Friday

After impressive performances from SNAKEBITE and BLACK SPIDERS opened up proceedings, the stage was handed over to the self proclaimed ‘new metal leader’. MANOWAR have never been modest, and clearly original guitarist ROSS THE BOSS hasn’t lost any of the same bullish attitude. Set opener ‘Blood of Knives’ was the best of ROSS THE BOSS‘ material, which is (yes you guessed it) in exactly the same vein as MANOWAR. Former MANOWAR drummer Scott Columbus guested on a couple of numbers, while both drummers played together for the climax of ‘Hail and Kill’. This is going to be the closest you will ever get to having MANOWAR play in the UK, so true metalheads of England certainly enjoyed the short but very, very metal set.

Next up were German metal stalwarts RAGE, who played an excellent set. Their old classic ‘Don’t Fear The Winter’ was a surprising exclusion, but still, the set was made up of some great metal tunes. The highlight being the excellent part one of ‘Empty Hollow’. As stated on stage by frontman Pete ‘Peavy’ Wagner, RAGE were the first metal band to play with an orchestra, and although the Bloodstock crowd had to make do with orchestral backing tapes, the song was still thoroughly enjoyable.

Finnish Folk come Battle Metallers ENSIFERUM kept spirits high as they powered through a romping 45 minute set. Bands like ENSIFERUM are great for festivals as they portray a great party atmosphere and get the crowd dancing, and songs like ‘Into Battle’ and ‘Stone Cold Metal’ certainly did that.

After BEHEMOTH’s eleventh hour withdrawal, British doom metal veterans CATHEDRAL were more than happy to fill the slot. Apparently, frontman Lee Dorrain was asked to do the gig via telephone as he was decorating at home. As reliable as ever, CATHEDRAL delivered a solid set, wrapped up nicely with a pair of metal classics, ‘Ride’ and ‘Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)’.

Norwegian Black Metallers GORGOROTH took to the stage with founding member Infernus back at the helm, and it looked like he was enjoying himself, well as much as a serious black metaller can be. With this being the first time I have seen them with Pest back on vocals, I can say that I definitely think Pest is the better live vocalist and more engrossing frontman than Gaahl ever was, and numbers like ‘Destroyer’ and ‘Revelation of Doom’ were delivered superbly.

Bloodstock’s main stage this year was strangely short of power metal bands, with Finland’s SONATA ARCTICA flying the flag for that particular metal sub-genre. Still, they did themselves proud with a technically proficient performance, of which the highlight was the majestic ‘Full Moon’. Fortunately, the excitable nature of keyboardist Henrik Klingeberg makes up for the often lethargic, laid back approach from frontman Tony Kakko.

The penultimate act on the RJD stage for Friday was a rare UK outing for Swedish experimental metal outfit MESHUGGAH who blew the crowd away with their technicality and expert time changes. The crowd were loving every moment of the set with the likes of ‘Rational Gaze’ and ‘Combustion’ particularly standing out despite the entire set being a real highlight of the weekend. ‘Straws Pulled At Random’ brought their set to a close, a set which flew by and left the crowd definitely wanting more. Let’s just hope it isn’t too long before they’re back in the UK.

Having never been a major fan of OPETH, it was very hard work really to even enjoy their set, as for me, they are too slow, and do drag things on a bit. They aren’t the sort of band designed to headline festivals when everyone’s had a drink and in good spirits. Despite having some appealing moments in their material, they are too few and far between for my liking. However, they have a huge fan base in the UK and for the fans in attendance tonight they really seemed to enjoy every moment they were on stage.

Tracks like ‘Windowpane’ and ‘The Lotus Eater’ were delivered to excellent precision and the audience lapped them up, with probably the only highlight being the tribute to DIO with a brief cover of RAINBOW’s ‘Catch The Rainbow’ (the 2nd time the song was covered today, after ROSS THE BOSS had also done a brief rendition). Despite the fact I didn’t really enjoy OPETH, it closed a thoroughly great first day with more to look forward to over the next 48 hours.

Saturday

The ball was setting rolling on Saturday morning with a double dose of UK thrash. First we had the pleasure of young guns EVILE who were fantastic, and the sound was absolutely spot on, with the thunderous thrash sounding as in your face as it would in a small club. Songs like ‘We Who Are About To Die’ and ‘Enter The Grave’ sounded sublime and helped get the crowd going given the extremely early afternoon stage slot.

