FESTIVAL REVIEW: Bloodstock Festival 2018 – Thursday & Friday

Another year, and another Bloodstock Open Air. The through and through metal festival has not only become a favourite festival of ours, but has built its reputation as one of the friendliest, most enjoyable heavy weekends money can buy, and this year was absolutely no different. With a stacked line up that was as varied as it was brilliant, we were able to catch a huge portion of the bands over the weekend, and without further ado, here’s the review!

Thursday

HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN – Sophie Lancaster Stage 

Bloodstock always kicks off proceedings with bands bringing the party nice and early on the Thursday evening. After all the tents are set up and the first rounds have been bought in, HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN proceed to lay out the heaviest opening set Bloodstock has seen in years. Only playing three songs due to the lengthy nature of their drone influence doom, the new troupe play with vigor and make the most of their opportunity to leave an impression on all present. It’s a successful endeavour, as heads bang and the strobe light assault leaves everyone dry eyed and rearing for more! 

Rating: 8/10

Words: Eddie Sims 

FIRE RED EMPRESS – Sophie Lancaster Stage

Making a drastic change from the prog-metal builds of HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN is the straight shooting and simplistic rock tunes of FIRE RED EMPRESS. The ballsy UK group stomp around the stage delivering some decent hard rock but it does feel like the crowd is thirsting for something heavier to start their weekend. Jennifer Diehl’s vocals are competent but far from extraordinary, the same can be said about the riffage where it just feels like nothing exciting is going on. But if the vocals and riffs only leave us unsatisfied then the songwriting leave us starving and scratching at our plates. With the only memorable chorus being the chants of “one, two, one two three four” which gets stuck in the mind due to irritation more than anything else. Not even Ben Picken’s stand out bass performance combined with the rest’s competent effort could make up for a severe lack of good tunes.

Rating: 3/10

Words: Jack King

SKILTRON – Sophie Lancaster Stage

Argentina’s SKILTRON are suffering from a major catch twenty two with their gimmick. Yes playing bagpipes in a metal band can make you stand out from the crowd but then you then become defined by the fact you play possibly one of the most irritating sounding instruments over some fairly plain power metal. Their songs aren’t the worst written in the genre and their inoffensive, standard performance gets a pocket of the eager crowd going. However it’s clear the constant blasting of bagpipes (not an exaggeration, the Scottish squeeze bag had more solo time than both guitarists) is simply there to add some originality to some very unoriginal songs.

Rating: 4/10

Words: Jack King

ARKONA – Sophie Lancaster Stage

Bringing the tent to a thunderous close is Russia’s own ARKONA, who’s eclectic combination of folk music, death metal and all inbetween makes for the perfect closer to the thursday night. When not commanding the crowd with a ferocity felt throughout the tent, ARKONA bring traditional percussive elements into their music that makes their rhythms unmissable, and with the added bonus of riffs on top, this band kicked everything off in true Bloodstock style.

Rating: 8/10

Words: Eddie Sims 

Friday

FEED THE RHINO – Ronnie James Dio Stage

For those who are able to get up early enough, FEED THE RHINO provide a great way to kick off the morning. Lee Tobin makes it abundantly clear how pleased the band are to be playing the festival, and they go at it with absolute gusto. The set is messy, with missed cues and the band bringing the crowd onto their side, but the band take the larger stage with relative ease and The Burning Sons provides an early highlight of the weekend as Lee mounts the crowd and sails into the middle of the pit. 

Rating: 6/10

Words: Eddie Sims

MEMORIAM – Ronnie James Dio Stage 

Where FEED THE RHINO feel messy, it’s MEMORIAM who bring a tight aural assault to the Ronnie James Dio Stage. The offshoot from legendary band BOLT THROWER, the Birmingham based outfit are relentless in their approach, with thunderous double bass residing under classic death metal riffs in a combination that is almost impossible not to throw yourself into. With the stage presence you would expect from veterans of the British death metal scene, this is a masterclass in how to dominate an early festival crowd. 

Rating: 8/10

Words: Eddie Sims 

GODTHRYMM – Sophie Lancaster Stage

Doom outfit GODTHRYMM erupted onto the Sophie Lancaster Stage on Friday, setting the tone for the day ahead. Featuring many tracks from their debut album such as fan favourite A Grand Reclamation. The combination of doom and classic power metal vocals ties the themes to the sound, bellowing out and filling the tent with a crushing chorus. Despite their great sound, as with many live performances in the morning, the crowd wasn’t particularly lively – a shame considering the aptitude and stage presence of the band.

