BLOODSTOCK is excited to kick off the New Year by announcing MEGADETH as their Sunday night headliner!
MEGADETH’s mainman, Dave Mustaine tells us “We kick off 2017 by announcing we'll be headlining Sunday night at Bloodstock, one of my favourite, purely metal, British festivals! Megadeth had a blast last time and I can't wait to bring the Dystopia World Tour to Bloodstock this Summer. See ya at Catton Park in August!"
MEGADETH were recently nominated for a Grammy in the ‘Best Metal Performance’ category for the title track of their current critically acclaimed ‘Dystopia’ album. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK95lWHl7js and grab a copy of ‘Dystopia’ here
Also available now is the very popular ticket deposit scheme! The payment plan helps ease the ‘big lump’ shock of paying for your standard weekend ticket by breaking it up into five smaller, more manageable sums. You can sign up in the ticket store at any time from now until 28th Feb, with an initial payment of £34.80 payable on sign-up. Thereafter, four additional instalments of £27.80 will debit your bank account on 1st April, May, June and July respectively. Get full details over at http://bloodstock.seetickets.com/content/ticket-options.
If you have Scuzz TV, check out GOJIRA's incredible full set from BLOODSTOCK 2016 which is being broadcast regularly on the channel! Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/yLZT5Ao7o8M. The show will be repeated on the channel all through January.
Already announced for 2017 are Friday’s headliners AMON AMARTH, plus BLIND GUARDIAN, HATEBREED, TESTAMENT, OBITUARY, BRUJERIA, WHITECHAPEL, SKINDRED, POSSESSED, ANNIHILATOR, MUNICIPAL WASTE, HELL and DECAPITATED. Many more are still to come! Stay tuned to BLOODSTOCK’s social media for the latest!
BLOODSTOCK is thrilled to announce a bumper batch of Ronnie James Dio main stage bands for 2017, including their Friday night headliner!
Prepare your drinking horns!! Swedish overlords, AMON AMARTH will be sailing their Viking longboat on to the Catton Park shore as Friday night’s headline band! Chief berzerker Johan Hegg declares, "What's up UK! On August 11th 2017, we are invading BLOODSTOCK! It's going to be a fucking awesome party, with immense bloodshed and you better be there!" Get ready for battle and raise your horns with us via their latest video at https://youtu.be/Ndu33Uv7Aco.
Landing the special guest slot on Friday are power metal kingpins, BLIND GUARDIAN. Their set will be a UK exclusive for 2017. BLOODSTOCK prides itself on being by the fans, for the fans, and are pleased to welcome one of the fans most requested acts to the lineup. If you’re not familiar, you’ve three decades of music to investigate, but why not start with the more recent ‘Twlight Of The Gods’, at: https://youtu.be/Ep1B_aIFPDE.
Bay Area thrash beasts, TESTAMENT are set for a Friday slot. With their crushing brand new album, ‘Brotherhood Of The Snake’, released just a week ago by Nuclear Blast, check out the awesome video for new song ‘The Pale King’ at https://youtu.be/wkHT86Ei7DY.
Hardcore kings, HATEBREED make a welcome return to Catton Park on Saturday. Check out their video for ‘Looking Down The Barrel of Today’ from current album, ‘The Concrete Confessional’ here. Expect firebrand frontman, Jamey Jasta to play ringmaster to some epic circle pit activity, so get your pit skills honed in preparation!
Also landing a spot on the Ronnie James Dio main stage over the weekend are Tennessee deathcore beasts, WHITECHAPEL, seminal death metallers, POSSESSED and flying the flag for English heavy metal, BLOODSTOCK favourites, HELL.
It’s that special last month before Autumn sets in, the high summer sun shines down on the most inappropriately weather-attired crowd of the entire year, yes, It’s Bloodstock Open Air. I will never stop being equally amused and proud that the metal community rocks black tshirts, heavy denim, sticky leather and a mass of metalware regardless of temperature, or indeed comfort.
Though this year’s Bloodstock line-up has been the topic of much forum debate and there are some rather under-represented groups (female musicians on the main stage anyone?) this year, you can’t deny there is first-class metal on offer this weekend. Friday sees a beautiful site-wide crab-athon (Crabulon) with Evil Scarecrow, and Corrosion of Conformity tear up the Ronnie James Dio stage with their gritty bluesy metal, to a decent crowd having overcome some mishaps on the route here. “In case you guys don’t know, we lost our guitars in fucking Paris… we’re kind of winging it” the guys let us know, before a calling Donald Trump a dickhead and dedicating the beautifully relevant ‘Vote With A Bullet’ to him.
Over on the Sophie Lancaster stage, the comedically named Foetal Juice hailing from Manchester, sound pretty much exactly as you’d expect – extreme but a little bit silly. Everyone in the tent seems to love them though, which is pretty good going for group of mates who started this for fun.
Heading over to the Kraken Rum garden for a spot of black ice-cream (good work guys, you know this is exactly the crowd to appreciate a gothic dessert) we take the opportunity to check out the merch stall and pop into Lemmy’s Bar to raise a glass (well, plastic cup) to the man, the legend. Back on the Sophie stage XII Boar are absolutely killing it, yelling out “You’re here! You’ve made it to the party” to us latecomers joining them mid-set. It’s a bit of a shame about the noise-pollution next door, the music on the fairground rides is offensively loud and unnecessary. No-one needs to hear Sweet Child O’Mine more than once in half an hour.
