BLOODSTOCK has another six bands to announce for this summer’s best metal weekender. Not only that, the festival has a brand new charity partner this year. Read on for the latest news…
First of all, BLOODSTOCK is pleased to reveal that Louisville, Kentucky’s SAVAGE MASTER will be opening the Ronnie James Dio main stage on Saturday, waking you up with a concrete slab of traditional heavy metal! The group released their latest record ‘Myth, Magic & Steel’ in October. Check out the title track here.
Jetting in from Italy, blackened-death metal demons BLASPHEMER stride onto Sunday’s Sophie Lancaster stage to unleash unholy hell, no doubt including a few new tunes from their latest opus, ‘The Sixth Hour’, released last month via Candlelight Records. A concept album, themed around ‘The Way of the Cross’, explore ‘The Deposition’ here.
Joining them on Sunday’s Sophie stage, are modern hard rock crew, LIBERTY LIES. Citing influences such as Biffy Clyro, QOTSA, and Coheed & Cambria, this West Midlands squad finally dropped new album ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’ last November. Have a listen to their latest, chilled-out single ‘Letters’, released on Valentine’s Day, here.
Also performing on the Sophie stage on Sunday, are BLACK TONGUE. Hailing from Hull, and bringing some down-tempo doom, the five-piece have added their most recent album ‘Nadir’ to their YouTube channel in its entirety, so you have until August to make sure you know it back to front, if you don’t already. Get started here.
In addition, Bury based riff juggernaut PISTare added to the Sophie Sunday bill. The band released their latest album ‘Hailz’ last November through APF Records. It’s a record that will grab the attention of fans of Orange Goblin, Kvelertak, Motörhead, Entombed, Uada and Black Breath, elevating PIST to one of the standout bands in the current UK underground heavy scene. Have a listen to ‘Mind Rotter’ here.
If that’s shaping up your Sunday viewing nicely, why not add SHARKS IN YOUR MOUTH to your must-see Sophie list on Saturday. Offering up their take on post-hardcore and djent, the Italian outfit released their second full-length ‘Sacrilegious’ in 2019 and you can watch the video for their newly released single ‘Gone’ here.
BLOODSTOCK is very pleased to share that this year’s charity partner will be the mental health charity Mind. Mind provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem, and campaign to improve services and raise awareness. 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem every year and Mind won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets both support and respect. In addition to guestlist donations, raising funds on behalf of Mind on site at BLOODSTOCK will be festival attendee Michael Lacy, with his PATCH AMNESTY initiative. Bring your old, spare, or new patches to donate, browse patches to buy, or even just stop by for a chat. All proceeds go to Mind. Please look out for PATCH AMNESTY / Mind signage and stop by his stand in the main arena to give your support.
Maria Khosla, Community Fundraising Manager for Mind, says : “We are grateful to the organisers of Bloodstock Festival and to Michael Lacy from Patch Amnesty for choosing to support Mind at this year’s event. One in four of us will experience a mental health problem every year so their support in raising funds and awareness means we can continue to make sure that no one has to face a mental health problem alone.”
BLOODSTOCK’s 2020 main stage headliners are DEVIN TOWNSEND (Friday), BEHEMOTH (Saturday), and JUDAS PRIEST (Sunday). The festival also welcomes HATEBREED, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, SKINDRED, PARADISE LOST, LIFE OF AGONY, BURY TOMORROW, BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, DIAMOND HEAD, JINJER, VIO-LENCE, SACRED REICH, GLORYHAMMER, DARK TRANQUILLITY, BUTCHER BABIES, CATTLE DECAPITATION, BLOODYWOOD, MEMORIAM, RAMAGE INC, GREEN LUNG, BOSSK, CONJURER, ORANGE GOBLIN, THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS, SAXON, SYLOSIS, TOXIC HOLOCAUST, NECTOR, WINTERFYLLETH, EXHUMED, NEKROGOBLIKON, THE CRAWLING, RAISED BY OWLS, ANAKIM, ACID REIGN, SVALBARD, IDLE HANDS, SOEN, VISCERA, DOG TIRED, & BAILER so far. Many more bands performing over the weekend are still to be announced! Unsure what to expect? Watch a trailer all about BLOODSTOCK here.
