The eagerly awaited Download Festival 2023 first announcement is here! The organisers have pulled out all the stops for the 20th anniversary of the festival. We already knew that for the 20th Download the festival was being extended to a full four days, and there’s some history making headliners for the big anniversary.
For the first time in Download Festival history, a band will headline two nights of the festival. And if anyone is going to do that, it’s going to be the biggest metal band of all time. Metallica return to Donington 11 years after their last appearance to headline both the Thursday and Saturday of Download 2023. They have promised two totally unique sets with no overlap. Whether one of the performances turns out to be the rumoured Kill Em All anniversary set – we will have to wait and see.
Bring Me The Horizon take their long expected slot as Download headliners for the first time on the Friday night of the 2023 festival. Having now headlined Reading and Leeds, and with multiple arena tours and number one albums under their belt, the Download organisers have finally taken the plunge on Oli Sykes and friends.
Last and by no means at all least Slipknot return to Download to headline for a record equalling 5th time. Slipknot will close the festival for the first time as Sunday night headliners. Expect all the usual classics and a food helping of their recent number one album The End, So Far.
All in all, an enormous 60 bands have been revealed in this first announcement for Download 2023. Other significant names include Aussie metal titans Parkway Drive, UK metalcore favourites Architects, nu metal / goth rock superstars Evanescence, their recent tour mates Within Temptation, spooky favourites Ghost and the godfather of love metal Ville Valo.
General tickets will be on sale at 10am, Thursday 10th November, with the Barclaycard pre-sale open now. *Update* – Tickets are now on sale from Ticketmaster!
Check out the full list of bands announced:
METALLICA
BRING ME THE HORIZON
SLIPKNOT
ALEXISONFIRE
ARCHITECTS
AS DECEMBER FALLS
ASKING ALEXANDRIA
AVIVA
BAMBIE THUG
BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT
BEHEMOTH
BLACKGOLD
BLIND CHANNEL
BLOODYWOOD
BRUTUS
CRASHFACE
CRAWLERS
DEAD SARA
DISTURBED
ELVANA
ENOLA GAY
EVANESCENCE
FEVER 333
FIXATION
GHOST
GRAPHIC NATURE
GWAR
HAWXX
INGESTED
I PREVAIL
JAZMIN BEAN
KID BOOKIE
KID KAPICHI
LAKE MALICE
LORNA SHORE
MOD SUN
MONUMENTS
MOTIONLESS IN WHITE
MUNICIPAL WASTE
NOTHING, NOWHERE.
NOVA TWINS
PARKWAY DRIVE
PENDULUM
PLACEBO
POLARIS
PUPIL SLICER
SEETHER
SIM
SIMPLE PLAN
SOEN
SOUL GLO
STAND ATLANTIC
SET IT OFF
STRAY FROM THE PATH
TAYLOR ACORN
TERROR
THE BLACKOUT
THE DISTILLERS
THE MEFFS
THREE DAYS GRACE
TOUCHÉ AMORÉ
VV
WITCH FEVER
WITHIN TEMPTATION
