Bullet For My Valentine
From chief heavyweights and major players of the international rock scene, classic rock heroes, acclaimed rock legends and innovators to the latest hotly tipped acts emerging onto the scene, Download 2011 is set to make ears ring, voices hoarse and legs very weary this summer.
UK Top 5 charting modern metallers Bullet For My Valentine, who Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich included in his Top 5 current metal acts, the critically acclaimed New Jersey boys Gaslight Anthem, Australian drum ‘n bass / rock dynamos Pendulum, who knocked The Rolling Stones off the top of the UK charts last year with their third album Immersion, US classic rockers Alter Bridge,recently heralded by a US website as ‘the second coming of real rock’, will be making their mark on Donington with what are bound to be significant and exciting live performances.
Legends of the classic rock fold will be back on the scene at Download this year – the boys who are back in town, Thin Lizzy, LA glam-rock stars Buckcherry, American ‘jam band’ Clutch, who are now in their 21st year, Brit rockers FM and finally Mr. Big, the virtuoso classic rockers who have reunited for a new album What If.
Download 2011 will see the return, and even the debut, of some of the greatest and most influential rock artists of all time, all who have influenced a generation or more of contemporary music acts. Master of theatre and horror Alice Cooper, who will be inducted into the world famous Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame this year, Nu-metal pioneers Korn, US blues-metallers Danzig, fronted by the king of horror-punk Glenn Danzig, British rock heroes The Cult, who are currently on the road across the UK and Europe, sci-fi inspired shock-rock metallers GWAR, and ‘desert rock’ originators Masters Of Reality, who celebrate their 30th anniversary this year, alljoin the party.
There should be no over-estimation of their influence on modern rock - to put it bluntly; without Glenn Danzig there’d be no My Chemical Romance, without GWAR there would be no Slipknot, without The Cult there’d be no Guns ‘N’ Roses, without Korn you’d have no Linkin Park or Disturbed, without Masters Of Reality there would be no Kyuss or Queens Of The Stone Age, and without Alice Cooper there would be no Kiss, no Marilyn Manson, and arguably no Lady Gaga.
Moving on to the new kids on the block, with a host of new and new(ish) acts set to get tongues wagging and heads banging in 2011. Black Veil Brides, known for their distinct Kiss-inspired appearance, The Damned Things – a blend of Every Time I Die and 80s thrash heroes Anthrax, the Nevada post hardcore act Escape The Fate, LA rap-rockers Hollywood Undead and Kerrang! Magazine’s ‘Best British Newcomer’ 2010 award winners Rise To Remain – fronted by Bruce Dickinson’s son Austin - all jump into the fray and will be looking to win over the crowds at Download in June.
These acts join headliners System Of A Down and Linkin Park, plus Avenged Sevenfold and Rob Zombie. Weekend tickets and RIP packages for Download (at 2010 prices) are on sale now from www.downloadfestival.co.uk.
Tagged in Download Festival