bloodstock open air

13 - 15 August 2010

Catton Hall, Derby, UK

background

Appearing in a rather different format in 2001 Bloodstock has evolved to be one of the UK’s premier festivals. Born out of a desire to build a festival that hadn’t been seen since the days of Monsters of Rock, Vince Brotheridge and Paul Gregory came together to bring us Bloodstock. They met through a mutual friend and it soon became apparent that although their backgrounds were very different their taste in music was much the same. After many meetings they formed Amust4music, the umbrella for all things Bloodstock related.

The first headlining band confirmed to play the 2001 edition of the show was Saxon. This came about as Paul had met Biff Byford and the band back in 1984. He had been commissioned to do their artwork and stage designs for the album Crusader. Paul has since painted ten albums for the band to date and has become firm friends with the band. Saxon were very supportive of the festival and were happy to headline the first one day show alongside the likes of Primal Fear, Glenn Hughes and Blaze.

Following on from the successful indoor event in 2001 Vince and Paul went straight into organising the next festival even though they’d made a considerable financial loss (which they expected in the early days). The festival audience rose from a rather impressive 700 to over 1500 in year two, something that was no doubt influenced by the success of the previous year and bands such as Blind Guardian and Gamma Ray heading up the lineup.

Later on the same year Vince and Paul headed off on tour with Saxon, which saw them cross paths with Nightwish for the very first time at Wacken Open Air. Vince was blown away by the band and immediately thought of having them headline the show in 2003. This brought the band to the UK for their very first show here and in a leap of faith the Bloodstock team decided to bring the fans two days of metal rather than the established one day. Saxon agreed to come back to headline the Friday evening alongside Blaze, Power Quest and 5th Man Down with Nightwish headlining the Saturday alongside Dragonforce, Paradise Lost, Edguy, Masterplan and Mercury Rain.

2004 saw the festival continue with a more classic theme for the Friday evening with Gamma Ray headlining the evening, supported by Threshold, Sinergy, Illuminatus and Infobia. Children of Bodom headlined the more diverse Saturday lineup alongside Sonata Arctica, Primal Fear, Evergrey and more.

As the Derby Assembly Rooms only allowed for a maximum attendance of 2 500 fansl, Vince and Paul decided to branch out and this was the beginning of Bloodstock Open Air as we know it. This would allow for numbers to increase to 10 000. Wacken Open Air stepped in to support the guys on their quest to provide the UK with such an outdoor festival and offered them advice on how to build on their already formidable Indoor festival. Sebastian Bach headlined the Friday night with Children of Bodom coming back and headlining the Saturday after such a great response the year before.

2005’s Indoor festival had the largest number of bands over the two days and saw the likes of HammerFall headlining the Friday alongside bands such as StormWarrior, Metalium and Reckless Tide filling in slots throughout the day. Within Temptation headlined the Saturday night following on from the diverse lineup of Amon Amarth, After Forever, Bob Catley, Raven, Iron Savior, SuidAkrA, Season's End and Rise to Addiction. The Darwin Stage also saw bands such as Cathedral and Soliloquy.

2006’s Bloodstock Open Air built on the success of the previous year and saw bands such as Stratovarius, Edguy, Rage, Bal-Sagoth, Atheist, Metal Church, Nocturnal Rites, Turisas and Ensiferum playing alongside each other. The crowd size had increased and the festival proved to be very popular amongst bands and fans alike.

Sadly 2006 saw the final (for now) Indoor festival take place and brought us the likes of My Dying Bride, Primal Fear, Brainstorm, Machine Men and many more. Fans were obviously upset by the departure of this, now, institution in UK metal but Bloodstock Open Air has always promised to be something special in any fan’s calendar.

2007 turned out to be a record breaking year for the Open Air festival with an extra day added and the biggest lineup in the festival’s history being secured. Testament headlined the Thursday night, with Lacuna Coil headlining Friday and In Flames the Saturday.

The website saw a major overhaul and promotion played an important factor. A new feature was added to the site, with unsigned bands being able to upload their videos allowing thousands of people to view them and vote for a 'winner'. The prize would enable the ‘winner’ to open the main stage on the Thursday evening. The winning band, Sight of Emptiness, flew out from Costa Rica and opened proceedings for BOA 2007.

Promotion in stores and in magazines / websites proved to be very important and having the wettest summer in over 50 years didn’t put off over 5 000 metal fans who braved the weather and went on to make last year’s outdoor festival the most successful yet.

2008 proved to be no exception with bands including: Nightwish, Týr, Opeth, Helloween, Soilwork, Swallow the Sun, Iced Earth, Dimmu Borgir and many more.

