Bloodstock 2012: Saturday
Words by Nicholas Holmes, Gary Lukes and Antony Roberts
Photos by Antony Roberts (no main stage photo pass so please forgive the distance of the main stage photos)
Benediction walk on stage (or should that be hobble – Dave Hunt had a broken foot) to greet us for what they described as “a Death Metal breakfast”. Well “please sir can I have some more?”, because if breakfast was like the set Benediction treated us to then I’d be jumping out of bed every morning. Asking for the audience to “get a washing machine going” a circle pit opened up before anyone had a chance to think about their hangover starting to kick in. Benediction managed to reward the early risers by blowing everyone away that managed to get up for their regretfully early start to Saturday at BOA. (AR)
Savage Messiah come ripping out of the gates early on, and plenty of positive campsite word-of-mouth ensures the Sophie tent is rammed. And rightly so, there’s no time for hangovers when tracks like “Plague of Conscience” and “Shadowbound” are shredding past at a million miles per hour. Combining the blistering gallop of Annihilator with prime Testament-style riffage and the harmony of vintage Megadeth; by the time the final notes of “Insurrection Rising” have rung out, heads have been banged and any cobwebs well and truly shaken. (GL)
It’s probably safe to assume Dripback are not available for birthdays, weddings or bar mitzvahs. As light-hearted as a clown disembowelling himself and about as child-friendly as a box full of burning puppies; stomping onto the Sophie Stage and puking a vile mix of crusty, hardcore-influenced grind/death in everyone’s faces. They bring the ruckus and pull absolutely no punches; it’s the sound of Entombed, Hatebreed and Gorerotted in a knife-fight. And everyone’s gonna get cut. (GL)
The sun is beating down on the main stage for Chthonic and their melodic black metal. But their crunchy riffing and oriental-folk leanings work better than expected. Vocalist Freddy Lim even halts proceedings for an impromptu Taiwanese lesson. Although perhaps he could delve a little further into our own culture, raising his can of Fosters to everyone and praising the quality of his “British beer”. (GL)
Wiltshire band From Ruin won the Bournemouth final of Metal 2 The Masses, and played their first set of the weekend on the acoustic Jagermeister stage. Fronted by flame-haired singer Anita, they are heavily influenced by classic British metal and threw in an impressive Dio tribute as well as an incredibly cool cover of Testament’s “Into The Pit”. This attracted a curious and enthusiastic crowd who responded fantastically to the band. Definitely ones to watch. (NH)
There’s really not a lot you can say about legendary sludge metallers Crowbar, they are arguably the perfect sound on a summer afternoon, and their upbeat, groove-heavy set included the absolute classic “All I Had I Gave”. Great stuff. (NH)
After Crowbar’s set people heading to the Sophie stage stop in droves at the Jagermeister stage, drawn in by the powerful voice of Triaxis vocalist Krissie carrying across the field of Catton Hall. Despite playing a semi unplugged set they managed to give the audience an idea of their normal traditional metal show with some amazing acoustic guitar work and soaring vocals. Final song “Lies” had maiden-esque twin guitar before the solo kicked in and lead guitarist Glyn noodled away like a man possessed, winning some new converts in the process. (AR)
In a short space of time, Wretched Soul impress. A tight ball of thrash, death and NWOBHM that effortlessly tears between its transitions without sacrificing any savagery. (GL)
There is an air of anticipation as infamous godfathers of the black metal scene, Norway’s Mayhem, appear for the first time at Bloodstock. It is a tough act to follow the spectacular stage theatrics of Watain and Behemoth the previous day, and they seem dull in comparison. Classic tracks like “Freezing Moon” don’t seem to work effectively in sunny, balmy weather. Disappointing. (NH)
Bull-riff Stampede live up to their name, trampling through the appropriately titled “Thrashing Machine” and imploring the audience to “open it up, motherfuckers”. And they do just that, creating one of the bigger pits I saw all weekend on the New Blood stage. (GL)
Manchester’s Winterfylleth pull a massive audience to the Sophie Lancaster stage, and it is clear why as soon as they begin. Their music is incredibly atmospheric, with almost choral medieval style vocals in places. This show marked the end of their current festival run (until Damnation!), and they leave the crowd spellbound. Very impressive. (NH)
