Metal 2 The Masses

BLOODSTOCK launches 2025 ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ grass roots scheme across the UK

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BLOODSTOCK wants to find the hottest new metal talent to appear across festival weekend next August! With weekend tickets for BLOODSTOCK 2025 now sold out, festival HQ is getting cracking on this year’s instalment of the phenomenally successful Metal 2 The Masses (M2TM) scheme, to fill out the bands who’ll be appearing on the New Blood Stage, in conjunction with sponsor Timothy Taylor.

No other festival does more to support grass roots metal and local venues in the UK. BLOODSTOCK was honoured to be recognised for this at the Heavy Music Awards earlier this summer, taking home top accolade The H Award, for exceptional positive contribution to the heavy music scene by way of the M2TM initiative.



Bloodstock’s Simon Hall at The Heavy Music Awards – photo by Dev Place
There are 31 regions already confirmed to take part this year, ensuring regional heats the length and breadth of the country (plus Cyprus and Poland for good measure), making this the biggest Metal 2 The Masses scheme yet! 

The list of participating regions this year include: LONDON | CYPRUS | BRISTOL | COVENTRY | BURNLEY | DEV & CORNWALL | MERSEYSIDE | BRIGHTON | OXFORD | NORTHANTS | NOTTINGHAM | STOKE | CHELTENHAM | KENT | NEWCASTLE | HITCHIN | SOUTH WALES | NORTH WALES | NORWAY | SOMERSET | BIRMINGHAM | EAST ANGLIA | ESSEX | MANCHESTER | SOUTHAMPTON | LEICESTER | SHEFFIELD | LEEDS | BELFAST | SCOTLAND | POLAND

If you’re in a self-released or unsigned band and want to try out for a slot on the BLOODSTOCK bill, get in touch with the region nearest you and get yourselves involved!  After a series of heats, one winner from each region will secure themselves a slot on the New Blood stage and some of the very best runners-up may also get lucky, space permitting.

Bands should get their applications into their nearest regional promoter ASAP, as the first heats kick off in the coming weeks.  Any local promoters in regions not yet represented can email Simon Hall ([email protected]) for information if they wish to host the scheme in their local area.

Full details of venues, and who to contact to enter in each region, can be found by clicking the locations above, here, or on Facebook.

BLOODSTOCK’s 2025 Ronnie James Dio stage headliners are TRIVIUM, MACHINE HEAD, and GOJIRA. Headlining the Sophie Lancaster stage will be ME AND THAT MAN, KATAKLYSM, STATIC-X, and OBITUARY.

You’ll also be able to see MASTODON, NAILBOMB, MINISTRY, EMPEROR, FEAR FACTORY, LACUNA COIL, HERIOT, ORANGE GOBLIN, CREEPER, KUBLAI KHAN TX, CAGE FIGHT, RIVERS OF NIHIL, FLOTSAM & JETSAM, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, FEUERSCHWANZ, LORD OF THE LOST, PALEFACE SWISS, AUGUST BURNS RED, WARBRINGER, UNDEATH, SPIRIT ADRIFT, THROWN, ALL FOR METAL, BREED 77, HIGH PARASITE, and 3 INCHES OF BLOOD.

Joining them are the most recently announced SHRAPNEL, FAMYNE, KONVENT, THE SPIRIT, GHOSTS OF ATLANTIS, ONE MACHINE, MY DILIGENCE, SHADE EMPIRE, EIHWAR, WATERLINES, PHOENIX LAKE, NEONFLY, WALL, DOGMA, and SIGLOS.

Stay tuned for many more bands and on site activities to be announced over the coming months.

Get full festival information over at bloodstock.uk.com.  Watch a trailer here.

BLOODSTOCK will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 7th-10th August 2025.

BLOODSTOCK announce New Blood bands & M2TM finals kick off

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The Metal 2 The Masses tour returns in 2024! BLOODSTOCK’s initiative to give emerging bands a step up and also support grassroots venues, kicks off on 10th May, with 30 regions and 6 countries participating. The fun begins in Belfast and rolls down through Dublin and back to England, Scotland, and Wales, taking in Norway and Poland along the way. The tour wraps up in Coventry on 15th July, with all the regional winners from the finals being revealed in due course. Check out the local events below and get along to your nearest event to support the headliners of tomorrow!

BLOODSTOCK is also thrilled to announce a collaboration with Timothy Taylor’s Hopical Storm as the official Metal 2 The Masses sponsor for 2024. Expect to see them on site and lend their name to the Hopical Storm New Blood Stage! To celebrate the new partnership, BLOODSTOCK’s very own S’tan popped by their brewery to greet the team… watch here.

Today also marks the first batch of bands selected to showcase their talent at 2024’s event, outside of the M2TM tour initiative. 

2023’s Northern Ireland victors and ‘war-jazz’ thrashers, ACID AGE will open Thursday’s Sophie Lancaster stage. They tell us “We love everything about M2TM. The exposure, photography, stage, lights and friends we made was more than satisfactory, but then we won and got to both attend and play BLOODSTOCK 2023! We couldn’t believe it, BLOODSTOCK is heavy metal Mecca. It’s where everyone comes together with a common goal, HEAVY FUCKING METAL! The sense of community at the festival is undeniable. Now that we have a chance to return and play the Sophie stage, we aim to show everyone why we are the best War-Jazz band in the world and we will do it for Sophie. See you in August.”  Check out their video for ‘Slave Girl’ and get up to speed.