2009 was another great year for Bloodstock with performances from Amon Amarth, The Haunted, Moonspell, Satyricon, Arch Enemy and a whole host of others. The festival was closed by none other than Europe!

2010 marks the celebration of Bloodstock's 10th anniversary and it's gearing up to be the best yet! With performances from firm favourites Children of Bodom. Sonata Arctica, Opeth and Edguy the festival will play host to an array of artists including the Devin Townsend Project, Doro, Behemoth, Amorphis, Gorgoroth and plenty more. Friday the 13th sees the festival host a Friday 13th Fancy Dress... along with the introduction of the Bloodstock phone apps this year! Haven't got your ticket yet!? What are you waiting for?

Keep checking the official site for more information.

line up

2010 - 10th Anniversary

Previous bands by year

2009

Abgott, Amon Amarth, Anathema, Anterior, Apocalyptica, Arch Enemy, Arthemis, Battlelore, Beholder, Blind Guardian, Blitzkrieg, Candlemass, Carcass, Celesty, Cradle of Filth, Darkness Dynamite, Edens Curse, Enslaved, Entombed, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, Equilibrium, Europe, Girlschool, Godsized, The Haunted, Katatonia, Insomnium, Kreator, Malefice, Million Dollar Reload, Moonspell, Municipal Waste, The Rotted, Sabaton, Satyricon, Saxon, Sodom, Tribe, Turisas, Uncle Rotter, Wolf, Xerath

2008

Alestorm, Akercocke, As I Lay Dying, At the Gates, Cloudscape, Communic, Crowning Glory, Destruction. Dimmu Borgir, Eluveitie, Evile, Evil Scarecrow, Grand Magus, Heaven's Basement, Helloween, Iced Earth, Katklysm, Mob Rules, Moonsorrow, Napalm Death, Nightwish, Opeth, Overkill, Praying Mantis, Primal Fear, Rise to Remain, Saint Deamon, Soilwork, Soulfly, Swallow the Sun, Týr

2007

Arch Enemy, Benediction, Beyond All Reason, Dark Tranquility, Dream Evil, Epica, Exploder, Finntroll, Firewind, Freedom Call, Head On, In Flames, Kiuas, Korpiklaani, Lacuna Coil, Legion of the Damned, Memfis, Nevermore, Rise to Addiction, Sabbat, Scar Symmetry, Sight of Emptiness, Testament, Voodo Six, Wolf

2006 (BOA)

Ashtar, Atheist, Bal-Sagoth, Beyond All Reason, Callenish Circle, Deadeye, Deadweight, Edguy, Ensiferum, Evile, Headless Cross, Kingsize Blues, Kyrbgrinder, Metal Church, Nephwrack, Nocturnal Rites, Pitiful Reign, Pyramaze, Rage, Season's End, Sicfelt, Solice, Stratovarius, Turisas

2006 (Indoor)

Agankast, Awaken, Axel Rudi Pell, Beyond Afterlife, Brainstorm, Captive Audio, Deadfall, Deathstars, Died Smiling, Eden, Enemy Uknown, Illuminatus, Iziah, Machine Men, Mael Mordha, Majesty, Marshall Law, My Dying Bride, Omnium Gatherum, Onslaught, Primal Fear, Savage Circus, Spellblast, Steel Tormentor, Sworn Amongst, To-Mera, Tourettes Syndrome

2005 (BOA)

Breed77, Children of Bodom, Edguy, Evergrey, Fourwaykill, Gotthard, Humanity, Masterplan, Mostly Autumn, Panic Cell, Paradise Lost, Sebastian Bach

2005 (Indoor)

After Forever, Amon Amarth, Balance of Silence, Bob Catley, Cathedral, Conquest of Steel, Deliverance, Dreadnought, HammerFall, Iron Savior, Jesus Fix, Metalium, MFKTZ, Osmium, Projekt, Reckless Tide, Rise to Addiction, Season’s End, Soliliquy, StormWarrior, SuidAkrA, Warchild, Within Temptation, Zillah

2004

Balance of Power, Children of Bodom, Cruachan, Edenbridge, Evergrey, Fourwaykill, Gamma Ray, Gutworm, Humanity, Illuminatus, Infobia, Intense, Invey, Liquid Sky, Nowhere Near the Garden, Panic Cell, Primal Fear, Rezin 69, Season’s End, Seven Years Dead, Sinergy, Sonata Arctica, Super Massive Object, The Prophecy, Threshold

2003

5th Man Down, Bates Motel, Biomechanical, Blaze, Bumsnogger, Cruel Humanity, Dragonforce, Edguy, Fourwaykill, Illuminatus, Invey, Masterplan, Mercury Rain, Nightwish, Ninedenine, Paradise Lost, Power Quest, Saracen, Saxon, Waylander

2002

Bal-Sagoth, Balance of Power, Biomechanical, Blind Guardian, Diamond Head, Elvenking, Enemymaker, Freedom Call, Gamma Ray, Infobia, Primordial, Return to the Sabbat, Threshold, Twelvepointhead

2001

Area 54, Blaze, Bloodstream, Consumed, Dirty Deeds, Evoke, Freebase, Glenn Hughes, Occupational Hazzard, Orange Goblin, Primal Fear, Return to the Sabbat, Saxon, Shadows Keep, Skyclad, Underule

information

tickets

Tickets are now onsale here.

