Live Review : Bloodstock Festival on August 11th 2024

And just like that, it is Sunday and the big yellow ball of heat in the sky is doing its best job to burn us all to buggery. It's 2022 all over again, including those joyful yelps from the crowd when any cloud cover is forthcoming. Needless to say everything is all a little more laid back today as a collective lethargy emerges from the heat. 

On the Sophie Lancaster stage Black Lakes from Wales are trading in some pretty melancholic wears. Their music is emotive and full of strong melodic lines. They dance eloquently along that line that divides alternative from metal and a small but rapt audience swoon along in appreciation. However, no matter how good Black Lakes are, the place to be this morning is over at the main stage for the fabulous disaster that is Raised by Owls. They are, quite frankly, the best shit band out there. Musically they are self-proclaimed pretty dire, but they have an astonishing comic vibe that makes them by far one of the most enjoyable bands of the weekend.

They hit the gimmicks hard. Sam and co are all sporting dog collars, they precipitate a wall of death based on how you pronounce scones and the biggest sense of anticipation is for the much-vaunted appearance of Sam's mum. Mrs Fowler is summoned on stage by a fevered reception on the scale only reserved for a headliner or a true icon. She is replete in a nuns outfit and threatens to show her tits to anyone who comes to the signing tent. The embarrassed look in Sam's eyes shows that ad-lib was very much not in the script.   

Raised by Owls prove that musical ability is not a barrier to being bloody good fun. ‘The Dark and Twisted Realm in which Fred Durst Resides’ is a bizarrely murky creation that sees the extensive crowd throw themselves around with joviality and glee. The concluding almost dub cover of ‘Break Stuff’ sees everything ratcheted up even further and the surrealism pushed to the limit, especially given the appearance of Mr Blobby. Raised by Owls by their own admission are not a good band but they provided the best start to a Sunday that your money can buy.

Back on Sophie, Awake By Design are being gargantuanly melodic. Their sound is big, brazen and full of epic flourishes. It is driven by sumptuous guitar harmonies, and everything feels very smooth and immaculately produced. The vocals and the melodies soar upwards into the upper reaches of the tent and you get very much the impression that this is a band that doesn't understand the meaning of restraint. 

Let's be honest, the biggest draw for many to Cultura Tres, is the appearance of Dave Effefson. The former Megadeth mainstay has been drafted in because Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. is otherwise detained with his day job of playing bass in Sepultura. However if the only reason that Cultura Tres are getting any recognition is because they are pulling a famous name off the subs bench, then that is a crying shame as they are astonishingly good this early afternoon. In many ways they are the Venezuelan legend you have never heard of and they specialise in a really quite remarkable version of progressive sludge.

Their sound is heavy and full of distorted bass but there is an almost alien level of complexity coming from the guitars of brothers Alejandro and Juanma. You can feel the static energy in the air as they trade guitar licks full of intricate detail. It is startlingly well constructed and after the first few tracks, you completely forget the fact that one of metal's biggest megastars is plonked on the far right. A massively unexpected masterclass in just how classy metal can actually be.

Moon Reaper are good old-fashioned black metal with astonishingly deep growled vocals courtesy of Sirin Ann Bozkurt. She exudes charisma and whilst what the band is doing is not particularly original, it is presented exceptionally well. 

Soen’s magical melodic refrains perfectly match the laid-back feel of this oppressively hot Sunday afternoon. They are utterly incredible, bewitchingly casting a spell of sumptuous harmonious metal. Their material is immaculately produced, but still manages to have a feeling of weight and heft. Cody Lee ford’s guitar work is just utterly heavenly. It beautifully blends with the keys of Lars Ahlund and they create a lush blanket of audacious sound. In the middle, encased in his own personal Hurricane is Joel Ekelof. He manages to be effortlessly cool even in these quite erratic temperatures. His vocals are deliciously decadent and he moves around the stage with suave elegance. Soen refuse to sit within one musical denomination and instead they prove that heavy music can also be subtle and filled with oodles of self-reflection. An extraordinary performance by an extraordinary band. (Watch our interview HERE)