Next, we had the pleasure of slightly older thrashers ONSLAUGHT who also delivered a excellent set with the likes of ‘Killing Peace’ and ‘Seeds of Hate’ particularly standing out from their last album, whilst earlier material like ‘Metal Forces’ and ‘Power From Hell’ sounding as killer as the day they were recorded. The crowd welcomed the announcement that the band were heading off the next day to start recording their new album, and if ‘Killing Peace’ is anything to go by, the new record will definitely be one to look out for in the near future.

After headlining the then smaller Bloodstock Open Air festival in 2006, EDGUY were perhaps a little under whelmed at having a slot so early in the day this time. With tongue firmly in cheek, frontman Tobias Sammet continually called the gig a ‘breakfast’ show. Fortunately though, the band were on form, and EDGUY played a great set, which was one of the highlights of the festival.

When it comes to a groovier style of death metal, none do it better than Florida’s own OBITUARY. Having seen them earlier in the year, I couldn’t wait to see them again, and aside from a small technical hitch where it seemed that John Tardy couldn’t hear himself through the monitors, they delivered a brutal set with the likes of ‘Chopped In Half’ and ‘Slowly We Rot’ standing out from an impressive performance.

Next up, making their long overdue Bloodstock debut were AMORPHIS. With hair long enough to out do Rapunzel, frontman Tommy Joutsen does a brilliant job of the vocals, which ranged from the deepest of grunts, through to tough clean melodies. ‘House of Sleep’ was the outstanding moment of a decent set.

After the hype that I had heard about DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, I was eagerly awaiting his set. Things didn’t get off to the best of starts though when all his equipment had got held up at customs, and they had to borrow all the gear for his set. Also, due to technical problems, they were about ten minutes late too, but despite this Devin kept the crowd upbeat with a bit of crowd interaction which was quite funny.

Finally they sorted out everything and the music started and after the very in your face of opener ‘Addicted!’, which I enjoyed, the rest of the set didn’t really do anything to keep me interested as the progressive nature and experimental shifts bored me a little, and the fact there was a lot of sampling used didn’t really do the trick either. Still, the crowd seemed to appreciate what was on offer so in one way the set was a success.

Managing to squeeze in a trip to the Sophie Lancaster stage where Brummie death metal outfit BENEDICTION were taking to the stage, it was an impressive turnout as the tent was rammed full of fans waiting for them, and they were rightfully treated to a brutal assault as the metal assault ripped through a 40 minute set of superb material with the likes of ‘Burying The Hatchet’, ‘Nothing On The Inside’ and ‘The Dreams You Dread’ impressing.

After pulling out of last year’s Bloodstock, FEAR FACTORY descended on Catton Hall to tear it up with their brand of hyperblasting industrial metal. As co-headliners tonight, they had a decent set length which was constructed of material both old and new. The pulverising ‘Mechanize’ opened the set, shortly followed by classics ‘Shock’ and ‘Edgecrusher’, which were delivered to the technical perfection you have come to expect from the band.

New material like ‘Powershifter’ and ‘Fear Campaign’ sounded excellent live and were well received by the crowd alongside classics such as ‘Linchpin’, ‘Martyr’ and ‘Zero Signal’, before the set was brought to an end by the fantastic ‘Replica’, and with FEAR FACTORY due to return to our shores soon for another tour, it will be anxious waiting for those dates to be announced for many in attendance.

CHILDREN OF BODOM were back at Bloodstock, five years after they headlined the very first open air edition in 2005, and with a couple of albums under their belts since then, and undoubtedly a host of new fans, this was a cracking performance from the technically gifted Finns. In Alexi Laiho, BODOM have one of the best shredders in the business, and he’s also a comical frontman at times, although the usual ‘Janne Fucked Up’ routine is getting a bit old now.

Their set was a bit of a surprise in the fact they hardly played anything from the last two albums favouring to play more off ‘Follow The Reaper’ and ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ instead, which was perfectly fine with me as I consider those two along with ‘Hatebreeder’ to be their best work. Songs like ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ and ‘Needled 24/7′ went down an absolute storm with the crowd, whilst it was nice to hear ‘Kissing The Shadows’ get a rare airing.