Home grown heroes Venom are a massive Friday highlight with their thrashy, wild child behaviour and obvious love of what they do. Calling out “It’s great to see the fucking UK legions” to a roaring crowd, it’s nice to see a proper homecoming. Demon-faced Behemoth are kind of a BOA staple now right? The band are over from Poland, presumably to promote Satanism and murder… *snigger* and for a band who’ve done every trick in the goth manual to seem dark and gloomy, they look like they’re having a pretty amazing time.
Last up is the final ever (yes really, EVER) UK Twisted Sister show on their ‘Forty & Fuck It’ tour, and it’s an absolute blinder. Playing 15 minutes over the curfew, with every single hit you wanted to hear, and a gigantic crowd singing alongside them – Twisted Sister go out with a bang. Like the music or not, you can’t deny they’ve got amazing showmanship and the ability to engage with a crowd on a funny and personal level. They will be hugely missed.
Saturday sees the likes of The Raven Age, off the back of their supporting role in Iron Maiden’s Book of Souls world tour, carving out a name for themselves on the Sophie stage, and Rotting Christ have the main stage under a veil of darkness with their unique melodic metal and some synchronized headbanging. Fear Factory pull in a huge crowd and those 90’s sounds are just so nostalgic it makes us want to buy some of those huge jeans again, you know the kind with safety pins all up the seam and one of those giant ball-chains attached to your wallet.
Grabbing some grub is much more difficult than we had anticipated, this festival has come a long way on the food front since it’s early days of scary burger vs. scary hotdog options. We opt for a Bi-ella (It’s not sexual, it’s just both kinds of paella – meat and veggie. Actually I take it back, that is pretty sexual.) and chilli-inna-bun, which is much less Dibbler than it sounds. Both were awesome and actually worthy of high price tag we’ve come to expect from UK festivals.
Paradise Lost playing in the late evening sun is an absolute treat, but the stunningly beautiful guitars ring out across a sleepy crowd, there are a lot more people sitting down in a post-dinner sun-drenched haze. Only the astoundingly tall Kraken diver is dancing around like a lunatic, presumably taking an in-suit bath in his own sweat.
Over on the Sophie stage One Machine are throwing down hard, their sound is interesting and fresh and there’s a pretty decent crowd in there enjoying it. In the Hobgoblin New Blood tent, Warwickshire band The Face of Ruin have In Flames vibes and we are loving their rowdy set. Let’s hope they return to BOA soon… next year even… on a bigger stage…
On the main stage it’s time for the truly incredible Gojira, and judging by the sheer size of the crowd that has turned out to see them, they could just have well bumped Mastodon from tonight’s top spot. There’s something so strangely hypnotic about Gojira, it’s hard to put your finger on it, but as the sun sets on day two of BOA it’s clear they’re one of the true highlights of the festival already, and ‘L’Enfant Sauvage’ is the anthem. Shouting out “Are you having a great day at the festival? Are you drinking enough beer? Are you happy?” It’s kind of adorable that they care about our festival welfare, and everyone is more than appreciative of the brand new tracks from Magma.
In comparison it’s hard to watch Mastodon’s entrance onto the main stage, with dodgy sound and a do-the-job attitude, the magic dwindles a little. Sure, they’re musically strong but there’s less of the awe and more of the ought about them. However, as the night pulls on Mastodon appear to get comfortable and the last half an hour is considerably, thankfully better.
As the hungover masses drag their butts outta bed (well, sleeping bag) for one last day of metal mayhem, the Sunday lineup sees the likes of Satyricon, complete with forked mic stand and altogether too much white face powder – makeover the main stage with their black metal in the rather overcast afternoon. It’s sort of appropriate. On the Sophie stage, Derange deserve a bigger crowd than they’ve got – I mean, no their sound is nothing exactly new, but they execute well and vocalist Cat Pereira is commanding centre stage.
Outside after a bloody (literally, one guy had his head cut open) battle reenactment, it’s time for the final challenges of the Bloodstock’s Strongest Man competition, and get this… the trophy is Thor’s Hammer! Amazing. After a lot of grunting, sweating and swearing, a little crowd participation and some free tshirts being thrown about, a champion is crowned. It’s been a brilliant little event, hope to see it back bigger for next year.
On the main stage there’s a kicking of heels as we wait patiently for Dragonforce to appear. Technical difficulties are blamed and it’s a blistering, albeit short show from the power-metal heroes. Despite the crowd chanting ‘Herman Lee’ rather than Dragonforce before they came on, it really doesn’t seem to have phased the rest of the band, and frontman Marc Hudson yells “We are Dragonforce from London England, and it’s nice to fucking play at home for once”. ‘Cry Thunder’ and ‘Through The Fire And Flames’ have the entire crowd wailing along as crowd surfers flail overhead, which is pretty great considering that’s all we got. Five songs seems hardly enough.
Symphony X are somewhat underwhelming but New Blood’s Valous, immediately followed by amusingly named Footprints in the Custard – are anything but. Both bands are energetic and enthusiastic, an atmosphere that spills over into their rowdy crowds who are loving it.