Selected from 600 email submissions, on Friday’s Hopical Storm New Blood stage expect to see Scottish thrash squad DISPOSABLE, Leicester’s prog metal outfit FINAL COIL and Scottish rockers SHE BURNS RED. 
Saturday’s bill will feature London industrial noiseniks BIOMECHANIMAL, Herts heavyists PRAETORIAN and metalcore squad, LOST TO LIGHT. 

Sunday’s line up includes Brummie rockers STRAIGHT FOR THE SUN, Cambridge metallers AKKADIAN and Yorkshire blackened death outfit, SATHAMEL. 



In other 2024 BLOODSTOCK news, OPETH‘s headline set on Friday night will be a fan-voted set!  OPETH mainman, Mikael Akerfeldt explains in his inimitable dry humoured way: “This boils down to YOU voting for your favourite OPETH songs, culled from a list that we’ve put together (ie: songs that we know/believe/hope we can play fairly well). There are a few rarities in there, a few ”hits” and a few ”whatever” songs to choose from. Depending on our set length, we’ll put together a nice list of the top-voted songs that adds up to match the stage-time in question. Have fun! Be gentle! Thanks for participating!” 

 Check out OPETH‘s Spotify Playlist to remind yourself of the choices and vote for your Top 10 picks here. Voting ends 17th May. 



From 1st May, you can also utilise BLOODSTOCK‘s ‘click & collect’ service to pre-order your favourites online from the 2024 merchandise range! Pre-purchase your favourite t-shirt or grab the 2024 beer mug without fear of your size or design being already sold out on site. Pre-order here and simply collect at the arena merch stall on the weekend, knowing your item is guaranteed. All ‘click and collect’ items in the store will be clearly marked with a yellow C&C badge. Maybe you want that BOA hoodie for when the sun goes down, so order, then collect from the merch stall to save a trip back to your tent. In a ‘click & collect’ exclusive, if you order over £100 of items via this method, you get 10% off, and over £200 gets 15% off. Mark your calendar and head over on 1st May to grab your swag. 

Also, if you’ve not yet checked out BLOODSTOCK’s new podcast, hosted by the inimitable Beez, head over to Spotify or Apple Podcasts and check out the episodes so far, including guests such as Clutch, Sylosis, Green Lung and more! You can also now find some of these episodes on the official BLOODSTOCK YouTube channel.

BLOODSTOCK’S HALLOWEEN TREATS

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Happy Halloween! Trick or treat?! BLOODSTOCK loves the spooky season and has only fiendishly good news to share! Are you ready? Get set to howl the house down when you see which nine bands are being announced today! There’s also news of everyone’s brilliant fund-raising efforts with details of just how much was raised for two worthy charities from BLOODSTOCK 2023, the ticket deposit scheme launch date, & more. Without further ado… 

Swedish metal legends GRAND MAGUS land a Friday slot on the Ronnie James Dio main stage. It’s already been 4 long years since the doom-infused three-piece dropped album ‘Wolf God’ with Nuclear Blast, but the band themselves have already made mention of their tenth album coming in 2024! Get excited! Last seen at BLOODSTOCK in 2019, refresh your memory of that epic set here. 

Metal Blade mob WHITECHAPEL serve up a hefty slab of deathcore on Saturday’s main stage. After regretfully pulling out of 2023’s event, you’ve had an extra year to anticipate just how ferocious that pit is gonna be. Watch the video for latest single ‘Without You/Without Us’ or deep dive into the entirety of current album ‘Kin’ here. 

Florida death metal icons DEICIDE also jet in for a main stage Saturday spot in a UK festival exclusive. It’s all go in the Deicide camp of late, signing a new record deal with Reigning Phoenix Music and putting the finishing touches on their upcoming, 13th full-length album, ‘Banished By Sin’, featuring new guitarist Taylor Nordberg. The first new album since 2018, just give us the release date already! While you’re waiting patiently, check out some classic Deicide via the video for ‘Scars Of The Crucifix.’ 

Oxford-based riff beasts DESERT STORM roll in to wake you up on Friday morning, opening the main stage. Their latest masterpiece ‘Death Battle’ dropped via APF this March, an intoxicating mix of stoner doom and prog metal. If you’re a fan of Clutch and Orange Goblin, you won’t want to miss them. Wrap your ears round their latest track ‘Salt Of The Earth’ here.

Over on the Sophie Lancaster stage, five more treats have been locked in. 
Icelandic psych rock squad THE VINTAGE CARAVAN secure a position on Friday’s bill. The Led Zep fans are currently cranking out their classic rock/prog-infused sounds across mainland Europe, promoting latest release ‘The Monuments Tour (Live)’, unveiled 2 weeks ago via Napalm Records. Watch the live video for ‘Can’t Get You Off My Mind’ here. 

Londoners EXIST IMMORTAL also bring their metal maelstrom to the Friday line-up. Their self-titled current album, released by Seek & Strike, is available now. Appraise yourself of their sound via their latest single, ‘Emerge’.

Joining them on Friday, are the epic metal ETERNAL CHAMPION from Texas, who marked their tenth anniversary this year. Released by No Remorse Records in 2020, you can listen to their latest LP ‘Ravening Iron’ in full here.

One of alt.music’s hottest rising stars, MIMI BARKS is added to Saturday’s Sophie bill. If you’re looking for something just a little bit different to add flavour to your BLOODSTOCK weekend, perhaps a little doom-trap will be just the ticket. Current release, ‘DEADGIRL’, claimed the full 5Ks from Kerrang. Watch ‘Saw’ from that release now.

