Download introduces Ascension Stage to showcase Australasian acts

The hard rock Download festival this morning introduced the Ascension Stage to showcase acts from Australia and New Zealand.

The UK-hailed event – staged here by Live Nation, UNIFIED & Secret Sounds – makes its Sydney debut at Parramatta Park on Saturday, March 9, and a return to Melbourne on Monday, March 11 at Flemington Racecourse.

Playing the Ascension Stage are:

Justice For The Damned from Western Sydney followed up their Greyscale Records debut Dragged Through The Dirt opening on numerous tours, notably Thy Art Is Murder around Australia and a 30-date run through Europe.

Brisbane’s brutal death metal Aversions Crown are described as having “a modus operandi to destroy everything in their path” including festivals here and abroad.

Devilskin are a phenomenon in their native New Zealand, with their debut album We Rise debuted at #1, staying in the Top 40 for over a year, going platinum in the meantime.

Eat Your Heart Out emerged from Newcastle in 2012 and immediately found a following with a “grunge-y pastiche of emo energy, punk power, and pop palatability”.

Melbourne all-girl band The Beautiful Monument took time for their sound to click. But when it did, on their debut album I’m The Sin, they found friends here and in the US.  Drawing from their own experiences, the lyrics touch on psychological strains, broken relationships and forms of abuse.

Download boasts exclusive shows from Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Rise Against, The Amity Affliction, Sum 41, Pennywise, Halestorm and Prevail.