The final night of Bloodstock 2018 is here, and there’s a distinct chill in the air, closing the main stage are symphonic metal heavyweights – Nightwish. From the moment they were announced last year, Nightwish have been a controversial pick for fans on the forums and social media, a band known as much for their ongoing drama as for their music. Indeed tonight’s showing will be the third lead vocalist BOA has seen with the band (Tarja Turunen; 2003, Anette Olzon; 2008) as Floor Jansen takes to the, ahem, floor.
A giant flip-clock on the stage video screen suddenly appears, and begins counting down from one minute, and as the timer hits zero the band burst on stage in a cloud of smoke, straight into ‘End of all Hope’. Jansen energetically jumps around in a leather jacket, but for some reason her mic seems to be criminally quiet for the first half of the song and gives the impression that she isn’t a strong vocalist.
Thankfully, as the backdrop changes to an icy waterfall reminiscent of those hilariously kitsch moving paintings you stare at whilst waiting for your Chinese food order, ‘Wish I had an Angel’ has Jansen’s mic issues fixed and we get our first real chance to compare and contrast. Let’s not pretend we aren’t all doing it, and of course Jansen isn’t hitting the notes of Tarja, but she brings a strong, raw quality to the song. It’s different that’s for sure.
In ‘Come Cover Me’, Tuomas appears to be well and truly locked in a love affair with his keyboards and there are a whole host of expertly choreographed pyrotechnics accompanying the entire show, makes a change from the seemingly random barrage of flames some other bands seem to employ. Jansen asks “…there’s so much energy here after 3 days and boozing I hope?…” and lets us know we’re in for a trip Floor headbands. Looks like she’s having a great time. Studded dress?
Wearing a studded dress that looks a bit like a portcullis, Floor is headbanging and wind-milling her hair for all she’s worth, and gives ‘Amaranth’ a decent effort, but if you’ve spent nearly a decade getting used to Annette Olzon’s high notes, it does feel a bit weird singing along.
‘Devil in the Deep Dark Ocean’ is beautiful, with Marco calling out “Dear citizens of UK… I bring you greetings from… Finland. You deserve something nice… a love song!”, but it’s the firm fan favourite ‘Nemo’ intro that garners the biggest crowd roar. With a white curtain of rain as the backdrop and visuals of the iconic Once album cover, it’s the epic pinnacle song we’ve all been waiting for – and their prowess as one of the slickest metal bands out there is clear.
Closing out with ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ and ‘Ghost Love Score’ to a huge explosion of blood red fireworks above the stage and a billowing CGI Decades banner on screen, Nightwish leave with a wave and a quick plug for their UK tour dates. Notable omissions from the set included ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and the huge ‘Wishmaster’ – but I suppose the point of the Decades tour is to play a lot of stuff that normally doesn’t see the stage. I get it, but at a festival – I think it’s fair to say, we appreciate the hits more than the obscurity.
The countdown is on, three weeks until Catton Park is overrun by a hoarde of the weird and wonderful, your punks, goths, metalheads, geeks and freaks. Yes, it’s almost time for Bloodstock Open Air – the UK’s premier Metal fest.
Let’s take a look at what BOA 2018 has to offer…
BANDS
Headlining Friday night at BOA are the mighty Judas Priest, tipped to be bringing some ahem, serious fire-power, alongside material from their new album… ‘Firepower’. It’s going to be a memorable show that’s for sure, but it’s not all about the headliners at Bloodstock – Friday offers up a plethora of bands we rarely get to see at other festivals in the UK, like Emperor and Suicidal Tendencies. We also can’t wait to walk with zombies Wednesday 13 and get our thrash on with Onslaught, we are coming fully prepared to leave this festival with RSI of the neck.
On the Sophie Lancaster stage we’ll be looking out for metal goddess Doro, and we’ll definitely be checking out the New Blood stage to fill our boots with brand new music to add to our playlists.
Gojira are back after a year off, but this time taking the Saturday headline slot to showcase their unique brand of metal and having seen them hit BOA in 2016, it’s pretty clear we’re in for an incredible night. Also on Saturday’s menu, the beautifully weird juxtaposition of Scotland’s own pirate power-band Alestorm, followed by New York death metallers Cannibal Corpse. I’m down for that sort of variation, it keeps things interesting. We’ll also be turning out for Combichrist, and Israeli band Orphaned Land over on the Sophie stage.
Sunday’s finale spot, perhaps somewhat controversially goes to Nightwish, a band who are no stranger to drama throughout their career. Indeed this will be the third time the band have headlined the festival, with yet another different vocalist – Floor Jansen. However Nightwish undeniably deserve the accolade of closing out Bloodstock, having topped the bill twice before and drawing from a massive eight studio albums worth of music, we’re catching them on the ‘Decades’ tour, which is bound to be celebratory. Also on Sunday, SFG are looking forward to At The Gates, Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed fame, and Evergrey but the biggest hype by far is for American rock crooners Mr. Big. We simply cannot wait to karaoke the hell out of ‘To Be With You’ in the cheesiest way possible. Might even slow dance. There’s something fantastic about Mr. Big featuring on the same bill as Watain – over on the Sophie stage, who we will also be sure to catch. If you’re heading there too, take a poncho for the gore and keep your phone in your pocket. Trust us. It’s gonna be a wild one.
