This is not a comprehensive review of the weekend from a team of media savvy writers and togs. It’s a collective of fans who were at the festival and who have spent time reflecting on their favourite performances over a stacked and packed weekend. We move onto Sunday and the last day of a great weekend.
Nursing a bastard of a hangover, Soen were the perfect way to soothe myself into the day with their melodic, melancholic, and emotional brand of progressive metal. This was still hard hitting stuff with chunky riffs and powerhouse drumming from ex-Opeth drummer extraordinaire Martin López, interspersed with calm, melodic moments with guitarist Lars Åhlund switching to keyboards. However, everyone was focused on frontman Joel Ekelöf whose stunning voice was simply captivating. It may have been a short set due to the time of day but Soen definitely won over some new fans with stunning renditions of songs such as Martyrs and Antagonist whilst the beautiful Lotus had many in the crowd in tears. A stunning way to shift the cobwebs away early on in the day.
It may have been the fourth day of the festival and most people were tired and aching but Beast In Black were determined to bring the party to the Bloodstock crowd. Their brand of European power metal channels classic 80’s pop as well as Eurobeat's and the band are pretty much Eurovision in metal form with songs catchier than the latest wave of Covid, bearing hooks that bore their way into your subconscious, ensuring that you are humming their songs weeks later. The band were visibly having the time of their lives, with massive grins all round and the joy was infectious with a crowd hungry for a good time. People were bouncing around or having a good old dance to party tunes including Power Of The Beast, Sweet True Lies and One Night In Tokyo. It was cheesier than an explosion in a Cathedral City factory but that is the charm of this band. Not to be taken at all seriously, but a dose of fun in a genre that can be too focused at times.
Mid afternoon on a hot sunny day The Gallogate Murders took to the EMP stage, which was very full. The bands eclectic mix of Celtic punk and metal had the crowd bouncing from the beginning. I don't recall seeing any other bands over the weekend playing a mandolin and penny whistle along with guitars, bass etc. The set started with Laoghaire followed swiftly by Labyrinth Alley and Wreckhead Wedding. Plenty of banter from frontman Tom and the crowd responded. Part way through they part the crowd....not for a wall of death, but a Ceilidh dance off!! The set finished with Only the Bastards, bags of party poppers and a confetti cannon set off. Great fun!
Much like their countrymen Rotting Christ, the music of SepticFlesh is more suited to a dark, indoor venue rather than blazing hot sunshine. This did not deter either the band or the audience though. SepticFlesh are one of the best live acts in extreme metal with their atmospheric, symphonic and brutal sound ensuring the crowd is either in absolute awe or running around in a circle pit. The enthusiasm of frontman Spiros is infectious, addressing the crowd as “my friends” multiple times throughout the set (there is an infamous SepticFlesh drinking game based around Spiro’s crowd interactions should you dare to try it), but his affable and enthusiastic stage presence sits alongside one of the most ferocious roars in death metal.
The music of SepticFlesh has a heavy symphonic element which of course was in the form of a backing track this time round (the logistics and costs of bringing a full symphony orchestra to a festival for a 45 minute set are nonsensical). Still it mixed nicely into the live death metal performances and songs such as Portrait Of A Headless Man, Hierophant, Anubis and Dark Art were sublime.
Returning to the festival after their hugely successful Sophie stage headlining performance were The Night Flight Orchestra though this time promoted to the Ronnie James Dio main stage. Despite being a band formed of metal guys from various Swedish metal bands, The Night Flight Orchestra brought their love of classic AOR and vintage pop to the Bloodstock crowd. With blazing sunshine and plenty of beers in hands, this was the perfect party band for a Sunday afternoon and whilst initially hesitant the crowd soon got into the spirit of things with plenty of singing along and copious amounts of dancing. Whilst better known as the frontman of melodic death metal band Soilwork, Björn “Speed” Strid is a flamboyant frontman bedecked in cape and knowing how to get the crowd moving and singing along to catchy numbers which included Divinyls, Satellite and Burn For Me. The show was brought to a close with the retro rocking of West Ruth Ave, the band ensuring that the crowd descended into one huge conga train. It was truly a sight to behold with hundreds of heavy metal fans doing a conga around the arena and a moment that I hope was caught on camera by the film crew at the festival. It was big, dumb, and cheesy but The Night Flight Orchestra were the most tremendously fun band of the weekend.
