Another mad dash up the motorway for me, and much to my delight I managed to catch all bar the first song of openers Hell’s Gazelles. They are a young band from Oxfordshire who play traditional metal – big riffs and soaring vocals abound. There’s been a line-up change since I saw them last but stalwarts Nate (guitar) and Cole (vocal) are still holding the whole thing together nicely.
Read MoreThis year sees the 12th edition of Manchester’s SOS (School’s Out for Summer) Festival, and it will be the 5th one I have attended. The festival was originally envisioned by Lynne Hampson from Rocksector Records to be a family-friendly indoor gig. It continues on that basis to the present day, providing a platform for local bands whilst also adding some national and international acts into the mix.
Read MoreI want to wake up in the festival that never sleeps, Bloodstock. The main stage headliner maybe done and dusted pretty darn early (10.30pm curfew no excuses) but that is just the beginning. First off, you have your Sophie headliner kicking off as soon as the sound fades from the main stage and this year it's a heavy weight trio of Grand Magus, Taake and Eluveitie (not mentioning Rotting fucking ..
Read MoreFor a genre that prides itself on diversity and tolerance, Metal fans can be a rather conservative lot. Bloodstock is therefore a perfect opportunity to try things you would usually not touch. If you are sure that Black Metal is not for you go see Dimmu Borgir. Their symphonic arena sized take on the style may well change your mind. Similarly, if you are dead set against Metalcore I would still …
Read MoreIt's the Scorpions, the Scorpions!!! They have been on the Bloodstock wishlist for years and after last year's Judas priest coup, they have again pulled the motherfucking rabbit out of the hat. If all you know about the mighty Scorps is the God darn awful ‘Wind Of Change’ then you are in for a treat as they are one of the greatest Heavy Rock bands of all time. They have been doing this for over ..
Read MoreI did and it wasn't pretty! In fact, I have no memory whatsoever of the Saturday afternoon of 2016. Apparently, I attempted to pick fights with half the audience before I was rescued by my mate Ali. I sobered up by the time Mastodon came on but the moral of the story is don't mess with the hard stuff kids.
Read MoreBloodstock is officially the friendliest festival there is. You aren't on your own, you are surrounded by fifteen thousands others. All of whom will gladly have a beer with you (as long as you are buying). But if you don't want to share your woes with a slightly tiddly gentleman in a faded queensryche t-shirt then the Samaritans have been an integral part of the Bloodstock fabric since the ….
Read MoreBloodstock is a four day festival. Most people get there first thing Thursday (though officially gates don't open till midday). By early afternoon, the campsites are a throbbing metropolis of canvas. They have had bands on Thursday for over ten years but they have slowly grown in size and stature. This year we have the mighty Rotting Christ. In fact, there is a whole undercard starting from 6.00..
Read MoreYou literally can fall from the main stage into the New Blood tent. So as you wait around for them to wheel Cancer Bats gear on stage, you can cure your boredom by checking out whoever is on in there. See it as Heavy Metal russian roulette. You may fall upon the next big stadium kings or the underground band that all the cool kids will be going on about. See it as Schrödinger’s stage, you are ...
Read MoreBloodstock is an independent venture which isn’t bankrolled by big faceless corporate entities. Also, the vast majority of bands who play the festival exist on a hand to mouth basis, even some of the headliners. Basically since we lot stopped buying records, the only way bands can make money is to flog us t-shirts with their names on it. So if you like a band over the weekend, especially if …
Read MoreAside from my mate Chris, Bloodstock prides itself on not attracting dickheads. The people in the blue tent to your left and or the slightly rickety one on the right are likely to be sound guys and gals who will share their beer and sun cream. The likelihood is by Saturday you will conversing like you have known them all your life. I have a bunch of close friends I only see at Bloodstock,….
Read MoreOur campsite has grown from three pissed Scotsmen and little old me in 2010 to nearly forty random people. I provide breakfast each morning and quite happily throw another sausage at the pan, so come and join us, say ROCKFLESH sent you. We are in Midgard, on the left, past posh wash and adjacent to the taps. Follow the sound of pissed scots.
Read MoreJoint entry to start with, as both filled the Sophie Lancaster stage to the brim last year. Quite a feat as normally there is enough empty space, stage right to have a full eleven side footie match. Suicidal Tendencies were bumped to the second stage due to fog delayed flights and emerged two and hours later than scheduled to find every fucker on site was in the tent. Fuelled by the fact ...
Read MoreBloodstock started off as a Symphonic Metal haven, when no one else in this country would book bands like Nightwish. However, there has been a shift over the years towards the heavier and the more extreme ends of genre which means, when Within Temptation were announced as headliners for 2015, there was a real backlash from festival die-hards. Ingeniously, organisers decided to compensate ...
Read MoreIn many ways, Devin Townsend’s 2010 Bloodstock show was an utter disaster. Technical glitches, lost equipment and an audible click track plagued what should have been a triumphant return from self-imposed exile (the organisers even invited him back in 2011 to make up for all the issues). However, it has lived on in legend, and has made our list, for two specific reasons a) it was a master class...
Read MoreSlayer had been top of every Bloodstock attendee’s headliner wishlist from the moment the festival moved outdoors in 2005 but it seemed an unattainable pipe dream. However, with the booking of Motorhead in 2011 and Machine Head in 2012 suddenly it didn't feel like futile day dreaming anymore and in December 2012 came the news that the bookers had indeed achieved the unthinkable, Slayer would ...
Read MoreGreatest ever Bloodstock sing along moment? Many will say Europe doing Final Countdown in 2009 and believe me, it almost made the cut. But no matter how life affirming that moment was (and believe me it was as communal as it gets) it was outshone when three years later, Alice rolled into town and brought the ruddy song book with him. In one stretch, we got a salvo of ‘I'm Eighteen’...
Read MoreIn the late eighties, Swiss progressive thrash wizards Coroner were so ahead of the curve that it felt like they existed in their own satellite universe. In the end, they provided too mind expanding music for your everyday metalhead and they split in 1994 in a vast sea of indifference. Seventeen years later, finally recognised as the pioneers and auteurs that they were, they reunited to play ...
Read MoreA word of mouth sensation of epic proportion. When booked, they were virtually unknown, but a tremendous support run with Trivium in the early spring built up the momentum to the point where every group of campers across Midgard had at least one member feverishly encouraging their compatriots to go see Power Trip. They did not disappoint. Whilst still technically being morning they turned the main stage into a whirling maelstrom of flailing bodies. One of the most direct and in your face performances that the festival had ever seen, Power Trip took no prisoners. They came, they saw and they thrashed. In years to come, this will be remembered as the moment that they happened.
Read MoreI could choose any of Gojria’s four appearances at Bloodstock. As headliners, last year they were majestic. In 2013 and 2016 as fourth and second from top respectively, they were astonishing. But for me, it is all about their inaugural appearance squeezed between GWAR and Bloodbath, as this was the first time I snapped eyes on them. They were utterly incredible. This was technically proficient Death Metal but it was as minimal as it was powerful. Gojira had realised that it was not actually about the riff, it about was the space around the riffs. By stripping everything back and giving their sound space to breath, they had managed to create a muscular and crushing metal that sounded like nothing else. I’ve seen them plenty of times since but there is nothing like your first time.
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