Music

danhudson / 25 February 2015

Five bands not to miss at Download Festival 2015

As a fresh batch of bands get added to Download Festival 2015, our Metal Blogmaster, Dan Hudson, begins planning his annual pilgrimage to Donington.

If you’re already on board it’s highly likely you’ll be trawling through the line-up, putting provisional plans in your head and worrying how you can make it work so that somehow you can see Andrew W.K. and all of Muse. To make that decision slightly easier, here are my top 5 acts that you CANNOT miss at Download 2015.

Slipknot, Main Stage, Friday
Against all odds they are still an absolutely enormous proposition. Their 2009 headline set was one of the best sets I’ve ever seen at any festival, ever and even if this is half as good (it won’t be) you won’t want to miss it.

Enter Shikari, Zippo Encore Stage, Friday
The genre-defying St Albans four-piece are returning to Donington with the intention to ‘upturn the furniture in your mind’. Following numerous five-star reviews of their career-best The Mindsweep, and their current UK tour, there’s every chance that will actually happen.

Body Count, Zippo Encore Stage, Saturday
There really, really is nothing like standing in a tent shouting ‘BC!!’ and ‘Body Count’ at a stage every two seconds. Give it a try this June, trust me.

Mötley Crüe, Main Stage, Sunday
Every time they play, they bring the party. Not only that but this will be your last possible chance to see Mötley Crüe at a UK festival. Seriously, they’ve signed a contract and everything so even if you’re not their biggest fan, you’ll still want to say you were there for this. Plus, if you’re close enough, you may even get a shot of Jager from Nikki Sixx who regularly dishes them out throughout the set!

King 810, third stage, Sunday
This will be the Flint mob’s biggest opportunity yet to justify the hype surrounding them. Go easy on Saturday night’s partying, you’ll need to be up early to see if they do!

Download Festival 2015 takes place between 12 – 14 June at Donington Park, weekend tickets are on sale now – day tickets go on sale this Friday.

Which bands are you planning to catch at Download this year? Let Dan know at @DanHudson and danhudson.net.