ENTERTAINMENT
If the music isn’t enough to satiate your appetite over the weekend, or there’s a bit of a lull in your lineup, you’ll find plenty of other stuff to see and do at BOA this year. Take a stroll through the BOA RAM Gallery which features the incredible artwork of Paul Raymond Gregory, various photographers’ shots from previous years, and new this year – an entire Judas Priest wall.
Meet your heroes and get your stuff signed! Bloodstock has always had a great band-to-fan signing tent with loads of opportunities to meet and greet, so make sure you take along any special CD sleeves for your favourite band and check the signing times.
Muscles 2 the Masses – BOA’s very own Strongman/Strongwoman competition now has an amateur division for festival-goers (who have competed in qualifying heats already) to be crowned Bloodstock’s Strongest Man, in a series of events which centre on… well, you know, lifting stuff up, mainly. If that doesn’t take your fancy, we’ve heard Battle Reenactment is back on the menu – who doesn’t love armored dudes beating seven shades of hell out of each other?
Late night DJ’s and movie screenings after the bands are finished are also being laid on for the drunks and nosferatu among us, so if all your mates have crashed and burned for the evening, pull up a pew for Spinal Tap and make some new pals.
FOOD
There’s no slacking on the food front either, for a smaller festival the options are excellent whether you’re a straight up carnivore, a vegan or somewhere in between. Grab yourself a brisket sandwich between bands, pick a veggie paella or an entire Sunday dinner in a Yorkshire pud, but for my money – I’m making room for a crazy hot chili in a bread bowl also known as Bunnychow. Oh and you’ll find your morning hangover cure over at the famous Motley Brew, I particularly love their ‘Sweet Chai o’Mine’ mugs and the fact that you can also get a massage while you convalesce.
MERCH
BOA’s main arena boasts a massive array of shops in which you are sure to find anything and everything a metal fan needs – you’ve got your patches and pins, your leather chaps, extremely obscure black metal tees, jewellery emblazoned with skulls, studs on absolutely everything and of course, viking drinking horns. If you’re looking for rare vinyl or CD’s – Bloodstock has your back, particularly brilliant if you’re looking for something better than the programme to take into the signing tent (I once found a vinyl of The Final Countdown and got Europe to sign it, they were not thrilled to recall their hairstyles…).
As for official merch, you’ve got your straight up festival tees with the incredible Bloodstock artwork, and a heap of other stylish variations, but this year I’m after some of the new offerings, particularly the leggings, hip flask and leather cuff. It’s great to see BOA venturing into more merchandise variation, and we’ll definitely be getting hold of the branded reusable cups for our beers too.
So what are you waiting for? Tickets are on sale HERE
BLOODSTOCK is excited to announce four more spooktacular bands and add the 2018 Rock Society tickets to the ticket store.
We’re excited to announce that WATAIN will bring their black metal ritual to headline Sunday’s Sophie Lancaster stage in a UK festival exclusive. Frontman Erik Danielsson tells us, "Our last performance at BLOODSTOCK in 2012 was also the final date on the ‘Lawless Darkness’ tour. The sun was setting while we played and the crowd was getting louder and wilder the darker it became. A very charged atmosphere. Eager now to return and see what the eventful years that have passed and the force accumulated since then has done to both us and the BLOODSTOCK crowd. Furthermore, England is of course sacred ground when it comes to Metal in general, so when performing there, the stakes are always high. May all those that doubt be impaled upon them." Look out for the band’s long awaited sixth studio album arriving on 5th January 2018!
German power metallers, ORDEN OGAN also land a Ronnie James Dio main stage slot on Saturday. The band released ‘Gunmen’, their fifth studio album, this summer via AFM Records. Check out the video for ‘Gunman’ here and get a taster of what’s in store for their set in 2018 – https://youtu.be/JPm46Qgyn24.
Atlanta aggrotech outfit, COMBICHRIST also join the main stage bill for an early slot on Friday. The band have been working on new music after the release of their eighth studio album, ‘This Is Where Death Begins’ which landed in 2016. Check out the new track, ‘Broken:United’ at the following link – https://Combichrist.lnk.to/BrokenUnited.
Also landing an early main stage slot on Friday are British death/grind four-piece, MEMORIAM. Combining ex-members of Bolt Thrower and Benediction, MEMORIAM’s pedigree is high. The band of scene veterans are hard at work on the follow up to their debut, ‘For The Fallen’ released via Nuclear Blast earlier this year. Check out ‘Reduced To Zero’ taken from that opus here – https://youtu.be/Nmucoieg2Lc.
