Bloodstock have announced that Lamb of God, Dark Funeral and Amorphis will be joining the likes of King Diamond and Anthrax at next year’s festival.
Early bird tickets are on sale now – so head over to bloodstock.uk.com to save yourself some money.
It’s just a shame that August feels so far away at the moment!
On 24th October, Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler posted the following message on his official website:
“The album is done. Details coming soon. The first set of invitees have been brought in to listen (no press copies kids), and the response is fantastic.
Press has begun for the release and the tours we have coming in 2012.
We’ve made it this far.
You can read the original post by clicking here.
It’s time to see what you voted as the best (and worst) of 2010!
Winner: Iron Maiden
Honorable mentions:
Godsized
Halcyon Way
Dimmu Borgir
Obituary
Lou’s Note: Iron Maiden probably wouldn’t have been my first choice for band of the year (you should all know by now who my vote went to! 
). but no-one can deny that they are deserving of this title. Plus, “The Final Frontier” is an awesome album.
Winner: Iron Maiden – “The Final Frontier”
Honorable mentions:
ZORORMR – “Kval”
Black Label Society – “Order of the Black”
Avenged Sevenfold – “Nightmare”
Halcyon Way – “Building The Towers”
Dimmu Borgir – “Abrahadabra”
God Dethroned – “Under The Sign of the Iron Cross”
Lou’s Note: You guys must really like Iron Maiden! 
But, as I said before, “The Final Frontier” is a great album. Also, I’m pleased to see ZORORMR and God Dethroned in that list too 
…oh, and Dimmu Borgir… and Halcyon Way… and BLS…
Winner: Live Evil Festival
Honorable mentions:
High Voltage
Lamb of God @ Brixton
Bloodstock
Wacken Open Air
Download
Lou’s Note: Well, I can’t argue with that. I managed to get along to the Saturday of Live Evil (thanks to Dave & Jo!) and it was awesome!
Winner: Black Label Society – “Overlord”
Honorable mentions:
Dimmu Borgir – “Gateways”
Iron Maiden – “Final Frontier”
Abgott – “Lustmord”
Lou’s Note: “Overlord” is a fantastic video and is definitely worthy of your votes 
Winner: Halcyon Way – “Building The Towers”
Iron Maiden – “The Final Frontier”
Dimmu Borgir – “Abrahadabra”
Lou’s Note: A brilliant cover for a brilliant album!
Winner (or should that be “Loser”?): Avenged Sevenfold – “Nightmare”
Lou’s Note: “Nightmare” seems to be 2010′s Marmite album – some of you love it, others hate it
Winner: Corey Taylor – “X-M@$”
Lou’s Note: A fine choice! Although I did also like this suggestion: “Lou singing “merry x-mas””
And there you have it! If you don’t like the results and you didn’t vote… well, that’s just tough!
Maybe next year, eh?
I mentioned yesterday that more bands would be announced for Download last night… and, unsurprisingly, they were! AC/DC and co will now be joined by Aerosmith (I’ve read that they will be fronted by Steven Tyler), Rage Against The Machine, Lamb of God, Five Finger Death Punch and Stone Sour. It looks like an amazing line-up so far, but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed. Why? Simply because I’d built my hopes up and convinced myself that Guns N’ Roses would be announced too. I guess there’s still time, but now that all of the headline slots have been filled, it kinda looks unlikely.
Anyway… Yesterday (a few hours before the announcement), I discussed with people (pretty much anyone who would listen) which bands I would like to play at Download this year. Once I’d finished it was helpfully pointed out that the festival was called Download and not LouFest. I must admit that the idea of LouFest is very appealing… so I started to think about who would play at LouFest… and this is what I came up with…
(Judging by this list, it may have to be several days long! …and this list isn’t really in order… although GN’R would probably be headlining)
Guns N’ Roses – Well, GN’R had to be there really, didn’t they? Since this is MY festival I get to pick which line-up of GN’R plays (it’s nice to play God at times)… Perhaps surprisingly, I’d like to see the current line-up. The YouTube videos and the bootlegs of the shows I’ve seen from Asia and Canada (and the surprise shows in New York) look and sound AMAZING! I’d have to be an idiot to not want to witness that firsthand! Also, since this would be MY festival, I’d like to suggest one or two songs for their set list – “Prostitute”, “This I Love”, “I.R.S”, “Estranged”, “Coma”, “Back Off Bitch”, “My Michelle”, “You’re Crazy”, “Shackler’s Revenge”, “Better”, “There Was a Time”, “Scraped”, “Madagascar”, “Street of Dreams”… well, you get the idea…
Black Ritual – There’s a chance that not everyone reading this will know who Black Ritual are. Well, I’ll bring you up to speed… they’re awesome! “1000 Yard Stare” was a crazily superb album and I’m really looking forward to the follow up. I’d be over the moon if they played “War Within”, “Terrified”, “These Pills” and “Below Zero”.
