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Hailing itself as the UK’s biggest independent metal festival, Bloodstock has
become synonymous with massive mosh pits and head-turning lineups. Whilst
there were far too many incredible acts to cover, here’s a rundown of our highlights
from this year’s fest.
Thursday’s Sophie stage headliner Evergrey were forced to use borrowed
equipment, with frontman Tom Englund explaining ‘we might sound like shit, but
we’ll play anyway.’ If they hadn’t announced that, however, not a single attendee
would have known. Blazing through a number of tracks from their newest album,
the group had one of the most explosive mixes of the festival, sporting a well-
rounded guitar tone and crisp drum sound that enveloped you in each track. From
more contemporary songs like ‘Misfortune’ to the group’s classic hits, Evergrey had
the whole venue singing along, making this a wonderful end to the festival’s short
opening day.
Rotting Christ’s Friday performance was well-anticipated by many festival-goers,
and the band were far from disappointing. Frontman Sakis Tolis has an enviable
stage presence, clearly having the time of his life as the group hit you over the head
with crushing riff after crushing riff. Combining that with the haunting chanted vocals
of hits such as ‘Dies Irae,’ the group had the entire crowd headbanging in a frenzy,
sparking numerous well-deserved mosh pits. The band brought their atmospheric
black metal to new heights on the Dio stage, leaving us all exhausted.
Hatebreed's 30th anniversary show pulled the biggest crowd we’d seen so far, with
countless fans keen to show their love for this juggernaut of hardcore— even a
security guard had a tattoo of their logo! The band absolutely delivered, with Jamey
Jasta hardly having to sing as legions of diehards screamed out ‘destroy
everything.’ Blitzing through a number of the band’s most celebrated hits,
Hatebreed were in top form at Bloodstock, turning up the energy to a whole new
level: they also unleashed a ‘ball of death’ into the crowd, ensuring that the band’s
performance resulted in absolute carnage from start to finish.
Despite their popularity, Opeth are a surprisingly niche band to headline
Bloodstock. If festival-goers could manage to enjoy their combination of metal with
folk and jazz, however, then there’s no debate that the Swedish prog-heads
excelled. This special fan-picked setlist was chock-full of crowd favourites, ranging
from the brutal riffs of ‘Heir Apparent’ to the soft balladry of ‘In My Time Of Need,’
which got its own ironic mosh pit. The band had dialled in a heavier mix than they
normally opt for, ensuring that their death metal passages were meaner than ever,
and Åkerfelft’s signature dry humour was the cherry on top of a stunning headliner
show.
Opeth at Bloodstock, Credit: Nick Davarias
A surprise hit, Combichrist’s Sophie stage performance was only half a metal show,
and half a full-blown rave! Sporting an infectious combination of industrial metal akin to Rammstein with thumping techno, the group dominated throughout their
entire set, getting the entire crowd dancing along. Though some fans were shocked
to see the band stay away from the majority of their classic hits, it was more than
made up for as the group’s newer songs were undeniably well-received: cuts such
as ‘Children of Violence’ rang out across the entire festival, with Andy LaPlegua
whipping the crowd up into enough of a frenzy to make this one of the most
memorable and exciting performances of the weekend.
It was a shame to see Sylosis’ explosive performance come to a screeching halt
early on as Josh Middleton’s guitar cut out after the opening track— fixing the issue
ate up a considerable amount of time, leaving the band with only 20 minutes to
make their mark. Thankfully, Sylosis took the bull by the horns, powering through as
many songs as they could manage and playing with an almost desperate intensity.
Middleton’s vocals were harsher and more brutal than ever, even as he continued
to nail each of his mind-boggling solos, and the rest of the band were more
energetic and impassioned than we’ve ever seen them! The band split the entire
crowd for a gigantic pit, proving that even in the face of tech issues, Sylosis are still
a force to be reckoned with.
The performances seemed to only grow in intensity across the weekend as
Greece’s Septicflesh brought the house down on Sunday’s main stage. The group’s
more theatrical side was on full display, as evidenced by their gigantic banner,
though their orchestral inclusions took a backseat to the sheer brutality and volume
of their overpowering, unstoppable riffs. The pounding rhythms of ‘Neuromancer’ or
‘A Desert Throne’ had the entire crowd head-banging as one, while the anthemic
fan-favourite ‘Anubis’ was a sheer delight to watch. Spiros Antoniou’s vocals were
absolutely gigantic, ringing out across the entire festival, and no-one could deny the
pain in their neck as the closer ‘Dark Art’ came to an end.
After so many crushing performances, it was a breath of fresh air for the aviator-
wearing classic rock band Night Flight Orchestra to take to the main stage. The
eight-piece act were clearly having a blast from start to finish, constantly dancing
around to their own catchy tunes, and the audience were no less engaged— a
select few, who had dressed in pilot uniforms, even got brought up to dance the
conga! The group played it safe on the setlist, including all their fan-favourites
including ‘Satellite,’ ‘Divinyls’ and more, though we certainly weren’t complaining as
every track had the whole of Walton-on-Trent singing along. Though the band were
one of the softest of the fest, they were also one of the most fun, and they certainly
earned their place.
With more anticipation for their performance than for anyone else across the whole
weekend, it’s shocking to be able to say that Amon Amarth exceeded expectations
with their Sunday headliner set. The band undoubtedly had the most theatrical
show of the entire festival, transforming the Dio stage into a viking paradise
complete with armour-wearing actors, giant rowing ships and even an inflatable
world serpent. The band were no less stunning to watch, powering through a
plethora of crowd-favourites before ending on the ever-infectious ‘Twilight Of The
Thunder God.’ The crowd-surfers and mosh pits were out in full force at every single moment, undoubtedly making this a moment to remember. The show was a
celebration of all things metal, and no other performance could have capped off the
festival in so much style.
Words: Jay Kirby
Photos: Nick Davarias
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