Another year, another host of festivals ready to whip everyone into a torrent of chaos for a few months. The UK festival scene has grown to the point where there truly is something for everyone so take a look through our picks below and get ready to part with some of your cash!
Behemoths
Download Festival
For so many, Download Festival is so much more than a festival. Each June we see the biggest pilgrimage of Metal and Rock fans descending on the hallowed turf at Donington, all to effectively lose their minds for a few days. In the last few years the festival have done well with taking risks on new headliners whilst delivering some of the old favourites, and it is no different this year. Alongside the maniacal Slipknot and the only slightly more theatrical Kiss, Andy Copping and co. have arguably nailed the coup of the year by securing Muse as Saturday night headliners. The global megastars are making their Download debut, and considering they’re one of the best live bands in the world they’re already a possible ‘set of the year’ contender. These three leviathan acts sit alongside the likes of Faith No More, Slash, Motley Crue, Marilyn Manson, Judas Priest, Clutch and so much more including a full entertainment programme with Progress Wrestling, Heavy Metal Speed Dating, Laser Tag and more. You do not want to miss this.
Download Festival takes place 12th-14th June at Donington Park. For all ticket packages head over to downloadfestival.co.uk
Reading & Leeds Festival
It seems that with the unfortunate withdrawal of Sonisphere from the festival calendar, Reading & Leeds have been able to take full advantage as they’ve announced a host of impressive heavy acts to sit alongside their usual blend of Indie Rock. Headlining the Saturday night are the biggest Metal band of all time, Metallica, on a day also containing Bring Me The Horizon and the return of Alexisonfire. With R&L this year though, the devil is in the detail, because as you work your way down to The Pit/Lockup stage you’ve got an incredible batch of bands including Mastodon, Refused, Gojira, While She Sleeps, Cancer Bats and more. Across the whole line up though, wherever your music taste lies, 2015 sees one of the most ‘complete’ line ups certainly in recent memory, and this is with still so much more to be announced before August.
Reading & Leeds Festival takes place 28th-30th August at Richfield Avenue. For all ticket packages head over to readingfestival.com or leedsfestival.com
War Pigs
Bloodstock
Bloodstock Festival keeps on growing year on year, and there is no doubt that before long they’ll be sitting in our “Behemoths” section on future festival previews. With Bloodstock you’ve got an extremely dedicated base of fans who know what they want, and still year on year the organisers are able to deliver an event which takes risks whilst still staying true to their core ethos. In recent years more ‘mainstream’ Metal acts have been brought in to headline, and this year it is the turn of Trivium, Within Temptation and Rob Zombie who sit alongside more extreme acts like Cannibal Corpseand Napalm Death. The community spirit at Bloodstock is famous, and it really has become an integral part of the UK Festival scene. If you’ve never been before, it is well worth it.
Bloodstock Open Air takes place 6th-9th August at Walton on Trent in Derbyshire. For all ticket packages head over to bloodstock.uk.com
Temples Festival
As far as festivals in the Metal scene are concerned there is absolutely no doubt that Temples Festival was the success story of 2014. The festival descended on Bristol for its inaugural year and delivered a memorable weekend containing a brilliant mix between already well established bands and up and coming acts. Looking at the 2015 line up, the festival have grabbed that ball and seriously run with it. Headliners this year are Converge, Sunn O)) and Earth, but it is the depth of the bill which is the most impressive as the likes of Krokodil, Nails and Weedeater and many more are sprawled across all three stages. The top two stages alternate, so there is a good chance that with a bit of stamina (and beer!) you’ll be able to catch most of the line up. If it is anything like 2014, this is not one to be missed.
Temples Festival takes place 29th-31st May at Motion in Bristol. For all ticket packages head over to templesfestival.co.uk
Desertfest
Yet another festival which just seems to grow year on year, is also one of the heaviest. Every April the desert descends on Camden Town, and with the amount of riffs thrown around it is honestly a surprise the building support beams haven’t crumbled. Proof that the festival is forever growing is the fact that the Sunday this year will see the Koko become the main stage for the day, headlined by the mighty Sleep. The other two days have got the hugely impressive Red Fang and Eyehategod on a bill also containing Brant Bjork, Orange Goblin and The Vintage Caravan. Basically if you like your riffs heavy you need to be at this festival, ‘nuff said.
Desertfest takes place 24th-26th April across various venues in Camden Town. For all ticket packages head over to thedesertfest.com/London
Hevy Fest
Hevy Fest hit a rocky path a few years ago, but on its triumphant return to the zoo the festival has once again become a massive hit in the Rock and Metal world. And this year they’ve nabbed a good few UK Exclusives including the return of Thrice as well as Coheed And Cambria who will be performing In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth : 3 in full. Oh and it’s in a zoo. For a festival re-establishing it’s name in the scene they’ve also named some of the most exciting live acts in heavy music at the moment, including The Dillinger Escape Plan, Baby Godzilla and Hang The Bastard so you’ll certainly need your wits about you. Oh and did we mention that this all happens in a ZOO?! Exactly.
Hevy fest takes place on 14th-16th August at Port Lympne in Kent. For all ticket packages head over to hevyfest.com
Slam Dunk
As ever the Slam Dunk organisers have assembled a line up of genuinely fresh and exciting acts from across the spectrum of heavy music. With three venues North and South in the UK, Slam Dunk has proved to be a very popular event in recent years, and when bands like You Me At Six, Architects and While She Sleeps are getting booked you can see why. The latter two especially should deliver huge sets, Architects was an album of the year contender for 2014 and WSS the same for 2015. Two very exciting bands you can’t miss. Baseball caps at the ready.
Slam Dunk takes place on 23rd May (Leeds, City Centre), 24th May (Hatfield, The Forum) and 25th May (Wolverhampton, City Centre). For all ticket packages head over to slamdunkmusic.com
Tech-Fest
As you can probably guess from the name of the festival, Tech-Fest celebrates everything verging into the more complicated realms of Metal. The UK has become such an important breeding ground for Tech-Metal, it only makes sense that there is a whole festival centred around it. This year they’ve got a host of exclusives as well, including headliners Decapitated whose latest album Blood Mantra was met with high critical acclaim. Alongside them you’ve got the likes of The Contortionist (another UK exclusive), Betraying The Martyrs, Slice The Cake (Worldwide debut), Haken and so much more. Check out the video to see how much fun last year was!
Tech-Fest takes place on 9th-13th July at the Newark Showground, Newark-On-Trent. For all ticket packages head over to uktechfest.com
Camden Rocks
And to round this all off why not go with a festival which consists of 200+ bands across about 20 stages? It is fair to say that at 30 Quid, Camden Rocks is an absolute steal. The calibre of bands improves every year, and 2015 carries on the trend with Skindred, New Model Army, Funeral For A Friend, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead and Turbowolf all taking top slots on the bill. With a festival like this though, it is all about discovering something new - there isn’t a better festival on the UK calendar for it. As you wonder between venues you’ll become lost in all the variety which is on offer. Always a top day, watch the highlight package from last year if you don’t believe us!
Camden Rocks takes place on Saturday 30th May across various venues in Camden Town. For all ticket information head over to camdenrocksfestival.com
So there you have it! The festival season is ready to consume you. Let us know where you’ll be heading this year over on our Twitter page - @roomthirteenmag.