See below for general information which can be found here:

Opening Times

Shuttle Bus Service

Age Restrictions

ATM Machines

Alcohol

Food and Drink

Camping

Toilet Facilities

Showers

Litter

What Not to Bring

What to Bring

Health & Safety

Securing Your Personal Items

Signing Tent

Disabled Facilities

Useful Information

information about catton hall

Information regarding the location and travel directions to the venue can be found here.

Catton Hall is located at the centre of a triangle of towns, Lichfield, Burton on Trent and Tamworth. Each town is approximately 6 - 8 miles from the BOA venue so if you prefer not to camp at the festival site you can always stay in a hotel or B&B.

where to stay

Camping is available onsite. Alternatively you can find information regarding accommodation at the following sites:

Lichfield information

South Derbyshire information

Burton on Trent information

taxi information

Lichfield

Dial A Cab - 01543 255 155

City Cars (Midlands) Ltd - 01543 254 999

Burton on Trent

Seven Eleven Cars - 01283 711 800

New Street Taxis - 01283 515 544

Station Taxis - 01283 532 000

Tamworth

Bennett's Taxis - 01827 544 44

Tamworth Taxis - 01287 555 95

merchandise

You can purchase official Bloodstock merchandise at this location.

links

Official Bloodstock site

photos

Click on a photo to see the full set

2009

Saturday 14 August

Saturday 14 August

Friday 13 August

Thursday 12 August

2008 (BOA)

2006 (BOA)

2006

2005 (BOA)

2005

2004

reviews

2009 - BOA

This is a compilation of reviews by Neil Woodfin and Lynn Wyeth. Please bear that in mind while reading through it!


Friday

OK, I feel I should admit up front that I got mixed up with which band was opening the main stage and when I should’ve been watching Blitzkrieg I thought Million Dollar Reload were on and wasn’t in the arena at the time. Although I’m not a great fan of Blitzkrieg’s recorded work I’d actually been looking forward to them as their kind of straight forward NWOBHM usually comes across much better live so I was quite disappointed to have missed them, maybe next time. (NW)

Million Dollar Reload is second up on the main stage. Singer Phil immediately looks the part as a tattooed shaded rock star with spiky jet black hair. Guitarist BAM with flowing coloured ginger, black and red locks and Andy Mac with cowboy hat helps make them look like a band with rock credentials. The singer and both guitarists made good use of the stage, running from side to side and working all sections of the relatively large crowd for this time on a Friday. Phil has a friendly rapport with the crowd in his broad Northern Ireland accent, and shows they don’t take themselves too seriously, joking with the audience about the real metal coming up and telling them not to be afraid to sing along if their friends tell them it’s pussy rock. Some tracks are reminiscent of Guns n Roses, and his very strong vocals do at times sound like Axl Rose, or an ACDC style. Million Dollar Reload warmed up the Bloodstock early birds well with some ballsy catchy rock. (LW)

All this means that the first band I checked out was Finnish melodic death band Insomnium, a band I’ve been a fan of since their debut In The Halls Of Awaiting came out in 2002. At first the band struggled with a pretty poor sound but once that was sorted out the band hit their stride properly and while the band occasionally looked a little lost on the big stage it was an enjoyable performance of slightly introspective Dark Tranquillity-esque melodic death and I look forward to their forthcoming UK tour with fellow Finns Swallow the Sun and Omnium Gatherum. (NW)

After Insomnium’s slightly downbeat take on melodic death it was up to German “party metal” band Die Apokalyptischen Reiter to bring the party in their inimitable style – and bring the party they most certainly did! They’re not a band I’d choose to listen to at home an awful lot but on a festival stage their almost indescribable blend of just about every metal sub-genre under the sun combined with their stageshow of gimps and getting a crowd member onstage to go crowdsurfing in an inflatable rubber dinghy makes perfect sense and their rendition of Es Wird Schlimmer was a definite highlight of the festival. (NW)