BLOODSTOCK’s Rock Society tickets become available in the store on Halloween morning, 31st October at 9.00am! The ‘Rock Society’ is effectively the festival’s ‘Members Club’, offering not only a 10% discount on your weekend ticket (on top of the early bird discount if you purchase the Rock Society membership + ticket bundle option), but all sorts of other cool benefits like priority signing tent access, a Rock Society laminate, access to the VIP Serpents Lair bar, a tour of the backstage & production areas to see ‘behind the scenes’, the chance to meet with the festival organisers, a dedicated hangout area in the Rock Society tent on site, a Rock Society Facebook community where you can make friends and get to know your fellow RockSoc members and plenty more besides. Full details can be found at http://www.bloodstock.uk.com/pages/rock-society. Memberships are priced at £75, limited to 300 and sell out almost immediately, so don’t delay if you want to pick one up.
Also now in the store are tickets for our new VANAHEIM campervan field. Due to increasing demand each year, we've made some site adjustments to allow for more pitches. As such, the new VANAHEIM site is located across the road, directly adjacent to Serpents Lair VIP parking, allowing an increase in size to accommodate 240 campervans, as opposed to just 130. Campervan pitches always sold through very rapidly, so this allows for more of our metal brethren to join the campervan club. Tickets for campervan pitches will remain at this year's price of £60.
With Friday night headliners, JUDAS PRIEST, Saturday night headliners, GOJIRA and Sunday headliners, NIGHTWISH already announced, along with EMPEROR, DEVILDRIVER and NAILS, 2018 is shaping up to be another stellar year for BLOODSTOCK.
As we creep through October, BLOODSTOCK is very excited to announce three more bands for 2018!
Joining Friday’s bill in the Ronnie James Dio main stage special guest slot are black metal legends, EMPEROR in a UK exclusive appearance. Frontman Ihsahn tells us that they’ll be performing a special set based around one of their classic albums. “We're finally bringing the 20th Anniversary show for ‘Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk’ to the UK! We’ll be performing the album in its entirety and look forward to celebrating with everyone at BLOODSTOCK!” Check out a stream of the atmospheric opus here and get excited for next August – https://youtu.be/Jmlhq5rtFXw
Also stepping into a main stage slot on Sunday are Californian circle pit kings, DEVILDRIVER. Frontman Dez Fafara tells us “DEVILDRIVER is playing BLOODSTOCK in 2018 and we couldn’t be more fucking ready to bring the heavy and get the whole festival moving! We are thankful for the opportunity and can’t wait to see everyone there! Get ready to get the fuck in the pit!” Check out the band doing what they do best in the video for the title track of their current studio album, ‘Trust No One’ – https://youtu.be/XuVibnWHoLA
Hotly-tipped, super brutal three-piece, NAILS land a Ronnie James Dio main stage slot on Sunday in a UK exclusive show. Frontman Todd Jones informs us, “I've been following BLOODSTOCK and looking at their advertisements online for the past few years, admiring how great a job the festival does having a great mix of underground bands and some of metal's biggest and finest. We're proud to finally say we're part of what BLOODSTOCK is doing to fight the good fight! We'll see all you motherfuckers at BLOODSTOCK!!!” Not familiar with NAILS? Melt your face with 91 seconds of hardcore intensity via the video for ‘You Will Never Be One Of Us’ – https://youtu.be/hGGGh03jN4w
With Friday night headliners, JUDAS PRIEST, Saturday night headliners, GOJIRA and Sunday headliners, NIGHTWISH already announced for next year's event, 2018 is shaping up to be another stellar year for BLOODSTOCK.
BLOODSTOCK is excited to announce their third and final headliner for 2018 will be JUDAS PRIEST! The metal icons are one of the most-requested bands by the festival’s loyal fan base and finally make their BLOODSTOCK debut at Catton Park in 2018 on Friday night, 10th August.
The legendary band tell us, “JUDAS PRIEST are thrilled, honoured and primed, ready to unleash Priest-style metal fury into the headbanging heart and home of heavy metal at BLOODSTOCK 2018!”
With Saturday night headliners, GOJIRA and Sunday headliners, NIGHTWISH already announced for next year's event, 2018 is shaping up to be another stellar year for BLOODSTOCK.
Before we focus more on 2018, we’re very proud to reveal that BLOODSTOCK raised £11,686.88 in 2017 for the very worthy TEENAGE CANCER TRUST, bringing the total to over £60,000 since our partnership began. A giant thanks to everyone who has contributed over the years for their generous donations!
Get tickets now for 2018! The first wave of Serpents Lair VIP tickets (priced at £290) and Deluxe VIP packages (Luxpads, Bellepads, Podpads, etc) are available now for those who want their VIP spot guaranteed. A smaller second wave and a limited amount of VIP upgrades will then become available on 16th December at 9am. Don't delay if you want to join us in the VIP Serpents Lair, as they’re moving faster than ever before!
Standard weekend tickets are currently available at ‘early bird’ prices (just £125 for four days of metal fun) so grab yours now at the ticket store if you want to save £20! In order to keep up with inflation and extra costs in 2018, standard weekend tickets with camping will increase from last year's £139 to £145 once the ‘early bird’ allocation is gone. The limited allocation of VIP upgrades (for those who've bought early bird tickets) will cost £145.
