Big 4 Help Sonisphere Sell Out

Having Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax – the “Big 4” metal acts – playing together in the UK for the first time helped Sonisphere record its first British sellout.

“I’ve been promoting rock festivals for 30 years and I can honestly say that this bill is one that I am most proud of,” said festival chief exec Stuart Galbraith, after 60,000 per day attended Knebworth Park July 8-10.

“To say we’re happy is an understatement and we never dreamed we could come this far in just three years,” Galbraith added.

In addition to the tens of thousands who turned up, a global audience of almost 1 million people watched the webcast.

The other acts keeping Galbraith and his Sonisphere team happy included Slipknot, Biffy Clyro, Mastodon, Inme, Limp Bizkit and Motorhead.

Starting at the same time was the first French Sonisphere at Amnéville, near the border with Luxembourg, which pulled 70,000 across two days.

Promoter Salomon Hazot said he was delighted to have 30,000 on the first day for a bill that had Slipknot, Mastodon and Dream Theatre.

There were 40,000 on the second day, which featured the “Big 4,” and Hazot has already made up his mind to expand the event to three days in 2012.