Well they certainly kept that one quiet! Download have done it again and sneaked out another rather stonking lineup announcement. Coming onboard to play at Donington Park at Download’s tenth anniversary this time are none other than Killswitch Engage, recently reunited with original singer Jesse Leach in what promises to be one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the whole Download weekend. Mikael Akerfeldt and the rest of Opeth are also returning to Download for the fourth time, having most recently played the hallowed Donington turf back in 2009.
Currently here in the UK on tour with Halestorm, US rockers Shinedown also join the lineup for their second Download appearance and in a huge exclusive Nightwish will be making their first Download appearance since 2005 and the first with singer Annette Olson on vocal duties. Punk legends NOFX have also been confirmed, and rounding off the additions are the band who could be set to be the next My Chemical Romance (both in terms of popularity and potential backlash against them) The Black Veil Brides.
They join a quite frankly rediculous line up for the tenth anniversary of Download including headliners The Prodigy, Black Sabbath and Metallica (performing The Black Album from start to finish), Machine Head, Biffy Clyro, Tenacious D, Soundgarden, Chase and Status, Trivium, Slash & Myles Kennedy, You Me At Six, Five Finger Death Punch, Rise Against, Devin Townsend, Lamb of God and many more (check out the poster for the full line up). Weekend tickets are currently on sale and day tickets go on sale this morning (Friday 17th February 2012) either from the official Download Festival website or from all the usual online locations.
Clearly the organisers want the tenth anniversary to go off with a bang and this promises to be one of, if not the best Download Festival so far. For all the latest rock & metal festival news including further updates from Download, Sonisphere Knebworth and Bloodstock please stay tuned to Rocksins.com.
