest ever UK audience.  Coming on the back of two stunning shows at Wembley Stadium – to this day regarded as among their finest performances – anticipation was high.
 
Queen delivered the goods, winding up the crowd by arriving above their heads in a custom decorated helicopter, and then going on to perform a Queen textbook set to a deliriously enthusiastic audience, winding up with an emotional ‘God Save the Queen’ and Freddie wishing his audience ‘sweet dreams’. 
 
What no-one in that Knebworth Park audience, and as far as we know, not even the band could anticipate that day, was that a new chapter in Queen’s history was being written: after more than 700 concerts together, what was taking place was the very last live concert of Freddie Mercury with Queen.  
 
With the exception of an appearance in 1988 with Spanish operatic soprano Montserrat Caballe to launch Barcelona’s successful bid for the 1992 Olympic Games performing their duet ‘Barcelona’, Mercury would never again be seen performing to a public audience.
 
On what will undoubtedly rate as one of this summer’s most highly anticipated and emotionally charged concerts Queen’s Roger Taylor says: "I remember Knebworth as being the most incredible gig, with the most amazing audience and the sound on stage was utterly perfect. It was a fitting last stand before a live audience for Freddie. It will be a real challenge to complete the circle by returning with Adam."
 
Shooting rockets. Blood spitting. Face Paint. Shiny Boots and utterly jaw dropping triumphant live shows: SONISPHERE is proud to announce KISS as Friday's headliner. With a reputation for being perhaps the most flamboyant and entertaining band on the planet, the American Kings will bring their stage extravaganza to SONISPHERE as their only European performance of 2012. 
 
For the final, Sunday night, SONISPHERE KNEBWORTH is proud to announce the legendary FAITH NO MORE as the headline act on the APOLLO stage. Mike Bordin, Roddy Bottum, Bill Gould, Jon Hudson and Mike Patton are poised to set KNEBWORTH on fire when they close the last night at SONISPHERE with their only UK appearance in 2012. Of their set Gould comments:"It was over 2 years ago when we decided to reform and play those amazing UK shows. The good news is, we've had a couple of years to improve our skills; moving our song to error ratio down 3.5 full percentage points. Watch out UK, we're going to do it right this time!!"  

Joining the three superb headliners are some of the biggest names from the world of rock and metal including:
 
WITHIN TEMPTATION – only UK show of 2012, EVANESCENCE – only UK show of 2012,THE DARKNESS,INCUBUS – only UK show of 2012, MARILYN MANSON – only UK show of 2012, ANDREW WK – only UK festival show of 2012, REFUSED – only UK show of 2012,MASTODON – only UK festival show of 2012, THE BLACKOUT and more.
 
As well as the exciting names from the world of rock, SONISPHERE once again shows it’s forward thinking nature, and invites musician/comedian TIM MINCHIN to headline the Saturday night on SATURN. Since his first appearance at SONISPHERE back in 2010 theTIM’s success has gone from strength to strength, resulting in his first UK arena tour, his first West End Musical (Matilda The Musical) and numerous high profile TV appearances. After the astounding success of Bill Bailey’s SATURN slot last year, TIM – with full backing band in tow – is bound to deliver a much talked about and highly memorable show atSONISPHERE.
 
Tickets on sale to the public from 9:00am Thursday 23rd February fromwww.sonisphere.co.uk / 0844 871 8803priced at £145 for a weekend ticket (£180 with 4-day camping, £170 with 3-day camping), with a very limited number of day tickets available for £75. Rock Royalty and Day VIP packages will also be available from www.sonispherefestivals.com.
 
To spread the cost of the festival customers can pay a non-refundable deposit of £50 to secure their weekend tickets and then pay the balance off anytime before 30th April 2012.
 
SONISPHERE KNEBWORTHtakes place July 6th – 8th at KNEBWORTH HOUSE.