Metal titans ICED EARTH and thrash icons SEPULTURA are the latest additions to BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2012, joining an already stellar line up that includes headline sets from ALICE COOPER and BEHEMOTH, as well as exclusive appearances from WATAIN, special guests DIMMU BORGIR, HATEBREED, BLACK DAHLIA MURDER & many more.

ICED EARTH were born in 1985, formed by Jon Schaffer – a determined, street-tough kid with the drive to create a band to make his heroes JUDAS PRIEST, KISS, and IRON MAIDEN proud. The band released its riff-heavy self-titled debut album in 1990 and never looked back. Nine studio albums – considered masterpieces of metal – cemented the band’s reputation for crafting exceptionally well-made music, the centerpiece of which being Schaffer‘s trademark rhythm guitar style and powerful, in-your-face lyrics that often combine themes of self reliance, a healthy distrust of authority, history, and science fiction.

He says:
“We are looking forward to returning to Bloodstock in 2012, our second time after 2008. The UK shows we played on our World Dystopia Tour last fall were some of the best on the tour and we cannot wait to bang our heads with the UK minions again!”

Over the years, Schaffer has surrounded himself with some of the finest musicians in the world – including famed vocalists Matt Barlow, Tim Owens, and now Stu Block – to help bring his musical visions to life. This summer Schaffer brings this vision to BLOODSTOCK once more, for their only UK show of 2012, and one of the highlights of the metal festival calendar.

SEPULTURA is one of the major names in metal history. From their humble beginnings 27 years ago, these Brazilians went on to create a legacy, influencing a whole generation of younger bands and becoming a true institution. Despite rough times due to significant line-up changes, nomadic relationships with record labels and various changes in the overall musical environment, SEPULTURA have never backed down, continuously following their path, always re-emerging stronger than ever before.

At their only UK show of 2012, SEPULTURA will remind the BLOODSTOCK crowd why they are South America’s biggest metal export, with a classic set featuring timeless anthems such as ‘Arise’, ‘Beneath The Remains’, ‘Troops Of Doom’, ‘Refuse/Resist’, ‘Territory’ and many many more.

With tickets selling faster than ever before, BLOODSTOCK 2012 is destined for a sell-out this year. Over 100 bands – the majority of which are exclusive appearances – and a ticket price of only £115 for four days of metal magic INCLUDING camping – BLOODSTOCK offers metalheads the most attractive ticket in the UK.

Furthermore the band will be touring the UK this April performing tracks from their forthcoming album ‘Tragic Idol’. To celebrate the event PARADISE LOST will have a very limited number of VIP tickets available (10 per show) which you can purchase online on Wed 1st February 2012 from the band’s website www.paradiselost.co.uk. Nick Holmes comments on the tour as follows: “This is a pretty extensive UK tour for us, I’m speechless and excited. It’s nice to know there’s a WH Smith in every town we play”

PARADISE LOST

April 2012

16th – Cardiff, Great Hall 2
17th – Southampton, The Brook
18th – Folkestone, Quarterhouse
19th – Colchester, Arts Centre
20th – Stoke, Sugarmill
22nd – York, The Duchess
23rd – Glasgow, King Tuts
24th – Sheffield, Corporation
25th – Wolverhampton, Slade Rooms
26th – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
27th – Manchester, Club Academy
29th – London, Scala
30th – Norwich, Waterfront

The legendary ‘Riff Lord’ himself, SLASH will return with his solo project featuring ALTER BRIDGE frontman Myles Kennedy. This is the third time Slash has played Download and is an amazing addition to the festival’s 10th birthday. Legendary LA thrash metal band, MEGADETH also join the decade celebrations. Their last appearance at Donington pulled huge crowds and 2012 is set to be louder and more aggressive than ever.

Other new additions include melodic hardcore punk group RISE AGAINST, wild LA glam rockers STEEL PANTHER, ferocious punk four-piece BILLY TALENT and US heavy metallers BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. KYUSS LIVES!, the incarnation of the influential stoner rock band KYUSS, will unleash their desert rock fury on Donington, joined by FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bringing their signature blend of melody and full-tilt aggression, industrial metal four-piece FEAR FACTORY and prog-metallers PERIPHERY.

Yorkshire rockers TERRORVISION are also confirmed joined by British rocker GINGER WILDHEART, Grammy-nominated metalcore group AS I LAY DYING and Finnish glam metal group RECKLESS LOVE for the biggest weekend in the rock calendar.