BLOODSTOCK will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 9th-12th August 2018. Get further information over at www.bloodstock.uk.com.
It’s day one of BOA 2017 and we’ve got our obligatory black band tees on, grabbed our wristbands and are headed into the arena for a weekend of pure metal fun.
Friday sees Swedish metallers Soilwork take to the main stage with classics ‘Nerve’ and ‘Stabbing the Drama’ but the sound doesn’t seem quite settled yet and most of what you can hear is distortion and cymbals. Luckily the Kraken tiki bar is on hand with cocktails and you can get your mitts on a Black Kraken ice-cream again, but be warned, it stains your teeth like you have scurvy. Maybe pirate emulation is the point? There’s also a pretty extensive merch stand this year at BOA, taking a leaf out of the Wacken book perhaps, you can now dry your bits with a Bloodstock towel… drink from a Bloodstock flask… don some fabulous branded leggings… the list goes on! This of course is in addition to BOA’s Exploding Ape collab which includes gym wear and an onsite Strongman/Strongwoman competition.
Over at said competition, a whole host of incredibly hench and serious looking women are taking turns lifting incredible amounts of weight to see who can complete the most clockwise rotations on the turnstile. It looks insanely tough and there’s a decent crowd cheering them on. Just to the side we spot The Motley Brew – which is possibly the most British thing ever. A tea tent, serving almost every tea under the sun (and free biscuits, bonus) out of proper mugs, with puns everywhere. We drank ours out of “Sweet Chai of Mine” and “Love in a Percolator” mugs… narf.
Nearby on the Sophie (Lancaster) stage, Denderq are busting out melodic but heavy harmonies and shout out to the BOA crew for “such a well run festival”. Following them, another UK band (and veteran Bloodstockers) Season’s End take the stage after an extremely long hiatus. It doesn’t seem to have done them any harm however, and lead vocalist Becki Clark is absolutely belting it, their symphonic style is fairly rare in UK bands so it’s nice to see them back on the scene.
Over on the main stage a guy dressed as a bloody Patrick Bateman is staring blankly into space and starting to creep the security guards out, but it’s time for Cali thrashers Testament to take control of the arena. Now, I always take it as a good sign if a metal band decides to rep their own tshirts and Testament have no problem doing just that, tick one for Metal-bingo. They’re also playing what can only be described as just good solid chuggy metal, to a pretty huge crowd, who are more than happy to jump around a bit as it is absolutely bloody freezing outside now. Goth girls in jorts are freezing their goosepimpled pale legs right off, and I bet come nighttime they actually have a faint eerie glow being almost translucent. In contrast there seem to be a lot of men rocking a leggings/fur coat combo, looking extremely pleased with their fashion choices this weekend. Bloodstock welcomes all. Testament are a testament (geddit) to old school metal, there’s loads of hair-windmilling and epic guitar solos, and one extremely tiny child with bunches and a mini battle-vest is bopping around to them as if it was tots tv.
On the Sophie stage, Shrapnel are getting all screamy with a crowd ready for some rioting, and the penultimate main stage band Blind Guardian come to the fore with an electric blue-lit entrance. They’ve always been a band with a lot of presence, but I will never not giggle that lead vocalist Hansi Kürsch is so unassuming that he looks like he could be doing your taxes or offering you legal advice. Nevertheless their uniquely symphonic sound is well received here at Bloodstock and the crowd joins in when asked “you will be our backing vocals… we have full trust in your skills… this one’s called Nightfall”. Kürsch is also keen to add “We are going to dedicate this one to Amon Amarth because it’s thanks to them we are here, we lost all our stuff” as the band is playing on entirely borrowed equipment.
Last up, Swedish Viking metal in the form of the mighty Amon Amarth, with an absolutely amazing headline show. They have fire, they have drinking horns, they have ever so much hair… they have a giant headbanging serpent on stage and dance moves (yes, I am claiming the rowing as a dance move) but above all else they are just furiously brilliant at what they do. Click HERE to read our complete headline review.
SATURDAY
Saturday sees the tiny but loud Jager stage fired up with UK scamps Bangover who have gathered a frankly massive crowd then incited them to create a circle-pit around the entire stage, only to then crowd surf (well you know… be ceremoniously carried) from there to the main stage at the end of their set.
Annihilator are rowdy good fun on the main stage, yelling “We are from that racist terrible country called… Canada… I know I’m sorry, I’m sorry eh” and joking “Our money has the Queen on it, so thanks for that guys”. With an album due in November it’s nice to hear some new stuff too “…finally back to early thrash roots… it’s called Twisted Lobotomy” which is absolute shredsville and the crowd is clearly loving it.
A little punky, a little rocky, a little classic metal… Spyder Byte on the Jager stage are just downright decent and judging by the crowd they’ve gathered, they could really play a bigger stage next year with no problems. Municipal Waste are determined to smash shit up with a giant circle-pit from the outset, even before they’d dropped a note, screaming “We’re Municipal Waste and we’re fucking back!”. Calling out “I’m all fucked up on buckfast right now… we play buckfast thrash” and the topical slew of hatred “Fuck Donald Trump! This song’s called ‘I wanna kill the president” only serves to amp up the already rowdy crowd even more, and a record 711 crowd surfers were recorded going over the barrier during this set alone.