Heading back to Sophie, Osiah are turning heads and making waves. They were originally intended as a solo pursuit of Ricky Lee Roper when his former band, the much touted Humanity Depraved, collapsed in on itself. However they have metamorphosed into an absolutely killer deathcore mob that dispenses razor-sharp riffs all over the shop. There is a real feeling in the tent that they are on the edge of something quite special and they draw a particularly vocal and hyper-mobile crowd that is just absolute awe of what they are doing.

Beast in Black are glorious technicolour explosion of ludicrous antics. This is heavy metal with the emphasis on pomp and excess. It is obvious that Yannis Papadopoulos is struggling with his vocals and his voice is much coarser and jagged than usual. However, he still manages to be a hyperactive human dynamo, hurling himself around the stage with little regard for his own safety. Beast in Black may well be cheese on a hitherto unrecorded scale, but they are still bloody brilliant what they do. This is metal in its mindless fun mode and it works gloriously well as the sun beats down on the gathered hordes.

Back in the sweaty confines of the safety tent, Grove Street are having all the fun, emulating the party thrash of S.O.D. and DRI. There are inflatables dinghies a go-go and audience members are encouraged to use them to surf to the mixing desk and back. There are those who always looked down their noses at this iteration of metal, but the simple fact is that is bonkers fun. It doesn't attempt to be serious or political but what it does do is create a wonderfully anarchistic noise that gets the whole tent moving. (Watch our interview HERE)

Septicflesh have scaled back their usually heavily theatrical looks to accommodate the now searing heat. Whilst they still look like something out of a dystopian end of the world novel, they have certainly made some compensation to the unusually harsh weather. What they haven't changed is the intensity of the material. Yes, there is a more than necessary reliance on backing tracks, but they still manage to be astonishingly widescreen in their brand of cinematic death metal. What Septicflesh do so well is that combination of harshness and luscious orchestration. They have an epic and glandular feel that is usually missing within death metal. Whilst Spiros may be tethered to his bass guitar for the entire set, he still manages to be a gesticulatory and three-dimensional front person. They may well give signs that they are wilting but they still manage to pull off a highly impressive set.

Ankor hail from Spain and offer a rather interesting combination of symphonic and alternative metals. They do owe quite a debt to Lacuna Coil but there is enough originality to keep the inquisitive souls up front interested. Jesse Williams is impressive in both the range vocals but also in the way that she saunters around the stage. They may well still be an unknown quantity over on these shores but a stirring UK festival debut may well be the launchpad into other avenues.

Let’s be honest, if The Night Flight Orchestra didn't consist of most of Soilwork then we wouldn't be giving them the time of day which would be a real shame as they are an absolute awesome live proposition. This is the lounge core easy listening shot in the arm that we didn't know we badly needed. Their material screams Estonian Eurovision entry that falls at the semi-final, but it still manages to capture the heart and the feet of everybody watching. They bypass musical credibility and go straight to sumptuously entertaining. This is music to dance to and to wave your arms around like you really just don't care. Over the course of the eight tracks aired, the audience move from mildly bemused to eating out of Bjorn Strid’s hand. By the time we reach ‘West Ruth Ave’, they have brought a bevy of attendees in cabin crew costumes on stage and are orchestrating (pun intended) the largest conga that Bloodstock has ever seen. Blissful irreverent fun at its very best.

Even acts that we thought had become lost in the mists of time still have pockets of fevered fanbase. As the roadies do their thing there is a small grouping of individuals up front screaming Sadus name and giving the impression they are about to explode with expectation. Sadus were one of those bands that was ignored during their first (and to be honest  second and third) incarnations but have grown a reputation as people have looked back into their repertoire. This particular version resurfaced in 2017, sadly without founding father Steve Di Giorgio. 