‘Hate Me!’, which has to be one of the best anthemic tunes BODOM has written rounded off the main set in style before a bit of a mess around with VAN HALEN’s ‘Jump’ started off the encore. Closing with the duo off ‘Hatebreeder’, ‘Silent Night, Bodom Night’, as well as a blistering rendition of ‘Downfall’, BODOM brought to a close another brilliant day of steaming hot metal.

Sunday

For those early risers (or those who had yet to go to sleep), up and coming thrashers BONDED BY BLOOD, who along with the other early acts of death metallers SUFFOCATION and female fronted thrashers HOLY MOSES got the day off to a great start with their own brands of metal respectively.

Sticking with the female vocals, it was the metal queen DORO who was next up. Playing through classics of her own, as well as her original band WARLOCK, DORO gave an energetic performance which was enough to match the energy levels of her much younger band members. The anthemic ‘All We Are’ closed the set with a fist-pumping climax.

Another favourite festival band graced the main stage next as folk metallers KORPIKLAANI delivered a fun and upbeat set, which the crowd duly danced in whatever form they felt like. Folk Metal has really taken off over the past few years and bands like KORPIKLAANI have become a real hit at festivals both in the UK and Europe, with them drawing a huge crowd for their early afternoon slot.

There was time in between bands on the main stage for a quick trip to the New Blood Stage where the hugely talented thrash act that are MUTANT were pummelling their way through a 30 minute set which probably saw one of the best mosh pits, or should I say blackhole pits that stage had probably seen throughout the weekend, and with tracks like ‘The Rauncher’ and ‘Psychosurgery’, these guys are certainly a band to look out for in the future.

American/Antarctic gore obessed GWAR were next up on the main stage, and with the stage suitably wrapped up in cling film ready for the set to start, GWAR didn’t disappoint. If you have never been to a GWAR show then where the hell have you been?! A GWAR show is something everyone needs to witness before they die as it’s just hilarious. They are basically a ten times more extreme version of LORDI, with costumes and props galore as the likes of Hitler, a cop and the Nazi pope all were ‘massacred’ on stage and shot fake blood and whatever else into the crowd, and you could certainly tell which nutters had been down the front come the end of their set.

GOJIRA started off a triple assault on the RJD stage of death metal, and the French outfit got things off to a great start with their battery on the eardrums. These guys are one of the heaviest and fastest bands out there in the genre and credit to them, they actually can deliver the goods too in the live circuit. Numbers like ‘Flying Whales’ and set closer ‘Vacuity’ showcased their technical abilities and drummer Mario Duplantier has to be one of the best around at the moment.

For Mikael Akerfeldt and Martin Axenrot, it was their second set of the weekend as death metal supergroup BLOODBATH played their first ever UK gig. Having seen multiple BLOODBATH T-shirts throughout the day, it was apparent that everyone pretty much wanted to catch their set, which was one of the highlights of the whole weekend, and with it being recorded too, we can only hope for a DVD release of the show, which included excellent renditions of ‘Ways To The Grave’, ‘Cancer of The Soul’, ‘Like Fire’ and eventual set closer ‘Eaten’.

When you mention the term legends in the death metal genre, you don’t have to look much further than CANNIBAL CORPSE. With only an hour set, it was inevitable some material would be have to be cut from their usual set, and unfortunately the likes of ‘Fucked With A Knife’ and ‘Pit of Zombies’ were some of the few to be omitted. However, the likes of usual set numbers ‘I Cum Blood’ and ‘Make Them Suffer’ went down a treat as the crowd tried to keep pace with Corpsegrinder’s insanely fast headbanging. Mosh pits galore were on the menu as CANNIBAL brutalised their way through the rest of the set before the usual set closers over the past few years of ‘Hammer Smashed Face’ and ‘Stripped, Raped And Strangled’ brought to a close the death metal course of the day.

To the delight of the crowd, one of the headliners for next years Bloodstock was announced via a trailer to the screen next to stage, and when it was announced that Norwegian Black Metallers IMMORTAL would be making their first return to the UK after nine years, the crowd erupted with delight and horns duly raised to the air.