As the many… many Judges circle the site telling you not to take photos of them, or pretending to terminate delinquents, they can only herald one band. Anthrax hit the stage with all the raw power you’d expect from a band twenty years their junior, they just make it look easy. ‘Antisocial‘ has the entire arena thrashing, and as they close out with ‘Indians’ shouting “This is the war dance, bang your fucking heads! Everyone move ok?” it’s unsurprising to see the BOA crowd comply, hard.
Following up with another of the ‘Big Four’ thrash metal bands, Slayer are here to re-conquer Bloodstock and with a stage top to bottom bathed in real actual fire (how they sustained playing in that direct heat, I have no idea) it’s almost as if they’ve come out to prove they’re children of the underworld. Last time Slayer topped the BOA bill was just after the death of Jeff Hanneman, three years later we see a fresher, stronger Slayer with a giant Hanneman tribute flag, and something to prove. With the massive and iconic riffs of ‘South of Heaven’ and ‘Raining Blood’ reverberating around Catton Park, it’s hard to imagine a better way to close Bloodstock 2016. Here’s to 2016, and wondering what the next lineup will bring…
Over the years, Bloodstock Open Air has been the stage for some seriously special and one-off performances, but this surely takes the win. For the last time ever on UK soil, playing their farewell tour ‘Forty and Fuck It’, glam metal heroes Twisted Sister are here to melt our faces off, fifteen minutes fashionably late of course. A photo montage of old tour memories plays over AC/DC’s ‘It’s a long way to the top (if you wanna rock and roll)’ and the tightly packed arena is already clapping along in anticipation.
Taking to the stage with his signature permed silver mane, ferociously pink mic stand and a flowing denim tailcoat, Dee Snider hasn’t lost a single bit of that performance quality that we’ve come to expect from those original great frontmen, and the band power up with ‘Stay Hungry’ and ‘The Kids Are Back’.
Lying on his back at the edge of the stage, Dee lets his hair dangle towards the crowd before racing around amidst giant flame cannons for ‘Burn in Hell’. Yelling out to the crowd “Bloodstock! The only true metal festival in the whole fucking UK… not those fucking assholes at Download…” to a mighty roar of appreciation from the crowd, Dee strikes gold. There’s always been a bit of banter (and backlash) between the two festivals so team BOA is suitably rowdy in response.
Looking out at the stage-lit sea of faces (and questioning the gustatory offerings at BOA – “Mexican doughnuts sounds delicious, is that not one thing?”) Dee’s easy going patter has everyone on side, it’s hard not to like a band who don’t take themselves too seriously. ‘Destroyer’ and ‘Like a Knife in the Back’ go down a treat but it’s ‘You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll’ that really gets the arena jumping, in the words of Dee – “hashtag fuck yeah”.
Speaking of their late drummer AJ Pero who sadly died last year, the band introduce Dream Theatre legend Mike Portnoy, who came on board because AJ reportedly said “If anything ever happens to me… I want Mike to do it”. Sailing into classic hit ‘I am (I’m me)’ Twisted Sister are as loud, proud and rowdy as they ought to be, especially as they were subjected to being on Top of the Pops the first time round for this song in the UK. However, ‘I Wanna Rock’ – the anthem of rock fans on road trips the world-over is what we’ve been waiting for. There’s nothing quite like a whole arena full of people throwing horns up and yelling their little black hearts out.
Promising this is a real ‘final tour’ Dee jokes “…this is no Scorpions, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne last tour… who’s got a final tour tshirt? I know I do… Twisted Sister is saying goodbye FOR REAL” and as the crowd, trained in the very British tradition of pantomime reply booo’s in response, the band laugh and say “Yes! That’s the appropriate reaction! Sometimes people clap!”.
Likening their farewell to an Irish funeral instead of a sad affair and lamenting on the greats we’ve lost in the last couple of years, Twisted Sister pay tribute to Dio, AJ and Lemmy“It doesn’t feel like festival season without Lemmy and Motorhead doing shows” and dedicate ‘The Price’ to all of them, asking the crowd to light up the arena with phone screens and lighters.
‘I Believe in Rock and Roll’ and ‘Under the Blade’ sees the band engage in a bit of synchronized headbanging, we approve, we’re traditionalists, and after a quick statement on the recent events in Orlando and Paris “There are people out there trying to stop us having a good time… Twisted Sister says fuck them!” it’s onto the next huge hit ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’. Finishing up with Rolling Stones cover ‘It’s Only Rock n’Roll (But I like It)’. The crowd participation element of screaming ‘but I like it’ “kinda death metally” has Dee and the band in stitches (clearly Bloodstock is the only place this would work) and they return triumphantly for an encore of ‘Come Out and Play’, ‘Shoot Em Down' and their swan song ‘SMF’.
Going out in a wave of on stage sparks and toasty pyro, it’s the perfect farewell show, Forty and Fuck It is right – this is a band who sound so good they could probably have gone on forever. After Forty years of metal mayhem, maybe it’s time they went and did whatever the hell they want, knowing that their last tour was probably one of their best. Thanks for the music and the memories Twisted Sister, you sick motherfuckers.
BLOODSTOCK HQ is at fever pitch with just 10 days to go ‘til the gates swing open at Catton Park! There are a last few things to announce before everyone packs their bags and heads to the UK’s biggest and best heavy metal party!
