Countdown to Download 2010 – the Download Lineup preview continues with…

… Killswitch Engage, Hellyeah and Billy Idol!

So Killswitch Engage. What’s a killswitch I hear you ask?

A switch that is designed to turn off a circuit when the button is released.

You get em on some guitars or can even add them yourself if you’re brave/foolhardy enough. You can ask TGMs and Fix Your Own Damn Guitar’s Ed Mitchell (Ed’s Shed). They momentarily cut the signal from the guitar to the amp and are used to great effect by the likes of RATM’s Tom Morello. But that’s not why Killswitch Engage are called Killswitch engage – according to Wiki. they’re named after an X-Files Episode (“Kill Switch“) about a computer virus of the same name. Anyhoo – KE are from Massachusetts and have been on the go since 1999 with 5 studio albums under their belt. They put on a great live set as you can see here and will be on the Maurice Jones stage on Friday at 5:10pm.

Hellyeah… another interesting metal band forged from members of Mudvayne (Chad Gray – vocals and Greg Tribbet – guitar), Nothingface (Tom Maxwell – guitar), Damageplan (Bob Zilla – bass) and Pantera (Vinnie Paul – drums). Vinnie is the brother of the late great Dimebag Darrell Abbott). Hellyeah are hitting Download 2010 on the Saturday at 11:45am.

Now Billy Idol… Billy was for me, one of the best things to come out of the 80’s punk/rock/metal scene (going “solo” after his time with Generation-X). He has a long term collaboration with guitarist Steve Stevens, one of those DIRECTLY reponsible for me first picking up a guitar. For which, I’m eternally grateful – I intend to write a Guitar Influences Fact File for Steve Stevens when I get a chance. And yet I’ve never managed to get to see Billy Idol and Steve Stevens live so I can’t judge how good they’ll be. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say they will probably blow you away. At least to the extent where you can almost forgive Billy for releasing a Christmas album. Almost, but not quite. Billy Idol takes to the Maurice Jones Stage on Sunday at 4pm. Watch Billy Idol and Steve Stevens let rip with this acoustic version of Rebel Yell.

So if you’re heading to Download later this week I hope you have a bonzer trip! I’ll be back tomorrow with some more stuff on Download lineup acts.