SLIPKNOT TO HEADLINE SONISPHERE

First headliner announced for Knebworth bash

Slipknot have been announced as the first headliner of next year's Sonisphere.

The metal festival will be celebrating its third birthday in 2011 at Knebworth, and it will be doing so with Iowa's greatest metal export.

Slipknot will be playing without their late bassist Paul Gray who died earlier this year, and they are keen to pay tribute to their fallen bandmate.

"We’re looking forward to spending our summer in Europe," they said in a statement. "This tour is about us and our fans.  It’s about celebrating the life of our brother, Paul and his legacy.  The door is neither open nor closed.  This tour is about burning down that door. See you this summer.”

Sonisphere 2011 takes place earlier in the summer than the first two years of the festival, on 8-10 July.

Ticket details will be announced at http://sonispherefestivals.com on Monday.

More headliners are also expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has thrown his hat into the ring for the Christmas No.1.

He will release a new single entitled XM@S on 12 December in a bid to top the charts.

You can listen to the single below. Be warned, though. It contains a LOT of swearing.

Corey Taylor- X-M@$ by Roadrunner Records