One of the things that sets BLOODSTOCK apart from other events is festival founder, Paul Raymond Gregory’s on-site RAM Gallery. This year, Paul has paid tribute to MOTORHEAD’s Lemmy Kilmister with a stunning new portrait exhibited in a custom, hand-carved frame, as well as other choice installations from his world-renowned portfolio of work. Regular RAM Gallery contributor and luthier Cynosure, creator of hand-made guitars as art, will be exhibiting two new instruments also inspired by Lemmy. Other artists also exhibiting work are Orange County artist, Christian Sloan Hall, who has created work for the likes of AMON AMARTH and TESTAMENT, plus abstract artist and GOJIRA drummer, Mario Duplantier, who has contributed two original paintings. Also expect to view featured art-focussed books from Lariyah Hayes (Darkadya: The Book of Art From Below) and Ramon Martos (And Justice For Art, revised edition), plus rock-themed photography from Peter Nahum and Alison Richards.
When the metal finishes in the Hobgoblin New Blood tent each evening, a different set of howls take centre stage with BLOODSTOCK’s comedy bill. Friday’s gag-filled line up includes David Jordan’s edgy songs and stand-up, Chris Brooker’s hilarious improvisation, the award-winning newcomer Ingrid Dahle, all compere’d by everyone’s favourite heavy metal comedian, Andrew O’Neill. Saturday evening’s bill features compere and all-round funny man, Jim Smallman, plus laffs-a-plenty from Jonathan Mayor and Perrier comedy Award-winner Wil Hodgson. Sunday ushers in a full ‘History of Heavy Metal’ set from Andrew O’Neill, combining stand-up comedy with live music played on his customised Flying V guitar. Andrew will be supported by thrash metal beasts, REPRISAL.
Over on the Sophie Lancaster stage, once the bands have finished for the night, the DJ squad steps in to take you through ‘til 2am. Expect a guest slot on the decks from EVIL SCARECROW’s ringmaster Monty Blitzfist and Kraven Morrdeth on Friday, the DJs from London’s VooDoo Rocks on Saturday and Total Rock’s Anna Dumpe on Sunday, plus BOA’s resident 4 DJ’s Of The Apocalypse doing their regular 12 Midnight-2am slot.
The always popular Friday fancy dress competition is returning! This year the theme is ‘Twisted’, so dress up in whatever you fancy, the more extreme and creative, the better! To enter the competition, just find BOA’s official photographer (between the Serpents Lair VIP area and the EMP Tent entrance) between 12pm and 6pm on the Friday to have your photo taken (the photographer will wear a Fancy Dress Photographer t-shirt). Then check BLOODSTOCK’s Facebook page for the photo gallery the week after the festival and tag the fancy dress photo of yourself for the chance to win a pair of tickets to BLOODSTOCK 2017!
Got your tent ready?! This year, our campsite partner is Miss Daisy’s Camping Store. If you don’t want to tow a ton of camping gear to site, order online and collect your stuff from the Miss Daisy tent in the main Midgard campsite at Catton Park. Saves a lot of hassle and achy shoulders! Place your order or just see what’s available via their ‘click & collect’ service here – http://www.missdaisyscampingstore.co.uk/.
Want to check out the 2016 merch range? BLOODSTOCK's online 'click & collect' service allows you to pre-order your favourites for on site collection. Festival attendees can snap up their choice of t-shirt or grab the 2016 beer mug or hip flask without fear of their size or design being already sold out on site. Simply pre-order at https://bmerch.com/store/bloodstock/collect-on-site and collect at the merch stall in the arena at any point over the weekend, knowing your item is guaranteed and paid for. Maybe you want that BOA hoodie for when the sun goes down, so just collect it from the merch stall then to save a trip back to your tent!
How to get to BLOODSTOCK? Ditch the hassle of parking, trains & transfers and let our official coach partner, Big Green Coach take you and your camping gear straight to the festival from 21 UK cities. To book your return seat and see where to catch the coach, check: http://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/events/bloodstock-festival-tickets-coach-travel. If you’re coming by train to Catton Park, don’t forget to pre-book Big Green Coach’s shuttle bus from Lichfield City rail station to save yourself a wad of cash. Return tickets are priced at £10, one way at £8 (it costs more to pay on the day, so pre-booking wins)! Book tickets at the link. Car-sharing with GoCarShare is another option (and participating could even win you a pair of tickets for 2017)! Full details and to post up a car space/look for a car ride from your town, visit: http://gocarshare.com/festival/bloodstock.
Our three headliners for 2016 are TWISTED SISTER (in their last ever UK show), MASTODON and SLAYER, plus special guests BEHEMOTH, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX. Also on the bill are FEAR FACTORY, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SYMPHONY X, SATYRICON, PARADISE LOST, DRAGONFORCE, METAL ALLEGIANCE, STUCK MOJO, ROTTING CHRIST, MISERY LOVES CO, GHOST BATH, VENOM, UNEARTH, DIAMOND HEAD, GOATWHORE, ACID REIGN and many more.