In news sure to please fans, organizers have extended the deadline for weekend arena tickets to increase in price. Originally planned for midday on Monday 30th January, the weekend arena ticket price for Download 2012 will remain the same as the prices for Download 2011 until midday on Thursday 2nd February, when all ticket types will go off sale. All tickets will go back on sale at 5pm Thursday 2nd February 2012, with weekend arena tickets increasing to 2012 prices, at £155 plus fees.

Organisers urge fans to take advantage of the extension with Weekend arena tickets for Download 2012 (at 2011 prices) available now from www.downloadfestival.co.uk.

The Swedish outfit return after destroying at their debut UK show at Live Evil in October 2011 and catching the eye of labelmates AMON AMARTH who were looking to bring an intense package to the UK and Ireland.

IN SOLITUDE has been declared “one of the hottest new metal acts around” by Decibel Magazine while Metal Hammer described the band as “Structurally and melodically complex, densely layered yet dynamic and fluid, often enthralling, always engaging, this is a metallic Feast.”

The band’s Metal Blade debut, ‘The World. The Flesh. The Devil’ was released on May 20th and stands as a “trad-metal charge of IRON MAIDEN with doom metal’s ironclad grey” according to Kerrang! Magazine.

Additionally, Terrorizer heralded ‘The World. The Flesh. The Devil’ as their “album of the month” in issue #210.

See them here:

AMON AMARTH + GRAND MAGUS + IN SOLITUDE

March 2012

13th – Glasgow, ABC
14th – Belfast, Mandella Hall
15th – Dublin, Vicar Street
16th – Wolverhampton, Civic
17th – Prestatyn, Hammerfest @ Pontins (not Grand Magus, In Solitude)
18th – Cardiff, Solus

The Austrian outfit released their highly acclaimed ‘Death And Legacy’ album last year and were last here in London on the Out Of The Dark tour.

They’ll be joined by Napalm Records label mates NEMESEA who released their ‘The Quiet Resistance’ album in 2011. Making up the three-band package are London outfit PYTHIA.

Catch them here:

SERENITY + PYTHIA + NEMESEA

March 2012

24th – Cardiff, Bogiez
Tickets: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/152857

25th – London, Underworld
Tickets: http://www.theunderworldcamden.co.uk/gigs/eventdetails/25-mar-12-serenity-underworld/

With four critically acclaimed albums, a few EPs and several world tours under their belt, NILE has raised the bar for extreme metal bands musically, lyrically and conceptually. Guitarist/vocalist Karl Sanders says:

“The members of NILE are eagerly looking forward to our first-ever appearance at Bloodstock this year. Let Metal Take Place!”

Boasting withering live performances that are nothing short of legendary, expect NILE to deliver one of the most crushing sets of the weekend.

When it comes to the definitive history of black metal, MAYHEM‘s name is at the forefront. Through the church burnings, murder, imprisonments and myopic teenage nationalism, MAYHEM has endured and survived, turning the circus-like atmosphere into a sustained musical career, in the studio and more importantly, on stage, without losing any of their spit and bile along the way.

With a live show oozing evil and darkness both sonically and visually, MAYHEM‘s only UK show of 2012 will leave Catton Hall in a bloody mess, and all the better for it.

BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2012 takes place at Catton Hall August 9th – 12th.

SOUNDGARDEN – Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd – along with their contemporaries ALICE IN CHAINS, PEARL JAM and NIRVANA, were all pivotal in the creation of a brand new sound in alternative rock during the 90s which centered on Seattle. ‘Grunge’ became a worldwide phenomenon, not only impacting musically but on wider culture and fashion too. 1991′s album ‘Badmotorfinger’ produced the singles ‘Jesus Christ Pose’ and ‘Rusty Cage’ whilst its follow up, 1994′s ‘Superunknown’, which reached No.1 on the US Billboard Chart and No. 4 on the UK Album Chart featured the singles ‘Black Hole Sun’, ‘Fell On Black Days’ and ‘Spoonman’. SOUNDGARDEN have sold over 21 million albums worldwide.

“We are beyond psyched to play Download 2012. It will be a huge year for the band and what better way to celebrate than bring it all to our UK family at Download. See you there!” – Matt Cameron, SOUNDGARDEN

A further 13 acts have been announced to play Download to ensure the festival’s 10th anniversary is its biggest and best weekend yet! Scottish rockers BIFFY CLYRO bring their incendiary live show to Donington for the 5th time in their career, whilst TENACIOUS D – Jack Black and Kyle Gass‘ comedy-tinged rock act – and London Electronic / Dubstep duo CHASE & STATUS LIVE will both make their Download debut, the latter as special guests to THE PRODIGY. They will be joined by the biggest names in contemporary metal – LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and MACHINE HEAD – who all return to Download for more ferocious action on the stage and in the mosh pits.