GROVE STREET rampage onto Sunday’s roster.  The band have been causing a massive stir in hardcore circles and last month released new album, ‘The Path To Righteousness’. Check out the title track here and see what all the fuss is about.  
BLOODSTOCK is also excited to announce that Timothy Taylor and their Hopical Storm ale have partnered with the 2024 METAL 2 THE MASSES programme.  The 2024 M2TM season is now underway, with bands around the country competing to win a slot on the newly named Hopical Storm New Blood Stage.  If you’re in an unsigned or developing band and would like to throw your hat in the ring, click over to the M2TM page on the BLOODSTOCK site to see information about participating venues/cities. 
In other festival news, BLOODSTOCK would like to thank everyone who contributed to this year’s event’s charity fundraising efforts. A grand total of £13,903 was raised in donations from BLOODSTOCKers for the festival’s two official charities for 2023: The Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA) (£5492) and The Sophie Lancaster Foundation (£8411). This comprised: Guest & media donations amassing £10,984, which was split equally between The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and DRLAABar staff generously donating all tips to The Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Alan, the bar’s head honcho, also doubled this donation, making a total of £838.The Rock Society raised £200 via a raffle for The Sophie Lancaster Foundation.The T-Shirt / CD Amnesty raised £1881 for The Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

The Sophie Lancaster Foundation’s Chief Executive, Alison Vincent said: “We are so grateful to BLOODSTOCK and their amazing staff and supporters for their incredible donation of £8,411. This is a huge amount of money for us and will be used to fund more work to support the alternative community and also deliver more sessions in schools about tolerance and respect for others. Thanks to BLOODSTOCK for making us so welcome and for doing all they could to make BLOODSTOCK 2023 the best ever!” 

Commenting on behalf of the Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Rutland Air Ambulance charity, Tracey Jones, Community Fundraising Executive for Derbyshire said, “We would like to say a big thank you to everyone at BLOODSTOCK Open Air who donated funds to support our lifesaving missions. A special thank you goes to Rachael and Adam for choosing us as one of two charities to support at their festival this year. We rely on generous fundraising and funding to remain operational, and without the support of the local community just like this, the lifesaving missions in Derbyshire and further afield wouldn’t be possible.”

For more information on the important work these charities do, or to donate, please visit:https://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com/ and https://www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk. 
Want to do a bit more for The Sophie Lancaster Foundation?
Did you catch the amazing set by SKYND headlining the Sophie stage on Thursday at BLOODSTOCK this summer? Perhaps you spotted Skynd’s special pink jacket on stage during her performance or her wearing it earlier in the day?

Skynd has donated this one-off jacket and The Sophie Lancaster Foundation are auctioning it on eBay! Skynd has also signed the protective bag it will come in. The auction is already underway, so go sling in a bid and perhaps you’ll be the lucky winner. The auction ends on November 5th!

Bid here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314914024832

Skynd says, “A foundation like the Sophie Lancaster Foundation is important today as well as tomorrow, because it does not let us forget what and especially WHY happened to Sophie, but also that prejudice and intolerance have no place. I am grateful and emotionally touched about a foundation like this, where the people involved are committed and have their hearts in it and contribute a part to the fact that prejudice, hate and intolerance have no place anywhere. To be different, to live as you want should not be a reason for hate or violence. I support this foundation and will continue to do so. Say her name: SOPHIE!”

THE BLOODSTOCK COUNTDOWN IS ON! 

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JUST 46 DAYS TO GO!

With just 46 days to go to BLOODSTOCK, the countdown is ON!  

Tonight, Tuesday 27th June, sees festival directors Adam Gregory and Vicky Hungerford doing a Live Q&A via the festival’s Facebook and Instagram channels, answering punters’ questions about this year’s event. Tune in at 7pm to get all the latest updates and maybe even win some prizes!

The Metal 2 The Masses finals are nearly complete and another nine bands, the cream of the crop in each region, win a slot on 2023’s New Blood stage. Grabbing a Friday slot are Essex’s winners ARMS TO OBLIVION. Check out ‘Tequila Blues’ from the Ipswich groove metallers’ latest EP, ‘Defciylion’. Also appearing Friday are Bristol’s MOON REAPER UK, whose blackened death/doom sound is showcased via ‘Overlord’, which was shot live at their M2TM semi final. 

Saturday’s bill will feature County Durham’s SWARMS whose fat riffs and heavy breakdowns won over the Newcastle heat’s masses. Watch for yourself via ‘Copperhead’ shot during their Trillians set. Also winning a Saturday slot are Kent’s BROKEN CALLING, who blend hardcore, metalcore and nu metal and have picked up airplay from BBC Radio 1’s Alyx Holcombe. Check out their video for ‘S.I.C.K’ and find out why.

Five bands land themselves slots on Sunday’s New Blood stage. London’s SANGUINEM will be bringing their melodic death sounds, including ‘Hate Transfusion’, Birmingham’s NAMELESS will be showcasing their mix of nu metal and hardcore. Watch them play ‘Circus Of Freaks’ live, shot earlier this year.

Deathcore squad DYSTOPIAN SUN grab a slot too, via the North Wales final. Watch an online slaythrough of their track ‘Shadow Of Dread’ from 2021. Also joining Sunday are Hitchin’s tech metal outfit, SENTIENT. The 4-piece serve up a mix of noodly riffs and beefy breakdowns; heavy spaghetti indeed!

Check out ‘Gaslighter’ from their ‘Sentient Is Dead’ EP. On Sunday, the winners of the Poland heat of M2TM, bHP will bring their nu metal sounds to Catton Park. Watch them unleash the mayhem via their video for ‘Crownless’.
Unfortunately, STRIKER have had to pull out of this year’s event, but Birmingham metal squad, FURY slide into a slot on the Sophie Lancaster stage instead. 

