As one of the first major festivals on the summer calendar Download is sure to make a lasting impression on the whole festival season, with heavy weights Iron Maiden, Slipknot & Rammstein taking the headline slots this year ears will still be ringing as the tents are packed away for winter. But it’s not just about the 3 main headliners, with over 140 artists appearing over the 3 days, choosing stages and artists becomes a very carefully planned operation for the 80,000 fans in attendance.

Slipknot return for the second time as headliners in what is sure to be an emotional return to the festival, the last time they played Download they showed why they had become one of the biggest metal bands of their generation, this time they have nothing to prove but the expectations will be just as high.

Iron Maiden return to headline the hallowed turf of Donington for a record fifth time, this time round it’s their ‘Maiden England’ world tour that is stopping by. The 1988 inspired tour has been resurrected and is becoming a bit of a trade mark for the band, allowing new fans to experience old shows / tours and why not?

Rammstein on the other hand have never experienced Download or its predecessor Monsters of Rock, I hope they are looking forward to it as much as the Download community are to seeing them. They have been one of the most requested bands in the festivals history, hailing from the back streets of industrial Berlin the band put on such a show you can’t help but become a fan once you have seen them live. With the amount of pyrotechnics the band use, this is going to be one explosive finale.

Other artists trashing their way across the main stage include Motorhead, Bullet For My Valentine, Korn, Mastodon, Stone Sour, Cancer Bats and the newly formed Black Star Riders from the now disbanded Thin Lizzy.

This year The Zippo Encore Stage plays host to headliners Black Stone Cherry who shot the video for Blame it on the Boom Boom the last time they played the festival, Enter Shikari & Limp Bizkit. Backing them up across the weekend are the likes of Volbeat, Uriah Heep, Thunder, Heaven’s Basement, Ghost and Aussie rockers Airbourne.

The tented Pepsi Max stage has a very impressive line-up this year Him, The Hives and Satyricon headline, it seems Mr Copping took a Scandinavian holiday after last year’s festival! Other acts include Bury Tomorrow, Turisas, The Sword, Duff Mckagan’s Walking Papers and Metallica old boy Jason Newsted. Over at the Red Bull Studio Stage Fearless Vampire Killers get a well-deserved shot at headlining as do Last Witness and Sonic Boom Six. If you want to see new talent and fancy discovering something new then this is the stage for you.

Introduced a couple of years ago The Jagermeister Acoustic Stage has become a main stay and a must visit stage, especially when you get to see some of the genre’s biggest artists doing their stuff acoustically. This year Duff McKagan’s Walking Papers are sure to draw a massive crowd along with Devin Townsend, Heaven’s Basement, Buffalo Summer and Pig Iron. Lesser known acts also get the chance to show the Download faithful their stripped down talents.

Download has become one of the best festivals in the world, this is testament to the organisers who regularly involve fans using the online forums, invitations to fan forums and even giving the online community the chance to stage their very own takeover in the campsite on Thursday evening. It is also highly regarded as the festival to play to the artists.

New this year is a Zip Wire across the arena, oh I wonder how long the queue for this will be?  

All hail the ‘Heavy Metal’ and let’s get a pit started.

Full Download line up here

Tickets available from here