We thought we’d be due another Download Festival 2016 line up announcement before Christmas, and Andy Copping and his team have obliged with a monster of an announcement! Via their often used good friend, Daniel P Carter on the BBC Radio One Rock Show, ten new acts have been added to the festivities at Donington for next Summer, but that was only the beginning.

First mention must actually go to Lawnmower Deth, who managed to get announced at the end of last week via some coverage the British thrash metal veterans got on BBC Radio 2 of all places – good on them! Their addition marks the second welcome addition of a band with ‘Deth’ in the name to the Download 2016 line up. There’s also the recent news that Friday night’s third stage headliner won’t be a band as such but a spectacular art project in the shape of the Gutterdammerung silent film / live band combination. For full info about that please check out the relevant page on the Download Festival official website.

First up via Dan Carter’s announcement were British pop punk favourites of the moment Neck Deep! Having had one hell of a year in 2015, with a top ten album and all manner of tours including most recently supporting Bring Me The Horizon last week, it’s no wonder Neck Deep will make their Download debut. Canadian punk rockers Billy Talent will also be appearing at next year’s Download, making this their fourth appearance and first since 2012. From old favourites to something new, British hardcore punk icon Frank Carter will be bringing his heralded new band Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes to the hallowed Donington Park turf for the first time next year.

One of the UK’s current favourite heavy bands, and recent awardees of a ten out of ten here at Rock Sins, Caleb Shomo and Beartooth will be returning to Download to make it two years running in 2016. Architects will also be making their return to Download next year, something that Sam Carter is very much looking forward to judging by his comments on the radio this evening. This will be Architects first performance at Download since 2013. Fellow metalcore outfit The Amity Affliction will also be back at Donington next year.

Taking things away from the metalcore scene in this announcement, the ever curious Ghost will be making their return to Donington next year. With their profile rising all the time and their new album Meliora being critically and fan acclaimed, the latest Papa Emeritus may have a whole new horde of converts to the Ghost cause by the time Ghost are done with Download 2016. Flying the “proper metal” flag will be French metal titans Gojira, doing double duty on festivals in the UK next year as they’re also special guests on the Saturday of Bloodstock 2016. NOLA stoner metal favourites Down will also be back at Donington to bury us all in smoke once again.

So that’s what we got from The Radio One Rock Show. Then Download head honcho Andy Copping took to Twitter to unleash another barrage of bands. Amongst whom, we can find the awesome ragga metal of Skindred, the prog metal powers of TesseracT, the riff lord that is Mark Tremonti, metalcore kings in the making Counting Days and American rock heroes Breaking Benjamin to name just a handful.

Who else was there announced? Brit rock party boys Don Broco, their compatriots Fort Hope, American rock radio favourites Shinedown, American thrash metal outfit Havok, Christian rock band Skillet and Scottish favourites Twin Atlantic. More? OK. How about the classic rock twang of Rival Sons, Bristol punks Milk Teeth, their neighbours and three piece rock outfit Black Foxxes, Orange County metalcore outfit Atreyu and emo UK rockers Dead!

Still need more? Then how about the return of Lzzy Hale and Halestorm to Download? Or the metal band everyone loves to hate Atilla? Not your thing? Then try the Dutch symphonic metal offerings of Delain, The eclecticness and frenzied energy of Ho99o9, or the pure heavy metal thunder and array of classics from Saxon.

Lastly, we will all get to experience the sheer and utter joy that Killswitch Engage bring us every time they step foot in the home of rock and metal once again next year!

The above bands join headliners Rammstein, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, as well as special guests KoRn, Deftones and Nightwish plus Megadeth, Motorhead and Disturbed. Tickets for Download 2016, along with lots of extra info about the event can be obtained from the official festival website www.downloadfestival.co.uk.