And now for something completely different. Witchsorrow herald their arrival with strident, down-tuned bluesy notes drifting on the rise of some sweet, sweet smelling smoke. A set full of slow-burning grooves, their trad-doom touches on essential cornerstones such as Cathedral, Electric Wizard and (of course) Black fucking Sabbath. Chunky bass and fuzzed up guitar lines hulking together into a mammoth-sized haze. (GL)
Taking a quick break from Witchsorrow, we cross the main arena to find Cosmic Vortex Of Doom warping senses in The New Blood Stage with their interstellar stoner groovings. But rotten scheduling means we soon find ourselves having to break free of their gravitational pull, using the momentum to jettison us back into the waiting arms of the Sophie Stage for more Witchsorrow. (GL)
Hatebreed’s place on the bill caused some arguments among the Bloodstock faithful, and before they began Jamey Jasta already demanded a circle pit. If modern American hardcore is your thing then maybe they are great, but with the cliched schtick to the crowd and the lyrical content of the songs they seemed to put off as many people as they pleased. Underwhelming. (NH)
In an incredibly hot and humid New Blood Stage tent, Newcastle’s Reflection In Exile made a mighty racket. Frontman Carl paused his deep, guttural roars and screams to declare, “Fuck Hatebreed! We are fucking better!” The respectably sized crowd agreed, and booed in protest when he apologetically introduced final song “The Decay Process”. While their death/black metal sound may not be particularly original, they are a musically tight band with strong stage presence. Very good and worth checking out. (NH)
Doomed reveal they had travelled for 26 hours from Slovenia to play, and that alone is worthy of note. They showed death and black metal influences with a dash of thrash in places. The vocalist, Mraz, saluted the audience with well-deserved booze and “Hollow Machinery” pummelled them hard before the band went somewhere to collapse, presumably. Respect. (NH)
Californian thrash legends Testament are riding the wave of yet another renaissance. Their just-released album, “Dark Roots of Earth”, has received great reviews and there was a celebratory atmosphere as they appeared at Bloodstock five years after their last visit. The new material fitted well with classics including “The Preacher” and mosh-inducing “Into The Pit”. Frontman Chuck Billy also dedicated “Native Blood” to his tribal ancestors. The badge on his shirt said “Chief”. No arguments there. Awesome. (NH)
Orange Goblin rumble into life, headlining the Sophie tent and packing in the punters; most with obligatory beer in hand. Man-mountain Ben Ward commands the stage, his gruff vocals perfectly suiting the bruising backdrop of stoner-tinged, bluesy-metal. Whiskey-soaked anthems such as “Some You Win, Some You Lose” and the southern swagger of “They Come Back (Harvest of Skulls)” the perfect accompaniment to a drunken summer‘s evening. Careering through a set that runs the gamut from classics such as “Scorponica” to newer songs like “The Fog“; the ideal kick-start to a Saturday night. It’s a little sleazy, pretty relentless and a shit-load of fun. (GL)
After months of guessing, there were raised eyebrows and voices of dissent when Machine (fuckin’) Head were finally revealed to be playing a headline set. Robb Flynn has a reputation for being confrontational, so is unlikely to have lost any sleep. However, he showed a sentimental side at various points during the set. It was exactly 20 years ago, he told the crowd, that the band played their first ever gig where they helped trash a soon-to-be-evicted friend’s home. Two decades later, they show any doubters they are capable of rising to the occasion in front of more than 10,000 people complete with massive light show and pyro.
They played songs from most sections of their career, but the biggest cheers of the night belonged to material from the debut album, 1995’s “Burn My Eyes”. Flynn raised numerous toasts with his favourite, hilariously-named “Browneye” tipple, and shared it with comically dressed audience members, namely “Wolverine, Bananaman, Chicken Head Man and….Dildo Man!!!” There is a party vibe throughout, and the set closes with a sound that introduced Machine Head to many. The crushing riffs and drums of “Davidian” still sound great after all this time. All hail Lord Browneye! (NH)
Check out our report on Friday here featuring Behemoth, Watain and more. Check out our review of Thursday here featuring Bloodshot Dawn and Viking Skull and head to our facebook page to check out photos of you the crowd from the Thursday night metal disco.
Tickets are on sale now for Bloodstock 2013 with Anthrax already confirmed, visit the official website for more info.
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