Bloodstock 2012 Sunday
Words By Nicholas Holmes and Gary Lukes
Photos by Antony Roberts and Rich Price (Dimmu Borgir and Alice Cooper) Facebook here.
A surprising number of Bloodstock-ers were up early on a Sunday, i.e. before lunch, and shook off their hangovers in glorious sunshine to the sound of Canada’s Kobra & The Lotus. They are influenced by classic British metal and blonde-maned vocalist Kobra has a powerful set of lungs on her. Maybe she was having an off-day but her range seemed a bit limited and her use of wobbly vibrato did not compensate. After a couple of songs it became irritating. (NH)
Meanwhile another female-fronted band were well and truly rocking the New Blood tent. From Ruin, winners of the Dorset leg of Bloodstock’s battle of the bands contest Metal 2 The Masses, had already impressed on the Jagermeister acoustic stage on Saturday. This was a proper loud show and they were excellent. Mixing traditional metal with elements of thrash, the guys on the instruments make a great sound. Red-haired singer Anita is a potential star. While some of her stagecraft revealed a few nerves, her voice is incredible. Think a female Bruce Dickinson with occasional diversions into belting blues/jazz style like Billie Holiday on uppers! She looked stunning in a tiny black outfit and cowboy hat too. They deserve to go far. (NH)
Any remaining sore heads from the night before would have had it battered out of them by Flayed Disciple in the Sophie Lancaster tent. A wall of savage death metal with full on cookie monster-style vocals gave way to surprisingly polite plugs for their album, “Death Hammer”. Then the aural assault continued with tracks such as “Feast in the Forest of Impaled Bodies” and a frenzied light show that had an excitable crowd head-banging furiously. (NH)
The razor-throated Bloodstock MC received a telling off from Nile, who seemed to be setting up their own gear, for introducing them before they were ready! A loud gong crash kicked off the set and crushingly heavy bass rumbled through the ground as the skies clouded over. The audience did not care a jot and shouted their appreciation constantly in the rain, particularly for set closer “Black Seeds Of Vengeance”, which sealed the finishing touch to a storming set. (NH)
Nile’s festival-levelling performance means we only manage to catch the last half of Hakin’s final track. Guitarist Blaire (now famous for video-bombing Behemoth while naked) deputising on vocals after a festival mishap apparently rendered their regular front man with a broken jaw. The Welshmen trample to what sounds like Morbid Angel’s “Where the Slime Lives” being thoroughly molested in a slurry. It’s unfortunate scheduling, as their filthy, grinding death metal seems to vomit up an absolute storm on record. (GL)
It’s no mystery why British death metal alchemists Ancient Ascendant are causing such a buzz in the underground. Combining arcane groove and unearthly melodies, tracks like “Driven to the Dark” soon summon a huge gathering of followers. Although they often evoke the rasping rage of “Heartwork” era Carcass and the timeless, blunt fury of Vader; this is a band sinisterly carving their own niche into the stone of death metal‘s mausoleum. (GL)
A drum track introduces Slovenia’s Noctiferia to the fold. A pounding mass of groove, rage and dreadlocks. The riffing of their blackened melodic death metal not too unlike a mechanised Gojira. The jarring guitar work on tracks such as “Demoncracy” soon encourage the masses to move their heads. (GL)
Earlier in the day, somebody slagged off the Canadian real-life Bad News for “making us (heavy metal people) look like idiots!” Anyone who has seen Anvil’s biopic film probably laughed at them as much as with them! When they took the stage frontman Lips seemed genuinely amazed to be there. He told the crowd this several times, doing his party pieces of playing a flying V with his teeth and the infamous dildo shredding! Their often comedic delivery of songs from recent track “Juggernaut of Justice” to daftly iconic anthem “Metal On Metal” shows a refreshing honesty. Slash, Metallica and Lemmy are Anvil “Pounders” (fans) and it would be churlish to begrudge the band getting recognition after plugging away for almost 40 years. (NH)