BLOODSTOCK 2020 takes place at Catton Park, Derbyshire from 6th-9th August 2020. For more info, click to www.bloodstock.uk.com.
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…
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 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.
BLOODSTOCK HQ is currently a hive of activity, with even more bands being confirmed for this August’s best heavy metal weekender.
Joining the Ronnie James Dio stage are the recently reformed industrial outfit, MISERY LOVES COMPANY. The band inform us, “The UK was always special to MISERY LOVES CO, our very first show outside of Scandinavia was in London and without the support of the British people we probably would have stayed in Scandinavia for ever, listening to ABBA, eating herring and dreaming of the outside world… MISERY LOVES CO + Britain = a true love story. Now, when we return to the stage, we’re extremely happy to showcase our industrial demons in front of the British crowd once more. Doing a summer of festivals without coming to the UK would have been a failure, so, we can’t wait to come to BLOODSTOCK!” Check out a clip of ‘My Mind Still Speaks’ – https://youtu.be/ZiPENHSeFYM.
Opening the RJD stage on Saturday are Brit tech metallers, CAMBION. As proud BLOODSTOCK alumni (2012/2014), the band are currently at work on their debut album, having released the Virus Extended Edition EP in 2014. Check out the video for ‘Heterodox’ here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpeerilbWqU, and keep up with plans for the album street date over at http://www.cambionofficial.co.uk/.
Stepping into the Friday night headline slot on the Sophie Lancaster stage are NWOBHM icons, DIAMOND HEAD. The likes of Metallica have often stated that without DIAMOND HEAD, they’d probably not exist, such is the Stourbridge band’s influence. Check out this fan-filmed clip of the ‘Big 4’ (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax & Megadeth) covering DIAMOND HEAD’s classic ‘Am I Evil’, joined by the band’s very own Brian Tatler – https://youtu.be/K9P-H_Qd908. Brian and his cohorts are set to release their first album of new material in over 8 years on 22nd April, simply titled ‘Diamond Head’. Don’t miss ‘em at BLOODSTOCK!
Also joining Saturday night’s Sophie stage shenanigans are Brit metallers, KRYSTHLA. The band’s debut album, ‘A War Of Souls And Desires’, can be snapped up at their Bandcamp – http://www.krysthla.bigcartel.com/. Also check out the video for lead track ‘Luminosity’ here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjJwiBVlcFc.
With Easter weekend also looming, BLOODSTOCK are once again gearing up the website’s very popular Easter Egg hunt, as they’ve done in years past. Will you be one of the lucky winners of a pair of weekend tix with camping?! Click over to the BLOODSTOCK website at www.bloodstock.uk.com on Good Friday 25th March to take part.
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, GHOST BATH, VENOM, UNEARTH, GOATWHORE, ACID REIGN and many more. Additional bands are still to be announced.
Wipe away those January blues, because BLOODSTOCK has three more bands locked and loaded, ready to level Catton Park in August!
The METAL ALLEGIANCE project joins the bill! You never know who’ll show up on stage at a METAL ALLEGIANCE show, but the line-up confirmed so far includes Testament’s Alex Skolnick, Death Angel’s Mark Osegueda, Anthrax’s Scott Ian & Charlie Benante, Russell Allen from Symphony X, Gary Holt from Slayer & Exodus, Mike Portnoy of Twisted Sister/numerous other projects, plus METAL ALLEGIANCE leader, Mark Menghi. Mike Portnoy says “I'm so excited for Metal Allegiance to make their UK debut at one of the most metal festivals on Earth! The perfect audience to share this brotherhood of metal with." Who else might step into their ranks for the day? You’ll have to be at BLOODSTOCK to find out!!
