Live Review: A Bloodstock 2025 Experience (Friday)

Waking up to the sound of campers shouting “Are you alive? Does it feel good to be alive?” in James Hetfield style is something Festival goers all around the globe enjoy and Bloodstock is no different. It’s warm after yesterday’s rain and after a protein shake, a can of Monster and the application of some suntan lotion, we join the queue to enter the main arena. It’s massive, running the entire length of the adjacent Midgard camp and the reason is the sheer number of bag checks going on but you know it’s going to be worth the wait. The fact that it runs past the Signature Brew and Samaritans tents isn’t lost on us because lets face it, if you need to drown your sorrows and speak to someone Bloodstock have got you covered.

Heading over to the Sophie Lancaster stage to witness Welsh Atmospheric Melodic Black Metal act Ofnus [8/10] to start the festivities. Their sophomore album “Valediction” arrived in February courtesy of Naturmacht Productions and their songs of death and grief are perfectly placed in the day. Soaked in melancholia, their dance macabre is embellished by lead guitars from James Ponsford, a man who knows how to paint a picture.  Over on the Ronnie James Dio main stage Shrapnel [8/10] combine Thrash with Traditional Heavy Metal with the vocal prowess of Daniel Moran. Somehow he manages to command a wall of death at 11:00 in the morning as they blast through “King Maker” before dedicating “Judgement” to a friend who is struggling. Despite having been on the scene since 2009, they are truly honoured to be gracing the stage and having the time of their lives doing so means they don’t want to leave.

Making their third appearance at Bloodstock are Turin [10/10] who sadly lose the first five minutes of their set due to technical issues. Once they get going however there is no stopping them as vocalist Darryl Jones screams with the scorn of a wrathful god and as he does so, their weighty blackened riffs and thunderous percussion swirl around him like a tornado. When the clean vocals parts rise to the surface, they’re like cries of anguish from beyond the void, the bands sombre melodic moments fleeting and yet perfectly placed. A savage onslaught of sinister Death Metal sounds that flirts with both Tech-Death and Post-Metal at times with unholy dark atmospherics, they’re a cathartic pleasure. Canterbury Doom Metal purveyors Famyne [7/10] originally won Metal 2 The Masses in Kent back in 2016 and return to the festival with tales of dark fantasy. A sprinkling of solid riffs mean that “Solid Earth” and “For My Sins” are their set highlights and while they’re not ones to make you headbang they have plenty of other moments to offer.

The clanky six string bass of Belfast natives Lock Horns [9/10] is a pleasure in rhythmic skull battering as the band hit us with tunes like “Rust” and “The Golden Mean” from their May 2024 released album “Red Room“. That’s half an hour of power that translates perfectly live with spine juddering DJent fuelled riffs that are lower in the mix, so the four piece have a bouncier sound and that’s fearful infectious. Complex grooves with more twists and turns than a dime store thriller novel keep us on our toes, Alex da Costa’s powerful vocals making them ones to watch. A brutal contrast of styles make Konvent [7/10] an interesting listen, the Copenhagen Death Doom five piece combining Black Sabbath style riffs with death growled vocals from Rikke Emilie List. Their often introspective lyrical narratives are heavy going but the quality of the musicianship on songs like “Sand Is King” and “Pipe Dreams” shine through and they have a few riffs fit for worship.

Belgians My Diligence [8/10] have long been hailed as one of the most prominent Post-Metal bands around and with songs like “Sail to the Red Light” and “On the Wire” its easy to see why. Elements of Post-Hardcore and Heavy Psych seep through the cracks with concerningly catchy harmonies as they explore dark themes, making them utterly compelling. Veterans of Traditional Heavy Metal Flotsam And Jetsam [8/10] put on a display with songs like “Brace For Impact” and “Demolition Man” which remind us of their Thrash tinged Iron Maiden isms in the early day sun. Despite being elder statesmen with forty years of touring under their collective belts they have plenty of energy and the voice of Eric A.K. shows no sign of fading.

Friends of Malevolence Rough Justice [8/10] bring their Metallic Hardcore to the Sophie Lancaster stage and even throw in a hand grenade in the form of a cover of “Tear It Down” by Hatebreed for good measure. It’s a two steppers paradise with cuts like “Hell is Other People” and “When It Comes” getting the crowd going, the band expressing how happy they are to be here as we get a sweat on. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Metal doesn’t need to be complex to be a good time and that’s one of the strengths of Hardcore. The straight forward, straight to your face all guns blazing approach often works well and here it almost takes the roof off the tent.

It’s hard to believe that Switzerland’s finest Nu-Metalcore export Paleface Swiss [9/10] are making their UK Festival debut but in the scorching afternoon in Derbyshire they do exactly that, commanding circle pits and even a wall of death as they hammer home their messages with real intensity. “Nail to the Tooth“, “I Am a Cursed One” and “River of Sorrows” all slap harder than Power Slap Super Heavyweight champion Dayne “Da Hawaiian Hitman” Viernes and win over the crowd with ease. The post-apocalyptic world of Finnish Melodic Death Metal outfit Shade Empire [8/10] has been a Pandora’s box of curiosities since 1999 with “Traveler of Unlight” and the title track of their 2023 album “Sunholy” set highlights. A labour of love with a six year gestational period that record muses on the current state of the World with lyrics inspired by the Jonestown tragedy and live the darkness of it translates very well.