BLOODSTOCK is also excited to announce a game-changing addition to this year’s event. In collaboration with event technology provider Preo, BLOODSTOCK is introducing a dedicated one-stop-shop featuring an array of festival essentials. From those all important cold beers to exclusive merchandise through to camping equipment and much more, festival go-ers can secure all their must-have items in advance from one online shop, eradicating the need for last-minute scrambles, long queues or searching in multiple online stores for different items.  For more info and to explore the online shop, please visit the official Bloodstock Festival Preo store. 

Each year BLOODSTOCK has various dress themes for those who want to participate.  In 2023, we see the return of the very successful ‘Pink For Sylvia’ theme on both Thursday and Friday, in memory of Sophie Lancaster’s mother, the founder of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.  Pink was Sylvia’s favourite colour.  Corpsepaint Saturday does what it says on the tin!  If you don’t want to do your own make up, stop by the Sophie Lancaster charity stall in the main arena and they’ll paint your face for a small donation, with all proceeds going to the Foundation. On Sunday, it’ll be Helloween Pumpkins day, so bust out your best pumpkin-themed attire to welcome the mighty HELLOWEEN! 

BLOODSTOCK REVEALS FIRST ‘METAL 2 THE MASSES’ FINALS WINNERS FOR THE NEW BLOOD STAGE

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With just 73 days left between now and festival weekend, things are hotting up at BLOODSTOCK HQ, especially on the New Blood front! With the Metal 2 The Masses finals well underway around the country, the winning band in each region is locking in and BLOODSTOCK is excited to share nine more lucky developing bands who’ll be performing on the New Blood stage at Catton Park this August.

Winning the Leicester heat and grabbing a Friday slot are the progressive tech/death collective, VOIDWALKER. Familiarise yourself by checking out their 2022 track ‘Tar Stained Lips’ over at their Bandcamp page. The Manchester heat victors, the genre-twisting SQUARE WILD, won Prog Magazine’s ‘Best Unsigned Band’ poll last year. Watch their video for ‘Hounds’ and find out why. Also winning a Friday slot are the East Anglia final top dogs, URIDIUM. If you love your old school classic metal sound, these could be one for you. Check out ‘Fire & Lies’ taken from their debut EP, ‘In For The Kill’. 

Saturday’s New Blood stage will feature Scotland’s winners, EXTORT. Check out the extreme metal squad’s live version of ‘Control Alt Deceased’ and go give their ‘Reset’ debut EP a listen. Also appearing Saturday will be Sheffield’s grunge rockers, DEAD BLONDE STARS. Get a handle on their sound via the lyric video for ‘Hernan’, taken from their 2020 debut album, ‘Metamorphosis’. And coming out on top in the Milton Keynes heat are DROWND. Get a feel for their brand of industrial rock via the video for ‘Sinner’, taken from last year’s ‘[An]Aesthetic’ album.

Landing a slot on Sunday and triumphing in Northern Ireland are power trio, ACID AGE. The band take their influences from across the board, but their thrash roots are on full display in the video for ‘Slave Girl’. Also playing Sunday will be Dublin hardcore squad, LAVEIN, who came out on top for the Republic of Ireland heat. Impressive for a band who are only a few months old! Check out their winning live set from the Fibber Magees M2TM final. Lastly, champions in the Leeds battle are local 5-piece, GODETH. Listen to their blend of groove, death and hardcore showcased on their new single, ‘Scour’. 
The M2TM finals kicked off at the end of April and the remaining heats are detailed below, so be sure to get out and support the crucially important network of small venues and developing bands in your area. 
Sat 3rd Jun – LONDON The DomeSat 3rd Jun – NEWCASTLE TrilliansSat 10th Jun – CHORZOW (Poland) Lesniczowka Rock n’ Roll CafeFri 16th Jun – COLCHESTER CodaSat 17th Jun – GRAVESEND Leo’s, Red LionFri 23rd Jun – BIRMINGHAM Devils DogSat 24th Jun – HITCHIN Club 85Sat 24th Jun – WREXHAM XS @ The Penny BlackSat 24th Jun – BRISTOL The ExchangeFri 30th Jun – BOURNEMOUTH Bear CaveFri 30th Jun – CHELTENHAM Frog & FiddleSat 1st Jul – BURNLEY SanctuarySat 1st Jul – STOKE The UndergroundSat 1st Jul – NORTHAMPTON The Black PrinceSat 1st Jul – LIVERPOOL ZanzibarSat 1st Jul – CARDIFF FuelSat 8th Jul – NOTTINGHAM The Old Cold StoreSat 8th Jul – SALTASH LivewireSat 8th Jul – OXFORD Jericho Tavern

BLOODSTOCK REVEAL ‘METAL 2 THE MASSES’ FINALS DATES AND FIRST BANDS FOR 2023’s NEW BLOOD STAGE

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As Spring settles in, BLOODSTOCK HQ is a hive of activity.  This week’s announcement sees the first bands announced for the New Blood stage, and the dates are set for the Finals of 2023’s METAL 2 THE MASSES programme, BLOODSTOCK’s celebrated initiative to help developing bands score a landmark opportunity, playing a slot on the New Blood stage at the festival in August.  Some winners are chosen from online submissions, whereas others battle it out among their peers at local events across the country. This year, 29 different regions have stepped up and we also welcome initiatives from Croatia and Poland to the programme. 

The finals kick off this Saturday 29th April at Leicester’s O2 Academy and roll through to Saturday 8th July at Oxford’s Jericho Tavern.  Full dates are detailed below, so be sure to get out and support both bands and venues near you. 