After D.A.R.’s highly entertaining set comes Municipal Waste who have been described as “the ultimate party band”. Despite the band practically living over here in recent years I’ve never actually managed to see them before and with their reputation I had high expectations from their performance... but I ended up being somewhat underwhelmed. Admittedly the band give an energetic performance but the whole act, including an attempt to get the world record for the “most crowdsurfers ever” just felt a bit forced and the band’s songs just come across as a third-rate D.R.I. Perhaps the hyping the band receive about their live performances worked against them as this certainly wasn’t a terrible performance but I couldn’t help but be underwhelmed and I can’t see myself going out of my way to see the band again. (NW)

It was soon time for melancholy Swedes Katatonia, a band I’m actually a great fan of but today the band seemed a little off the boil. The band weren’t bad by any means but they completely failed to create any of the kind of atmosphere that their music demands and it all felt a little by-the-numbers and passed me by a little, I suspect that they may have come over better in a later slot with the benefit of darkness and a full light show rather than in the blazing sunshine that they did play in. (NW)

After Katatonia’s rather underwhelming set it was down to legendary German thrashers Sodom, playing their first UK gig in TWENTY years to pick the pace up again – and pick the pace up they most certainly did! Even battling against a truly diabolical sound for the majority of their set the Germans play a blinder with even the ill advised cover of Surfin’ Bird raising a smile today. Hopefully now that the band have finally returned to our shores we’ll get some headline dates sooner or later – or even a tour featuring Sodom, Destruction and Kreator (well, I can dream can’t I!). (NW)

The crowd in front of the main stage were waiting expectantly for the next act, and as the intro started so did the chants of ‘Saxon…Saxon.’ Front man Biff Byford, contrary to popular belief, is only 58 and not 103 years old. Along with guitarist Paul Quinn, he has been the backbone of the legendary Saxon for 30 years. Opening with Battalions of Steel, Saxon immediately showed that they’re nowhere near their sell past date though, with Byford’s long blonde hair, slightly greying at the temples, blowing in the wind. “We’re gonna play some British heavy metal for you” announced Byford to great cheers and they launched into the classic Heavy Metal Thunder, followed by a track from the new album, Into the Labyrinth, called Demons Sweeney Todd demonstrating they’ve not lost their creativity and ability to write classic NWOBHM rock classics. Byford has a healthy rapport with the crowd… because he’s still one of us. He got a cheer when commenting on Metal Hammer now selling more copies than Kerrang! Magazine. Talking about their 30th anniversary, he joked that there had only been two wives and a few girlfriends in that time, before they went into another classic, 747 (Strangers in the Night). He’s like an old familiar relative that’s always been there in your life somewhere, and Saxon can still put on a great live show. The crowd loved it, and playing the “safe” festival set won over many people who hadn’t seen them before. (LW)

Swedish melodic death metallers Arch Enemy come complete with a drop dead gorgeous blonde female singer in Angela Gossow. If you were expecting your traditional female fronted metal singer in the Evanescence vein, think again. Gossow is death metal. She growls and roars like any man in this genre, and if you didn’t know it was a girl and shut your eyes you would never ever believe it. People looked on in disbelief, asking if there are effects on the vocals as she blew people away with her guttural vocals. It’s different and startling and puts Arch Enemy immediately ahead of other contenders in their genre for originality and the ‘wow’ factor. A multitude of flags from various countries and counties were waved as the crowd went ballistic to Arch Enemy’s stunning and intricate melodic metal. Surprisingly impressive. (LW)

Since I started off my reviews for today with an admission I should probably end with one, that being that my indulging in the... err... festivities of the festival began to catch up with me (to say the least) by the time Carcass played so their set is somewhat sketchy to me. From what I remember though the band played a set based around crowd favourites such as Heartwork and Corporeal Jigsore Quandary, Jeff Walker’s banter was as sarcy as ever and original drummer Ken Owen’s drum solo was better than he’d managed when I saw the band at both Wacken and Damnation last year. (NW)


Saturday

It’s 10.30 in the morning but the Bloodstock faithful already waiting in front of the main stage are about to be woken up with a possible treat. Winners of the unsigned band competition, Uncle Rotter, get to play the main stage, albeit only four songs. But it’s enough to make an impression! Uncle Rotter is, and I quote, “gothic glam thuggish cartoon disco metal”. Complete with rubber and leather masks, German army helmets, a blood covered Dr, and a male guitarist with mini skirt and bright red tights, they’re certainly visually interesting. With titles like Fist Your Sister, Don’t Smoke Crack, Snort it From Your Dead Mum’s Pussy Instead and Fit Goth Chicks on the End of Your Dick I think you may get the idea of what Uncle Rotter is all about. It is catchy tongue-in-cheek sing-a-long metal, and even manages to steal a bit of Abba’s ‘Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight’ in places. It’s not politically correct but it is rather entertaining in a puerile way, and they put a smile on the crowd’s face. A good fun opening act, that can also really play, to get day two of Bloodstock kicked off. (LW)