…and so after three full days, with the toilets smelling the worst, and the festival area looking like a garbage tip – the time had come for Bloodstock 2010 to be signed off, and it was American glam metal legends TWISTED SISTER who were given that job. The band, including frontman Dee Snider, no longer wear the extreme outfits and make-up for which they are associated, but in 2010 that really doesn’t matter. What does matter is the music, and with everyone on a high from three days of metal, the likes of ‘I Wanna Rock’ and ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ went down an absolute storm.

With a brilliant cover of ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’, the band played a great tribute to Ronnie James Dio, after which, the Bloodstock main stage will now always be known. ‘S.M.F.’ finally brought an end to a magnificent set, and TWISTED SISTER had played an absolute blinder to finish off Bloodstock 2010 in style. Here’s to ten more years of Bloodstock!

Rating: 4.9/5.0

Review By Adam Fredericks & James Allman

BENEDICTION, WITCHSORROW, ENFORCER,
KILLING MACHINE and STEELWING

BENEDICTION will be returning to BOA to deliver a deadly dose of death metal that will shake the very foundations of Catton Hall. A leading name in the underground metal scene since 1989 and are one of the most successful international metal bands to come out of this country. Also returning to the Blookstock fold are British doom metallers WITCHSORROW, who impressed all in attendance during their set at a packed out Unsigned stage at BOA 2008. Now signed and with an album due out on Rise Above Records on 12th April, the band look forward to spreading their doom and gloom in the summer sun.

Bloodstock is renowned for being THE festival to introduce the hottest new metal bands to the UK and this year is no exception. Joining BENEDICTION on the Sophie Lancaster stage all making their debut UK festival appearances – will be Swedish speed metallers ENFORCER, hotly tipped thrash revivalists STEELWING and metal supergroup KILLING MACHINE, which features EVERGREY/STRATOVARIOUS bassplayer Jari Kainulainen and legendary former SLAYER/TESTAMENT drummer Jon Dette.

Band linp up so far:

Main stage

HEAVEN & HELL, TWISTED SISTER, CHILDREN OF BODOM, FEAR FACTORY
BLOODBATH, CANNIBAL CORPSE, DEVIN TOWNSEND, BEHEMOTH,
GOJIRA, AMORPHIS, SONATA ARCTICA, GORGOROTH, GWAR,
KORPIKLAANI, OBITUARY, EDGUY, DORO, HOLY MOSES,
SUFFOCATION, ENSIFERUM, RAGE, ROSS THE BOSS (WITH SCOTT COLUMBUS),
SWALLOW THE SUN, LEAVES EYES, BLACK SPIDERS, ANDROMEDA, SNAKEBITE,

Sophie Lancaster stage

ENFORCER, KILLING MACHINE, STEELWING, BENEDICTION, WITCHSORROW with more to be announced.

For all information on Bloodstock and to buy your tickets go to:

(Bloodstock)

Opening proceedings on the Friday were BLITZKRIEG (2.8/5.0) in a last minute change in the stage schedule which saw the NWOBHM veterans switched with energetic Northern Irish rockers MILLION DOLLAR RELOAD (3.2/5.0). Next up were Finns INSOMNIUM (3.4/5.0) whose brand of melodic death metal got the crowd going nicely for the rest of the day.

Probably the hardest band to pronounce over the weekend were to grace the stage next, German metallers DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER (3.5/5.0), whilst thrashers MUNICIPAL WASTE (3.8/5.0) really stepped up the pace, with them attempting to pull off a world record attempt for most crowd surfers (I even noticed someone on an inflatable lilo) during a song. Needless to say, the Bloodstock crowd duly obliged and according to frontman Tony Foresta, they got the record. You’ll have to check the book this Christmas!

Anyways, after all that hectic pace, it was time to slow things down slightly with one of the most requested bands the fans have asked for over the years, of course we are talking about KATATONIA (4.2/5.0) and they delivered a excellent set despite only having a 45 minutes with the likes of ‘Evidence’ and ‘Ghost of The Sun’ going down extremely well.