Sat 29th Apr – LEICESTER O2 Academy
Sat 6th May – EDINBURGH La Belle Angele
Fri 12th May – BELFAST Voodoo 
Sat 13th May – DUBLIN Fibber Magees
Sat 20th May – SHEFFIELD Corporation
Sat 20th May – MANCHESTER Rebellion
Thu 25th May – NORWICH Brickmakers
Sat 27th May – MILTON KEYNES Craufurd Arms
Sat 27th May – LEEDS The Library
Sat 3rd Jun – LONDON The Dome
Sat 3rd Jun – NEWCASTLE Trillians
Sat 3rd Jun – OSIJEK (Croatia) Ex-Epic
Sat 10th Jun – CHORZOW (Poland) Lesniczowka Rock n’ Roll Cafe
Fri 16th Jun – COLCHESTER Coda
Sat 17th Jun – GRAVESEND Leo’s, Red Lion
Fri 23rd Jun – BIRMINGHAM Devils Dog
Sat 24th Jun – HITCHIN Club 85
Sat 24th Jun – WREXHAM XS @ The Penny Black
Sat 24th Jun – BRISTOL The ExchangeFri 30th Jun – BOURNEMOUTH Bear Cave
Fri 30th Jun – CHELTENHAM Frog & Fiddle
Sat 1st Jul – BURNLEY Sanctuary
Sat 1st Jul – STOKE The Underground
Sat 1st Jul – NORTHAMPTON The Black Prince
Sat 1st Jul – LIVERPOOL Zanzibar
Sat 1st Jul – CARDIFF Fuel
Sat 8th Jul – NOTTINGHAM The Old Cold Store
Sat 8th Jul – SALTASH Livewire
Sat 8th Jul – OXFORD Jericho Tavern
Meanwhile, grabbing New Blood slots via the online submission process are these lucky acts.
Joining Friday’s New Blood stage are London’s LOKUST.  Their ferocious, instrumental demo single, ‘Guiltless’ (featuring Krimh – Septicflesh/ex-Decapitated) only hints at what’s to come when they release their debut album this year.  Also appearing Friday will be Stoke On Trent’s self-described “heavy as fuck” trio, HEADPRESS. Get a taster of their brutal triple attack via the video for ‘Outlines’. And joining Friday’s fray are Yorkshire UKHC squad, STREET SOLDIER. Check out the crunchy uncompromising title track from their debut ‘One Man Gang’ EP.

For Saturday’s New Blood stage, we welcome South Wales black metal collective OFNUS. Watch out for the band’s debut full length coming this Summer and meanwhile get a taster of their bleak, brutal sound.  Also featured on Saturday will be riff-laden Manchester metal trio, VICE. Their second album, ‘For The Fallen’ was released last summer – watch their video for ‘Vultures’ here. 

Irish doomsters SOOTHSAYER also land themselves a Saturday slot. Get familiar with their glorious, atmospheric noise via the video for ‘Cities Of Smoke’, taken from their album ‘Echoes Of The Earth’. Last, but certainly not least, Danish modern death metal squad NAKKEKNAEKKER join Saturday’s line up. For a five piece with the average age of 18, these boys have skills beyond their years. Check out this clip of their live show.

Over on Sunday’s New Blood stage, you’ll be seeing East Anglian thrashers ELIMINATION. The band’s 2021 debut, ‘Echoes of the Abyss’ turned many heads and the band are at work on its successor, due out this year.  In the interim, watch their video for ‘Icon of Despair’. 

Also grabbing a slot are Northern Ireland rock trio, SKYPILOT. The band’s latest album, ‘Simple Beasts’, laden with fat riffs, landed last Summer, featuring the track, ‘Octofuzz’. And Nottingham extreme noise terrorists OUTERGODS grab a Sunday spot. Featuring members of Evil Scarecrow and Raised By Owls, the band are working on a new album that’ll land this Summer.  In the meantime investigate their ungodly ‘Catacombs of Madness’.  
BLOODSTOCK’s very popular club nights are also underway! Grab your mates, hit the dance floor, and perhaps you’ll be a lucky winner coming home with a free pair of weekend tickets – every club night will be running a competition! If none of these are near you, fret not, there will be more party nights at other locations through June and July revealed soon.
APRILFri 28th April – Warrington, FC2Fri 28th April – Cardiff, Metro’sSat 29th April – Camberley, AgincourtSat 29th April – Stoke-on-Trent, The Sugarmill
MAYSat 6th May – Brighton, AboveFri 12th May – Bristol, The LanesSat 20th May – Newcastle, Reds Bar @ Northumbria Uni Students UnionFri 27th May – London, ElektrowerkzSat 27th May – Southampton, SuburbiaSat 27th May – Stoke-on-Trent, The SugarmillSun 28th May – Exeter, The Cavern

BLOODSTOCK Festival launches M2TM 2023 across the UK & Ireland

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It’s that time again already, when BLOODSTOCK kicks off its grass roots-supporting ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ scheme, which gives unsigned and DIY bands the chance of being part of the BLOODSTOCK festival experience.  

M2TM 2022 was without doubt the biggest BLOODSTOCK New Blood initiative to date and the festival managed to capture the bands, the fans, and grab a chat with a few of the promoters hosting the events, alongside chief M2TM organiser Simon Hall.  Check out the ‘Highway To BLOODSTOCK’ video below and get a handle on another phenomenally successful year for the initiative. 

Plans are already locked with many local promoters and BLOODSTOCK is set to track down the hottest new metal talent in the land, who’ll grab themselves slots on the New Blood stage across festival weekend in August 2023.  21 regions are secured so far, with more locations expected to be added in due course.  See the full list of participating regions to date below, and if you’re in a self-released or unsigned band and want to try out for a slot on the BLOODSTOCK bill, get in touch with the event nearest you and get yourselves involved!  One winner from each region will secure themselves a slot on the New Blood stage and some of the very best runners-up may also get lucky, space permitting. 