The BLOODSTOCK festival faithful are on countdown as it’s just three weeks to 2016’s best heavy metal weekender! The bill for the Jagermeister stage is together and BLOODSTOCK is excited to welcome all these bands to the bill…
Friday’s line-up includes Leeds hard rockers CHASING DRAGONS (www.facebook.com/chasingdragonsuk) Corby metal outfit FUELED HATE (www.facebook.com/fueledhateuk), Brighton prog-rockers VRONA (www.facebook.com/VronaOfficial), Irish sludgemonsters TWO TALES OF WOE (www.facebook.com/TwoTalesofWoe), Manchester’s hard rock duo THE HYENA KILL (www.facebook.com/thehyenakill) and London folk metallers ISARNOS (www.facebook.com/Isarnos). Saturday’s bands include Wakefield metal band BROKEN, Belfast stoner rockers ZLATANERA (www.facebook.com/zlataneraband), Midlands metallers VICIOUS NATURE (www.facebook.com/ViciousNature), Leeds’ female-fronted rapcore band PULVERISE (www.facebook.com/Pulverise), Bury metal 4-piece VICE (www.facebook.com/Vicemetaluk) and Cornwall’s psych/spacerock animals, CYBERNETIC WITCHCULT. Sunday’s bill will include Stevenage metal 5-piece OUTRIGHT RESISTANCE (ww.facebook.com/OutrightResistanceBand), Gravesend stoner rockers JUKEBOX MONKEY (www.facebook.com/jukeboxmonkey), Welsh old school death metallers SODOMIZED CADAVER (www.facebook.com/SodomizedCadaver), Tyneside doomsters DIRTY KING (www.facebook.com/dirtykingmusic), Glasgow heavy rockers ATTICA RAGE and black metallers AKLASH.
The last of the Hobgoblin New Blood stage slots have been snapped up via the ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ finals. Joining the chaos are death metallers END OF SALVATION (www.facebook.com/endofsalvationUK) and thrash beasts REDEYE REVIVAL (www.facebook.com/redeyerevival) on Friday, stoner/heavy psych animals REGULUS (www.facebook.com/regulus.band) and melodic death metal mob THE FACE OF RUIN (www.facebook.com/thefaceofruin) on Saturday and metal four piece GUTLOCKER (www.facebook.com/GutlockerUK), prog/tech outfit KAHTET (www.facebook.com/kahtetband), Polish deathcore mob THE JOHN DOE’S BURIAL (www.facebook.com/tjdburial), Nottingham rockers FIREBOMB (www.facebook.com/firebomb.uk), self-proclaimed ‘street mafia geek metal’ outfit CHRONICLES (www.facebook.com/chroniclesmetal) and heavy rockers VALOUS (www.facebook.com/valous.birmingham) on Sunday. The final act added to the New Blood stage is the winner of Hobgoblin’s video upload competition, who also go into a Sunday slot. That lucky band is Manchester punk metal outfit, FOOTPRINTS IN THE CUSTARD (www.facebook.com/Footprintsinthecustardband). You can watch their ‘age-restricted’ winning video for ‘The Descent of Decency’ here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u-YfsMWiHU.
Got all your camping gear ready? This year, our campsite partner is Miss Daisy’s Camping Store. If you can’t be bothered to tow a ton of camping gear to site, order online and collect your stuff from the Miss Daisy tent in the main Midgard campsite at Catton Park. Saves a lot of hassle and achy shoulders! Place your order or just see what’s available via their ‘click & collect’ service here – http://www.missdaisyscampingstore.co.uk/.
Want to check out the 2016 merch range? BLOODSTOCK's online 'click & collect' service allows you to pre-order your favourites for on site collection. Festival attendees can snap up their choice of t-shirt or grab the 2016 beer mug or hip flask without fear of their size or design being already sold out on site. Simply pre-order at https://bmerch.com/store/bloodstock/collect-on-site and collect at the merch stall in the arena at any point over the weekend, knowing your item is guaranteed and paid for. Maybe you want that BOA hoodie for when the sun goes down, so just collect it from the merch stall then to save a trip back to your tent!
How to get to BLOODSTOCK? Ditch the hassle of car parking, trains, & transfers and let our official coach travel partner Big Green Coach take you and your camping gear straight to the festival from 21 UK cities. Various packages are on sale now; secure your coach trip straight to the festival site with only a £10 deposit. To book your return seat and see where to catch the coach, check: http://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/events/bloodstock-festival-tickets-coach-travel. If you’re coming by train to Catton Park, don’t forget to pre-book Big Green Coach’s shuttle bus from the station to save yourself a wad of cash. Return tickets are priced at £10, one way at £8 (it costs more to pay on the day, so pre-booking wins)! Book tickets at the link. Car-sharing with GoCarShare is also available (and participating could even win you a pair of tickets for 2017)! Full details and to post up a car space/look for a car ride from your town, visit: http://gocarshare.com/festival/bloodstock.
Our three headliners for 2016 are TWISTED SISTER (in their last ever UK show), MASTODON and SLAYER, plus special guests BEHEMOTH, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX. Also on the bill are FEAR FACTORY, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SYMPHONY X, SATYRICON, PARADISE LOST, DRAGONFORCE, METAL ALLEGIANCE, STUCK MOJO, ROTTING CHRIST, MISERY LOVES CO, GHOST BATH, VENOM, UNEARTH, DIAMOND HEAD, GOATWHORE, ACID REIGN and many more.