Playing their first show on UK soil for 20 years and one of the major highlights of the festival, thrash legends SODOM (4.8/5.0) took to the stage for what was an awesome set, even though it was only 45 minutes, and the crowd thoroughly lapped every second of it up, with the pit going insane for the majority of the songs. Kicking off the set with ‘Napalm In The Morning’ , things just got better and better with the likes of ‘City of God’ and ‘Agent Orange’ causing a massive outbreak of headbanging, whilst ‘Blasphemer’ was tributed to the band’s late drummer, Witchhunter. Closing with ‘Remember The Fallen’ lets all hope its not another 20 years before SODOM are back on UK soil.

Managing to squeeze a trip to the Unsigned Stage between acts on the main stage to catch a glimpse of THE GREEN RIVER PROJECT (3.5/5.0) who seemed to go down very well with the people in attendance, and not before long it was time to head back to the Main Stage. What can you say about SAXON (4.6/5.0) that hasn’t already been said?! These guys don’t half put on a show and know how to get the crowd going. Playing a few from latest album ‘Into The Labyrinth’, in the form of opener ‘Battalions of Steel’, ‘Demon Sweeney Todd’ and ‘Live To Rock’, along with what was essentially a best of the rest set, which included the likes of ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’, ‘Denim and Leather’, ‘And The Bands Played On’ and of course the ever present ‘Princess of The Night’. Their hour set was over all too soon, and when you consider what songs they had left out, they could have easily filled another hour and be worthy headliners. Still, they left the crowd wanting more, and the majority will probably be going to a show or two on their tour in November when SAXON are back in town with film stars ANVIL.

Tonight was to be an extremely busy night for two people in particular, Michael Amott and Daniel Erlandsson as they took to the stage for the 1st of their 2 sets tonight with the ever impressive ARCH ENEMY (4.4/5.0). Back after their successful performance 2 years ago at BOA 2007, but this time as a co-headliner, they played a blistering 75 minute set full of anthemic tracks since the ‘Wages of Sin’ album, with the likes of ‘Ravenous’ and ‘Dead Eyes See No Future’ going down an absolute storm, whilst crowd pleasers like ‘We Will Rise’, ‘My Apocalypse’ and ‘Nemesis’ were delivered with sheer precision and relentless brutality, whilst a few from the latest album ‘Rise of The Tyrants’ being thrown in for good measure, with the standout tracks being ‘Revolution Begins’ and ‘I Will Live Again’.

Rounding off Friday’s entertainment on the Main Stage were death metallers CARCASS (4.2/5.0) whose recent reformation last year saw them play for the first time on UK soil in 14 years at the Damnation Festival. Delivering a 75 minute set of their best stuff, with which the majority came from what is regarded as the band’s best album, ‘Heartwork’, they opened with ‘Corporal Jigsore Quandary’, and despite a few sound problems at times, they soldiered on and ended the day on a high. With a video slideshow of gory and disturbing images you would probably only expect from CARCASS going on behind them on the backdrop, this was not a gig for the faint hearted.

Original drummer Ken Owen made an appearance for a drum solo, which is a nice touch from the band, seen as he cannot do a full set anymore due to ill health. Obvious highlights of the set included the likes of ‘Buried Dreams’ and ‘No Love Lost’, whilst ‘Incarnated Solvent Abuse’ and ‘Reek of Putrefaction’ were amongst other standout tracks.

Starting Saturday off rather early were Bolton based rockers UNCLE ROTTER (3.6/5.0), who lets face it, are a bit of fun and a good live band to put on at a festival. They got the crowd going nicely with them joining in for ‘Fit Goth Chicks’. The other early acts included BATTLELORE (2.1/5.0) whose folk metal style songs are nowhere near as strong as fellow country mates TURISAS, whilst Swedish metal purists WOLF (3.9/5.0) picked things back up again to the crowds delight, and the energy continued with THE HAUNTED (3.8/5.0) who seems to be everyone’s new favourite band and are coming from the realms of the underground metal scene to the forefront gaining more and more attention, and delivering a decent 40 minute set you can understand why.