Lamb of God – Here’s another band that HAD to be there. Astoundingly good both live and on CD, it would be stupid not to include them on the bill. Songs I’d like to hear: “Reclamation”, “A Devil in God’s Country”, “Bootscraper”, “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For”, “Grace”, “Walk With Me in Hell”, “Redneck”, “Choke Sermon”… etc…
Omnium Gatherum – I love Omnium Gatherum. Really, really love them! And yet, I’m still not sure how to describe them… perhaps melodeath with a progressive edge? Whatever they are, they’re bloody brilliant! I would list songs I’d want to hear… but anything will do …especially “Just Signs”.
Devilish Impressions – I’ve had a bit of an obsession with Devilish Impressions since I first heard “Plurima Mortis Imago”. As far as I’m concerned, that album was (and still is) a masterpiece! Also, they’re bloody good live!
Vesperian Sorrow – Lou likes Vesperian Sorrow. A lot. The band can do no wrong!
Winterthrall – An awesome band that’s not afraid to work in different styles. I don’t care what they played so long as they did play! But, if they were up for taking requests, “Autumn Caskets” wouldn’t go amiss
Enfold Darkness – I’ve got so into this band recently. They are AMAZING!
Michael Monroe – Singer from Hanoi Rocks and solo stuff. Damn good… and he could always do a duet with Axl for “Dead, Jail or Rock ‘n’ Roll”.
Hate Ammo – Brilliant band! I can’t wait for their album to be released on CD (in the meantime you can listen to tracks on their MySpace). Definitely more than worthy of a spot here!
December Flower – This is a band that I discovered through the wonders of MySpace. Damn good.
Ozzy Osbourne – No explanation needed.
Sebastian Bach – I’ve really got into his “Angel Down” album recently (it’s amazingly good – if you haven’t listened to it yet, you should). A couple of duets with Axl would go down rather well too.
Tension Head – Another ‘MySpace’ band with a great sound! I’d love to hear “The Bear” and “Don’t Worry” live!
Metallica – I never used to be that into Metallica… but “Death Magnetic” changed all of that.
Finntroll – If you have not witnessed the majesty of Finntroll (either on album or live), then you have missed out.
Five Finger Death Punch – 5FDP are amazing live! I have to admit that I haven’t got into “War is the Answer” as much as “The Way of the Fist”, but if they played LouFest it would give them the opportunity to ‘sell’ those songs to me… as I’m sure they’ve all lost a lot of sleep over the fact that I didn’t like that album quite as much… That seems likely.
Aerosmith – Again, no explanation needed. However, Steven Tyler would HAVE to be there!
Thunder – I’d make Thunder reform for LouFest… If I smiled sweetly I’m sure they’d say ‘yes’.
Motorhead – No reason needed.
Alice Cooper – He’s a legend. He must play.
Meat Loaf – The first album I ever bought (on cassette!) was Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell” when I was 9. I’ve been a fan ever since.
Autumnal Reaper – Autumnal Reaper are one of those bands that I’d been meaning to listen to for ages… I recently got their latest album and was blown away.
Stigma – Love, love, love these guys! Can’t wait to hear the new stuff!
Crionics – Quazarre (Devilish Impressions) might find himself getting a bit tired, but Lou likes Crionics.
The Defiled – They’re bat-shit crazy, but in a truly wonderful way. And, well, they rock. So there.
Megadeth – It had to be done
Cor Scorpii – Listen to “Monument”. I don’t need to say anymore than that.
Bon Jovi – I know, I know… Jovi. I’ve lost interest in them for the past few albums, but if they played LouFest I would insist that they only play stuff from “New Jersey”, “Slippery When Wet”, “These Days” and “Keep The Faith”. I’m in charge, so I get to do things like that.
Terrorvision – Tequila, it makes me happy…
Skunk Anansie – Do I really need a reason? They’re brilliant!
Slipknot – I’m not a mega-fan of Slipknot, but I do like a lot of their stuff… and I’d love to see ‘em live… so that’s why they’re on the list!
Danko Jones – They recently toured Canada with Guns N’ Roses and Sebastian Bach and I read quite a few good things about them in relation to that tour… so I decided to check them out… and they rocked.
Sixx A.M. – DJ Ashba’s gonna be a bit busy, but I’ve really got into Sixx A.M.’s album.
A Road Eternal – A brutally awesome band. Everyone should worship them… Loucifer has spoken.
My Undoing – Another band from the same part of the world as Black Ritual and A Road Eternal. I think there’s something in the water there…
Buckcherry – They were fantastic at Sonisphere last year. I’m sure they’d be equally fantastic at LouFest.
Black Label Society – Zakk fuckin’ Wylde. I’ll say no more.
Arch Enemy – Brilliant vocals, brilliant guitar work… brilliantness…
Machine Men – Fantastic band… if you have not checked them out yet, you should do so… now!
Edguy – Great band! And, I want them to play “Trinidad”.
Balfor – Astounding Barbaric Black Metal.
Black Lotus – I’d imagine Black Lotus would be cool to chill out to.