However Darren Travis and Jon Allen are ensuite and the former screams “We’re back” in his trademark high-pitched growl. This is their first UK show in 33 years and they make up for lost time by throwing themselves around the stage with vim and vigour. Some may question the wisdom of concentrating on their most recent release, “The Shadow Inside” when it's obvious that those who know them upfront are here for the old-school shit. We do get a couple of nuggets from “Illusions” and a melody of tracks from 1990’s “Swallowed in Black”, the album that those who remember them from the first time are probably most familiar with. Overall this is another illustration that metal is at its best when it recycles itself and that our world is littered with also-rans that very much deserve a second bite at the cherry.

Anyone who dare to question the legitimacy of having Flogging Molly at Bloodstock should just revel in the size of the audience that they pull. It's another super crowd that stretches all the way back to the Merch stand. It is also probably the most highly interactive and energetic gathering of the weekend. The jigging and general moving of limbs is not confined to the pit area and the dossy doing is spread out across the whole field. Dave King is no stranger to metal crowds having fronted Fastway in the early 80s and also having played most continental metal festivals over the years. He still takes time though to point out the absurdity that they are playing Bloodstock today and then will be playing Mosley folk festival in Birmingham a couple of weeks later. 

Like The Night Flight Orchestra before them, what Flogging Molly prove is that good music is good music. They may well be one of the first bands to have a tin whistle solo at Bloodstock but they inject a much-needed dose of energy into a crowd being belted by the incessant sun. They unite the legions of death, black, power, Viking metal fans by being something uniquely different. They are gloriously fun and even the most stone-faced gatekeeper of all things metal find themselves twirling along by the end of the set.

Over the years there has been a great deal of re-evaluation and whilst pretty much overlooked at the time, Xentrix are now considered one of the finest thrash bands ever produced by this country. Tonight in preparation for a tour this autumn celebrating its 35th anniversary, they are playing their criminally overlooked debut album, “Shattered Existence”, in full. It is one of those anomalies of metal and the growth of Spotify, that the pit consists of hundreds of young people who know the words of every track but weren't even alive when the album was released in 1989.

The other astonishing thing is how vital it still sounds. Tracks like ‘Balance of Power’ and ‘Back in the Real World’ have aged incredibly well and still feel muscular and musically dense. It is obvious that the band are having an absolute blast playing the album through in its entirety and that blatant enjoyment transfers itself over into a jubilant audience.

Carcass are the essential metal band. Yes, there are bands who existed before them and after them who have irrevocably shaped our world, but there is no metal act who have sculpted and bioengineered our world like they have. This evening we get a history lesson in where the different facets of our music originate from and a veritable masterclass in how to put on a performance. Bill Steer and Jeff Walker are both in fine form. The former proves himself again and again to be an overlooked extreme metal guitar hero, marshalling gargantuan riff after gargantuan riff. The latter is dry and self-deprecating in his humour, goading the crowd and growling with the intensity of a man at least half his age.

Set wise, this is an essential Carcass performance, with the only gap being the slightly head-scratching absence of anything from their superb comeback album “Surgical Steel”. However that anomaly aside, we get everything you need to cement the often stated opinion that Carcass were at the forefront of every zeitgeist that occurred within metal. We get the incessant nastiness of ‘Genital Grinder’ and ‘Ruptured in Purulence’ to prove that they were being obsequious and unpleasant long before Cannibal Corpse and their ilk made a career out of it. We get the combined might of ‘Black Star’ and ‘Keep on Rotting in the Free World’ to show that black and roll existed long before Kvelertak picked up that mantle. Most importantly we get the absolute genius of material from “Heartwork”, illustrating that Carcass were the originators of melodic death metal and anybody who tries to say that it comes from Sweden is wrong.