The swords were already being waved on the front row and battle metal Finns Battlelore are on the main stage next, covered in Turisas-style black and red war paint. The Finns take the Bloodstock crowd through battles in the fields of Rohan and finally to the deepest dungeons of Moria during their trip to Middle Earth. Alas they have to take them initially without vocals from Kaisa Jouhki. There are many things that upset me in life… War, paedophilia, Mariah Carey. Another is sending a band on stage with a mic that doesn’t work. How sodding hard is it? It’s painful watching, as poor Kaisa obviously has no idea no-one can hear a damn word she’s singing for the whole of the first song. Things don’t really improve even when it does come on, with the male vocals of Tomi Mykkänen then being a little lost and the poor sound of the whole set rather distracting from the pleasant battle metal the Finns are trying to woo us with. Still, the crowd are up for it, waving their swords and hey hey-ing along with tracks such as the 3rd immorta’ and We Are the Legions, agreeing with singer Mykkänen that for House of Heroes it was time to take some breath… and some beers of course. Typical Finns… (LW)

Next up was some Swedish power metal from Wolf. Niklas ‘Viper’ Stalvind, Johannes ‘Axe’ Losback, Andres ‘Tornado’ Moff and Richard ‘Raptor’ Holmgren, sound like they should be on Gladiators, and were certainly “Gladiators… ready!” for Bloodstock, hitting the stage with their flying Vs and energy. Running from side to side and posing for the photographers, they came as across as loving what they do as they blitzed the enthusiastic and appreciative wolf-howling crowd with classic heavy power metal. (LW)

After shaking off the morning’s hangover demons the first band of the day for me was The Haunted, a band who I absolutely loved when I first heard the demo of their song Undead on an Earache compilation CD way back in 1997 but who I’ve become increasingly disenchanted with since the return of original vocalist Peter Dolving. Now I will admit upfront that I didn’t even recognise most of the songs aired today, aside from closing number Dark Intentions/Bury Your Dead (the band didn’t even play probably their most popular song in D.O.A.) as they stuck largely to the more recent albums but the band’s performance itself was very sloppy and Dolving should just have his microphone switched off between songs because of the amount of crap he spouts when not singing. Probably one of the worst sets I’ve ever seen at Bloodstock and it’s hard to believe that 2 members of this band were part of the At The Gates line-up that veritably laid waste to the same festival just last year. (NW)

Fellow Swedes Entombed followed The Haunted and, though nothing was aired from their classic first two albums, managed to provide one of the best sets of the festival. The band play with a sense of aggression and groove that would have made them one of the best bands on show today anyway but combined with the boundless energy and enthusiasm of LG Petrov upfront who never seems to stop moving and getting the crowd going then Entombed are unstoppable. Hopefully their forthcoming tour with Amon Amarth will push them to finally get the attention they so richly deserve in this country. (NW)

Completing a trio of Swedish bands this afternoon is Candlemass whose classic doom very nearly steals the show today. Their mixture of monolithic riffs and Robert Lowe’s classic metal voice is perfect for Bloodstock and the intro of signature track Solitude is perhaps even more spine-chilling in the open air than when I last saw the band in Leeds Rio’s and is a definite festival highlight. Choosing to end their set with a cover of Rainbow’s Kill the King seemed a little odd at the time but, in retrospect, finishing with a British hard rock/heavy metal classic at Britain’s biggest independent rock/metal festival was a perfect ending to a fine set. (NW)

Following Candlemass was always going to be a difficult job but Enslaved provided a nice change of pace with their increasingly Pink Floyd inspired Viking black metal. The band’s performance is flawless combining aggression with a grandiosity many bands would kill for with the multi-part vocal harmonies working particularly well today. The only possible complaint could be that nothing older than As Fire Swept Clean the Earth from the Below the Lights album was aired today but when you have songs as good as Ground and Isa in your set then that’s a minor niggle. (NW)

After Enslaved’s more progressive tendencies it was time to get back to basics a bit with Kreator’s hell for leather thrash attack. Yes their setlist is as predictable as ever but the whole band manage to sound just as fresh and vital as ever and songs like Extreme Aggression and Flag of Hate (introduced by Mille holding a literal ‘Flag of Hate” onstage) are purpose made for headbanging and causing general pit chaos. As good as the band’s performance is it’s Mille’s hilariously over the top stage banter that makes this a performance rather than just a band playing songs and makes it even more memorable. Personally I’d like to hear a few less obvious songs in the band’s set but at a festival a “greatest hits” set was probably the best way to go, I’ll just have to hope that the likes of Storming With Menace, Ripping Corpse and Riot of Violence get dragged out for their next headlining shows. (NW)