Demonic Resurrection bring their progressive black/death metal all the way from India. Forsaking much of the sheen they possess on record, the band are a much fiercer beast live. Blistering blackened riff work alternates with symphonic flourishes and off-kilter clean vocals on “Bound By Blood, Fire and Stone”, while the keys weigh more heavily in between the blasting during “Dismembering the Fallen”. Taking good advantage of the long break on the main stage between Anvil and Paradise Lost, the band manage to pull in quite a crowd. (GL)
As Yorkshire doom legends Paradise Lost arrived the sun came out and glared straight at a shorn-headed Nick Holmes. He grumbled loudly and demanded sunglasses then complained they were too big! The mood seemed muted but the sound was superb as they played songs from the latest album, “Tragic Idol”, and classics “Forever Failure” and “As I Die”. Holmes often sings cleanly now and one wag remarked, “He’s gone indie!”. The familiar growl emerged occasionally but the different style works well and he has a good voice. Not that he probably gives a shit what people think! They ended a prickly but solid show with the vicious sarcasm of “Say Just Words”. (NH)
After an ominous sounding intro tape Norwegian symphonic black metallers Dimmu Borgir delivered the first of the evening’s pantomime spectaculars. Frontman Shagrath wore strange kecks with holes in the legs rather than the arse cheeks! “Prepare yourself for death’s embrace!” he roared and the band thundered to the sunset with support from an awesome orchestral sweep on keyboards and backing tracks. He teased the audience with “I can’t hear you!” banter as they played a career-spanning set. It was a fantastic sight and sound with stand out tracks including “Puritania” and “Gateways”. (NH)
Brum’s filthy purveyors of blackened blasting, ANAAL NATHRAKH, don‘t so much walk onto the stage as take it hostage. “Drug Fucking Abomination” sets the tone for a set full of filthy grindcore and furious black metal. There’s little relenting, even with vocalist Dave Hunt hobbling across the stage; the gaps between tracks giving the audience just enough time to catch their ragged breath before the bludgeoning continues. But, “Submission is for the Weak”; and they prove it by bursting eardrums with a raging rendition.
The jammed Sophie tent is a far cry from some of the hovels you can usually find the band infesting, but Anaal Nathrakh seem perfectly at ease in front of a congregation of thousands and are strengthened by the long awaited return of Mick Kenney; who finally broke through the barricade of red tape that’s left him stranded in the US over the last year. From the ominous terror of “In the Constellation of the Black Widow” to the death metal allusions of “The Final Absolution”, the band are ruthless; and the inevitable fury of “Pandemonic Hyperblast” finally brings everyone to their knees. (GL)
The stage was set perfectly for the granddaddy of shlock rock to close the event. At 64, Alice Cooper may have replaced drink and drugs with god and golf but he continues to put on the best show you might ever see! Despite the restrictions of playing at a festival, he brought several of his toys including a bizarre spider device for opener “Black Widow”! He drew on his back catalogue throwing out classics from his early days “Only Women Bleed” and “No More Mr Nice Guy” to late ’80s/early ’90s comeback hits “Poison” and “Hey Stoopid”. Recent material went down well too.
His band were incredibly tight, led by gorgeous guitarist Orianthi who would have been only 4-years-old when “Trash” was released! They also chipped in on backing vocals and covered for Alice while he disappeared for costume changes. The main set closed with “Wicked Young Man”, and the famous guillotine appeared for the ‘execution’ of a not-so-wicked old man! After milking that for all it was worth and a brief pause, the weekend ended with the nearest Alice gets to being political. In a gleaming outfit he looked like a horror/sci-fi Abraham Lincoln as he told people to put their problems aside and join his “Wild Party”! While that may be rather simplistic, a mighty version of “Elected” cemented his status as a President of Rock n’ Roll. Vote Cooper? If only! (NH)
Leave A Comment