Florence Black have pulled a decent crowd over on the Sophie stage, but we’re off in search of sustenance. Yet again Bloodstock have upped the ante when it comes to food, for a small festival there really is a more than decent offering. After looking into stalls selling Paella, Ostrich burgers, Vegan wraps, smoked meats Texas-style and some heart-stoppingly sugary doughnuts, we settle on a gigantic chicken offering from Burrito Boys which was fantastic.
Back at the main stage, Hatebreed enter to the laid back Bad Boys theme to emphasise the juxtaposition of their immediately screamy harsh metalcore flow. Lead vocalist Jamey Jasta stops for a breath and to say “You guys never disappoint man… this is why people come from all over the world to Bloodstock! Thanks for the positivity guys” as a pack of fluffy unicorn people march through the crowd throwing horns.
As the sun goes down you could be forgiven for thinking that the stage was being set for a headliner, but no – the insane amount of props and settings belong to penultimate act – Kreator. Heralded onto the stage by two demonic people brandishing red flares and a giant explosion of red tickertape, it’s clear Kreator mean business. There is a bit of unfortunate-ness with the curtain snagging on the giant devil horns at the back (a man dutifully tramped out with a ladder about halfway through the first song to unhook it… so rock n roll) but the band are absolutely killing it. There’s tonnes of pyro during ‘Satan Is Real’ and the massive church windows are actually screens providing more visuals to light up the stage, it really is a huge undertaking for a non-headline set. ‘Violent Revolution’ and ‘Pleasure to Kill’ go down a storm and it seems like the arena is shoulder-to-shoulder packed, as a huge silver and white streamer explosion rains down over the crowd.
Kids wrapped like tiny Egyptian mummies are streaking around the place as Bloodstock gives their two headline announcements for 2018, Gojira elicits an enormous roar of approval but the reaction to Nightwish is mixed at best.
Onto the actual mainstage headliner for Saturday – Ghost. Despite a technically good set, and a hardcore set of fans down the front they just don’t have the wow-factor we just experienced with Kreator, it’s maybe a shame for them that they followed such a great show. Read our full review of Ghost’s headline show HERE.
SUNDAY
Sunday finally brings the sun and we’re on the hunt for the best tattoos of BOA 2017 – check out our gallery on Facebook to see if we snapped yours! Possessed and Obituary are both shouty good times on the main stage, and Prognosis are absolutely ripping up the New Blood Stage, to a packed tent.
Local Derby lads HELL are predictably mad, with their stained glass window backdrops, crown of thorns and underlings lighting burning sconces. After a little technical difficulty with his headset, vocalist David Bower, armed with a handheld mic is now creeping around the stage amongst the eye-watering amount of pyrotechnics criss-crossing the pit area, calling out “How’s it going bloodstock? It’s been awhile…”. After a brief exit he returns to the stage dressed as a demonic Mr. Tumnus (read: Narnia meets the ninth circle) clicking his hooves as he sermonizes the crowd with a flaming trident. It’s all very surreal, particularly when he makes the ultimate metal Dad-joke “You should have told me bloodstock you were wearing black… we would have changed”. Groan.
Welsh ragga-metal band Skindred are much beloved by the UK metal scene and they absolutely do not disappoint, heaps of banners and backdrops do nothing to distract from the fact that they are completely unique and amazing at what they do. With a tribute photo of Roger Moore on the drumkit, mash-ups of the Imperial March and Benji’s signature spiked sunglasses you could be forgiven for thinking Skindred are all about the gimmick, until you hear them bust out the likes of… er… “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”… oh.
No worries though, Benji soon yells “we stand together as people who love fucking rock music right now… this song is about people coming together and living as one… Doom Riff” which is exactly the kind of wild, raucous metal we came here for. With a barrage of strobe lighting for ‘Sound The Siren’ he asks “…you like the new songs? Yes or no don’t fuck about!” before launching into ‘Pressure’ which gets everyone up and bouncing. Benji jokes about “Anyone want a tshirt? On this side? Twenty five fucking quid go and buy one you cunts” before getting serious mentioning the death of a friend, and noting “…none of us are promised tomorrow, just like Sophie (Lancaster)” and urging everyone “if you love someone go and fucking tell them”.
‘Kill The Power’ is huge, but it’s the firm favourite ‘Warning’ featuring a mass twirling of tshirts… bras… one giant inflatable t-rex… for the Newport Helicopter, which is really impressive. Skindred walk that fine line between being cheesy Butlins comedy and just really fucking awesome. Obviously as Brits we love everything about that.
Up next, Arch Enemy destroy the stage with vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, who is a force to be reckoned with. Her Frozen-esque locks, shredded leather and fringed jacket make her look like some kind of ethereal warrior, and that raw bloodcurdling roar earns her a mark of respect amongst the death-metal crowd. As three people on microlights soar above the arena, Alissa addresses the crowd “This is a very special show… about 3 years ago ae released an album called War Eternal… since then we’ve been touring, we’ve done about 300 shows…and this, Bloodstock, is the last one of this War Eternal cycle!”.
