Live Review: A Bloodstock 2025 Experience (Sunday)

Emerging from our tents like something being birthed on a David Attenborough documentary it’s safe to say it’s f***ing hot on Sunday morning in Catton Park. After yesterday’s phenomenal line up there are sore heads a plenty as well as queues for the facilities and everyone’s on a bit of a go slow. Machine Head were fantastic and the fact that everyone at the festival wanted to try and witness Static-X just goes to show how much they are loved even if their days of putting out new material are over without the greatly missed Wayne Static.

A Strawberry slushy means that Ghosts Of Atlantis [9/10] come with a side order of brain freeze as they open the Ronnie James Dio main stage this morning and it has to be said, it feels like a crime putting them on so early because they’re just so damn good. Former Devilment guitarist Colin Parks clean backing vocals are superb cutting against the gravelly ones from Phil Primmer as the band play a variety of spellbinding tunes including “The Lycaon King” and new single “Melkin’s Tale“. Bearded heathens Barbarian Hemit [8/10] have nailed their Stoner Sludge Metal sound with hints of blues and Down and are the perfect tonic for a Sunday morning after a night of drunken debauchery. They’re here off the back of last year’s album “Mean Sugar” and deserve your attention with their riffs fit for worship.

Gwyn Strang sings tales of heartbreak, anger, hypocrisy and resolution with siren like tones over heavy riffs and haunting melodies as Frayle [8/10] play to a captivated audience at the Sophie Lancaster stage. The four piece have a theatrical quality to their performance, the trio of instrument players masked while Strang represents some kind of high priestesses with rings stretched across her face. As ominous as it is beautiful, they are both enthralling and disturbing at the same time. A band we’ve waited to witness for a long time are Rivers of Nihil [9/10] and they have a saxophonist with a belt of piano keys to help them with their pursuit of Progressive Death Metal mastery in the sunshine. From “The Sub‐Orbital Blues” to “Where Owls Know My Name” the Pennsylvania natives are something of guilty pleasure who live in the space between music and art, for some a little enigmatic.

Having played the Ronnie James Dio main stage with their main squeeze Desert Storm last year guitarist Ryan Cole and drummer Elliot Cole return to the Sophie Lancaster stage as Oxford Instrumental Stoner Sludge Metal duo Wall [9/10] and give us a fine display of Down meets Sabbath inspired riffs to nod our heads to. A band not to be underestimated, they keep you engaged with their rhythmic patterns, capable of putting you in a trance like state with their Metal hypnosis at any given moment. A cover of “Chop Suey!” by System of a Down gets those in Raptor costumes running to the pit on what appears to be unofficial Dinosaur day during a set from the almighty August Burns Red [8/10] before cuts like “Composure” crack skulls in Pennsylvanian Metalcore style. The problem is that while their songs translate incredibly well to a sweaty club, in the open air they lose some of their intensity and come off a little lack lustre when in fact the opposite is true. “Meridian” and “Defender” are both powerful enough to register as seismic activity but the brilliance that is 2017s album “Phantom Anthem” is sorely overlooked.

We head down to the New Blood Stage for Deathcore tyrants Surya [9/10] who encourage everyone to grab the person next to them and do a Waltz around the circle pit. As heavy as they come, the Leeds four piece decimate the weak with cuts from last year’s “Immemorial” EP and more recent addition “Eternal“, their power, presence and poise making them ones to watch in the future. If they don’t take your head clean off right now that is.

It took a long time for some of us to even look at a The Black Dahlia Murder [9/10] record let alone listen to one after the tragic death of vocalist Trevor Strnad so the band continuing in his honour is testament to their dedication to all things Metal. They deserve their place on the Ronnie James Dio main stage this afternoon and get a proper sweat on as go from “Miasma” to “Warborn” via the class that is “Statutory Ape“. A few technical difficulties give guitarist turned vocalist Brian Eschbach the opportunity to tell a tale or two before Alan Cassidy reminds us of the power he can generate behind the kit. The band are in monstrous form and while its a little surreal seeing night dwellers in the daylight, the Melodic Death Metal veterans know how to party. Having appeared at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023 with “Blood & Glitter“, German Metal act Lord Of The Lost [8/10] are pretty much household names at this point. Led by vocalist Chris Harms their industrial tinged sing-a-long anthems of darkness are easy listening on a summers afternoon and they don’t put a foot wrong in their performances. “Drag Me to Hell” and “Blood for Blood” are both particularly special and with the promise of a return to our shores in the not too distant future, we get the feeling its not going to be the last we see of them.

They say it pays to expect the unexpected but in truth there is nothing that can prepare you for the violent turbulence of Swedish Nu-Deathcore crew Thrown [10/10] because when they take to the stage, all bets are off and its a bare knuckle boxing match to the death. Spine juddering breakdowns from guitarist duo Johan Liljeblad and Andreas Malm push the crowd into a seething rage of circle pit action as touring drummer Markus Matz beats the living daylights out of the kit and somehow they manage to squeeze another five percent more energy out of their already blistering tracks. “parasite“, “bloodsucker” and “dwell” all burn new furrows to our collective craniums and by the end of the set if no-one knew who they were, they certainly do now because their dark energy is as relentless as it is awe inspiring.

Make no mistake, witnessing Mastodon [7/10] without Brent Hinds is nothing short of surreal and between witnessing the band at Bloodstock and publishing this review, his tragic passing just makes the memory of it feel even stranger. Hinds gave the band their rock star quality and his volatility and larger than life persona was always a big part of the bands appeal and without him in the live arena they feel a little too predictable. What we get this afternoon is a collection of songs that are certainly rousing, in particular “Megalodon“, “Blood And Thunder” and a cover of “Supernaut” by Black Sabbath but there is also something distinctly lacking. While Hinds can never be replaced, what they need is a character who can fill his boots and re-invigorate them. The return of 3 Inches Of Blood [8/10] after a near eight year hiatus in 2023 was a thing of beauty and the Canadian’s tales of epic fantasy like “Battles and Brotherhood” and “The Goatriders Horde” remain absolute class. These days they’re older, wiser and more aggressive, seemingly having fresh focus with their relaxed nature. Cam Pipes vocals may not be everyone’s pint of beer, especially some of the higher pitched moments but this afternoon they nail it.

How on Earth did a band like Gojira [10/10] get chosen to perform as part of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris last year? It’s a simple question but one that we’re left asking once more as the band smash their way through a set piled high with all things heavy. “Flying Whales” and “Another World” are both brilliant tonight, Mario Duplantier stepping away from the kit mid set to go all black and white movie on us. Fish and Chips £10? No. Instead the Progressive Death Metal quartet give us the double kick action we crave as they hammer home their credentials with verve and swagger. Sure there are fireworks and pyrotechnics but in truth they don’t need them because an encore that includes “L’enfant sauvage” is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Could there be a more suitable band to bring the bloodstained curtain down on this years incarnation than American Death Metal veterans Obituary [9/10] is the question we ask ourselves from the periphery of the Sophie Lancaster stage as for the final time the tent is packed to the rafters. Those who are able to witness them cuts like “Infected“, “Circle of the Tyrants” and “Turned Inside Out” are all delivered with the kind of vim and vigour that tells you that the band are still very much in love with everything they do. John Tardy’s snarling vocals are immense as he leads the band into battle from the front, the twin axe attack of Trevor Peres and Kenny Andrews inflicting as much damage as possible on the ear drums of those who remain. An utter triumph? Without a doubt.