There’s just over a month before the heavy metal hoardes rampage on to Catton Park’s hallowed turf for BLOODSTOCK 2016! The site planning is well under way and the bands are still being added for the UK’s best heavy metal weekender.
In a move that’s sure to please the power metal faithful, riding on to the main stage bill for an early Friday slot are ‘Intergalactic, space metal’ outfit, GLORYHAMMER! Check out their video for the title track from last year’s ‘Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards’ here – https://youtu.be/YGV6bCTMM5w. Also joining the bill as main stage openers on Friday are Welsh heavy rock power trio, HARK. The band’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Crystalline’ featured a guest slot from Clutch’s Neil Fallon and their second release is due later this year. Get up to speed via www.facebook.com/harktheband/.
Lining up for a Saturday slot on the Sophie stage are British doom/sludge beasts MAGE (www.facebook.com/Mageband) and horror rockers, THE HERETIC ORDER (www.facebook.com/thehereticorder) featuring members of Breed 77. Stepping into Sunday slots are female-fronted Brit metal four-piece, SANGUINE (www.facebook.com/sanguineband) and hotly tipped, Japanese-inspired, Finnish melodic death metal outfit, WHISPERED (www.facebook.com/whisperedband).
Joining PHIL CAMPBELL’s ALL STARR BAND for Thursday’s ‘Party Night’ (which sees Phil christening the newly-monikered ‘Lemmy’s Bar’ with the first drink of the weekend), are Norse death/thrash outfit, SUBLIME EYES (www.facebook.com/SublimeEyesBand), tech/deathsters KARYBDIS (www.facebook.com/Karybdis.band), post-prog metal five-piece SUMER (www.facebook.com/SUMERBAND) and the thrashtastic PSYKOSIS (www.facebook.com/Psykosisthrashmetal), who caused mayhem on the Hobgoblin New Blood stage in 2014 when they threw out hundreds of samples of their home brew to the loyal New Blood supporters.
Got all your camping gear ready? This year, our campsite partner is Miss Daisy’s Camping Store. If you can’t be bothered to tow a ton of camping gear to site, order online and collect your stuff from the Miss Daisy tent in the main Midgard campsite at Catton Park. Saves a lot of hassle and achy shoulders! Place your order or just see what’s available via their ‘click & collect’ service here – http://www.missdaisyscampingstore.co.uk/.
Want to check out the 2016 merch range? BLOODSTOCK's online 'click & collect' service allows you to pre-order your favourites for on site collection. Festival attendees can snap up their choice of t-shirt or grab the 2016 beer mug or hip flask without fear of their size or design being already sold out on site. Simply pre-order at https://bmerch.com/store/bloodstock/collect-on-site and collect at the merch stall in the arena at any point over the weekend, knowing your item is guaranteed and paid for. Maybe you want that BOA hoodie for when the sun goes down, so just collect it from the merch stall then to save a trip back to your tent!
How to get to BLOODSTOCK? Ditch the hassle of car parking, trains, & transfers and let our official coach travel partner Big Green Coach take you and your camping gear straight to the festival from 21 UK cities. Various packages are on sale now; secure your coach trip straight to the festival site with only a £10 deposit. To book your return seat and see where to catch the coach, check: http://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/events/bloodstock-festival-tickets-coach-travel. If you’re coming by train to Catton Park, don’t forget to pre-book Big Green Coach’s shuttle bus from the station to save yourself a wad of cash. Return tickets are priced at £10, one way at £8 (it costs more to pay on the day, so pre-booking wins)! Book tickets at the link. Car-sharing with GoCarShare is also available (and participating could even win you a pair of tickets for 2017)! Full details and to post up a car space/look for a car ride from your town, visit: http://gocarshare.com/festival/bloodstock.
Our three headliners for 2016 are TWISTED SISTER (in their last ever UK show), MASTODON and SLAYER, plus special guests BEHEMOTH, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX. Also on the bill are FEAR FACTORY, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SYMPHONY X, SATYRICON, PARADISE LOST, DRAGONFORCE, METAL ALLEGIANCE, STUCK MOJO, ROTTING CHRIST, MISERY LOVES CO, GHOST BATH, VENOM, UNEARTH, DIAMOND HEAD, GOATWHORE, ACID REIGN and many more. Additional bands are still to be announced.
'DEEP' lyrically tells of a period of songwriter's block that the band experienced whilst writing their debut full length. It's a mix of melodic and and progressive metal, with catchy vocal lines, guitar wizardry and groovy intricate drum work. Something for all modern metal followers to enjoy.
The band have recently supported the likes of Butcher Babies, Textures and have toured with The Five Hundred. Now they're showing they're a live force to be reckoned with, and will appear on the Sophie Stage at Bloodstock Festival.
