Bloodstock 2021 Countdown - 30 Bands Not To Miss : 24. Kreator

Plaudits were plaudits are due, Bloodstock played an absolute blinder when they swapped in the teutonic titans for Merciful Fate (themselves replacing Behemoth). The keyboard warriors who had been sharpen their bile and venom expecting the additional of an unworthy act such as Architects or Bullet, were immediately silenced. There is nobody who doesn't love Kreator. They have paid their dues and they have kept the flame alive. They are also an utterly phenomenal live act and come Saturday 14th we will get a headline show that will blow everyone out of the water. They may be subbing a sub but Kreator are going to own the place.

Bloodstock 2021Author : Stewart Lucas18 July 2021Kreator, Bloodstock 2021 Countdown, Bloodstock, 2021, FestivalComment

Bloodstock 2021 Countdown - 30 Bands Not To Miss : 25. Urne

Once in a while a record comes along that makes me exclaim "What the fuck was that?". “Serpent and Spirit” is such a counter intuitive take on Metal that your sole instinct at the end of the record is to put it on again just to reaffirm you heard what you heard. It’s chock-a-block with creativity and flare, managing to be simultaneously melodic and corrosive, sometimes within the first track. Urne have decided to go freeform and see where their mix of prog-metal, grunge and blackened doom takes them. I will certainly be there on Thursday afternoon to see how it all works out in a live setting. Join me, please do.

Bloodstock 2021Author : Stewart Lucas18 July 2021Urne, Bloodstock 2021 Countdown, Festival, 2021, BloodstockComment

Bloodstock 2021 Countdown - 30 Bands Not To Miss : 27. Loathe

Well if you ever needed prof that there are silver-linings then this is it. You see! We, here at ROCKFLESH towers were devasted about the fact that Dark Tranquillity had to drop out. It is not everyday you get to see a living breathing member of the Gothenburg three, the trio of bands that changed Metal forever back in the mid-nineties. UK shows are such an infrequent happening, so the Bloodstock appearance felt like it was something very special indeed. And then they cancelled. Instead of going for an identikit melo-deth offering, Bloodstock have decided to get creative on our arses and give the high profile fourth from top berth to one of the most interesting young bands that this country has recently spat out. Loathe are a firm favourite of us all at ROCKFLESH tower and it has been our privilege to see them develop and evolve through support slots to their own high-octane headline bashes. Loathe are doing something distinctly different with metal, they are contorting our expectations and turning conventions on their head. There is the requisite heaviness and coarseness, but it interspersed with an avant-garde experimental flare. Loathe feel like a band determined to look forward rather than backwards, and as a genre that seems intent on continually recycling itself this is hugely important. Loathe on Friday at Bloodstock will feel like both a disruption and a breath of fresh air. Put your presumptions to one side and enjoy the future.