Dir en grey, You Me At Six join Download 20009 bill!

You Me At Six, Dir en grey, Five Finger Death Punch and Meshuggah are among the latest wave of artists to be added to this year's ever-growing Download Festival line-up.

"It's amazing that we've been asked to play Download 2009!" You Me At Six vocalist Josh Franceschi tells Kerrang!. "We love playing festivals and though none of us been to Download before, we know that it's pretty metal! I think if bands like Madina Lake can play Download in the past and not get murdered, then we should be okay! I am sure we'll all walk away with a bottle imprinted on our foreheads, but we're all for the weekend's festivities! We really wanna see Architects, Limp Bizkit and Slipknot."

Kerrang! Tour 2009 stars Dir en grey are excited to return to the UK for the festival.
"I think everyone in the UK is great and really friendly," says guitarist Kaoru. "We have always wanted to play this festival so we are really honored to have been given this opportunity. We hope to leave a big impression on the crowd!"

The metal-as-all-hell Five Finger Death Punch will also be playing - following the success of their recent UK tour dates with Lamb Of God and Unearth.

"Our UK brothers and sisters know how to conjure up some devastating mosh pits," says the band's guitarist Zoltan Bathory. "It's an honour to be part of such a huge event!"

Other bands revealed this week include prog-metallers Opeth, Velvet Revolver bassist Duff Mckagan's other band Loaded, Steadlur and Lawnmower Deth.

Download 2009 takes place at Donington Park on June 12, 13 and 14. The festival will be headlined by Faith No More, Slipknot and Def Leppard. Other bands on the bill include: Anvil, Architects, Billy Talent, Black Stone Cherry, Buckcherry, Chris Cornell, Clutch, DevilDriver, Down, DragonForce, Dream Theater, Journey, Killswitch Engage, Korn, Lacuna Coil, Limp Bizkit, Marilyn Manson, Motley Crue, Papa Roach, Parkway Drive, Pendulum, reunited stoner rockers Karma To Burn, Skin, Tesla, The Blackout, The Prodigy, Trivium, Whitesnake and ZZ Top

Tickets for Download are on sale now from www.aloud.com. Prices are as follows: a full weekend ticket: £135, camping: £25, family camping: £25, car parking: £10 advance, £20 on the day, camper vans: £40, lockers: £11.