Live Dates 12th August- Bloodstock Festival- Sophie Stage 20th August- Readipop- Reading 21st August- The Monolith All Day- Dingwalls, London w/ Zoax, Press to Meco, No Consequence 24th August- Sticky Mike's Frog Bar- Brighton w/ Voices From The Fuselage 25th August- London- Underworld w/ Soilwork More dates TBA
"Brutai have matured into a really distinctive, engaging proposition. Expect big things from them, and soon."- The Monolith
"The British band Brutai, whose members hail from London and Reading, might be labeled as hard rock on first listen. But there’s a distinctly metallic, vaguely Swedish style to their riffing that gives the band a harder and more complex edge than what you’re accustomed to hearing from “hard rock” bands. The songwriting is super-tight, also; think “Soilwork Lite” and you’re pretty close. "- Metalsucks
"…few of the genre's current protagonists can match Brutai when it comes to matching that technical prowess with refined songwriting skills. Precise, ornate and never less than monstrously heavy, the size of their hooks and melodies make them such an enticing proposition." – Dom Lawson, Metal Hammer
Photo credit: http://www.willirelandphotography.co.uk/ (Left to right- Mathieu Bauer, Alex Lorimer, Felix Lawrie, Henry Ryan, Christian Sturgess)
There’s just 48 days until your wait is over for BLOODSTOCK – the biggest heavy metal party weekender of the year! BLOODSTOCK HQ is a hive of activity; the sunshine is on pre-order and there are still more bands being confirmed!
Added for an early afternoon main stage slot on Sunday are rising, home-grown Century Media metalheads, HEART OF A COWARD (https://www.facebook.com/heartofacoward). Check out the video for ‘Hollow’ from last album ‘Deliverance’ at: https://youtu.be/C-h3c2VnA7A.
Joining Friday’s Sophie Stage bill are German symphonic metal outfit BEYOND THE BLACK (https://www.facebook.com/beyondtheblackofficial), Wigan’s own progressive sludgelords BOSS KELOID (https://www.facebook.com/bosskeloidband), and self-described ‘epic fantasycore’ group FURY from Worcester (https://www.facebook.com/furyofficial).
Meanwhile, snagging a Sophie Stage slot on Saturday are heavy psych merchants VODUN (https://www.facebook.com/VODUNBAND) fresh from Stone Free festival last weekend and fast-rising London melodic metallers, THE RAVEN AGE (https://www.facebook.com/TheRavenAge).
BLOODSTOCK is very pleased to welcome back TEENAGE CANCER TRUST as their official charity partner once again. After shattering all previous fundraising records in 2015 with a colossal total in excess of £13.5K, BLOODSTOCK hopes you’ll join them to raise even more cash in 2016 to help TEENAGE CANCER TRUST support young people with cancer all over the UK.
Meantime, the ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ finals continue around the UK through to 10th July (remaining dates below). BLOODSTOCK’s ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ judging squad have been searching hard for hot new talent and these lucky bands have won slots on the Hobgoblin New Blood stage!
Friday welcomes Mansfield stoner/groove rock trio WITCHTRIPPER (https://www.facebook.com/witchtripperuk) and Leicester’s melodic doomsters GARGANJUA (https://www.facebook.com/Garganjua). On Saturday, Leicester M2TM winners CONJURER (https://www.facebook.com/conjureruk) bring their blend of progressive post-metal sludge/groove, plus Norwich M2TM finalists VENDETTA (https://www.facebook.com/VendettaUKHC) offer up a slice of pure British hardcore aggression. Joining Sunday’s New Blood mayhem are Luton’s FAR FROM HISTORY (https://www.facebook.com/farfromhistoryuk), mixing chugging groove and hardcore riffs to round out your weekend.
There’s also a chance for punters at each M2TM event to win weekend tickets to BLOODSTOCK, a case of Hobgoblin Ale to take home, or various other BLOODSTOCK related prizes. You can even shake hands with BLOODSTOCK’s ‘M2TM’ mainman, Simon Hall. Remaining finals run as follows so get out, support, and win those festival tickets for yourself!
24th Jun – SWINDON – The Victoria
24th Jun – DEWSBURY – The Old Turk
25th Jun – MERSEYSIDE / LIVERPOOL – Bumper
1st Jul – LINCOLNSHIRE / LINCOLN – The Lincoln Imp
2nd Jul – READING – Facebar
9th Jul – BURNLEY – Sanctuary
9th Jul – BOURNEMOUTH – The Anvil
9th Jul – POLAND / BIELSKO-BIALA – The Rude Boy Club
10th Jul – BIRMINGHAM – The Roadhouse
Already announced for 2016 are our three headliners, TWISTED SISTER (in their last ever UK show), MASTODON and SLAYER, plus special guests BEHEMOTH, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX. Also on the bill are FEAR FACTORY, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SYMPHONY X, SATYRICON, PARADISE LOST, DRAGONFORCE, METAL ALLEGIANCE, STUCK MOJO, ROTTING CHRIST, MISERY LOVES CO, AKERCOCKE, GHOST BATH, VENOM, UNEARTH, DIAMOND HEAD, GOATWHORE, ACID REIGN and many more. Additional bands are still to be announced.
There’s a wealth of exciting news from BLOODSTOCK HQ in regard to their grass-roots-metal-supporting ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ scheme! Coming on board as a premier sponsor is the newly resurrected, iconic metal label, MUSIC FOR NATIONS! Also two more exciting prizes have been thrown into the hat for one of the lucky bands on the Hobgoblin New Blood bill.