Swedish death metallers ENTOMBED (3.6/5.0) kept things flowing along nicely mid afternoon, and will be definitely worth another look on their upcoming UK tour supporting fellow country mates AMON AMARTH. CANDLEMASS (4.5/5.0) then thoroughly entertained the main stage attendees with their brand of doom metal, whilst on the Unsigned Stage, one of the UK’s best and young upcoming metal bands, SANCTORUM (4.4/5.0) were also kicking ass. With already two quality albums behind them, these guys delivered a tight set which comprised fully of tracks from latest opus ‘Ashes of Redemption’ with the standout track of the set being the awesome ‘Take It All’. If you get the chance to see these guys, do it. You won’t be disappointed.

Progressive black metallers ENSLAVED (3.7/5.0) kept things ticking over on the main stage before it was time for some good old thrash. German legends KREATOR (4.8/5.0) delivered a truly killer set which saw the biggest mosh pit of the weekend. They packed their short set with a best of the best opening with the title track from their latest album ‘Hordes of Chaos’, followed by a superb rendition of ‘Phobia’ which had shouting the word out when required. I’ve never seen such a frontman with such passion that gets the crowd going like Mille Petrozza and he had no problems doing so during their set. The pit went wild during the likes of ‘Pleasure To Kill’ and ‘Extreme Aggression’, before the usual closing duo of ‘Flag of Hate’ and ‘Tormentor’ came upon us bringing a close on a superb performance. When it comes to sheer intensity, brutality and ability to destroy an arena, there are none better than KREATOR.

Quite why APOCALYPTICA (2.2/5.0) were above KREATOR on the billing is quite bemusing to me as for me, their fad of cover songs and cello metal style has worn off. Sure, it was new and different when they first broke onto the scene, but even then I got bored very quickly after 20 minutes or so. The set was mainly filled by covers rather than their original material and while sections of the crowd may have been lapping it up and singing along to the classic METALLICA covers like ‘Wherever I May Roam’, ‘One’, ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ and ‘Enter Sandman’, they need to be more engaging and they need something new and fresh about them, perhaps a regular vocalist might help, but for me this really was a tedious performance.

Thank god it was one of the most anticipated bands of the weekend on next to bring things back on track. German power metallers BLIND GUARDIAN (4.9/5.0) appeared on stage to the familiar intro of ‘War of Wrath’ before kicking into a 75 minute set filled with classics from their back catalogue and the crowd singing along at every moment possible to the likes of ‘Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill)’ and ‘Valhalla’. They delivered a truly wonderful and crowd pleasing set with as much as they could possibly squeeze into the time allotted, with a number of tracks like SAXON yesterday left out which could have easily filled another hour or so.

‘Fly’ was the only track on show from latest album ‘A Twist In The Myth’, whilst a new song written for the computer game Sacred 2: Fallen Angel was on show in the form of the aptly titled ‘Sacred’. Other set highlights including spellbinding renditions of ‘Another Holy War’, ‘Nightfall’, ‘Welcome To Dying’ and ‘Imaginations From The Other Side’. All too soon the closing tracks of ‘The Bard’s Song (In The Forest)’ and as usual ending on ‘Mirror Mirror’ left the crowd chanting their name and wanting more, which unfortunately did not come, but lets hope its not too long before we see these guys back in the UK with a new album.

CRADLE OF FILTH (3.5/5.0) are one of those bands some people love to hate because of their well known arrogance and controversy that seems to follow them wherever they go. No matter what you may think though, these guys don’t half put on a show, with Dani Filth’s banter at times being rather amusing. Opening with ‘Shat Out of Hell’, it was soon apparent that if you weren’t directly in front of the speakers, you would barely be able to hear Dani’s vocals let alone the music as well. ‘Gilded Cunt’ followed as did a couple for the old school fans in appearance tonight in the form of ‘Dusk And Her Embrace’ and ‘The Principle of Evil made Flesh’, whilst the new album ‘Godspeed on The Devil’s Thunder’ got a run out with the likes of the opening track along with ‘The 13th Caesar’ and ‘Honey And Sulphur’, both of which are superb tracks.

