The Nuclear Edge - Download Festival

Hey there kids, it's been a slow week in metal, but there are a couple tidbits to pass along:

1) The Download Festival is naming more acts each and every week, and the headliners are starting to pile up. For the uninitiated, the Download Festival has become one of the preeminent musical celebrations in Europe, but specifically in England. Formally the "Monsters of Rock" show, it went dormant for a series of years, but is now held under the new moniker every June. It traditionally takes places in Donnington Park, where three counties (Derbyshire and.....forgive me, the other two escape me.) come together at the racetrack. For those of you who don't live in England (like me,) or won't be able to make the festival in person (also most likely like me,) this is where your interest should be piqued. For the second year, the festival will attempt to live up more literally to its name, and the entire show will be broadcast live over the internet. I'm sure Youtube will grow corpulent on the resultant feast of posted videos.

So anyway, who's gonna play this year? Funny you should ask. The organizers announced three more headliners late last week: Marilyn Manson, Killswitch Engage, and...ZZ Top. Wait, what? One of those things is not like the others (although I would be most likely to see them of those three.)

Already announced for this year's spectacle are: Slipknot, Def Leppard, The Prodigy, Whitesnake, Motley Crue, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Pendulum, Trivium, Dragonforce, and Devildriver. It's certainly an eclectic lineup, as much so as any lineup for this festival has been. I would wager early money on Limp Bizkit to not show up (they've pulled out of this festival before,) and Whitesnake for the "get up to use the facilities, grab a sandwhich and put your laundry in the dryer" part of the show. Has anyone even seen David Coverdale in the last decade? More headliners to be announced next Monday.

2) In other news, we've debated the merits (perceived and/or deserved) of Mike Patton/Faith No More on these pages before. Well, his publicist is confirming that Faith No More is planning a reunion tour this summer. Don't get your hopes up if you live on the the west side of the Atlantic. Early rumor is that the tour is scheduling European dates only.

Really, that's all the big news for now. New songs from Lacuna Coil and Earth Crisis are out there on the internet. Oh, and evidently, the members of Van Halen have no soul, as they are in suppot of a Ticketmaster/Livenation merger.

Live Loud.