Bands should get their applications into their nearest regional promoter ASAP, as heats kick off in the coming weeks.  Any local promoters in regions not yet represented can email Simon Hall ([email protected]) for information if they wish to host the scheme in their local area. 

Regions announced so far are: CHESTERFIELD, NORTHERN IRELAND (Belfast), REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (Dublin), SHEFFIELD, HITCHIN, MANCHESTER, MILTON KEYNES, BOURNEMOUTH, LEEDS, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ESSEX (Colchester), KENT (Gravesend), BRISTOL, NORTH WALES (Wrexham), LEICESTER, STOKE ON TRENT, SOUTH WALES (Cardiff), NOTTINGHAM, DEVON & CORNWALL (Saltash), SCOTLAND (heats locally, final in Edinburgh) and LONDON. 

Full details of venues and who to contact to enter in each region, can be found here or on Facebook.

BLOODSTOCK’s 2023 Ronnie James Dio main stage headliners are KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and MEGADETH, with the third to be announced in the coming months.  Also on the main stage are DEVILDRIVER, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY, DECAPITATED and GATECREEPER, plus over on the Sophie Lancaster stage, expect to see ZEAL & ARDOR, KING 810 and UNTO OTHERS.  Many, many more are yet to be announced. 

With tickets selling faster than ever, all VIP packages and campervan passes are already sold out and Early Bird tickets are down to their last few, at a discounted price. Grab yours now at the ticket store.  

BLOODSTOCK will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 10th-13th August 2023. For more info, click to www.bloodstock.uk.com. 

BLOODSTOCK goes pink; reveals more bands

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Some of BLOODSTOCK HQ’s favourite festival moments are wandering amongst their metal brethren at Catton Park and seeing someone become a fan of a new band. Elevating the best upcoming heavy metal talent is one of the chief aims of Metal 2 The Masses, and as finals continue, we’ve details of a few more winners you’ll be able to see at BLOODSTOCK this August, alongside the first of the Jagermeister stage bands to be announced! 

First though, BLOODSTOCK also wants to take a moment to celebrate and elevate the work of an amazing woman. 2022 saw the very tragic loss of Sylvia Lancaster OBE, the pioneering fundraiser & educator who established The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, as well as of course being Sophie’s mum and a dear friend of everyone at BLOODSTOCK HQ. 

At Sylvia’s funeral earlier this year, she had requested that everyone attending wear something pink, as this was her favourite colour.  So in honour of Sylvia, at this year’s festival on the Sunday, we’re mirroring the sentiment and asking BLOODSTOCKers to please wear an item of pink in acknowledgement of her truly phenomenal work, which has been life changing for many in alternative subcultures.  Perhaps you’d like to don a pink shirt or hat, or maybe plump for a full pink outfit!  Let’s see a sea of pink for Sylvia on Sunday, and don’t forget to drop by The Sophie Lancaster Foundation stand in the arena and make a donation if you can. 

With Metal 2 The Masses finals well underway across the country, BLOODSTOCK is excited to share a few more of the winning bands, who’ll be performing on the New Blood stage. Essex champions EXISTENTIALIST are set to impress with their blackened death metal on Friday, alongside immersive goth rockers FYRESKY, who won the Kent heat. Milton Keynes victors VERMINTHRONE add some sludgecore flavour (imagine if EyeHateGod, Lamb of God, and Mastodon had a child) to Saturday’s bill, ably assisted by alt metal crew NOVACROW, who took first place for Merseyside.

Joining them on Saturday are Stoke’s brutal metal vanquishers HEADPRESS, Norwich heavyweights COLLAPSE THE SKY who crushed the competition in East Anglia, plus the kings of the London final, blistering thrashers IMPERIUM, who were so stoked to win, they also sent this message: “It goes without saying… the highlight of our music career so far. Winning has blown us away and we can’t wait to walk on that New Blood stage and do our thing! Getting to this point has been a winding road, but M2TM has humbled us, improved us and now given us this incredible opportunity to play Bloodstock Open Air. We can’t thank our fans enough for the support over the last year pushing us on and making our shows what they are. Thank you so much to everyone out there, you are a huge part of Imperium.” 

Sunday welcomes Leicester’s conquerors SULVAIN, four devotees of NOLA grunge from Northampton, with more bands yet to be revealed as the MT2M finals continue! BLOODSTOCK can also reveal some of the hotly tipped talent who’ll be ripping up the Jagermeister stage this year, so why not grab a cold one and go check out what could become your new favourite band.

Friday brings Rotherham’s SWAMP COFFIN, offering up a slab of nihilistic, metallic sludge for your eyes and ears, and good-humoured, Scottish rap/thrash n rollers, CERTAIN DEATH, whose music you may recognise from numerous extreme sports videos including the ‘Thrasher’ skateboarding series (or even just their ‘Jailbait’ single from colossal video game Grand Theft Auto VI).

Saturday now includes doom/thrash/groove fans BOZ, riff-worshipping Dundee trio SOLAR SONS, and rock doomsters MASTER CHARGER, hailing from the blackest heart of the Midlands. If you’re still head-bangin’ by Sunday, head over to catch balls to the wall, ground-shakers DEADLOCK SAINTS (think Motorhead meets Led Zeppelin) as well as some filthy sludge – by way of some grindcore, prog, psychedelia, and stoner doom too – from Limerick City’s TOOMS.  