Another old school thrash band making an extremely long overdue return to the UK were blistering California thrashers Sadus. According to Setlist.fm, their last UK show was way back in 1991.
Sadus were determined to make sure they left a mark and that they did with one of the most furious sets to grace the Sophie Lancaster stage all weekend. There were plenty of songs from the band’s new album The Shadow Inside which were crushing and aggressive, but it was the band’s old school material which got the biggest response and the most furious pit action with Sadus Attack, Hand Of Fate and Certain Death challenging the most ardent thrasher to bang their head in time with the crippling speed and aggression being at insane levels. Frontman and guitarist Darren Travis hasn’t lost his caustic snarl in the ensuing years whilst drummer Jon Allen played with such intensity it seemed like he might spontaneously combust at any time. It was really cool to see all the Forbidden guys at the side of the stage watching with shit eating grins and banging their heads showing that the comradeship amongst the veteran thrashers is still just as strong in 2024 as it was back in 1988.
The sun is out and backing the audience as they wait in anticipation for the band about to come out on the main stage. Carcass are now one of the pioneers of grindcore, and British death metal. The band, hailing from Liverpool, have been around since the mid-1980s. It was the breakthrough album Heartwork that propelled them to the spotlight which is where they remain. The intro tape starts and the band enter the stage, opening the set with Buried Dreams from Heartwork. Original members Jeff walker and Bill Steer look as cool as ever. The songs are still dark and brutal, with Walker's vocals still sinister and brooding. Steer struts round the stage like a real guitar hero. Incarnate Solvent Abuse, Under the Scalpel Blade and This Mortal Coil sound as good as they ever have and the autopsy and syphilis visuals on the big screen make the songs even more uncomfortable to watch. The crowd are going wild with a constant flow of crowd surfers are transported to the open arms of the calm, happy and well trained staff who gently carry them over the barrier. The skipping ring is in full flow. Highlights for me are Blackstar, Pyosisified , and obviously Heartwork and tools of the trade get the crowd bouncing, and the set closer Reek of Putrefaction leaves everybody wanting more, they leave proving they are still leaders in the metal world, and in my eyes would be very worthy headliners.
Each time Amon Amarth returns to Bloodstock, they raise the stakes and put on an even bigger show. The Viking metallers have become a regular fixture in the Bloodstock line-ups with this being their fifth appearance at the festival and their second headlining show, but they have lost none of their potency. The adoration of the band by the Bloodstock masses has not dimmed one bit with one of the biggest, loudest and most enthusiastic crowds of the entire weekend. The stage show seems to get bigger each time that Amon Amarth appear as well, with an impressive stage set with a huge Viking helmet at the centre, various platforms and massive visuals and lightning.
Of course there was an insane amount of fire and pyrotechnics as well as Viking reenactors hitting seven shades of shit of each other on stage. It was truly a headline worthy performance and a colossally epic way to bring main stage proceedings to a close. The band clearly love playing Bloodstock and frontman Johan Hegg was grinning like a Cheshire cat throughout the whole show and that love was reciprocated by the crowd who sang loudly, crowd-surfed, and moshed their way through the 90 minute set. And of course, there was the Viking rowing which is now a fixture of Amon Amarth shows but which was born at Bloodstock and so there was a record attempt at the biggest Viking rowing during the epic Put Your Back Into The Oar. It hasn’t been announced to date if the record was broken but it was a mighty fine attempt and looked absolutely glorious.
Fans of the older Amon Amarth material may have been disappointed by the lack of old school songs but the set was littered with crowd pleasers including Guardians Of Asgard, The Pursuit Of Vikings, Raise Your Horns and Twilight Of The Thunder God plus a few deeper cuts such as Under The Northern Star and personal highlight Tattered Banners And Bloody Flags which sounded absolutely massive. A huge sound, colossal stage show and gargantuan setlist ensured that the Ronnie James Dio stage ended proceedings in magnificent style and shows that Amon Amarth, whilst sounding a bit safe on record these days, are still a fearsome live act and one that this reviewer would happily watch again and again and again.
Reviews:
Carcass - John Caffrey
The Gallogate Murders - Dez Coley
Soen, SepticFlesh, Sadus, The Night Flight Orchestra, Beast in Black, Amon Amarth - Richard Oliver
Photos:
The Gallogate Murders - Dez Foley
The Night Flight Orchestra, Carcass - John Caffrey
SepticFlesh, Soen, Sadus, Amon Amarth - Hutch
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