Next up on the Jager stage, Voodoo Blood are giving a belting classic metal show to an increasingly large crowd, but as they finish up the arena is filling for finale headliners Megadeth. What a way to close Bloodstock 2017 – Megadeth are true masters of their genre and the crowd is loving them, out with a raft of Marshall amps and some serious shredding they are the perfect sound to end what has been an exceptional weekend. Check out our full Megadeth review HERE. The Bloodstock blues will hit hard next week but for now we are riding out on a serious high, this festival really is family, and it seems pretty strange to be going back to our normal lives for another year. With two announcements already down, we can’t wait to see what else BOA has in store for 2018.
Someone said all good things must come to an end, and sadly it is the final night of Bloodstock Open Air for another year. On the plus side, tonight sees the mighty Megadeth return after headlining the festival last in 2014, this time as part of their Dystopia World Tour. The LA thrash idols fronted by Dave Mustaine, known for their political commentary and lyrics, are sure to have something to say about the current events in America unfolding this week – adding to the overwhelming anti-Trump sentiment coming from many of the bands both last year and this.
As the giant screen backdrop explodes into the Megadeth logo, the band enter with an eardrum shattering blast of pure thrash metal for ‘Hangar 18’. Again BOA have absolutely nailed the sound this year, every note is perfect and Megadeth just keep rolling through a rock-solid set. The likes of ‘The Threat is Real’ and ‘Wake Up Dead’ have the entire arena going nuts, the pit is jumping and you can’t move without being thrashed in the face by someone’s wild headbanging hair.
Backed by an absolute wall of Marshall stack amps, the band stop for nothing, not even for a giggle at the guy crowdsurfing the inflatable ducky getting unceremoniously bounced into the pit. The screen visuals are also pretty interesting and topical, with despotic world leaders and killers flipping over and over during ‘Sweating Bullets’, but it’s the incredible acoustic intro to ‘Conquer or die!’ performed by Kiko Loureiro that has us in utter awe. Bathed in orange light centre stage, Loureiro picks alongside strange disembodied hands doing the same on screen, it’s unnervingly incredible to actually be able to see what he’s doing from anywhere in the arena.
It’s the sense you get with this whole show – these are just people who are incredibly good at what they do, and there’s no stage set, costumery or amount of pyrotechnics that can come close without that level of mastery that comes with years of practice. Oh and as any good metal band should – everyone gets a turn, there’s a chance for drummer Dirk Verbeuren to do his thing from his lofty height mid-stage and everyone else takes turns at dueling guitars during ‘Poisonous Shadows’.
Finally on pause, Mustaine calls out “Good evening, are you feeling good? See I didn’t wanna waste your time tonight by talking a lot…” as the crowd jubilantly chant “Me-ga-deth” back at them. Following this he says “…they told me tonight was the biggest Bloodstock ever. Thank you for breaking that record… hopefully we'll beat that next year, and it'll get bigger and bigger and bigger” which, at least for the second half, doesn’t garner much reaction. I think there’s an unspoken hope amongst the crowd that Bloodstock remain a smaller festival, one which is well run and for the most part, avoids the trappings of the larger festivals. It’s why people come here.
Of course ‘Symphony of Destruction’ was going to be huge, but there is nothing like the wallop hearing something so iconic, so anthemic, up close and personal, in the flesh. Oh and if ever there was a more poignant time for this song, I don’t know it. The AV depict bombs exploding, guns, the American flag aflame, and a lot of fat white men sitting around with cigars laughing and to be honest it’s all a little too real right now. Heading into the encore of ‘Peace Sells’ we spot two very happy Megadeth fans in furry clothing who have a primo view of the show, I mean, if you can’t headbang to Megadeth on top of a bin, dressed as a carpet at Bloodstock… when can you?
Closing out with an insanely heavy ‘Holy Wars… The Punishment Due’, Mustaine takes one last chance to address the crowd “Drive home safe tonight… as always you’ve been awesome… and we've been Megadeth!” and with that, it’s over for another year. Megadeth absolutely brought the house down, ending BOA 2017 in a blaze of glory.
Night two at Bloodstock and we’ve seen a whole host of spectacular bands already. It’s with little surprise that we see the arena considerably less full than yesterday, Ghost are one of those marmite-type bands who seem to divide people pretty cleanly into love or loathe.
The loathe crew really do have a point though, there is just no necessity for a twenty minute introduction of classical piano pieces and a choral arrangement. Honestly not even the actual Pope requires that kind of ceremony. The stage is set pretty sparsely with only some stained glass window banners as a backdop, but the nameless ghouls are sporting their metallic demon masks and darting about the place to make the most of the vast bare space.
