Live Review : Bloodstock Festival on August 8th 2024

In years to come, 2024 will be known as the year Bloodstock came of age. It's previously spacious set up for the first time ever feels consistently busy. The step up to a stable and constant 20,000 capacity feels very obvious in the sheer amount of people around the place at any given point, but it is still dealt with with Bloodstock’s usual level of finesse and honesty. This was the year that Bloodstock no longer felt like a small concern. With additions such as Motorhead’s bomber lighting rig welcoming you into the arena, international Internet sensation Spud-Man, an additional day of camping and the announcement of, currently, the most talked about band in the universe (Gojira) for the next instalment, 2024 felt the moment that Bloodstock finally held its own amongst the European giants such as Hellfest and Wacken.

The aforementioned additional day meant that Thursday felt very different. In the past Thursday has always been a day of reconnection and acclimatisation, with a couple of lower league bands thrown into the mix. This year all that setting up and bonding nonsense has all been taken care of on the Wednesday meaning that by the time 5 pm Thursday swings around, everyone is already stir crazy and desperate to get in the arena to rock out. 

The Sophie Lancaster tent is packed from the get-go go and thrash prog crossover types Acid Age are greeted like the second coming by an audience who give the impression that they have been starved of live music for much longer than 24 hours. Originally conceived as a solo project for vocalist and guitarist Jude McIlwaine, they have evolved into an impressive trio trading in self-identified hyper thrash. The beauty of a trio is that there is nowhere to hide and their sound is big and bold and beautifully showcases Jade's prowess on the guitar. They are fast and furious but allow enough introspection to stop it all from getting samey or monotonous. There is obviously pressure on being the starting point of a weekend of music, but Acid Age handle the pressure and expectation well, and have the crowd eating out of their hands. 

If you ever felt remorse for missing Iron Maiden’s eighties glory years then Tailgunner provide the finest facsimile you will find of those far-off days. For a bunch of whippersnappers whose parents were probably not even born when NWOBHM ruled the earth, they ply a fantastically authentic version of the classic metal sound. The thing that stops them from being derivative or soulless carbon copies, is the strength of their musical ability. Tailgunner are astounding, both in the manner that they play their instruments and also in the manner that they conduct themselves across the stage. Their continual synchronised guitar moves are a joy to behold. Rhea Thompson is a guitar God in embryonic form. She utterly bewitching in the manner that she conjures fourth startling riff after startling riff. Her dexterity and level of raw talent is extraordinary.

Craig Cairns on vocals is also an utter revelation. Whilst he still looks like he would approach you outside the offie and ask you to buy him some cider, in reality he has been within this business for nearly 10 year. Whilst he received similar plaudits, he never quite managed to fulfil his potential with Midnight Prophecy. However in Tailgunner he has found the perfect home and his soaring majestic vocal cords fit amazingly well with their bombastic retro sound. Whilst Acid Age were well received, Tailgunner provide that widescreen big budget entertainment that the Bloodstock massive were crying out for since they arrived on site. Tracks like ‘White Death’ and ‘Revolution Scream’ are so well cultivated that they provide maximum singability, even for those who never seen the band before. The pure unrefined entertainment value of the set even makes the somewhat superfluous guitar battle forgivable. Tailgunner don't just mark themselves down as one to watch, they insert a steadfast marker for a much higher billing in years to come. You can watch our interview with Tailgunner HERE.

South of Salem are part of the same burgeoning British scene as Tailgunner. Though they manage to sound and feel completely different. Tailgunner are firmly rooted in the British scene of the early 80s, whilst South of Salem take their inspiration from the other side of the Atlantic, coming across as a splice job between Motley Crue in their imperious prime and nightmare era Avenged Sevenfold. Whilst Joey Draper doesn't quite have the vocal acrobatics of Craig Cairns, he makes up for any shortcomings in that department with an absolute shed load of charisma. He is a larger-than-life voluptuous figure that just burns off the stage. That in many ways is the point with South of Salem. They are not doing anything particularly new, and they are doing it in a very accessible and simplistic manner. But and it is quite a considerable but, the package that they wrap everything up in is unfeasibly enjoyable. You can be cynical and snipe over the highly polished delivery, but that doesn't stop you from tapping your foot and singing along with the chorus. It's joyous carnival of sensory delights and in some ways that is all you need. You can watch our interview with South Of Salem HERE.

In our interview, Hellripper svengali James McBain is very honest that there are actually two iterations of the band. There is the on-record Hellripper which is a solo creative output for himself, and there is the live incarnation of the band which sees him joined by Clark Core, Joseph Quinlan, Max Southall. This evening it is the latter which is in the ascendancy and whilst they are playing the same tracks that were created by James in his bedroom studio, there is so much more life and visceral vitality to material in this live setting. The set is a frantically paced gallop through the three Hellripper albums. It is done at such velocity that you don't get time to even contemplate being bored. The songs career into one after another in a style that resembles the late lamented Ramones.

Hellripper belong to an emerging subset in our world that want to play nasty repugnant music but do so in a way that captures the pure simplicity of rock 'n' roll. Hellripper's tracks are brilliantly minimalist. It is obvious that as a solo protagonist James's has gone for the quality over quantity route. It is a none stop hour of driving riffs and screamed choruses and the overarching feeling as it comes to a conclusion, is one of pleasure. It is brutal and as it is heavy but it remembers that rock 'n' roll's primal essence is one of enjoyment. Ultraviolence has never been this spiritually enhancing.

It is taken a gargantuan effort for Evergrey to get here. A simple hop across the channel turned into a 14-hour trial of endurance resulting in them arriving on site less an hour before their performance time and without any of the equipment or stage garb. Lesser bands would have seen that as premonitions from the festival God's and either given up the ghost or at the very least phoned in their performance. But Everygrey are hardy professionals and we get a sumptuous and splendid set that hopefully makes the hours and hours sat in continual holding patterns in the clouds above central Europe, worth it.

There is something decisively unique about Evergrey's sound. It is too progressive and intricate to be power metal, but there is an overarching pomp and grandeur to this band that puts them aside from other purveyors of prog metal. It all comes across as deeply personal and anchored in lived experience and trauma. Tom S. Englund is not telling fantastical stories, his weaving tales that come from the heart and more importantly heartbreak. It is all immaculately sewn together. They may well be tethered to other people's instruments, but Evergrey still make each song sound astonishingly divine.

Given that a soundcheck or any form would have been impossible, it is to their eternal credit that they sound so good this evening. Tom speaks of how relieved he is to finally have made it here and also his joy to be back in the country (and to be able to announce a relatively comprehensive UK tour for later in the year). It is a joy that manifests itself with the music. Yes, there are sorrowful undertones bubbling through but there are also passages of wonderment as they manage to squeeze such emotion out of their music. 

One of the huge of evolutions over the last 15 years of Bloodstock has been the continual escalation of the level of acts placed in the Thursday night slots. Evergrey’s masterstroke of a booking means they bring elegant class and cohesion to the now official start of the festival. This is no longer a warmup or a welcome party with place holder acts. Thursday Night is now an essential and irreplaceable component of Bloodstock and Evergrey bring a level of quality that absolutely seals the deal.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Evergrey + Hellripper + South Of Salem+ Tailgunner + Acid Age