THIN LIZZY, MACHINE HEAD, ALICE IN CHAINS, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and THE SWORD have been confirmed for the METALLICA-headlined inaugural Sonisphere festival, set to take place on August 1-2 at the legendary Knebworth Park, United Kingdom.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):

ALICE IN CHAINS
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
LAMB OF GOD
LINKIN PARK
MACHINE HEAD
MASTODON
METALLICA
THE SWORD
THIN LIZZY

Knebworth's Sonisphere is a two-day camping event on Europe's first true touring rock festival, a globetrotting summer tour of supercharged rock 'n' roll. With events taking place in the U.K., the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Sweden and Finland, Sonisphere is set to be a continent-wide celebration of energy, volume, and everything fans love about rock music.

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield recently told Reuters about the band's participation in Sonisphere, "We did Monsters of Rock in the U.S. with VAN HALEN, SCORPIONS and others and it was a lot of fun, you get to know the bands, you're hanging out, staying in the same hotels. When the same bands get on the touring circuit together you get to see them more than once. It helps with the atmosphere and the vibe," he said, adding that Monsters of Rock was "one of the funnest times I've ever had."

METALLICA's Lars Ulrich talking about Sonisphere festivals:



(Thanks: Crumbs / www.TakeMyScars.com)