Papa Emeritus emerges in his traditional Pope garb and painted face, in the midst of a huge cloud of smoke and it’s straight on with ‘Square Hammer’ and ‘From the Pinnacle to the Pit’. Yelling “Bloodstock are you with us?” it’s clear from the crowd reply that minds are not being changed tonight. Ghost fans are fans, but the margins who are there simply because it’s a headline act, aren’t convinced. It’s not that Ghost are awful by any stretch, they’re good musicians, it’s just they’re not actually that exciting.
Out of the robe now, Papa is leaping around the stage in some sort of cross-emblazoned 90s shiny bomber jacket and there are some rather sombre nuns pacing around during ‘Cirice’. ‘Year Zero’ serves to amp things up a little, only to be sabotaged with the comedic sermon preached by Papa, swinging a censer ball around and trying to look ominous. Yeah sure there’s some pyro, strobe and flash bangs going off, but the atmosphere in the crowd just isn’t there to back it up.
In the crowd someone dressed as Papa Lazarou is yelling “I’m the real Papa” to the mirth of those around him, and Papa Emeritus appears to reply with “I want you to say loud in your British English voices… NOOOO! In you life… say no to shit.” which seems fairly apt as the area has thinned considerably with more people saying no to Ghost (and the fact that it’s cold as balls tonight).
Closing with ‘Ritual’ and ‘Monsterance Clock’ there’s actually little ceremony at the end and people are walking before they even strike the last note. It’s hard to judge this Ghost performance without conflict – they’re good, but they’re not great. They’re capable, but they’re not exciting. I guess the biggest thing to recognise is that they were preceded by one of the most insane Kreator shows we’ve ever seen, and unfortunately for Ghost, their slower more melodic style is sort of like throwing a bucket of water on all that built up fire and fury.
It’s Friday night, we’re all wearing black and the arena smells strongly of rum and beer. Let’s do this.
Twice now, the Swedish vikings have hit the second-from-top billing at Bloodstock Open Air and tonight they finally get to bring their full fire-fuelled show to the hallowed ground of Catton Park. There is nothing about the stage set that suggests Amon Amarth intend anything less than a completely immersive show tonight, with the drum kit set atop a giant viking helmet, sporting two insanely huge upturned horns. It’s Iron Maiden levels of crazy.
Burning straight out with ‘The Pursuit of Vikings’ and some very synchronised headbanging, they draw the remaining stragglers from around the arena into their fold with their melodic yet heavy sound. Yelling out “Bloodstock! Welcome to our little Viking feast… for the first time we are headlining this motherfucker… are you ready to feast like Vikings tonight?” they throw themselves headlong into ‘First Kill’ and the crowd follows suit, there are a lot of people with incredibly long hair here, and they are windmilling it with wild abandon.
Joined on stage by a couple of battling vikings in full gear, flanked by an obscene amount of pyrotechnics in the form of fire cannons (which can be felt even at the back of the arena, they’re damn hot!) as well as an almost constant blast of smoke between bursts of strobe lighting, Amon Amarth are absolutely killing it. They are hands down one of the best headliners BOA have ever booked, and it’s been a long time coming.
Vocalist Johan Hegg yells out “You guys are loud! I’m not surprised though… this is the true metal country” and pushes the pride button inside every British metalhead, we just bloody love being told we’re the best at this – especially as for many, Bloodstock is the only time of year you get to be surrounded by kindred spirits. Following up with a tradition for the band which was apparently started here, he calls for the crowd to sit down “…and show the world how it’s done… this is Viking fucking rowing!”. Now if there’s one other thing the British love, it’s the chance to re-run some cheesy childhood memories, and this bares an extraordinary similarity to Oops Upside Ya Head at school discos… Aaaanyway, a huge portion of the arena is given over to seated metallers pretending to row-row-row their boats. We are such a strange country.
‘Deciever of the Gods’ and ‘Destroyer of the Universe’ go down a storm with the already hyped up crowd, and a Loki-esque character takes to the stage to stomp about a bit, but mainly he seems to be getting in everyone’s way. Being very literal with their song-to-décor ratio is a good thing in my book, I appreciated the face melting amount of fire during ‘Death in Fire’ and the torched rune during ‘Runes to My Memory’, I mean you really know what they’re trying to convey. Vikings like fire. Taking to the front of the stage armed with an array of drinking horns, the band take a moment to toast their main stage debut “We want to take this opportunity to raise our horns to you… skol! Or cheers!” eliciting a huge roar from a crowd who in turn are thrusting their own drinking horns high into the air.
‘Guardians of Asgaard’ is bone shatteringly heavy and the sound quality here tonight is absolutely top-notch, but it’s finale ‘Twilight of the Thunder God’ that rocks us to our core. During a simulated (thankfully, no rain here) thunderstorm with lightning and a rainy backdrop, a giant serpent/wyrm from the album cover, is wheeled on stage and it’s just one of the most amazing sets we have ever seen here at Bloodstock. Targaryens would feel right at home. As they play the song out and call “Stay safe, row hard, and most importantly, raise your horns!” there’s a sense the crowd here would have easily gone in for two more hours of Amon Amarth, and that’s really what a headliner should be, right? A vaccum where nothing else matters outside of the moment. I reckon they achieved it.