The epic orchestral strains started for Finnish power metallers Celesty and unfortunately we were not quite sure what the mixing guy in the Sophie Lancaster Stage was doing as a cacophony of noise erupts. The sudden illness of keyboard player Juha Mäenpää has meant that more backing tapes have had to be used, and Antti Railio’s vocals are initially lost in the too loud tapes. The sound guy battled with it for a couple of songs before it sounded more like the Celesty we know and love. The tent had rapidly filled up by this point and there was soon a huge crowd all hey hey-ing along to tracks from the latest album Vendetta, listening to the soaring and wonderfully strong vocals from Railio. Humble and cheerful, the Finns get the crowd to chant Juha’s name, joking that the crowd’s Finnish was better than their English, and then getting everyone to chant ‘hattarasateenkaari’ – cotton candy rainbow. Very metal. We’re treated to the epic Like Warriors for the first time live, and the glorious Fading Away with key changes and power grabs galore topped off a fine performance, their first outside of Finland. On this storming performance surely they’ll have to be back soon to do their own shows? It would be a travesty if they didn’t. (LW)

Apocalyptica probably need no introduction to readers of MusicXtra. The Finnish cellists are still on their World’s Collide tour, albeit the last few shows, so the usual skull thrones were on stage as we witnessed a pretty normal set. Slightly slow to warm up, they then soon worked it hard, Paavo Lötjönen running around getting the crowd going. We left the Finns doing what they do well, hair swirling and cellos waving in the air, and ran over to the Sophie Lancaster stage. (LW)

On there the Italian rockers Arthemis had probably managed to get the unluckiest time slot all day. The entirety of their set clashed with Apocalyptica, so the turn out for them was perhaps a little disappointing. But for those of us that did go over to see them, we were treated to one of the bands of the weekend, and front man Alessio Garavello’s last show with the band. It was perfectly executed classic heavy metal, with flying V’s belting out classic riffs. (LW)

Back on the main stage Apocalyptica were still playing when we returned. Perttu Kivilaakso, complete with new Lord of the Rings tattoo on his back that he’d had done earlier that day, was shirtless by now and they were well into their stride, as they played through old hits like Bittersweet, tracks from the World’s Collide album and of course their trademark Metallica covers. Lots of them. Which was probably a good festival move in front of these metalheads that have never seen the cellists before as it’s a pretty safe introduction to the band. They finished off with a rather bizarre Yellow Submarine refrain. They went down a storm and won over many new fans. (LW)

Without taking breath we ran back over to the Sophie Lancaster stage to catch a few songs of Abgott. “This’ll be the closest thing to black metal all weekend if the video I saw of them is anything to go by” says a punter next to me. As they started their set he was soon nodding along in acceptance and indicating to his mates outside the tent to come in and watch. Abgott’s white faces with black make-up was perfectly suited to their black metal tunes which are technically quite superb, and sometimes rather unconventional. The visually entertaining and confident vocalist Agamoth is one those boys that are really rather attractive because they’re so bad…and he gets the moshing crowd on side easily as the band showcased tracks from the new Godfather in Black album. A brutal assault. (LW)

Bloodstock seemed determined to keep me fit for these few hours and it was another run back to the main stage for Blind Guardian. Ah, Blind Guardian. Now some may mock, but let’s be honest. Blind Guardian are actually the guilty pleasure of many this weekend. Within minutes thousands of people are jigging along to the slightly folky and very catchy sounds that the Germans have brought to Bloodstock Open Air this year. The many flags flying in the crowd are bobbing along as the feel good factor has arrived. Ok, so they’re probably not metal as we’d normally define it, they’d probably fit more with the genre of folk metal like Korpiklaani, but never the less the place is soon happily singing along to Another Holy War and you have to give it to them… they’re tight and professional and very enjoyable. They seemed pleasantly surprised at the size of the enthusiastic crowd that could sing along with the songs, and the crowd seemed surprised that they were actually enjoying it so much themselves! Happy faces all round and a really surprisingly good set. (LW)