Rating: 7/10

Words: Christopher Harding

SODOMISED CADAVER – Sophie Lancaster Stage

With a name like that you shouldn’t be expecting any subtlety to be served with this South Wales mob’s blend of death metal. SODOMISED CADAVER let loose a strong arsenal of groovy and brutal tunes soaked in gore. Ollie Jones delivers a strong vocal performance showing off his higher range in the choruses of Vile Intercorse and deathly lows on Vampire Of Dusseldorf. Ryan Thomas Howes spews out horrid riffs with a smile on his face and a style which only those who truly love and bathe in the ludicrousness of the genre can pull off. The songs of gore and lyrics of horrid bestiality are well done due to the over the top nature but then things feel a tad tense in the crowd when the band throws jokes like “who wants to hear a ballad about rape” are around (not an excluded incident within the set). Whether these themes cross a line into a ‘too real’ territory, or there’s simply no room for songs called Lords Of Rape in 2018, or maybe even that the whole thing felt a little try-hard and edgelord-y is a discussion for another piece. If we’re to put that aside though and look at the quality of the live performance then SODOMISED CADAVER lived up to the brutal expectations their name gives off.

Rating: 7/10

Words: Jack King

WEDNESDAY 13 – Ronnie James Dio Stage

Never one for subtlety in the slightest, WEDNESDAY 13 begins his set crashing, axe-in-hand, through a replica ‘Redrum’ door from The Shining before launching straight into the lumbering What The Night Brings. It’s a perfect opener for a performer so rooted in horror movie theatricality and the first in a series of perfectly-orchestrated moments of stagecraft from the veteran ghoul-in-chief that eventually grows to include multiple costume changes, fire staff-swinging models, and a giant middle finger-emblazoned umbrella. Drawing mostly from last year’s impressive Condolences album, Wednesday and his namesake band pepper their all-too-brief-feeling set with everything from a ferocious Blood Sick, to the lumbering menace of the record’s title track, whilst still managing to find time for fan favourites like Gimmie Gimmie Bloodshed and I Walked With A Zombie, before the final climax of a gloriously silly I Love To Say Fuck brings their time at Bloodstock to a riotous close. It might not be the most cerebral thing in the world, but it’s certainly good fun, and those who enjoy a bit of B-movie schlock with their metal clearly love every moment – the sheer amount walking away with massive grins plastered across their faces proving clear testament to that.

Rating: 7/10 

Words: Jack Fermor-Worrell

REPRISAL – Sophie Lancaster Stage

REPRISAL are one of the most exciting heavy bands in the UK right now and after a successful debut many have shown up to see if the live show is equally heart racing, well it is. They are simply exhilarating. Everything feels like it’s going at a thousand miles per hour from Oliver du Toit’s thrash meets death riffs and solos to the tight and relentless rhythm section constantly tearing it down on every track. The highlight comes in Tom Johnstone’s incredible frontmanship, from maniacal laughs and wide eyed smiles in between his insanely ranged screeches and growls, to the way he prowls the stage never losing eye contact with the audience. In a field flooding with fresh new metal REPRISAL truly feel like a step above.

Rating: 8/10

Words: Jack King

BLOODBATH – Ronnie James Dio Stage

In keeping with the classic death metal affair, it’s the legendary BLOODBATH who take to the Ronnie James Dio Stage and bring with them a truly meaty slab of some of the best damn death metal you’ll ever hear. The band come on 15 minutes late due to technical issues, but when the band arrive on stage in their bloody and horrific stage attire, you know it’s time to bang your head. The band play through their entire set without so much as a flinch, keeping the stage banter to an amusing minimum and instead dive right into tracks like So You Die and Eaten with incredible intensity. 

Rating: 8/10

Words: Eddie Sims

DE PROFUNDIS – Sophie Lancaster Stage

From one excelling British act into one which has been slowly boiling for 13 years to reach where they are today. The last time DE PROFUNDIS graced the field of Catton Park they were beginning their metamorphosis from a more progressive doom-laden project into a much more old school death feeling act and whilst those early influences haven’t faded away the new colours which DE PROFUNDIS bear shine through on this performance. Tracks from the death-y The Blinding Light Of Faith cut through through the crowd, quenching their thirst for sick death metal riffs. Shoi Sen and Paul Nazarkardeh stand tall either side of stage casually letting the catchy and soaring riffs of Obsidian Spires and Beyond Judgement fly whilst Craig Land is planted firmly in the middle delivering some of the best guttural growls of the weekend. DE PROFUNDIS have tapped into something special on this album run, and we can only hope to see it emerge even further in the future.