Time is zipping past and there are now just ten more weekends before BLOODSTOCK! Have you planned your travel and dusted off your tent? BOA HQ is busy with preparations, site visits are underway and we’ve confirmed nine more bands and a whopping 26 more club nights!
Lining up for a Sunday slot on the Sophie Lancaster stage are PUPPY. Freshly signed to Spinefarm, the hotly tipped band were recently chosen to open for CKY on their comeback tour. The band tell us "We're beyond excited to be playing Bloodstock. Every year we're in awe of how good the line up is, so for them to ask us to jump on board is a real privilege. See you guys in the pit for Megadeth!" Check out their recent video for ‘Beast’ here – https://youtu.be/r8LvjC26pfw.
Grabbing a Saturday Sophie slot are much lauded Londoners, THE ONE HUNDRED. Their new album ‘Chaos + Bliss’ comes out on 2nd June via Spinefarm. Watch their latest video for ‘Monster’ at https://youtu.be/hP_nIAVAKbE. Frontman Jacob tells us, “BLOODSTOCK is one of the finest heavy music festivals on the circuit and we are excited to be joining an already amazing lineup. See you in August!” Also appearing on Saturday are Welsh rockers, FLORENCE BLACK. Get a handle on their sound with the video for ‘The One’ – https://youtu.be/29gpEAHm58E – and check out their new ‘EP II’ at iTunes or Spotify. Midlands thrash animals, ERADIKATOR also join the Saturday bill. Check out their lyric video for ‘Astral Body’ – https://youtu.be/iUSQ265xorw – taken from their 2015 album, ‘Edge of Humanity’.
Last seen at BLOODSTOCK on the Jagermeister stage in 2015, Reading stoner/sludge squad MORASS OF MOLASSES bring their swamp and groove filled riffs to the Sophie stage on Friday. Get to grips with ‘My Leviathan’ at https://youtu.be/F_cTjECbvZA.
We’ve also locked down the undercard for Thursday night’s party night bill, below that night’s headliners, BATTLE BEAST. We welcome back ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ alumni, RAMAGE INC. to open the weekend’s proceedings! Check out the tech metallers’ ‘Within Circles’ over on their YouTube channel – https://youtu.be/v_bC0L4Lc1g. Party doomsters, GURT also land a slot. Get a taste of their sludge via this fan-filmed footage from their Edinburgh show late last year – https://youtu.be/8Zm0qCYCiHs. THE INFERNAL SEA will bring their black metal noise to the bill. If you’re not already familiar, watch the ‘Plague Herald’ video over at their record label Cacophonous’s YouTube – https://youtu.be/O4dyiNtIIfA. Lastly, Italy’s WIND ROSE round out the Thursday bill with their ‘Lord of the Rings’-inspired dwarven folk metal. Hear their track ‘To Erebor’ here – https://youtu.be/-qF1EQXIG1c.
The second phase of BLOODSTOCK club nights start on 2nd June! Get along to one of the following events, bang your head to some tunes from BLOODSTOCK bands old and new, and be in with the chance of winning weekend tickets or related giveaways. Expect fun ways to win – previous year’s events featured the likes of bucking broncos, endurance tests, and air guitaring! Check your local club for details, as dates may be subject to change. Events for June/July run as follows:
Fri 2nd Jun – Nottingham – ‘Tactical Assault’ at The Level, NTSU (featuring Evil Scarecrow) Sat 3rd Jun – Hanley – ‘Devil’s Night’ at JJ’s Sat 10th Jun – Glasgow The Cathouse Sat 17th Jun – Coventry – The Phoenix Sat 24th Jun – Sheffield – The Corporation Sat 24th Jun – Norwich – ‘Meltdown’ at The Waterfront Sat 24th Jun – Birmingham – Eddie’s Rock Club Mon 26th Jun – Reading – Sakura Thu 29th Jun – Exeter ‘TPT’ at Timepiece Fri 30th Jun – London ‘Voodoo’ at Elektrowerkz Fri 30th Jun – Camberley – The Agincourt
Sat 1st Jul- Hanley – ‘Devil’s Night’ at JJ’s Sat 1st Jul – Brighton ‘Apocalypse’ at Envy Sat 1st Jul – Wolverhampton Civic Hall Fri 7th Jul – Leicester ‘Feedback’ at Firebug Fri 7th Jul – Woking – Schism Fri 7th Jul – Reading – ‘The Pit’ at Face Bar Sat 8th Jul – Coventry – The Phoenix Sat 8th Jul – Southampton – ‘Apocalypse’ at The 1865 Fri 14th Jul – London ‘Project Mayhem Pirate Party’ at Electric Ballroom Sat 15th Jul – Burnley – Sanctuary Sat 22nd Jul – Norwich ‘Meltdown’ at The Waterfront Sat 22nd Jul – Birmingham ‘Uprawr’ at Asylum Sat 22nd Jul – Middlesbrough ‘SUMO/Holy Shit’ at Medicine Bar Sat 29th Jul – Birmingham – Eddie’s Rock Club Sat 29th Jul – Sheffield – The Corporation