It’s amazing how quickly a mood can change though. One minute we’re jigging in the sun, all relaxed and cheerful, singing along to tales of middle earth, the next we’re grumpily awaiting an overdue Cradle of Filth in the dark, with a tense atmosphere. Someone held a t-shirt on the front row that said ‘Dani Filth is a c*nt’. They eventually came on, and the hail of bottles started. Here’s an over-used phrase but one that’s still very true: Cradle really do polarise opinion. As they finished the first song, the boo’s rang out as loud as the cheers from the front rows. I know they’ve done a lot for British metal and I know they play really tightly. Some of the music is excellent and I desperately want to like the whole package, but sometimes I just struggle with Dani’s use of his vocals, especially the higher pitched parts. The people hurling missiles at the band appeared to agree with me. Hit single Nympetamine was played early on in the set, and at least Sarah Deva Jezebel’s female vocals were loud and clear and tuneful. But is this really one of the best acts in British metal and worthy of a headline slot? The audience, as ever, were split on that question. Despite my personal confusion over Cradle however, I can’t condone the missile throwing. If you don’t like a band, don’t watch them. Take your miserable arse back to the campsite for a few beers with your mates, and don’t spoil it for those that do want to watch this drivel / act of genius (delete as applicable depending on whether you love / hate CoF). There were kids and people in wheelchairs at risk of getting badly hurt as well as the band. But the throwing continued and the inevitable happened. Guitarist Paul Allender took a direct hit with a huge gobstopper and had to be stretchered off, bringing the show to an abrupt and early close before the encore. (LW)


Sunday

Sunday was by far the weakest day of the festival for me and in all honesty there was nothing to interest me on the Main Stage for the greater part of the early afternoon which, sadly, included opening band Beholder. They weren’t a bad band by any means but personally I found them a tad bland and struggled to remember any of their set even just a few hours later. Sorry, just not my thing I guess. (NW)

The strains of Sabaton drifted backstage and unable to resist the hooks and melodies we went out front to see what was one of the performances of the weekend. Complete in matching black and grey camouflage army pants, the Swedes blasted the Bloodstock crowd with a brand of catchy battle death metal. Vocalist Joakim Brodén, in body armour and mirror shades, power grabbed for Sweden, but showed a humble sense of humour too, introducing V for Victoria for those Brits who fought at D Day “whilst the Swedes were staying at home pissing their pants”. The whole crowd sang Cliffs of Gallipoli to the band. Even all the Bloodstock crew were air guitaring at the side of the stage to final song Metal Machine. The Sabaton chants rang loud as the band took a thoroughly well deserved bow. Without doubt they should have been further up the bill and on for longer; a fantastic set, and one of the bands of the weekend for me. (LW)

There hadn’t been many women on stage at Bloodstock this year. Those that were had usually been keyboard players or doing a bit of wailing. Girlschool are still flying the flag for women who rock however, 30 years after they first started. They still scrub up well, blonde, black and burgundy hair alongside their leather pants, spandex and flying V guitars. They showed the Bloodstock crowd that they could still hack it, especially when they did a rocking version of Race with the Devil. (LW)

Equilibrium took to the main stage and people sat up. Singer Helge Stang immediately made an impression, looking like a Norse god with incredibly blonde long hair flowing over his lengthy naked torso. Their catchy but hard-edged slightly folk-style symphonic black metal soon won over a relatively large crowd and it was a very impressive UK debut. (LW)

Anyway, the first band of any real interest to me today was Anathema, a band who some people had questioned the inclusion of Anathema beforehand since the band have long since outgrown their metal roots but the band’s infectiously enthusiastic performance (complete with stand-in drummer Nick Barker) made them one of the bands of the weekend with one of the best reactions from the crowd. From singalongs to Forever Fragile and Deep to the frankly awestruck dropping of jaws at female vocalist Lee Douglas’ stunning voice during A Natural Disaster to some good old fashioned headbanging to classics Sleepless and A Dying Wish (played back-to-back here) and the closing cover of Phantom of the Opera the band paced their set perfectly and seemed to win over any who may have doubted them beforehand. Here’s hoping we’ll finally see that long-awaited new album sooner rather than later. (NW)

The whole of Bloodstock on the Sunday seemed to have gone battle metal crazy. There was war paint everywhere you looked, and the atmosphere built and built in the run up to the Finns that basically have the honour of naming this genre of music… Turisas. Two and a half years ago Turisas launched their album The Varangian Way in the UK. This show was to be the last gig on the long worldwide tour that they’ve done to promote it, and as a huge fan it was pretty emotional watching this particular set, which I have loved, for the last time. The war paint seems to have got brighter and shinier, the fur costumes larger, and the band more confident and experienced. The usual pantomime style game with the awesome cover of Rasputin saw violinist Olli Vänskä leading one half of the audience against the beautifully pretty accordion player Netta Skog, who was in charge of the other half of the audience. Warlord Nygård, made sure he had plenty of beer throughout the set and was chatty between songs. Thousands of painted faces needed little encouragement and chanted along whilst fans wearing fur shorts and waving swords came over the front barrier on inflatable castles and in tents! A beautifully executed Miklagard Overture saw the crowd belting out the final track on the album to close an era of the band’s life and saw the Finns say goodbye until the new album in 2010. A brilliant bow out. (LW)