Rating: 8/10 

Words: Jack King

LOVEBITES – Ronnie James Dio Stage

A slight change in schedule follows, as flight troubles mean SUICIDAL TENDENCIES are unable to make it to Catton in time for their set. That leaves Japanese power-metallers LOVEBITES to switch spots with them, snatching up a coveted Ronnie James Dio Stage slot in the process, and boy, do they run with the opportunity. Seemingly undeterred by the sudden step-up, the five-piece’s IRON MAIDEN-influenced take on power metal quickly wins over a large portion of the assembled crowd, thanks in no small part to vocalist Asami’s impressively operatic vocal gymnastics on huge anthems like The Crusade and Don’t Bite The Dust. Despite only having time to pack in a 5 song set, LOVEBITES end up accomplishing more than a fair few of their peers across the weekend, producing an early contender for set of the day in the process, where so many other bands could well have easily faltered.

Rating: 8/10

Words: Jack Fermor-Worrell

INGESTED – Sophie Lancaster Stage

INGESTED – Sophie Lancaster Stage

Manchester’s own INGESTED did not come to play, they came to steam roll the festival with slamming riffs the size of a mastodon’s bollocks. Being met with a huge crowd and chants of “slam-chester” it feels like a heroes welcome. The sheer weight of the brutal breakdowns and riffs which Sean Hynes and Sam Yates throw out is otherworldly as Brad Fuller’s ludicrously low bass shakes the Sophie Lancaster Stage to its foundations. The most bewildering part of the set is how somehow Jay Evans pulls off his insanely diverse vocals pretty much exactly the same as on record. It takes you aback to see there’s no production smoke and mirrors in the studio, what you hear is an authentic beast and that’s exactly what you get live. He’s a great frontman who gets pits started at the shake of a hand and who also keeps the crowd busy when technical difficulties strike, indulging the crowd in this year’s obsession of Ric Flair impressions. Whilst it has to be said that material from the first two records haven’t aged that finely it’s still played ferociously, but it’s newer tracks like Purveyors Of Truth which show why INGESTED have established themselves as the kings of British brutality.

Rating: 8/10

Words: Jack King

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES – Sophie Lancaster Stage

The flight issues seemed to almost work out for the best, with LOVEBITES getting the chance to shine on the Ronnie James Dio Stage, and then the legendary SUICIDAL TENDENCIES playing to an utterly packed out crowd on the Sophie Lancaster Stage, resulting in absolute bedlam and glorious carnage. Opening with You Cant Bring Me Down and following it with classics like Subliminal, War Inside My head and Cyco Vision, the thrash punks proceed to take the crowd and flip it on its head, causing the pit to swell and explode with every riff. The pace is relentless, the crowd is beyond keen for the show and the result is arguably the best set of the weekend played by a band who have nearly 10 years on a lot of the younger bands but out pace them by a country mile. 

Rating: 9/10

Words: Eddie Sims

BLEED FROM WITHIN – Sophie Lancaster Stage

Coming off the back of a genuine album of the year contender in Era, BLEED FROM WITHIN come at Bloodstock with absolute venom. The energy never drops for a second, as the opening Clarity gives way to Crown of Misery, completely setting the crowd off. The band ooze confidence, clearly happy to be back and playing to such keen crowds, remembering the times back when they were penned as the next big thing. Older tracks Uprising, Colony and It Lives In Me all feel thunderous and even the slower I Am Oblivion Pt II doesn’t do anything to halt the momentum gained throughout the set. It’s all cemented when the final track, Alive, incites the biggest pit of their set and just affirms how connected the crowd are with this fucking brilliant band.

Rating: 9/10

Words: Eddie Sims 

EMPEROR – Ronnie James Dio Stage

Rating: 9/10 

Words: Jack Fermor-Worrell

KING BISON – The Hobgoblin New Blood Stage

These sludge flinging, bass-slapping winners of Metal to The Masses, graced the Hobgoblin New Blood Stage as the headline act for Friday. KING BISON’s setlist consisted of some of their better-known tracks, such as Demon Tongues and Leather– a tale about becoming so inebriated, that demons from hell climb up out of the earth to party, and Filthy Son Of A Bitch. The energy at atmosphere was electrifying, with crisp vocals and fuzzy, groovy riffs galore. Add in a splash of light hearted banter and rapport with the crowd, and you have a fantastic show – something that KING BISON managed to achieve at the end of the day. Overall, KING BISON put on a powerful show musically, complete with a frontman and crown that played off each other, igniting the fire in the bellies stoner metal crowd.

Rating: 9/10 

Words: Christopher Harding

JUDAS PRIEST – Ronnie James Dio Stage

Rating: 10/10

Words: Jack Fermor-Worrell

And that rounds our the first part of our coverage from this year’s outstanding Bloodstock Festival! Keep posted to Distorted Sound as we bring you the action from Saturday and Sunday very soon!