Another 16 acts have been confirmed for the Sonisphere 2014 rock and metal festival set for Knebworth Park this summer.
The three-day music event returns to the grounds of Knebworth House from Friday, July 4 to Sunday, July 6 with The Prodigy, Iron Maiden and Metallica headlining.
Organisers added folk-punk singer-songwriter Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls and American alternative metallers Deftones to the line-up for the UK leg of the international touring festival earlier this month.
Limp Bizkit and Alice in Chains will also appear over the weekend in Apollo main stage sub-headliner support slots to The Prodigy and Metallica respectively on the Friday and Sunday nights.
And Team Sonisphere promoters this evening (Monday) confirmed another wave of bands for the 2014 line-up, including former Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson.
Festival co-founder Stuart Galbraith told the Welwyn Hatfield Times – Sonisphere’s local newspaper – the 2014 bill would celebrate Knebworth’s rich musical heritage in its 40th year of hosting concerts.
And terminally-ill cancer sufferer and punk legend Johnson will return to Knebworth 36 years after appearing at the Hertfordshire stately home on the same 1978 bill as Frank Zappa, The Tubes and Peter Gabriel.
The latest line-up announcement includes something for metal, punk and rock fans, with Electric Wizard, Anti-Flag, Black Spiders, Brutality Will Prevail, Emp!re, Krokodil, Raging Speedhorn, Reckless Love, Stampin’ Ground, TesseracT, The Hell, Sonisphere regulars The Defiled, The Hype Theory and The Safety Fire all added to the poster.
Dorset’s heavy metal masters of doom, Electric Wizard, will pitch up at the Knebworth camping festival for the first time to headline the Bohemia stage on the opening Friday night.
New Jersey hardcore rap rockers Dog Eat Dog will perform a special anniversary set of debut album All Boro Kings 20 years after its 1994 release.
The band said: “Dog Eat Dog are very excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ‘All Boro Kings’ album at Sonisphere. We look forward to partying with everyone like it was 1994!”
Joining them will be Pittsburgh political punks Anti-Flag, who will also be celebrating their 20th anniversary at Sonisphere this summer.
The Americans are no strangers to Hertfordshire having organised their own festival, ANTIfest, a couple of years ago just down the road from Knebworth at The Forum in Hatfield, also the scene for Slam Dunk Festival South.
Sonisphere simply wouldn’t be Sonisphere without an appearance from metallers The Defiled, who have played every UK edition of the festival.
Hot off their recent headline UK tour, which was promoted by Kili Live, The Defiled will take to the main stage having previously played various tents at Knebworth.
Keyboard player The A.v.D said: “To be invited to be the first band of the festival to play on the main stage is a huge honour and we can’t wait.
“We’ve always had big plans and big ideas about what we want to do on stage, but have often been restricted by the size of the venues we’re in.
“Well it don’t get bigger than this, and we are going to give Sonisphere one hell of a show to remember.
“This is the stage that Rammstein did their first outdoor show in the UK, so hopefully I will finally be allowed to set my keyboard on fire!”
Sonisphere promoters are proud to welcome back Black Spiders after they headlined the Jäger stage in 2011.
Also joining the festival’s line-up are hotly-tipped UK metallers Brutality Will Prevail and Emp!re.
Supergroup Krokodil, featuring members of Gallows, Cry For Silence, sikTh and current BBC Radio 1 Rock Show main man Dan P Carter, will make their Sonisphere debut.
Guitarist Lags said: “Finally the summer of beers, friends and riffs is nearly upon us. Can’t wait to bring the thunder but let’s keep the rain out of the tents.”
Another special appearance will come from the recently reformed metal band Raging Speedhorn.
Corby’s finest are reuniting with original vocalists Frank Regan and John Loughlin, and will give festival-goers a treat by performing tracks from their first two albums – 2000’s eponymous debut and 2002’s We Will Be Dead Tomorrow.
Masters of modern progressive heaviness TesseracT will return to Knebworth after playing Sonisphere 2011.
Guitarist James Monteith said: “Words cannot express how excited we are to be playing Sonisphere and be a part of its triumphant return this year.
“Sonisphere 2011 was probably one of the most memorable gigs we have ever played, so to be asked back is not just a huge honour, it’s one of the shows we’re most excited about playing this year.”
He added: “We’re of course very proud to be on a bill with the likes of Maiden and The Prodigy, and hanging out with our touring buddies Karnivool and Devin Townsend Project will be a lot of fun, but knowing that we’ll be in the presence of Chas and Dave is just mind blowing.”
Finnish glam metallers Reckless Love will fulfil an ambition by performing at Knebworth Park and Sonisphere will be hardcore thrash heroes Stampin’ Ground’s first show in eight years.
Metalcore band The Hell, progressive metallers The Safety Fire and melodic Essex pop-rockers The Hype Theory complete the latest line-up announcement.
Weekend tickets for Sonisphere 2014 are on sale now, with the festival’s deposit scheme running until April, meaning fans will be able to reserve their tickets for an initial payment of just £50.
* For pictures of previous Sonisphere Festivals at Knebworth, look through our gallery of images.
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