Unfortunately the mood dampened during ‘Under Huntress Moon’ as a few select idiots decided to spoil the party for everyone by throwing more damaging items (up until then it had been harmless empty bottles and cups) at the band, which is uncalled for even if you don’t like them, which resulted in guitarist Paul Allender getting hit in the spine with a cricket ball sized gobstopper, thus resulting in him requiring medical attention and not been able to perform the rest of the set which meant CRADLE ended their set after they finished the song. Quite why these people decided to stick around if they didn’t like a band is beyond me, if you don’t like them, there was plenty of other things to do. This ended the day which had been superb up until then in a bad way, and for anyone whose first time this was seeing CRADLE would have been extremely disappointed by the untimely ending of their set.

Arriving nice and early for some Hair of the Dog in the metal format, BEHOLDER (4.5/5.0) delivered an awesome 30 minute set with the likes of ‘Born Into Pain’ and ‘Never Take Us Down’ going down extremely well with the rather large crowd they had drawn to see them. SABATON (4.1/5.0), who are always a good festival band, delivered a very good set and they’ll be welcomed back to the UK with open arms when they return for a massive tour with DRAGONFORCE later in the year. Meanwhile rockers GIRLSCHOOL (3.1/5.0) and pagan black metal outfit EQUILIBRIUM (3.9/5.0) provided some mid afternoon entertainment, before the doom metal of ANATHEMA (4.2/5.0) provided one of the highlights of the day with an unexpected cover of IRON MAIDEN’s ‘Phantom of The Opera’ (mainly due to the fact that according to the band, they managed to draft one of only three drummers who could play the song in the UK, with Nick Barker filling in on drums for John Douglas) closed their set much to the crowds delight.

TURISAS (4.2/5.0) are one of the most popular bands in the UK let alone the rest of Europe, so getting them on the bill was an extremely good move by the organisers. Following their 2006 performance at the festival, they noted the fact that in a few short years, the festival has grown rapidly. This was an all out performance full of banter, drinking and singing despite the fact that they only managed to play 6 songs in their 45 minute set, the crowd didn’t care one iota as TURISAS rattled off the likes of ‘Holmgard And Beyond’, ‘One More’ and ‘Rasputin’ before closing their main set with ‘Battle Metal’, before returning where one, lucky or unlucky person whichever way you look at it got their hands on the drummers boots. Closing with an interesting choice of ‘Miklagard Overture’, this closed an excellent performance from the crowd pleasing Finns.

Portuguese black gothic metallers MOONSPELL (3.9/5.0) had the unenviable task of following TURISAS and whilst they don’t have the energy of the aforementioned band, they certainly have something else to them that engrosses you and pulls you in deeper and deeper enticed by the almost spiritualistic aura of their music which is interlaced with crunching and dark riffs, with ‘Vampiria’, ‘Alma Mater’ and ‘Full Moon Madness’ being classic examples as well as the standout tracks of their set.

AMON AMARTH (4.6/5.0) has become very popular on these shores in the last few years, which is extremely deserved for producing quality album after quality album. It was no surprise really that with only an hour set the material was rather focused with the majority coming from the last two albums. Opening with the title track from latest album ‘Twilight of The Thunder God’, followed swiftly by ‘Free Will Sacrifice’, the massive crowd began headbanging and fists pumping in the air or whatever came naturally to everyone, these Vikings were intent on taking you to Valhalla and back!

With only a couple of older tracks in the set for the older fans of the band in the form of ‘Victorious March’ and eventual set closer ‘Death In Fire’, it didn’t deter them from enjoying themselves and the new material like ‘Varyags of Miklagaard’ and ‘Live For The Kill’ (complete with backing tracks where APOCALYPTICA perform the cello section in the song) went down an absolute storm, whilst the rallying cries of songs like ‘Asator’ and ‘Cry of The Blackbirds’ show why AMON AMARTH are deservedly where they are, and you can bet that there will be a few sold out shows on their upcoming UK tour in October.

SATYRICON (4.3/5.0) have over the last couple of albums modernised their sound from their traditional black metal roots to a more commercialised yet still dark, atmospheric and heavier form of the genre. Frontman Satyr certainly knows how to use the stage as he patrolled it from side to side stopping at times to engage the crowd and his deep growling vocals were ever impressive through the likes of ‘Commando’ and ‘A New Enemy’, whilst Frost delivered a pummeling display on drums.

