Satan says: Top 10 rock festivals

United Kingdom | 02 April 2008

Whether you're looking for a weekend of maximum noise with minimum sleep, a riotous ruckus scarier than Primark's January sale or a full day's moshing with a comfy bed and a cuppa afterwards - there is a festival for every rocker out there. Pick yours now...

10. Hard Rock Calling - 28-29 June – Hyde Park, London
Heavy metal fans beware: Hard Rock Calling is named after the café rather than the ritual of roaring to recognise another rock follower. The name may suggest that heavy boots, earplugs and death pits are all but mandatory, but you’re more likely to find yourself bopping next to your best mate’s dad rather than truly rocking out. The two-day festival in London’s Hype Park is full of classic rock acts you may’ve only seen in your parent’s dusty vinyl collection, so sneak into their room and grab the records that say The Police and Eric Clapton and join 40,000 other revellers set to be grooving to the sounds of the past this summer.

Click HERE for more information on Hard Rock Calling

9. Isle Of Wight, 12-15 June 2008 - Seaclose Park, Isle Of Wight 
The original incarnation of the festival is seeped in more rock history than Keith Richards' shoes. Not only was it Jimi Hendrix's final gig before he died, but 600,000 hippies descended on the Garden Isle marking the death of any further festivals on the island for some 30-odd years. This year it's back and this time around organisers have gone for a punk feel with The Sex Pistols, The Stranglers and Iggy Pop making sure that not only did the Isle Of Wight rock once, but it’s set to turn the speakers up to eleven once again.

Click HERE for more information on Isle Of Wight Festival.

8. V Festival 16-17 Aug 2008 - Hylands Park, Chelmsford / Weston Park, Staffordshire
V Festival was the first event to share its performers across two sites and, in turn, the first to see who rocks harder - the north or the south. It may boast one of the more eclectic bills in the UK, but that doesn't mean it isn't hardcore. Muse have made it their only European festival appearance in 2008 and they're backed by the likes of Kings Of Leon and The Prodigy. The Pogues will also be appearing, so if you really want to test your rock credentials you can challenge Shane McGowan to a drinking competition.

Click HERE for more information on V Festival Chelmsford and HERE for Staffordshire.

7. T In The Park 11-13 July 2008 - Balado, Kinross, Perthshire
Everyone knows that the Scots are the most mental festival crowd in the world and this year's line up of Rage Against The Machine, Kings Of Leon and The Raconteurs should once again lift the roof. Previous line-ups may read like rock n roll royalty - Queens Of The Stone Age, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers - but organisers always have one eye on the future as well, with Biffy Clyro and Snow Patrol among those who once cut their teeth at the festival.

Click HERE for more information on T In The Park.

6. Bulldog Bash – 7-10 August – Long Marston, Avon Park Raceway, Stratford Upon Avon
A true rock event that adheres to the three most important aspects of the genre: women, beer and bloomin’ loud music. The three-day festival gives punters a true feeling of what it’s like being a rock star, if only for the weekend. Amidst the piercing and tattoo stalls you’ll find exotic dancers, beer gut competition, wrestling, fast motorbikes and jet cars, as well as top rock acts like The Damned and Status Quo. So grab your dirty bike and head to one of the safest festivals in the country to get it washed down at the topless bike wash…

Click HERE for more information on Bulldog Bash

5. Hard Rock Hell, 5-7 December 2008 – Pontins Holiday Park, Prestatyn, Wales
Some may see visiting Pontins Holiday Park as a kind of hell already, but the location is prime for rockers and metal-heads looking for a winter thrash-fest. Hard Rock Hell is hidden in Wales in the depths of December with 40 massive names in trash, metal and, as the name suggests – hard rock. Last year Cradle Of Filth, My Dying Bride and Turisas made sure the cold dark nights of winter were colder, darker and sweatier than ever before as the holiday centre rocked it's socks off to some of the biggest axe-thrashers in the known universe.

Click HERE for more information on Hard Rock Hell.

4. Give It A Name 10-11 May - Earls Court, London / Sheffield Arena
Give It A Name is the second indoor festival to make it onto the list and while stuffing that many rock fans into a room may prove sweatier than KISS's spandex draw, no one cares because the likes of Paramore, Thirty Seconds To Mars and Anti-Flag are the bands causing the myriad of moisture. Two stages of heavy rock, emo and general eardrum bashing, this two-day and two-city festival is a Mecca for those who really like things loud!

Click HERE for more on Give It A Name in London and HERE for Sheffield.

3. Bloodstock Open Air 15-17 August - Catton Hall, Derbyshire
The name alone suggests that this one isn't for the light-hearted. Bookstock presents the most diverse selection of established and unsigned metal acts in the country, bringing with it a set of dedicated followers. Organisers are renowned for bringing the top names in Europe and America over to Britain’s metal heads who, in turn, can 'repay' them by taking to the stage themselves for a spot of metal karaoke. And if all that isn't enough, performing artists will be on hand to sign some merchandise – see they're not all that scary!

Click HERE for more on Bloodstock Open Air.

2. Reading and Leeds 22-24 August - Little Johns Farm, Reading / Bramham Park, Leeds
Metallica, Rage Against The Machine, The Killers – is this not rock enough for you already? Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine, Serj Tankian – need I say anymore? Reading and Leeds is all about the music. The twinned event constantly offers a line-up to suit even the most varied rock palate. International superstars from both sides of the pond provide the soundtrack to the rock n roll mayhem. Expect moshing, roaring and head-banging, plus the occasional pint of piss to hit you on the head.

Click HERE for more information on Reading Festival and HERE for more information on Leeds Festival.

1. Download 13-15 June - Donington Park
Here it is: the ultimate rock festival. The type of place you can't move for black, band-branded t-shirts, long hair and tattoos. Attracting over 80,000 and some of world's biggest rock gods to have ever graced the earth, Download Festival sits pretty much unrivaled when it comes to being hardcore. This year will be another three solid days of moshing, mashing, drinking and head-banging along to the likes of KISS, The Offspring and Lost Prophets, plus plenty of roaring action from the site's other two stages. But there is much more for rock and metal lovers away from the music with tattoo and piercing stalls, fairground rides and a signing tent. Download is not for the fainthearted but for the most heinous, meanest metallers out there!

Click HERE for more on Download.