Don’t miss BLOODSTOCK’s latest Facebook Live (and also on Instagram) TONIGHT at 7pm for the latest news, gossip, giveaways, and more. Get excited with your fellow BLOODSTOCKers and ask any burning questions direct to festival management.

BLOODSTOCK REVEALS BANDS, CLUB NIGHTS, & PLANS WITH SOPHIE LANCASTER FOUNDATION & DERBYSHIRE LGBT+

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BLOODSTOCK can’t wait to welcome you to the UK’s best heavy metal weekender this summer and as every day passes, there are more exciting things to reveal! Read on for the latest news on who’s been added to the bill, some riotous club nights to get you warmed up, the start of the M2TM final heats, plans afoot with the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and Derbyshire LGBT+, plus while you’re getting set for the long Easter weekend, stop by BLOODSTOCK’s social media later this week for some special Easter competition fun! 


Following the unfortunate news that STATIC-X are cancelling all their European shows in 2022, BLOODSTOCK is excited to announce that their replacement in the Sunday night headline slot on the Sophie Lancaster stage are none other than Swedish melodeath pioneers DARK TRANQUILITY. The band are currently touring across Europe, covering more than 27,000km over 52 cities in 24 countries, in just 57 days, almost immediately after wrapping a US tour too! 


Regretfully, TALLAH have also had to pull out, but their spot will be filled by modern metal crew DEFECTS, fresh off tour with In Flames. Get to know them via their latest single, End Of Days. 


BLOODSTOCK is committed to inclusivity and is pleased to announce that Derbyshire LGBT+ and Sophie Lancaster Foundation will both have stalls at the festival this year, where all are welcome to stop by and learn more about the work they do. You can find them in the arena to the left of the main stage, alongside Derbyshire Blood Bikes.
 
2022 marks the 15th year since Sophie Lancaster’s tragic death. Adam Lancaster, Sophie’s brother and team member at the Foundation, will also give a talk each day of the festival at the Rock Society tent at the back of the main arena. His powerful, intimate account details the true horrors of hate crime and the work the Foundation does to combat prejudice and intolerance in Sophie’s name. 
 
Derbyshire LGBT+ add, “For 39 years Derbyshire LGBT+ has operated as the only charity in Derbyshire committed to the LGBT+ community of Derbyshire; offering support, advocacy, advice and empowerment. We are very proud to announce our attendance at BLOODSTOCK this year, so that we can extend our reach even further and offer these services at an event that promotes inclusivity and acceptance. Our amazing staff and volunteers will be standing by and we encourage people to visit us, find out more and to see what we have to offer. Let’s put the ‘Unity’ in ‘Community’ together!” 


BLOODSTOCK’s Metal 2 The Masses, the initiative that supports all genres of grass roots metal and offers a chance to play BOA’s New Blood stage, kicks off their final heats across 25 regions from 1st May. Get on down to your local event and help shape the festival’s line-up! Look out for the winners to be announced in due course, together with some additional bands chosen from CD applications and some of the very best runners-up. Check out the image below for your nearest finals event.

BLOODSTOCK is also thrilled to restart Bloodstock-themed club nights across the country! Local rock pubs and clubs are a key part of what BLOODSTOCK does with the ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ scheme, so we’re stoked to support them further by announcing the first wave of club nights for 2022. Get along to your local event, hear a ton of tunes from BOA bands past and present and be in with a chance of winning a pair of standard weekend tickets, a goodie bag or various other giveaways. Dates & times are subject to change, so check locally for latest info. More cities will be announced in Phase 2 which runs through June & July, but meanwhile, head down to the following for some fun!

Friday 15th April – Exeter, Cavern – Altern8
Saturday 16th April – Southampton, The Hobbit
Friday 22nd April – Reading, Face Bar
Saturday 23rd April – Camberley, Agincourt
Friday 29th April – High Wycombe, Crash Rock Club (Bucks SU)
Saturday 30th April – Stoke on Trent, The Sugarmill – Devil’s Night
Saturday 30th April – Brighton Above,
Friday 6th May – Plymouth, The Junction
Friday 6th May – Woking, Schism
Friday 13th May – Bristol, The Lanes – PHUCT
Friday 13th May – Exeter, Cavern – Altern8
Friday 13th May – Winchester, The Railway Inn
Saturday 14th May – Manchester, The Bread Shed
Saturday 14th May – Newcastle, Grindhouse
Friday 27th May – London, Elektrowerkz
Saturday 28th May – Stoke on Trent, The Sugarmill

If you’ve already got your ticket bagged, are you now thinking about how best to get to Catton Park? BLOODSTOCK is pleased to support two sustainable travel options – Big Green Coach (who’ll drop you & your gear right inside the festival gates for minimal walking, from 33 locations around the UK & you can secure your seat for just a tenner) and Liftshare (a safe way to offer up a spare spot in your car, or nab one in someone else’s & perhaps make new friends to boot). Get more info on both options over at BIG GREEN COACH and LIFTSHARE.

All VIP packages, Early Bird tix, and campervan passes have now sold out. You can still snap up standard weekend camping tickets (just £145 +fees for 4 days of heavy metal fun) plus day & child tix are available now at the ticket store. Mini moshers under age 4 get in free!

BLOODSTOCK ANNOUNCES FINAL BATCH OF SOPHIE LANCASTER STAGE BANDS

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Over halfway there! With just 168 days to go before the marauding metal hordes charge through the gates of Catton Park, BLOODSTOCK has its last batch of Sophie Lancaster Stage bands to announce. It’s also ‘Last Call’ time for the Deposit Scheme, where you can pay over 6 smaller instalments (full details below). Artists for the Jagermeister and New Blood stages and other fest entertainment details are yet to come, but in the meantime, wrap your eyes and ears around the following…
 
Once you’ve set up your tent and had your first beer, Thursday’s Sophie tent proceedings open with the unmissable, incendiary noises of Bristol blues-punk four piece, MOTHER VULTURE. Check out their high octane video of ‘The Wave’ for a taster of what’s in store!  
 