Other tracks like ‘The Wolfpack’ and ‘Now, Diabolical’ show how much class SATYRICON have got been able to deliver such quality with near enough perfection, while the anthemic style of ‘Black Crow On A Tombstone’ had the crowd duly obliging to sing along with them, whilst one of the best black metal songs ever written inevitably got a showing. We are of course talking about the sublime ‘Mother North’. While other highlights included ‘K.I.N.G.’ and ‘Den Siste’, anybody wondering why SATYRICON were so high on the bill were shown throughout their hour set why they belonged there.

From one extreme to the other as you couldn’t get a more different, but equally great band to close the festival with. EUROPE (4.7/5.0) caused a few heads to turn when their name was first mentioned with them playing Bloodstock, causing many to believe, myself included, it was an April Fools Joke by the organisers. When this appeared not to be the case, we all soon discovered that EUROPE are not a one trick pony, far from it, they actually have some really good, heavy, and catchy tracks in their back catalogue. Opening with the latest single and title track from upcoming album ‘Last Look At Eden’ got the party well and truly started and for the entire 90 minute set, the band and crowd were having an awesome time.

The set regulars were all here in force including ‘Seven Door Hotel’ and ‘Rock the Night’, with the band leaving out the likes of pop hits ‘Cherokee’ and ‘Carrie’ in a deliberate attempt to deliver a heavier set, customised for the Bloodstock audience. As inevitable as a sunset at dusk, the set ended with the obligatory, and lets face it, fucking fantastic, ‘The Final Countdown’. This was the song that everyone was waiting for. The keyboards kicked in and as the familiar sound of da da da da da dadadada and so on, the crowd lapped it up and with the added feature of a conga line going through the crowd where the pits had been for the majority of the weekend, the crowd didn’t want the party to stop.

This brought a close to what was a wonderfully organised and quality lineup from the Bloodstock organisers once again, and surely next years will be even better and bigger.

Festival Rating: 4.9/5.0

Best Bands: SODOM / SAXON / KREATOR / BLIND GUARDIAN / AMON AMARTH

The band have just completed work on their latest effort Last Look At Eden which is set for release in time for their headline Bloodstock slot.

Joey Tempest sent the following message: RAAAAWWWWKKK! It’s with great pleasure we will be returning to the UK this summer. We’ve just finished recording our 8th studio album Last Look At Eden. Can’t wait to blast out some new tunes and some EUROPE classics. See you at Bloodstock festival on the 16th of August.

Click the Link below to View the EUROPE Bloodstock Band Profile page .

(Europe)

EUROPE - Rock The Night – Bloodstock Open Air 2009.

Line up so far:
AMON AMARTH, APOCALYPTICA, ARCH ENEMY, BATTLELORE, BLIND GUARDIAN, CANDLEMASS, CARCASS, CRADLE OF FILTH, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, ENSLAVED, EQUILIBRIUM, EUROPE, GIRLSCHOOL, GWAR, KATATONIA, KREATOR, MILLION DOLLAR RELOAD, MOONSPELL, MUNICIPAL WASTE, SATYRICON, SAXON, TURISAS, THE HAUNTED, SABATON,

Date: 14th, 15th, 16th August 2009
Location: Catton Hall, Walton on Trent, Derbyshire .

KREATOR mainman Mille Petrozza sent the following message: “We have heard a lot about the Bloodstock Festival. Only good things! A British mega event that is about music, not about the latest flavour of the week. Made by metal fans for metal fans. Now the time has come, Bloodstock must be destroyed! We are looking forward to finally doing so with the metal heads that will make this day an unforgettable experience! The Hordes of Chaos shall kill! Be there.”

KREATOR - Its Time To Raise The Flag Of Hate – Bloodstock Open Air 2009.

Line up so far:

AMON AMARTH, APOCALYPTICA, ARCH ENEMY, BATTLELORE, CANDLEMASS, CARCASS, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, ENSLAVED, GWAR, KATATONIA, KREATOR, MILLION DOLLAR RELOAD, MOONSPELL, MUNICIPAL WASTE, SABATON, SATYRICON, SAXON, TURISAS, THE HAUNTED, WINTERSUN …plus many more to be announced

Date: 14th, 15th, 16th August 2009
Location: Catton Hall, Walton on Trent, Derbyshire

For all latest news and to purchase your tickets go to
(Bloodstock)