Live Review: A Bloodstock Experience (Friday)

Unlike other festivals we’ve attended where bands don’t start until high noon, Bloodstock Open Air Festival gets going early with bands from 10:30 which is cool because there is no waiting around the be entertained. After yesterday’s overcast and drizzle nonsense, the sun is shining as we emerge from our tents like Ace Ventura from the Elephants arse, hot and sweaty. A Lewis Hamilton endorsed can of Monster later and we’re ready to face the day, the smell of farts, weed and beer in the air having been replaced by bacon. As we enter the main arena, we spot a billboard poster for this year’s Rabidfest with our webzine logo emblazoned upon it due to our Media Partner status for the event alongside ones for tours from Pantera, Sepultura and Bury Tomorrow. A proud moment.

Skipping passed the Rock Fit dance routine we head for the Ronnie James Dio main stage to witness Oxford Stoner Sludge Metal Kings Desert Storm [10/10] get things started in the best possible way. Given the time and last night’s beer intake by the masses the arena is loaded with people enjoying their Sabbath sized riffs fit for worship with their breakfast. The sound quality is immense and the thunderous drums and rumbling bass are enough to shake the worst of hangovers, cuts from “Death Rattle” and predecessor “Omen” an absolute pleasure but none more so that personal favourite “Black Bile“.

We take some respite from the sun with a Tropical Slushy under the tent of the Sophie Lancaster stage and watch the urgent Burner [9/10] decimate the weak with their ear splitting blend of Death Metal and Hardcore. The light show can barely keep up with their rampage, we shit you not. What separates them from the Wolf Pack in their genre is their non stop, restless and relentless chaotic energy and fiery vocals that mean something. An anti far right speech is on point, getting the masses fired up for a incendiary cut from EP “A Vision Of The End” that takes the roof off.

A band we’ve waited an awful long time to see, International Death Thrash masters Nervosa [10/10] make everything look effortless on the Ronnie James Dio main stage. The four piece fronted by Prika Arimal tear the place up in style and are greeted by the first circle pit of the day as they pound us into submission with blazing riffs and pummeling percussion. They waste little time between tunes, barely giving the pit time to breathe on a hot summers morning with cuts like “Jailbreak” and “Endless Ambition” sounding incredible with intertwining duelling solos nailed to perfection.

The caustic abrasions of Smother [8/10] summon us to the New Blood Stage where the Stoke natives make our ears bleed with their dark, violent and aggressive cathartic releases. “Unseen By The Eyes Of God” appeared as a single less than a month ago but it’s clear that the band have an armoury full of weapons to destroy us with by the mid point of their sweaty set.

Doom infused Traditional Heavy Metal veterans Grand Magus [7/10] may have been around the block and then some but they come armed with a collection of solid songs for the big stage, “Iron Will“, “Steel Versus Steel” and “Ravens Guide Our Way” all receiving an airing. Not really our cup of tea but on a baking hot summers day accompanied by a couple of beers they are well received by the audience.

It’s the first UK show for Dutch Extreme Metal act Haliphron [8/10] and the extreme Metal outfit make the absolute most out of the opportunity. They’ve completed the recording of a sophomore album which on this evidence it’s going to be savage. Dark and epic with Symphonic passages between Blackened Death Metal brutality they perform their songs with a ferocious approach that matches the nasty tales they retell in cuts like “Prey” and “Perfect Existence“. Witnessing them immediately after Grand Magus is like sinking a shot of Tequila to end twelve years of sobriety.

There is a lot of love in the audience for Greek quartet Rotting Christ [8/10] who also have a new album waiting in the wings and perform for us exclusively a majestic new single titled “Like Father, Like Son” during a career spanning set in the mid afternoon sunshine. The Tolis brothers roll back the years this afternoon feeding off the energy of both the audience and younger musicians Kostas “Spades” Heliotis on bass and Kostis Foukarakis on guitars, their dark tales of myth, folklore and religious wars wrapped in Black Metal roots.

The 30th Anniversary of Hatebreed [10/10] is as good as any reason for the Connecticut Hardcore crew to roll up on Bloodstock and deliver a career spanning set that is the very definition of Metal 2 The Masses. The arena is at full capacity for cuts like “This Is Now“, “Betrayed By Life” and “Live For This” while paying tribute to Slayer with their rendition of “Ghosts of War“. A dude in a wheelchair crowd surfing is almost as crazy as the moshers in Dinosaur costumes going up against burst of pyro on stage. They being out a giant inflatable black ball embossed with the Hatebreed logo and “Ball Of Death” for a bit of fun before the whirlwind of “Tear It Down” and “Perseverance“. The grand finale is of course “I Will Be Heard“, which everyone screams along to in good voice. A band who have stood the test of time and continue to defy the odds, when they find a new label home there is no doubt that their next album will crush.

The Lemmy Forever tribute sees legendary Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell lock some of Lemmy Kilmister’s ashes in a bust of King of Speed Metal for keeping in the Bloodstock museum after a heartfelt speech, which is a nice touch. Even though Motorhead only actually played Bloodstock once, there isn’t a more fitting choice than this. The only surprise is that Phil Campbell and The Bastard sons aren’t playing a set on the Sophie Lancaster stage this weekend.

A Heavy Metal band who run on Power Metal fuelled lyrical narratives Eternal Champion [7/10] are a strangely uplifting proposition who seem to have tapped into a limitless supply of tales to tell about… cutting people’s heads off with broadswords after a horseback ride through the wilderness. Their themes feel like they tie in with those of Bloodstock as a festival as well as a myriad of the bands selected for this year’s event but if anything they try a little too hard to impress. “Worms of the Earth” and “I Am The Hammer” do however get nailed.

Another band we’ve not had the opportunity to witness until now is Opeth [10/10] and a by request set means we get treated to some “old shit” as Mikael Akerfeldt puts it. His stage banter and sense of humour is refreshing throughout with a reflection on Lynyrd Skynyrd when he catches Chris Gilday of Stone Soup shout “play Freebird!“. We know it was you Chris, you do it at every show after 10 cans of Red Stripe! The set is a masterpiece of Swedish Progressive Death Metal with wonderful textures between the heavy sections of skull battering staccato riffs and harsh vocals matched by the opposing force of the lush melodic moments and clean vocals. The tunes, like “The Grand Conjuration“, “In My Time of Need” and “Ghost of Perdition” are all very much on the money, their young drummer Waltteri Väyrynen impressing despite not getting the memo about not wearing band t-shirts, his Morbid Angel one an interesting talking point. It also has to be said that the visuals are stunning, the light show and artwork behind the band on the big screen adding another dimension to what is an enthralling performance.

What happens when you blend EDM, classical music, opera, Death Metal guitars and a Black Metal drummer? You get the madness that is Igorrr [8/10] who are closing the Sophie Lancaster stage tonight. An eclectic and eccentric mix that sounds like it should never work on paper actually sounds like what Atari Teenage Riot did with Slayer in the 90’s on steroids, the smooth transitions between the styles thanks to the overarching vision and musicianship key. “Downgrade Desert” and “Camel Dancefloor” are particularly good before that all important midnight snack.