Also snagging a Thursday slot are BASEMENT TORTURE KILLINGS who’ll bring their serial killer grindcore to your Thursday evening. If you’re not familiar with their sound, watch the clip for ‘Armchair Psycho Or Pure Predator?’. 
 
Friday’s Sophie opener is deathgrind squad CREPITATION. If you’re heading to the Liverpool Napalm Death/Raging Speedhorn show in March, you’ll catch them opening the show. If you can’t make it, you can still witness their sonic chaos via this live footage from Foothills Gutfest a couple of years back. 
 
If hardcore is more your vibe, you won’t want to miss London bruisers INHUMAN NATURE, also playing the Sophie stage on Friday. You can warm up extra early if you’re attending Cro-Mags’ London gig in June, for they’re first onstage that night. If not, check out the title track from their recently released ‘Under The Boot’ EP, out now on Church Road Records.
 
Saturday’s Sophie fun brings a pummelling from Hull crew MASTIFF. US magazine Decibel described them as “a rousing blend of savage power that’s as ready for the mosh pit as it is for your next clandestine ritual in the woods.” See for yourself via the video for ‘Endless’ from their crushing album, ‘Leave Me The Ashes Of The Earth’.
 
Joining the Sophie Lancaster Stage shenanigans on Sunday, are Coventry three-piece and M2TM alumni PELUGION, levelling up from their 2018 New Blood stage slot. Inviting fans of Black Sabbath & Black Label Society especially, investigate their single ‘Bane Of Humanity’, while you wait. 
 
BLOODSTOCK’s Metal 2 The Masses, the initiative that supports all genres of grass roots metal and offers a chance to play BOA’s New Blood stage, is proud to announce a partnership with Eyesore Merch in 2022. The programme provides up and coming bands with an awesome opportunity to be seen and heard by a wide audience and part of the music industry normally out of reach for bands at that level. In partnering with Metal 2 The Masses, Eyesore Merch wants to add to that opportunity by offering 3 winning bands from the 26 regional heats, a chance to get their merchandise showcased to an audience of potential new fans. Those 3 winners will see their merchandise featured and available to purchase on www.eyesoremerch.com, have their gear included on Eyesore Merch’s mailout direct to customers and featured on the Eyesore Merch socials, which directly targets a metric tonne of metal lovers who love buying ‘hard to find’ band merch.


If you’ve got your ticket bagged, are you already thinking about how best to get to BLOODSTOCK? BLOODSTOCK is pleased to support two sustainable travel options – Big Green Coach (who’ll drop you and your gear right inside the festival gates for minimal walking, from 33 locations around the UK & you can secure your seat for just a tenner) and Liftshare (a safe way to offer up a spare spot in your car, or nab one in someone else’s & perhaps make new friends to boot). Get more info on both over at BIG GREEN COACH and LIFTSHARE. 


Want something to get you all fired up for this summer’s event, or maybe you’re curious about BLOODSTOCK having never been before? If so, check out the brand new festival trailer for the lowdown. 


Lastly, it’s final call for BLOODSTOCK’s phenomenally popular weekend ticket Deposit Scheme. Sign up here before 11.59pm this Saturday night, 26th Feb, if you want to take advantage. This year, payments are spread across 6 months instead of 5, making it even more manageable to secure your place and pay for your ticket in instalments. An initial payment of £31.20 is due upon sign up, then five additional payments of £24.16 will debit your bank account on 25 Mar, 29 Apr, 27 May, 24 Jun, with a final instalment on 29 Jul, which will include any applicable admin/booking fees. Tickets will be delivered digitally.  


All VIP packages, Early Bird tix, and campervan passes have sold out. You can still snap up standard weekend camping tickets (just £145 +fees for 4 days of heavy metal fun) plus day & child tix are available now at the ticket store. Mini moshers under age 4 get in free!


BLOODSTOCK’s 2022 Ronnie James Dio main stage headliners are BEHEMOTH, LAMB OF GOD, and MERCYFUL FATE. Also appearing across the weekend are KILLING JOKE, DIMMU BORGIR, TESTAMENT, EXODUS, AVATAR, ALL HAIL THE YETI, BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, GWAR (in a UK festival exclusive), BURY TOMORROW, SACRED REICH, LIFE OF AGONY, SPIRITWORLD, BELPHEGOR, BUTCHER BABIES, VIO-LENCE, BLOODYWOOD, JINJER, LORNA SHORE, DOYLE, LOST SOCIETY, HATEBREED, SLEEP TOKEN, DARK FUNERAL, EYEHATEGOD, DISCHARGE, STATIC-X, THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, ENFORCED, PARTY CANNON, SOEN, HERIOT, BLOOD YOUTH, BLACK TONGUE, HEART OF A COWARD, FEROCIOUS DOG, HEATHEN, NEKROGOBLIKON, CATTLE DECAPITATION, ORBIT CULTURE, TALLAH, SAMAEL, CYHRA, NOCTEM, NANOWAR OF STEEL, THROWN INTO EXILE, PUPIL SLICER, CAGE FIGHT, VENDED, ILL NINO, SKARLETT RIOT, DESERT STORM, SORCERER, RED METHOD, and BAEST as well as many more yet to come. Stay tuned for additional 2022 announcements in due course.

BLOODSTOCK will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 11th-14th August 2022.

For more info, click to www.bloodstock.uk.com.