There is quite simply not a band in metal as important and still as impressive as Carcass. Over the course of their hour the audience fleshes out more and more as even the uninitiated realise the absolute brilliance of all is unfurling before them and head to the front. Carcass are essential and Carcass, for all Jeff's dour disingenuous putdowns, will never ever let you down.

It takes a while to figure out what Infected Rain are all about. It is about midway through the set when it suddenly becomes clear that they are a heavy metal Bjork. Hailing from Moldova, the central component of their sound is the indomitable Eleana Cataraga (Lena Scissorhands to her gran). She is astonishing. Her steely gaze captures the heart of anybody in her vicinity. But her voice. Her voice is revelationary. It takes the aural acrobatics of the aforementioned Icelandic genius and brings it screaming into metal. The metal being produced is pretty formulaic metalcore with great swathes of groove soldered onto it. But it is the addition of Elena’s unworldly vocals that just makes it so different. You get the distinct impression that next time they are on a UK festival bill it will be not be tucked away on the second stage.

Nobody can begrudge Amon Amarth their present status as metal superstars. They have worked and worked to reach the pinnacle that they now stand upon. They emulate their obvious inspiration, Maiden in two distinct ways. Firstly they understand that their audience want a show. Tonight is a veritable theatrical experience. There is Pyro within each and every track and there are more inflatables than you would find in TVs wipeout. No matter how far back you are, you can still bath in the outer spectacle of it all. They even elicit the help of the Viking reenactors, using them to bolster the numbers during a terrific rendition of shield wall.

The other thing that they have learnt from Iron Maiden, is probably even more important. That is that props and columns of fire do not alone make a cohesive headline show. The bit that holds it together is the songs and tonight Amon Amarth bring out their big guns. It is a beautifully constructed set, designed to get everybody from the front to the very corners of the field singing along. It is precision engineered to allow no downtime. Every track is heralded as a big number and it is that epic opulence that keeps the show surging ahead. 

‘Put Your Back Into The Oar’ sees the audience plonk themselves on their bottoms for a stint of Nordic rowing and main set closer ‘Raise Your Horns’ witnesses the spectacle of the entire crowd raise their beers and arms aloft. This is the very essence of what a big metal headline show is all about. It's a unifying, it edifying and it is fully electric. An absolutely sterling and stunning end to the biggest ever Bloodstock.

But wait it's not over yet. There is one more throw of the dice. Bloodstock organisers have learnt that if you manage to elicit the services of black metal royalty, the best place to put them is late at night in the big tent. We get a veritable romp through Satyricon’s 33 year history. The only periods that are missing is anything from their debut album and their slightly iffy self-titled 2013 effort. Every other touchstone from then long and varied career is present and correct. Even their rather surreal album to soundtrack their Munch exhibition makes an appearance with a snippet of the continuous album long track.

Because their style has changed so much over the years, the scattergun approach to the set list means that it takes a while for the show to settle down and to get into a groove. However from the ‘Pentagram Burns’ onwards, they get themselves into fifth gear and the set soars forward with malevolent malice. From that point on they absolutely astonishing and they proved that there is nothing more corrosive and enrapturing than black metal at full pelt. It takes a while for them to warm up once they reach boiling point they provide an astounding end to the festivities.

And that's it. Bloodstock 2024 has had its controversies but chairgate aside it will be recalled as the moment that Bloodstock became a big big thing. Success has taken a lot of time and a lot of work but Bloodstock 2024 is the moment when the festival comes of age and steps out of Downloads shadow and becomes the UK’s true home of metal. With 2025 selling like hot cakes full of crack, Bloodstock has not only cemented his position it is shown that it is now a market leader and that you can reach these lofty heights without compromising what you are about.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Satyricon + Amon Amarth + Infected Rain + Carcass + Xentrix + Flogging Molly + Sadus + The Night Flight Orchestra + Ankor + Septicflesh + Grove Street + Beast In Black + Osiah + Soen + Moon Reaper + Cultura Tres + Raised By Owls + Black Lakes