Friday beckons fourth with almost perfect Festival weather. Warm, but also enough breeze and cloud cover to stop the place becoming a perpetual oven. Friday may well be packed with many musical gems, but really it is all about one band, who aren’t even playing, Motörhead. Today is the day that Lemmy becomes a permanent part of Bloodstock lore, with a proportion of his ashes placed on site in a specially commissioned bust. The ceremony to invest the final resting place for some of his remains is an emotional affair.
Read MoreThere is a wonderful eccentricity to British metal and Green Lung revels in that. They recount us to a simpler time when nonconformity was about embrace the countryside around us. This is rural, spiritual metal that retreats back to the myths and tales that are at the heart of this emerald isle.
Read MoreAll things must end and we reach the fourth and final day. Whilst it is still hot enough to boil a monkey’s bum, there are thunderstorm warnings a plenty with not one but four potential typhons heading towards Castle Donington. With all the shenanigans with sackings and members not travelling, there is a real question mark about how many members Slipknot will have when they grace us with their presence at the culmination of the festivities. But we have a whole heap of bands to sample before we get there.
Read MoreMeanwhile back at the eyesore stage So hideous present us with their awesome take on Post-Black Metal/Shoegaze. It’s massively atmospheric, a luscious full sound, and truly epic. The floods of dry-ice off the stage mash with the abundance of pastel lights and strobes to allow us to completely immerse ourselves in their wonderful world. The New Yorkers play their album ‘None But a Pure Heart Can Sing’ through in full for us Playing new album straight through.
Read MoreIt’s Steelhouse Sunday and the weather has cheered up which in turn cheers the crowd up too. We start with Merseysiders Ashen Reach and I know who they are this time (in joke!). They are not bad at all, I like them quite a lot. They do melodic alt rock and remind me a bit of Papa Roach.
Read MoreBy day 5 it has all become a bit of a chore. Our hangovers have melded into one, our backs all hurt, and we are all thoroughly sick and tired of being asked if we are overjoyed to have live music back. Look we have had live music back for five whole continuous days, is it home time yet? It is starting to feel less like a music festival and more like an endurance event and there is an increasing hope that when we go through the exits tomorrow morning there will be well-wishers awaiting us with silver foil blankets and medals. But before we dream dreams of flushing toilets, full English’s, and comfy beds, we have Sunday to contend with.
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