It feels surreal that after last years powerful new album “Science Not Fiction” 2025 is the final year of Orange Goblin [9/10] but with a UK and Ireland tour this winter there might be one more opportunity to catch them before they hang up their biker boots. Naturally they’re treated like returning heroes and vocalist Ben Ward expresses how grateful the band are to be welcomed back for one last time. Big fuzzy riffs are the order of the afternoon and with cuts like “Saruman’s Wish“, “The Devil’s Whip” and grand closing “Red Tide Rising” they do us proud even if there is the glaring absence of personal favourite “Blue Snow“.

It has to be said that while Cristina Scabbia’s clean vocals are both immaculate and stunning, it’s the uncleans from Andrea Ferro that are surprisingly impressive as Lacuna Coil [10/10] give the Bloodstock crowd both barrels. They have a rich discography to choose from but opt to offer up no less than five from their new album “Sleepless Empire” alongside a career spanning selection of hits. Sounding heavier than ever they start with a powerful version of “Layers of Time” before rousing renditions of “Heavens A Lie” and “Enjoy The Silence” by Depeche Mode dedicated to Ozzy Osbourne. A ticker-tape like Italian flag is almost a shock when it gets fired as these things are usually reserved for headliners before “Never Dawn” completes their display in mesmerising fashion.

The presence of Norwegian Symphonic Black Metal masters Emperor [8/10] is a curious one in the sense that their sound might better suit a more intimate setting than the Ronnie James Dio main stage and its kind of weird seeing them in daylight. That being said from “Into the Infinity of Thoughts” to “Ye Entrancemperium” they are an intriguing listen and given their reputation in recent times, you never know when it will be your last opportunity to witness them. Unlike most of the other bands they play without fanfare, spending little time doing anything other than simply playing the songs which is refreshing given the constant calls for interaction from some of the other bands.

It probably goes without saying but the Sophie Lancaster tent is packed for the highly anticipated return of Max Cavalera with Nailbomb [10/10] and after walking out to the theme from A Clockwork Orange, they proceed to reduce the stage to sawdust. “Wasting Away“, “24 Hour Bullshit” and “Cockroaches” are all lethal doses of Industrial Thrash Metal. Igor Cavalera Jr. is the centre of attention for most of the performance, handling guitars and main vocals with Max declaring him as the future of the band at one point. Their album “Point Blank” may have been issued back in 1994 but listening to them churn and burn their way through the material makes you realise just how the politics and social issues they spoke of back then are just as relevant now as they have ever been. The set goes down an absolute storm and by the end the band have the fans eating out of the palm of their hands, Max teases us with a bit of the riff from “Territory” by Sepultura with the brothers Cavalera due to play an anniversary tour for their seminal album “Chaos AD” next year.

While Trivium [10/10] are here after a year of playing “Ascendancy” in celebration of its 20th Anniversary, tonight that album only makes up about half the set with the band giving us “Catastrophist” as an early warning shot. The pyrotechnics are in full force from the start before mid set the creature from the “Ascendancy ” cover artwork inflates behind drummer Alex Bent and threatens to flatten him. Fortunately it doesn’t and he manages to give us a drum solo before that process finishes. It wouldn’t be a Trivium show without the band talking about Ozzy Osbourne and the power of Metal so mid set it’s no surprise when the Matt Heafy does exactly that, however the surprise is the array of guests that join them. A cover of “Symptom Of The Universe” by Black Sabbath sees them bring out Robb Flynn from Machine Head to handle lead vocals and feels so fresh you want them to commit it to tape. III from Sleep Token then adds a second five string bass to “Throes of Perdition” from the almighty “Shogun” album before a ripping rendition of “Master Of Puppets” by Metallica. As if that’s not enough, Ihsahn from Emperor joins to scream along with “In Waves” and then Josh Bains from Malevolence joins to add riffs to “The Deceived“. In between that madness they give new song “Bury Me With My Screams” a live debut, mentioning a new EP will come out on Halloween before commanding crowd surfing and circle pits. “The Sin And The Sentence“, “Heart From Your Hate” and “Until The World Goes Cold” are all sing-a-long classics and we can’t help but smile as Heafy does, letting the Bloodstock choir do the work. What better than fireworks to round off a stellar performance?

How about some French Canadian Death Groove to finish the night? Kataklysm [9/10] do the honours, raising the roof with from “The Ambassador of Pain” to the almighty “The Black Sheep”. There are also a couple of curveballs with a song that hasn’t been played live before this run in “Combustion” making the set as tales of War, Mysticism and Retaliation fill the night sky, Maurizio Iacono very much the figure of a warrior as he roars over the plentiful riffs supplied by Jean-François Dagenais. After three decades the war machine shows no sign of slowing down and their fifteenth studio album contributes no less than three songs to their blunt force trauma of a set in lean, mean and aggressive style.