First nine bands announced for Damnation Festival

Damnation Festival have announced the first nine bands for this year’s festival!

After a blockbuster 2018, Damnation, the best one-day metal extravaganza in the UK is back for another year with the first announcement confirming the first nine bands for this year’s festival!

Progressive metal masters OPETH will headline this year’s festival. The Swedish quintet, who have topped stages at major festivals across the world, will close the 15th chapter of the event at Leeds University Union on Saturday, November 2. And they have promised a memorable set list which will merge fresh material with old classics.

Speaking about performing at this year’s festival, OPETH says, “we are very excited to play this year’s Damnation and hopefully we’ll be able to play a few new songs along with tracks from our older records. See you there!”

OPETH are one of nine bands announced today who will make their Damnation debut this winter. French post-hardcore outfit BIRDS IN ROW, American sludge quartet LORD DYING, and Finnish prog rockers WHEEL will also play across the event’s four stages, while New York’s avant-garde black metal trio IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT make their first venture over to UK soil.

 Cellist JO QUAIL adds diversity to the bill with further homegrown death, doom and black metal talent rounding off the first clutch of bands in the shape of ALUNAH, DAWN RAY’D and GODEATER.

Also speaking about performing, IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT says, “IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT has the distinct pleasure of making their first trek to the United Kingdom so luxurious thanks to their new hosts Damnation. Is the UK ready to join the golden ritual?”

Festival organiser Gavin McInally adds, “You could argue OPETH are too big for an event like Damnation, and you’d probably be right – they headlined Wembley Arena after all. So it’s an incredible coup, and a genuine honour, to welcome a headliner of such stature to Damnation.

 BIRDS IN ROW, LORD DYING, WHEEL and IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT are some of the best bands of their genres from across Europe and America and we’re delighted that they will be making their Damnation debuts alongside some of the finest homegrown acts; Jo Quail, ALUNAH, DAWN RAY’D and GODEATER we have yet to have the pleasure of hosting. Not content to bathe in OPETH’s considerable shine, we have an array of huge names, including a band who could headline Damnation in their own right, still to announce and we fully expect a sell out before summer arrives.”

Damnation Festival 2019 takes place at Leeds University Union, Leeds on November 2nd 2019. Tickets, priced at £49, are available now and can be purchased here.

For more information on Damnation Festival like their official page on Facebook.