All those winning a slot on the Hobgoblin New Blood stage via the ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ initiative will already be in the running for the chance to receive endorsement deals from gear manufacturers and professional PR advice, but are also now eligible for these additional prizes. One winner will get recording time with renowned producer, Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Angel Witch, Cathedral & many more) at his residential Orgone Studios in Woburn, Beds. Metal Hammer have also pledged to support one winning band with exposure on Metal Hammer’s website and invite them to the magazine offices for a feature photoshoot and interview, plus a radio interview for Team Rock Radio.
Meantime, the ‘M2TM’ finals are already under way and continue through to 10th July (remaining dates below). BLOODSTOCK’s ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ judging squad have been clocking up the miles (1800 to date!) and many lucky bands have won slots on the Hobgoblin New Blood stage! Check out this lot for starters.
Joining Friday’s bill are;
SEED OF SORROW (www.facebook.com/seedofsorrow), melodic death metallers from the Inverness final. Five piece from the Scottish highlands, dedicated to producing the angriest metal possible!
HUSK (www.facebook.com/HUSKUKMETAL), death metal from the Wolverhampton final. With many of their dark, groove based tracks being built around bass player/vocalist Bob Taylor’s infectious bass playing, introducing elements of slap bass in death metal shouldn’t even be a thing …. But it really is.
BURNING THE DREAM (www.facebook.com/burningthedream), progressive death metal from Glasgow’s final. Venomous groove-laden death with hooks galore!
VEHEMENT (www.facebook.com/officialvehement), extreme/black metal from Brighton’s final. Black clothes? Black face masks?! Check! An unrelenting smoke machine and a bone fide MMA fighter on drums?! Check, check!! Extreme metal with real strength!
TRIVERSE MASSACRE (www.facebook.com/triversemassacre), groove/thrash metal from Carlisle’s final. “…like standing naked in a hurricane, or diving head-first into a nest of pissed-off hornets!” Heavy as fuck!!
THE CRAWLING (https://www.facebook.com/thecrawlingband), down-tempo death from Belfast’s final. When a band has the ability to set a scene in a mere 30mins, you’re on to a winner. The Crawling say little between tracks allowing the sample of flies to draw the audience into an uneasy feeling of melancholy. A grim blend of doom and death that’ll hve you scratching and questioning your own mortality.
TEN TON SLUG (www.facebook.com/tentonslug), stoner sludge doom from Dublin’s final. Like being reverse kicked in the knackers by a disgruntled rhino! These lads are not for those of a weak disposition.
Winning a Saturday slot:
BEARFIST (www.facebook.com/bearfistuk), metal from London! It’s all about the riffs and these guys have ‘em in spades. So much so, the guitarist won the handmade custom guitar from local sponsors, Empire Guitars! Congrats lads!
RAMAGE INC (www.facebook.com/ramageinc), ambient prog metal from Glasgow’s final. Already well established with prog/tech metal fans, these guys deliver with comparisons to the Devin Townsend writing style but with the Ramage stamp. Tech bliss.
FAMYNE (www.facebook.com/famyneuk), doom from Kent’s final. A young band with an old school sound, remiscent of Chronicles’-era Hawkwind mixed up with the epic sound of Candlemass. An obligatory oversized gong and a rolling smoke machine were in full effect!
And the first one for Sunday:
ART OF DECEPTION (www.facebook.com/ArtofDeceptionofficial), melodic death from Norway’s final. With frontman Sindre Johnsen having direct family ties to Kvelertak, his pedigree points to his ferocious vocal delivery and no shortage of notable twin lead skills. These guys were a stand out choice.
As well as the fresh blood, sliding in to a Sophie stage slot are BEHOLDER (www.facebook.com/beholderuk)! Fronted by M2TM Head Honcho, Simon Hall, he’ll be leading the way where many of his charges will hope to follow. With a recently lauded new album…
There’s also a chance for punters at each event to win weekend tickets to BLOODSTOCK, a case of Hobgoblin Ale to take home, or various other BLOODSTOCK related prizes. You can even shake hands with BLOODSTOCK’s ‘M2TM’ mainman, Simon Hall. Remaining finals run as follows so get out, support and win those festival tickets for yourself!
17th Jun – NEWCASTLE – The Cluny
18th Jun – SOUTH WALES / CARDIFF – Fuel Club
19th Jun – MANCHESTER – Grand Central
24th Jun – SWINDON – The Victoria
24th Jun – DEWSBURY – The Old Turk
25th Jun – MERSEYSIDE / LIVERPOOL – Bumper
1st Jul – LINCOLNSHIRE / LINCOLN – The Lincoln Imp
2nd Jul – READING – Facebar
9th Jul – BURNLEY – Sanctuary
9th Jul – BOURNEMOUTH – The Anvil
9th Jul – POLAND / BIELSKO-BIALA – The Rude Boy Club
10th Jul – BIRMINGHAM – The Roadhouse
Already announced for 2016 are our three headliners, TWISTED SISTER (in their last ever UK show), MASTODON and SLAYER, plus special guests BEHEMOTH, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX. Also on the bill are FEAR FACTORY, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SYMPHONY X, SATYRICON, PARADISE LOST, DRAGONFORCE, METAL ALLEGIANCE, STUCK MOJO, ROTTING CHRIST, MISERY LOVES CO, GHOST BATH, VENOM, UNEARTH, DIAMOND HEAD, GOATWHORE, ACID REIGN and many more. Additional bands are still to be announced.
