KISS, System of a Down, A Day to Remember lead Download Fest 2021 lineup

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Download Festival is ready to return and rock your socks off!

On Monday (Aug. 3), the United Kingdom-based music festival announced its first wave of performers for the 2021 incarnation of the event.

KISS, System of a Down, Biffy Clyro, A Day to Remember, Korn, Deftones, Black Veil Brides, the Pretty Reckless, Killswitch Engage, The Darkness, and a slew more are set to take over four different stages during the first weekend of June 2021.

At the end of the weekend-long festivities, over 70 bands would have descended and performed at the annual event.

Like every other music festival, Download had to cancel this year’s show due to the worldwide pandemic. This year’s event would have included performances from Iron Maiden, System of a Down, and KISS.

Thankfully, the festival was able to once again secure KISS and System of a Down as headliners for next year’s gig.

“2020 has been a tough year for us all, and we were beyond gutted not to be able to experience Download Festival with you all,” Download Festival’s Andy Copping said in a press statement.

“We gave you Download TV to reflect on memories of the past, and what the festival means to all of us.

Download 2021 is going to be something special and go down in the history books as when the Download family reunited. We’re going to be working hard behind the scenes to make Download 2021 an unforgettable experience and a celebration of the festival we all love.”

“We’re disappointed we weren’t able to make it over this year, but we’re looking forward to next,” System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian said.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Mostly, we all just want to make sure everyone is provided with a safe and secure environment, so we were prepared to wait as long as we needed to.”

Download Festival will return to its home of Donington Park during the weekend of June 4-6, 2021. General tickets for the three-day show will go on sale this Friday, Aug. 7 at 9 a.m. on the festival’s website.

The first wave of performers can be found below.

The Darkness to release ‘Easter is Cancelled’ in October

The Darkness is ready to take on “power-hungry clowns” and save us from despair, at least according to their latest video post on Twitter. On Thursday (April 4), the British band formally announced the release of their new studio effort in the same over-the-top clip. Dubbed Easter is Cancelled, the new album is due out Oct. 4 through Cooking Vinyl Records.

Pre-orders for the upcoming album are currently available on the band’s website. Easter is Cancelled is the follow-up to 2017’s Pinewood Smile.

The album’s confirmation comes after the band posted their quasi-call to arms video on the social media platform. The clip finds frontman Justin Hawkins making a grand speech about the dark times we are currently in, while also inquiring about the whereabouts of the heroes we need and deserve.

As the speech continues, Hawkins reveals that the members of the Darkness are in fact those tights-wearing heroes ready to fight with every weapon in their arsenal (the guitar axe, the drum hammer, the bejeweled codpiece, and the banshee wail of righteous anger).

The video ends with the singer saying: “This is the first day in our new world and Easter is cancelled. Let us begin. Death or glory, my friends. Which will it be?” The video transitions from the band standing on the green field to the forthcoming album’s cover art.

In a message to fans, the act also revealed plans to embark on a United Kingdom/European tour. Those dates will reportedly be unveiled next week.

Fans who pre-order the album will gain special pre-sale access to tickets for that upcoming tour. A link will be emailed to those who pre-order the album on Tuesday, April 9, at 9 a.m. local time. Keep in mind; the pre-sale codes are only for the band’s forthcoming UK tour.