Cancer Bats – Recently got into these guys – gotta catch ‘em live!
Ok… I gotta admit… I’m getting a bit tired of writing explanations now… so I’m just gonna give you a nice list!
Ironside
Swingshot
Destruction
Thin Lizzy *
Egypt Central
Winds of Plague
Ektomorf
Fragments of Unbecoming
H.I.M
Hell Within
Hexagram
I.C.O.N
Ignominious Incarceration
Nervecell
Powerwolf
Reverend Kill
Rumpelstiltskin Grinder
Secrets She Kept
Secrets of the Moon
Sammath
Slowtorch
Thirty 2 Life
Corrupted Truth
Queen *
Pantera *
Soilwork
Stemm
Stuka Squadron
Brother Grey
The Foreshadowing
Twisted Sister
Ugly Kid Joe
Extreme O.D.
Bite The Kerb
Sons of Beaches
…and that’s enough for now… perhaps…
(* I’m using my powers to bring people back from the dead for these ones)
I wish this was real
I’ve provided links where it was possible to do so… but where I haven’t, Google (or your prefered Search Engine) is your friend!
So… any thoughts on this? Wanna post your own Fantasy Festival line-up? Drop us a comment
I was very excited on Saturday. In fact, I was probably over-excited and that coupled with the fact that I was knocking back the Strongbows like the end of the world was on its way was probably a bad idea. But, hey – you live and learn! (Although, to be fair, I’ve been doing this for quite a few years now and I still haven’t learnt my lesson. Oh well, maybe one day!)
Anyway, the point of me writing this was not to fill you in on the punishment I’ve subjected my liver to! So…
After consuming a couple of beverages in The Beehive pub (note to anyone planning to visit The Beehive: If you feel the urge to empty your bladder during your visit, using the street outside would probably be more hygienic. I’ve seen cleaner toilets at festivals. Seriously, it was not a pleasant experience.), we made our way to the Brixton Academy. I treated myself to another Lamb of God t-shirt as I’m a firm believer in the idea that you can never have too many LoG shirts… In fact, it should be compulsory to have at least one for every day of the week (a quick count on fingers tells me that I have now surpassed this) and we headed to the bar to make sure that the blood didn’t regain control in our alcohol streams. A band was playing as we migrated towards the stage and we asked the people near who it was. Sadly no-one had a clue… which is a shame because I thought they were rather good. I’m aware of the fact that I have a BlackBerry and I could’ve just looked it up online… but I couldn’t be arsed at this point. I know, I’m a bad Lou. Next up were Job For A Cowboy. I’d seen them once before and hadn’t been too impressed and, as a result, I was a bit sceptical about seeing them again. I’d love to say that they blew me away, but unfortunately they didn’t. They did, however, have a good energy on stage and really worked hard to put on a good show. In fact, one of my main reasons for not getting into them was because I couldn’t really hear the bass. So, all in all, not JFAC’s fault. Maybe I will give them another try.
But, the night really did belong to Lamb of God. There was a moment just before the band was due to hit the stage when someone mentioned that it was “5 minutes ’til Lamb of God time”. I’d been counting down to Lamb of God time since I bought the ticket for the gig… Hell, I’d been counting down since their set at Sonisphere. If there was ever a worthy reason for someone to spontaneously combust, that last 5 minutes when every part of me was over-over-over-excited was it (I can only think of a few other situations when this could happen. Those situations would include the words: Guns N’ Roses, Black Ritual, Vesperian Sorrow, Devilish Impressions, Omnium Gatherum and Sebastian Bach. Oh, and the words “Thunder Reunion” would be rather awesome). So, the lights went down, Lamb of God came on and Brixton went fuckin’ crazy! It seemed like the entire floor (well, as far as I could see) had become a pit. The only other gig that I’ve been to where this had been the case was Obituary at the Mean Fiddler (or was it the Astoria?). It was mental! I was also pleased to see a guy who looked like Santa rockin’ out… and the two guys wearing “onesie” pyjamas definitely deserve a mention.
The band was on top form and proved that they were definitely worthy of the headlining slot. When they played “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For” it was AWESOME! I know I use the word ‘awesome’ rather a lot… perhaps too much… But, please believe me when I tell you – this was AWESOME! Randy Blythe really knows how to work a crowd and Brixton was putty in his hands. I would go through the set list here, but to be honest, the order is a little fuzzy in my head (thank you Mr. Strongbow) and I’m sure there will be a couple of hundred reviews online where some kind soul will be able to transcribe that for you. I will, however, tell you about a couple of personal highlights… and both of which are tracks from the “Wrath” album. Firstly, “Grace” (complete with its beautiful intro) was superb! Secondly, they played “Reclamation”! “Reclamation” has wormed itself in to being possibly my favourite LoG track and one of my favourite tracks of all time. Ever! For some reason I didn’t expect them to play it… but to hear it live was amazing. When the band started playing it, I swear I looked like a 5 year old on Xmas morning.
Overall, it was a brilliant night! Can I do it again, please?
