Considering they’re playing catch up to our friends from the Download Festival, who have come out all guns blazing in celebration of their tenth anniversary, many people expected Sonisphere Knebworth to pull a few rabbits out of the hat with their initial announcement and so it proved with KISS, Faith No More and Queen amongst many other bands in the first Knebworth announcement for 2012.
The Sonisphere camp yesterday announced eleven more bands to join the fun in Hertfordshire on the first weekend of July and there’s some crackers amongst the almost dozen bands revealed. Always festival favourites wherever they play and friends of Rocksins, Skindred will be bringing ragga metal back to Knebworth for the third time in four years (having played Download rather than Sonisphere in 2011). Benji and co are always a sight to behold live and Sonisphere Knebworth promises to be no exception to this.
Having played a quite brilliant set in the Bohemia tent last year by the accounts of all present, Scottish pirate metal crusades Alestorm will be sailing rheir way back to Sonisphere, this time to the Saturn stage to keep Skindred company. If you prefer your music a little more raw, then legendary hardcore punks Glassjaw are likely to get your pulse racing, especially considering they’re playing their classic album Worship & Tribute in its entirety. In keeping with the complete albums theme, British post rock favourites Hundred Reasons are returning to make their first appearance at Knebworth and are coming armed with their debut album Ideas Above Our Station to be played in full for the Knebworth masses.
For anyone who likes US Southern hard rock, your ideal band has joined the lineup as Black Stone Cherry take their place on the bill on Friday, currently lined up to kick off proceedings on the Apollo stage in what is likely to be an extremely popular opening performance with their array of hits such as Blame It On The Boom Boom and Lonely Train. Those who prefer things a bit gloomier will take great pleasure in the fact that doom merchants Electric Wizard have also joined the lineup, while anyone of a persuasion for fierce, unique live experiences will not want to miss the rapidly rising Kvelertak.
If that’s not enough for you then also joining the bill are South African rockers Seether, hardcore legends Crowbar, Australian rockers The Getaway Plan and British old school post punk band New Model Army. Tickets for Sonisphere Knebworth 2012 are currently onsale from the official Sonisphere Knebworth website and all the usual locations (Ticketmaster, Seetickets, Gigantic et al). For further rock & metal festival news updates from Sonisphere, Download and Bloodstock as well as other festivals from across the UK, Europe and further afield please keep checking back with Rocksins.