Also joining the 2016 line-up are Atlanta’s rap metal pioneers, STUCK MOJO. Having reformed in 2014, the band are active once more and this year celebrate the 20th anniversary of their second album, ‘Pigwalk’. Check out the video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOL6htxn-tc. The band have been working on a new album with producer Andy Sneap. Stay tuned on the latest news on the release over at www.facebook.com/StuckMojo.
Mighty New Orleans metallers, GOATWHORE also join us as Friday’s Sophie Lancaster stage headliners! The band are hard at work on their new album which is expected to see the light of day later this year. Check out the video for ‘Bearing Teeth For Revolt’, shot at NOLA’s infamous ‘House of Shock’ – https://youtu.be/tJkju9-919s. Get clued up on the band over at their main website – http://www.goatwhore.net/.
BLOODSTOCK’s very popular Deposit Scheme for 2016 has undergone a few changes this year and it’s now even more manageable to pay for your ticket in stages, with the scheme expanding the number of payments from 3 months to 5 months. Less to shell out each month! To pay this way, just sign-up at any time before 29th February. The 1st payment of £34.80 is payable immediately, then 4 additional payments of approximately £30 will debit your account on 28th of March, April, May and June. (Exact amounts; £27.80 for Mar/Apr/May, £31.30 for June to include postage). Get signed up over at http://bloodstock.seetickets.com/event/bloodstock-2016/catton-park/902838. We regret that VIP tickets are NOT available via the payment plan, although pending remaining VIP availability, you could purchase a VIP upgrade in July or August and still be in time for the festival!
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, SYMPHONY X, SATYRICON, PARADISE LOST, DRAGONFORCE, ROTTING CHRIST, VENOM and ACID REIGN. Many more are still to be announced.
As the calendar turns to the final month of the year, BLOODSTOCK are excited to announce their Sunday night headliner for 2016! The very mighty SLAYER are set to close out the festival at Catton Park next August.
Having recently released their twelfth studio album, ‘Repentless’, which has been their most successful to date, SLAYER are on truly blistering form! Check out their brutal, yet epic video for ‘Repentless’, starring Machete star Danny Trejo: https://youtu.be/yjb0j9l1sz4.
Legendary SLAYER axeman, Kerry King comments; "I’m looking forward to heading back to Bloodstock, as always! Come party with SLAYER and watch us wreck the place!!"
Already announced for BLOODSTOCK 2016 are TWISTED SISTER (their last ever UK show), MASTODON, GOJIRA, ANTHRAX, SATYRICON, BEHEMOTH, DRAGONFORCE, ROTTING CHRIST, VENOM and PARADISE LOST. Many more are still to be added.
Early bird weekend tickets with camping are available now, priced £120 (+ booking fee) from http://bloodstock.seetickets.com/event/bloodstock-2016/catton-park/902838. BLOODSTOCK is family-friendly and welcomes rockers of all ages! A weekend ticket with camping for kids aged 4 – 11 is just £35 (+booking fee) and if your little mosher is under 4, they can join you for free (Note: all children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian over the age of 18)! Campervan pitches are already on sale and these move very quickly, so pick yours up ASAP to avoid disappointment. Rock Society passes are already sold out.
Twenty years since their formation, controversial metal-punk outfit AMEN (pictured above) are coming back together for a very special set at Alt-Fest, 15th – 17th August 2014 at Boughton Estate, Kettering. This UK festival exclusive appearance is the first of many new additions to the event including a new headliner for the metal stage, Paradise Lost, and many more.