Moonspell could easily have suffered the same fate as Katatonia and not managed to transfer their atmospherics to the outdoor stage in blazing sunshine but the Portugese band fare much better in this respect. Perhaps it’s because the band concentrate largely on their heavier, more direct material or maybe it’s because vocalist Fernando Ribeiro has such a commanding stage presence and works the crowd very well but the band deliver a powerful performance with the only possible complaint being, as with many bands this weekend, that the setlist was drawn largely from the two most recent albums. (NW)

Amon Amarth are the band I’ve seen live more than any other and they’re a band I’ve not tired of seeing yet. Although personally I’d prefer them to play a few more older songs (nothing at all from The Crusher or The Avenger albums is aired today) their relentless groove and Johan Hegg’s ability to work a crowd means that they’re never less than entertaining. Songs like With Oden on Our Side, Asator, Death in Fire and the glorious Victorious March all get huge reactions from the audience but it’s Mr Hegg’s attempts to get people to sing along to Pursuit of Vikings imploring even those who don’t know the words to sing along because “it’s death metal, no-one will know the difference anyway” that raises the biggest smile from this reviewer. (NW)

During Amon Amarth poor old Darkness Dynamite had the worst slot of the festival over on the Sophie Lancaster stage. Clashing with Amon Amarth was pretty disastrous for them as it meant a rather small audience for the French metalcore band. But they didn’t let it stop them launching a blistering set regardless, pulling in passing people and more than trebling the crowd by the end of their set. Darkness Dynamite were more vicious than your usual metalcore, much darker, thrashier and heavier in places, but they combined it well with surprisingly catchy and accessible melodies, performed cleanly and perfectly by great front man Junior Rodriguez. One of the shit hot performances of the festival and a total shame not more people saw them. (LW)

Following Amon Amarth is never an easy task but it’s one that Satyricon did their best to rise to. Satyr has become the consummate frontman in recent years and the band play as well and tightly as you’d expect from a band that has spent so much time touring of late and don’t show the slightest hint of being burnt out. Despite the quality of the band’s performance I still found myself bored by the majority of the band’s set though simply because the vast majority of it was made up from the last two albums and no matter how much effort the band themselves put into playing them I still found those songs to be as utterly tedious in their live versions as they are on record. With a more varied setlist this could have been one of the sets of the festival, as it was though I was incredibly bored until the encore with the Venom-esque groove of Fuel for Hatred making an appearance but, as ever, it was the truly majestic Mother North that the band closed their set with that made persevering with the rest of their set worthwhile – a true highlight of the festival, indeed probably one of the best songs aired at any Bloodstock ever. and, since I had no intention of watching Europe (and a lot more respect for the fans of that band who wanted to enjoy them than the complete scumbags who chose to ruin the previous night’s Cradle of Filth performance had), it was a brilliant way to end the live music for me this year. (NW)

Meanwhile Eden’s Curse was over on the Sophie Lancaster stage as Satyricon finished and pulled a good and enthusiastic crowd. Some of their critics have suggested they’re a band of old men… for old men. Not on this showing, they weren’t. The crowd were a mix of people and ages, the front rows enthusiastically punching the air from the first chords, as the band delivered their brand of melodic rock. The anthemic Masquerade Ball had a huge swathe of the crowd singing along. Eden’s Curse had hooks and they had riffs. They have a confident and outspoken front man in Michael Eden, and fantastic song writing by bassist Paul Logue. Eden’s Curse’s experienced and accomplished musicianship shone through during this performance of classic catchy hard rock. (LW)

And so onto this year’s closing act, the legendary Europe. There was horror on the Bloodstock forum from many when they were announced. There were many protestations that the getting-on-a-bit now Swedes were not metal. But like Whitesnake & Def Leppard at Donington this year, it worked brilliantly. The band were a pleasure to work with backstage, Joey Tempest and Dani Filth hugging tightly was a sight to behold. (Special mention does go to Dani Filth for being on site all day on the Sunday despite what had happened the night before, smiling and being a top bloke all day) 10,000 people were waiting expectantly for the starting ‘do do doo doo…do do do doo doooo’ of the Final Countdown and a huge end of festival sing-a-long of the classic track that absolutely everyone knows (and, I would bet, secretly loves). The band put on a wonderful professional show. Great lights, great choreography, and great vocals from the brilliant Joey Tempest. Whilst non-fans may not have known many of the songs, some of which are not that immediate, basically they were still old pros, the likes of which we rarely see these days and they put on a thoroughly enjoyable closing set. (LW)