Download 2013 gets bigger and bigger!

Find yourself a comfy seat, grab a cup of coffee and turn off your mobile phone, because Download has announced another mammoth list of bands joining the 2013 event.

If you thought they were finished when it came to announcing some big hitters for the Donington bash, then think again, as nestled within the 49 new bands announced this evening are the likes of Papa Roach, Rise To Remain, Dir En Grey and more!

The full list of additions is as follows. Deep breath, now:
Architects, After The Burial, The Algorithm, Astroid Boys, Blacklist Royals, Blitz Kids, Bleed From Within, Broken, Brutality Will Prevail, Buckcherry, Bury Tomorrow, Crowns, Cyota, Dir En Grey, Escape The Fate, Emperor Chung, Empress, Europe, The First, The Ghost Inside, Glamour Of The Kill, Gogol Bordello, Graveyard, Hang The Bastard, Heart Of A Coward, Hill Valley High, I Divide, Karnivool, Katatonia, Lit, Modestep, Mordecai, Naked Flame, Nekrogoblickon, Newsted, Papa Roach, P.O.D, Rat Attack, Red Fang, Rise To Remain, Sacred Mother Tongue, Skin, Silent Screams, Sonic Boom Six, States Of Panic, Turisas, Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats, Uriah Heap and Verses.

Download 2013 takes place at across the weekend of June 14-16 at Donington Park, with Iron Maiden, Rammstein and Slipknot headlining. Tickets and full lineup information are available by clicking HERE.

So, now you know the band's joining the bill, it's probably about time we asked some of them how chuffed they are to be heading to Donington this June. Over to you, guys...

PAPA ROACH
(Jacoby Shaddix, vocals)

Looking forward to Download?
"Fucking Download's gonna be slamming man. It's a good line up this year too, so we're stoked to be part of it.

Do you have any stand out memories?
"I think when we came over on the Getting Away With Murder cycle and performed there, I just remember that was our first real big [appearance] - it seemed like we had that crowd slamming so hard, and it was really cool. At that point we were rebuilding our band, on that record, and that was one of those really special performances that stayed with me."

Do you think there's something special about Download crowds?
"Oh yeah, they're straight rock and roll hooligans, y'know what I'm saying? Fools come out to rip it, fools come out to party, and there's definitely a sense of camaraderie among fans there that's second to none."

What can we expect from Papa Roach on the day?
"I'm gonna explode, pretty much. For us, every time we step on stage at a big festival like Download we come to bring the ruckus, we're there to bring the hits and play the classics, and the fans singing along and going crazy. Having these people feel connected to the music, that's the most important thing, but it's just us getting up there and doing the thing we do best, and that's to play fucking rock and roll."

Who else will you be checking out?
"I want to check Slipknot out, man. We're actually out on tour with Stone Sour right now, which is really fun, but I'd like to see the 'Knot back in action. It's gonna be sick."

HEART OF A COWARD
"We're hugely excited to be playing Download and grateful for the opportunity. Rest assured we will be bringing our heaviest, tightest set yet and guarantee your head will be hanging like a pez dispenser when we're finished with you"

ESCAPE THE FATE
(Craig Mabbitt, vocals)

Presumably you're looking forward to Download?
"Oh, of course man. I'm looking forward to coming back to the UK period, and I'm super excited to come back to Download."

Do you have a standout memory from playing at Donington before?
"I think just walking out on that main stage. There are so many people who come to the festivals over there, and it was an awesome feeling to just walk out there, and when you put your fist up in the air and everybody cheers, you just can't beat that."

What can we expect from you?
"Well, you can expect to hear a lot of new songs, that's for damn sure. That said, we learned our lesson the last time we played Download, and we wanted to play songs on our self-titled record, and I talked to a lot of kids afterwards and they were like, 'Man, you rarely coming over here and we wanted to see you play this and see you play that'. We want to showcase some new stuff obviously, but we want to play the stuff that fans of our band want to hear, so nobody walks away disappointed."

Will you be pulling out anything special?
"We're thinking about a few things, but I think we're just gonna come straight and to the point. We did the same thing with the record. Some bands want to have a sweet intro but ours starts with screaming, and that's kind of what our attitude is gonna be for this whole record cycle I think."

Will you be trying to catch some other bands?
"I haven't seen the whole bill but yeah, I'll be checking a lot of bands out. We'll definitely watch Rammstein, and we did some festivals last year with Iron Maiden, and it's cool because it's Iron Maiden, but I've never seen Rammstein play, so I'm excited to see that."

DIR EN GREY
"It's been a year and a half since the band took a break due to our vocalist, Kyo's, throat conditions, and this will be the first time we are out touring overseas again. We are extremely honoured to be able to go back to the UK and play at Download once more. Thank you very much for this opportunity. We were last there in 2009, and this will be the time for us to share our new album with everyone. It will be a very important show for us and we are definitely looking forward to it."

LIT
(A. Jay Popoff, vocals)

Looking forward to Download?
"Oh man, we've been trying to get out there for so long, but something crazy or traumatic always comes up and gets in the way, and now finally it looks like we're going to make it, knock on wood! We're stoked - Donington's one of those things we've heard about it since we were kids, and we're really fired up. I'm excited beyond words."

You played Reading Festival back in the day, so d'you feel ready to rouse masses of British music fans again?
"Yeah, we did that in '99 I believe, and shows like that are some of the funnest ever. I'm not sure what time we're playing at Download, but we played at something like 11:45am at Reading, and we were afraid no one was going to show up and we ended up with one of the biggest crowds we've ever played to. It was insane!"

So what can we expect from Lit at Download?
"I know it's been a long time since any of our UK fans have gotten to see us, and you're definitely going to see the Lit that you remember and were a fan of years ago. We'll be bumping out some new songs but we'll definitely play the old favourites, and I think as a band we've grown so much and become such better players over the years. You should expect - hopefully - to be pleasantly surprised."

Will you be checking out the headliners?
"Iron Maiden has been one of my favourite bands since I started buying records, just one of those dream bands to get to play with, and we finally get to do it. I don't know if we're sharing the same stage, but I'll definitely be watching them whatever!"

RISE TO REMAIN
(Austin Dickinson, vocals)
"We're super stoked to be back at Download this year, its a gigantic honour and opportunity to play, and to be part of an amazing community. You awesome motherfuckers won't know what hit you. See you in the pit."

THE GHOST INSIDE
(Jonathan Vigil, vocals)

Looking forward to Download?
"Yeah, we're all very excited and looking forward to it. I know how big a deal it is in the UK and we're psyched to be a part of that. I know it's got this great history too, and that makes it really cool."

How are you going to get the crowds going?
"We'll make sure we keep the energy on stage up and get everybody involved. We've played some big festivals in Europe before so it's not our first time with big crowds, but it'll be the biggest thing we've played in the UK."

Are you a fan of any of the headliners?
"Our whole band is excited to be playing a festival with Slipknot - we're all big fans of that band. I've never listened to Iron Maiden much, to be honest, and I think Rammstein will be cool to watch because they put on such a great show."

Will you be checking out anyone else?
"Yeah, we'll meet up with Parkway Drive who are good friends of ours, and I'm really looking forward to seeing The Gaslight Anthem. I got into them a lot recently but never really saw them, so that'll be really cool."