Bloodstock 2021 Countdown - 30 Bands Not To Miss : 21. Evile & Sylosis

I have bundled these two together because :

A) It's my list and I can do what I want and

B) There was a time where the world was these two acts oyster. You see Evile and Sylosis were the great white Hopes of British thrash. They had fire in their bellies and were surfing the thrash renaissance like the pros they were. Sadly real life came and tapped them on the shoulders and both bands ended up wiping out spectacularly. Evile managed to traverse the tragic death of bassist Mike Alexander and shock departure of guitarist Ol Drake before finally seemingly running out of steam around 2015. Sylosis seemed to be on the cusp of greatest unleashing great album after great album. They just never managed to gain the velocity to allow them to break free from the pack and in the end entered hiatus in 2016 when Tom Middleton was drafted to replace the late Tom Searle in Architects.

However, you can never put a good thrash band down. Somehow both bands have clawed their way out of the "Where are they now?" files (thrash edition) and returned with blistering records. Last year's
”Cycle of Suffering” saw Sylosis broadening their sound and this year's “Hell Unleashed” was a barnstorming return to form for Evile. So here you go, two thrash legends for the price of … Don’t say we are never good to you!

Bloodstock 2021Author : Stewart Lucas21 July 2021Sylosis, Evile, Bloodstock 2021 CountdownComment

Bloodstock 2021 Countdown - 30 Bands Not To Miss : 22. Party Cannon

Now it may surprise you but there is a genre more corrosive and carnal than Death Metal and that is its socially inept little cousin Slam Metal. Now Death Metal may purport to be rough and ready but really, it’s a bit of pussy cat and you could quite happily send it off to your grandparents for supper without worrying about its table manners. Slam Metal however would think nothing of defecating in the fishbowl and sidling up to your nan and enquiring whether she fancied a quicky. Party Cannon are the kings of slam. They are a band more famous for their logo than they are for their musical output, but they are the go-to if you fancy puerile, coarse self-deprecating Metal. There is no subtlety here, just beautiful guttural infantile noise. Turn off your brain, jump in the pit and slam for your life.

Bloodstock 2021Author : Stewart Lucas20 July 2021Party Cannon, Bloodstock 2021 Countdown, 2021, FestivalComment

Bloodstock 2021 Countdown - 30 Bands Not To Miss : 23. Pist

Six years is a long time in Metal. When Pist last played Bloodstock back in 2015 they were four mates having a laugh playing sludgy doom Metal. They were a fun distraction but it was obvious that they weren’t taking this being in a band lark particularly seriously. Something obviously clicked during lockdown or they entered some form of cocoon as the Pist I saw last month was an entirely different beast. The Pist that will enchant Bloodstock 2021 will be the five headed slick professional monster that blew my mind at Manchester Academy in June. The goofy stage antics are all gone and instead they have evolved into an utterly compelling riff machine. I may sound like some telly evangelist, but Pist on Sunday will be nothing short of revelatory. They now have the songs and the attitude to make a push toward the big league, lunchtime Sunday 15th may well be their moment.

Bloodstock 2021Author : Stewart Lucas19 July 2021Pist, Bloodstock 2021 Countdown, FestivalComment

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 : 26. Saxon

The wonderful thing about Saxon is that they have never changed (well apart from the rather dodgy “Destiny” album where they went all American rock, but we don’t really talk about that). Trends have come and trends have gone, and Saxon have continued on being Saxon. Their perseverance and resilience has meant that they have never wavered. They are Heavy Metal incarnate, and they have never claimed to be anything. 44 years on they are in the strongest position that they have ever found themselves. They haven’t done anything different or compromised an iota, tastes have changed, and the world has re-found its love of good old-fashioned no-frills rock. Saxon will be one of those communal sets where the Bloodstock choir is in full force. They have got the songs; they have got the swagger and they have got the prestige. It will be a joyous hour of anthems and affirmation, and after the last year and a half, god we need that.

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

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.

Bloodstock 2021Johann Wierzbicki15 July 2021Dark Tranquility, Loathe, Bloodstock 2021 Countdown, 2021, BloodstockComment

Bloodstock 2021 Countdown - 30 Bands Not To Miss : 28. Conan

There is heavy and then there is Conan. Slow glacial riffs that smash down like slabs of lead. This Metal with all its pace taken out. What you are left with waves of dense noise that inch their way into your lives. Intense, all-consuming and utterly exquisite. There is something primal about the way their riffs crash against your cranial. Conan's music is equally poignant and powerful. Rough and caustic but with slivers of beauty theirs will be a set that will imprint on your mind forever, and probably bugger up your hearing.

Bloodstock 2021Author : Stewart Lucas13 July 2021Bloodstock 2021 Countdown, ConanComment

Bloodstock 2021 Countdown - 30 Bands Not To Miss : 29. Memoriam

There is nothing more life-affirming and joyous than old-skool Death Metal. It is a simple pleasure; direct, minimalistic, and utterly compelling. Memoriam come from the same DNA as the late-lamented Bolthrower. There are shared members but more importantly they share the desire to strip Death Metal back to its bare bones. Memoriam capture the raw power of grinding riffs, pulsating bass lines, driving blast beats and growled vocals. There is no finery here, no cliches, no gimmicks and no showboating. This is straight down the line, in your face, no comprise Death Metal and it is a thing of utter beauty.

Bloodstock 2021Johann Wierzbicki12 July 2021Bloodstock 2021 CountdownComment

Bloodstock 2021 Countdown - 30 Bands Not To Miss : 30. Onslaught

The first ever Wednesday night headliner for this super-sized Bloodstock is none other than British Thrash royalty Onslaught. In the late eighties, they headed up the British thrash revolution and they almost gate-crashed the elusive mainstream. Their cover of “Let There Be Rock” made it to number 46 and they headlined Hammersmith Odeon. However, like so many of their contemporaries they were smoothed by the tsunami that was Grunge and petered out in 1991. But they proved to be as influential in death as they were in life and all the way through the nineties and early noughties, Thrash connoisseurs spoke in fevered tones about their sophomore effort “The Force” and how it was one of the lost classics of British Thrash. Inevitably Onslaught reformed in 2005 and have now been going three times longer than they did the first time around. We have had a level of line-up changes over the last sixteen years and only mainstay Nige Rockett remains from the classic line up. But they are still a formidable live act with a wicked back catalogue. So if you like your Thrash fast and frantic with a tinge of punk then Sophie tent on Wednesday evening is the place to be.

Bloodstock 2021Author : Stewart Lucas11 July 2021Bloodstock 2021 CountdownComment