Fronted by the formidable Grammy award–winning Casey Chaos, AMEN’s wild live shows through the late 90s and 00s gained them a huge UK following. The band picked up further gongs along the way including the title of “Best Live Band in the World” as bestowed by Metal Hammer magazine. Fast forward to 2014 and Chaos, inspired by the fan-lead phenomenon that is Alt-Fest, is returning with his band. Ahead of Alt-Fest Chaos said:
"I'm proud to announce that AMEN will return to play an exclusive show at Alt-Fest, a festival done by the people for the people. We are looking forward to performing & transmitting the sound from the heart, from our homeland communist America and destroying ourselves for your pleasure."
Seminal doom/death metallers Paradise Lost are set to top the bill for Friday’s proceedings over at the Metal Stage. With a career spanning more than twenty years and featuring 13 albums few acts are better placed or more deserving of a headline slot.
In a UK festival exclusive, Finntroll join Alt-Fest’s line-up for a set of folklore-inspired Finnish black metal. Self-styled as ‘Germany’s most extreme electro act’ Agonoize will bring their ‘aggrotech’ sound to the event, whilst the line-up increases further with the addition of thrash metal four-piece Savage Messiah. Formed of members of the likes of Sikth, Gallows and including BBC Radio 1 Rock Show presenter, Daniel P. Carter, Krokodil promise ‘beards and riffs’ for their metal stage appearance. Last but by no means least, now confirmed are also the Brighton-based Mesh; electronic body music pioneers Parade Ground and the epic sounds of Stormbringer.
The remainder of Alt-Fest’s previously announced line-up features an all-star cast of everything alternative, stretching from the 80s right up to the present day. Forefathers of alternative sounds such as The Cult and Gary Numan will perform alongside super stars such as Marilyn Manson, and newcomers such as Fearless Vampire Killers. Super-early bird tickets are now sold out however early bird adult weekend tickets priced at £115 are available for a limited time from Alt-Fest.com.
One of the most successful and influential bands the British metal scene has ever produced,PARADISE LOST are true pioneers, with their early blend of death/doom giving way to the more melodic sound that defined the gothic metal genre. Guitarist Greg Mackintosh observes:
"We had the pleasure of playing the first ever Bloodstock Open Air way back in 2005, when it was quite an intimate affair. It's an honour to be asked back to BOA 2012, which looks to be shaping up to be a blinding festival. Since we last played, we have seen BOA grow into the Great British metal festival it is today. We look forward to seeing you all down the front."
With a back catalogue spanning twelve albums over twenty two years – and a DVD set for release before Bloodstock 2012 ("Draconian Times MMXI" features the London show at The Forum on April 1, a documentary from the whole tour, interviews about the history of "Draconian Times" and the two promo videos from their latest album, "Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us") – PARADISE LOST are one of the few bands capable of delivering a set that will satisfy both fans of more brutal, death tinged doom with songs such as “Eternal”, “As I Die” and “Gothic”, as well as the melodic, gothic darkness of “Embers Fire”, “Hallowed Land” and “The Last Time”.
Joining them are Swedish Black Metal misanthropists WATAIN, who make their BLOODSTOCK debut at a very special slot on theRONNIE JAMES DIO stage. Festering in the Black Metal underground since 2000, WATAIN’s rise through the ranks has been an impressive one, with Erik Danielsson’s dedication and conviction setting them apart, leading the band to become one of the most prolific acts on the scene today. Of next year’s appearance, the band states:
"The United Kingdom has spawned many a thing inspirational to Watain, be it druidic sorcery, Venom or Judas Priest. Our performances there have always been spiced with a nameless sensation of raw power, and this is the main reason why we have chosen Bloodstock to be one of the very few festival shows we will perform next year. As always, expect something very far from the ordinary."
Famed for their incredibly atmospheric live shows, their set at BOA 2012 will be their biggest UK performance to date, and as such the band are preparing to deliver a suitably memorable set, with a show full of satanic majesty planned, as blood, fire and fierce Black Metal spew out over a dusk covered CATTON HALL.
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2012 takes place at Catton Hall August 9th – 12th. Four day camping tickets for next year’s event are available now at bloodstock.uk.com for just £90 (plus booking fee) until xmas.