Thrash icons ANTHRAX, who celebrated their 30th anniversary last year, return to Donington for this year’s Download, as well as YOU ME AT SIX, the UK rockers who have gone from strength to strength with most recent album Sinners Never Sleep reaching No. 3 in the UK charts.

Famed for their Guinness World Record Attempt for ‘Largest Circle Pit’ at Download 2009, DEVILDRIVER will play the festival for the third time in support of new album Beast, along with American metalcore act AUGUST BURNS RED and the highly creative and eclectic DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT. Download 2012 will also see the reformation of UK rockers LITTLE ANGELS and Californian hard rock band UGLY KID JOE.

Weekend tickets for Download 2012 are now on sale from www.downloadfestival.co.uk – subject to availability. Weekend ticket prices for Download 2012 will remain the same as the prices for Download 2011 until midday Monday 30th January 2012 when all ticket types will go off sale. All tickets will go back on sale at 5pm Monday 30th January 2012 with Weekend tickets increased to 2012 prices. Festival organisers encourage fans to take advantage of this offer while it lasts.

There are few heavy metal bands that have managed to scale the heights that Judas Priest have during their nearly 40 year career. With popularity at an all time high (as evidenced by the group’s 2010 Grammy Award win for ‘Best Metal Performance’, their last studio album being the highest-charting of their career and recently being a VH1 Rock Honours Recipient), the mighty Priest will be rocking the planet on their Epitaph World Tour, playing the songs that helped make the name Judas Priest synonymous with heavy metal.

Having started the tour in the summer 2011, the band will be hitting all major cities throughout the world. The show will include songs from throughout Priest’s career plus songs they have never before performed on stage and of course all the old favourites.

Get ready to rock with the incomparable Judas Priest.

MAY 2012

SATURDAY 26 HAMMERSMITH APOLLO

Tickets go onsale 9am on Friday 13th January priced at £37.50 (subject to booking fee) and are available from www.livenation.co.uk

Always at the forefront of the death metal movement, DEICIDE was an original pioneer of the brutal sound and imagery associated with the Florida death metal scene. In 1987, Glen Benton and Steve Asheim teamed to launch one of the most talked about, controversial and venomous crusades in metal history and have since risen to international notoriety, releasing two of the highest selling death metal albums of all time.

DEICIDE quickly became known for their technical yet brutal sound as much as the rumours that surrounded them. After famously marching into the office of Monte Conner (Roadrunner Records) and demanding “Sign us, you fucking asshole!” the band went on to create the definitive sound of 90s death metal thanks to their ability to play technical solos at blazing speeds with overlapping riffs. DEICIDE also created an astounding ten studio albums that have changed the face of the extreme metal scene.

Now they bring their blasphemous brutality to Bloodstock for the first time, offering the only chance to catch them live in the UK this year.

With a line up including headline sets from ALICE COOPER and BEHEMOTH, Norwegian Black Metal superstars DIMMU BORGIR‘s only UK show of 2012, as well as over 100 bands including ANVIL, PARADISE LOST, WATAIN, ORANGE GOBLIN, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and Swedish metal merchants GRAND MAGUS, there is no more metal place in the UK than Bloodstock Open Air.

‘We couldn’t do the show for obvious reasons last time, I was in a deep shithole with my sickness, but I really felt obliged to come back and do BLOODSTOCK as soon as possible. We are really fortunate that they invited us back, we couldn’t turn it down, and this is the perfect opportunity to make this up to the people that missed us last time. For us it’s a great pleasure to come back to the UK after two years, and I can promise we will bring full production – lights, pyro – it’s gonna be awesome and we can’t wait. This is not only the first time we headline a festival, but also our first open air appearance in the UK, so it’s gonna be special!’

‘Bringing BEHEMOTH back to Bloodstock in 2012 was our mission, they have been one of the MOST requested bands we have ever been asked for’ states festival booker Vicky Gregory. ‘We know the fans will give them one hell of a reception. The show is their full production and what better place for them to return than as headliners for the Friday night’

Their ninth studio album, 2009′s ‘Evangelion’ saw BEHEMOTH make a giant leap from a cult black metal act to internationally acclaimed metal act, gracing magazine covers and even newspapers across the globe, truly breaking out of the underground despite the uncompromising and fiercely brutal ten tracks it contains. Having the honour of being opening band at the first ever performance of Metal’s Big Four – METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX – at Sonisphere Poland in 2009, BEHEMOTH are no strangers to the big stage and this exclusive headline appearance – their first outdoor show in the UK, and only festival performance in this country in 2012 – will be a triumphant return, and one that will no doubt be talked about for years to come.