Download Festival have confirmed more than 40 new bands being added to this year’s line-up, including Neck Deep, Five Finger Death Punch, Alter Bridge and Halestorm.
They join dozens of bands previously announced for Download’s special four-day edition, where Metallica, Slipknot and Bring Me The Horizon are set to headline. The official line-up poster is shown below and matches a ‘leaked’ poster circulating on social media since last night.
With the long-awaited day tickets going on sale today, the full ‘day splits’ have also been published and reveal there are now 13 bands confirmed to play on Thursday – an additional night to celebrate the festival’s 20th-anniversary edition. Metallica will headline both Thursday and Saturday with the promise of no repeated songs.
On Thursday, they’ll be joined on the line-up by Alter Bridge, who recently released their album ‘Pawns & Kings‘. Five Finger Death Punch, who will be joining Metallica on their world tour, have also been confirmed. The Thursday line-up will also include Lzzy Hale and Download veterans Halestorm.
Also joining the bill for Thursday are Perturbator, Jinjer, Mammoth WVH, The Bronx, Mom Jeans, Fearless Vampire Killers, Tigress, A.A Williams, Caskets and Mimi Barks.
On Friday, Wrexham punk rockers Neck Deep will take to the stage. Their latest single ‘Heartbreak of the Century‘ was released earlier this week. Darksynth artist Carpenter Brut will make his Download debut with a live performance he says is inspired by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.
Also joining Friday’s line-up are Pup, Hot Milk, Epica, Smash Into Pieces, Empire State Bastard, Undeath, The Warning and Taipei Houston.
Clutch have been added to Saturday‘s line-up as have horror metal band Ice Nine Kills. They’re joined by the grime rap/punk rock duo Bob Vylan along with Coheed & Cambria, Carcass, Deaf Havana, Bad Wolves, Bob Vylan, Greg Puciato, Spirit Adrift, and Antisaint.
German electronicore band Electric Callboy have joined the line-up for Sunday along with folk metal Mongolian throat singers The Hu. Also on the day’s bill are Hatebreed, Palaye Royale, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Avatar, The Amity Affliction, Cleopatrick, Joey Valence & Brae, Green Lung and Beauty School.
There are now just over 100 days until the festival gets underway. It’s a special 20th-anniversary edition of Download this summer with four days of headline slots, taking place from Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th June – and as usual, you can turn up and start partying from Wednesday with a 5 nights camping ticket.
Download organisers rolled out some changes last year and among the most notable were the changes to the layout. This meant the campsites were now much closer to the arena than in previous years. They also made further efforts on sustainability, using more biofuels and getting rid of single-use plastic.
In the weeks after the festival, the official Download 2022 aftermovie was revealed. Offering the chance to relive the best bits from this year at Donington, it features a killer soundtrack with Those Damn Crows, Cassyette and Sleep Token along with highlights from headliners KISS, Iron Maiden and Biffy Clyro.
Download Festival returned last summer after a two-year break during the pandemic. Taking place relatively early in the festival season on the second weekend of June, it was one of the first events to announce its cancellation when Covid first struck, confirmed three days after the UK went into lockdown in March 2020.
Though the full-size Download couldn’t happen in 2021 either, the festival made history by holding a downscaled pilot event as part of the UK Government’s Events Research Programme. Bands played for expenses and a drastically reduced capacity meant fans camped in the arena – meaning it was just a few minutes’ walk to the arena. Check out our full review here.
To check prices or buy tickets for Download 2023, visit the official Download Ticketmaster page.
Image credits:
Ross Silcocks / Download FestivalJames Bridle / Download Festival
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