Review by Gary Spiller for MPM
Kill for gain or shoot to maim
But we don’t need a reason
The golden goose is on the loose
And never out of season
2 Minutes To Midnight – Iron Maiden
Turns out, partway through the Architect’s headline slot, that we’ve been doing all of this for The Goose. On a day dominated by marauding dinosaurs of all colours and sizes a small, feathered bird takes the centre-stage for a moment and a legend, in my eyes, is born.
The mighty Trent meanders silently, just yards outside of the festival’s western boundary, making its way to join with the Ouse and become the Humber estuary. It’s riparian rocking and rolling here for sure. B.O.A. has opened an eye, yawned, and stretched and begins readying itself for another day.
Even at a relatively early hour the arena is busy with a hubbub of eager anticipation darting about. Lemmy’s ashes, now respectfully ensconced in the extremely tasteful bust, looks over one and all from the RAM gallery where festivalgoers can pay their respects, enjoy the related artwork – including a wall of Krusher Joule’s work – and a detailed recreation of Lemmy’s dressing room complete with fruit machine.
I mosey across the arena to its northern reaches and the New Blood Stage for my first band of the day. It seems most apt to commence proceedings with a winner of one of the Metal 2 The Masses UK regional initiatives. Having won the campaign run in nearby Leicester, at their third attempt, Running With Knives are up with the dawn chorus and get underway at the somewhat ungodly hour of half ten!
In spite of it being still well within the A.M. section of the day the quintet hit the stage at a swift pace, one which RWK don’t ease back from throughout a particularly robust half hour. Midway through opening track ‘Psychosphere’ vocalist Alex Briscoe roars “Good morning, Bloodstock!” Three simple words but conveyed with more than a dash of pride it’s the culmination of six year’s hard graft.
There’s a controlled ebb and flow of power versus melody under employ herein and their most apt self-proclamation of “Metal with a Cutting Edge” rings so true. Their take on alt/nu-metal continues into ‘Panic’ before their brand-new single the in-your-face banger ‘Ashes’ summons the warriors to the ridgeline. It’s verging towards the kinetics of Ashen Reach but on an even heavier plane than what the Liverpudlians construct upon.
A mosh pit opens up within the stampede of first single ‘Stay Afloat’ much to the delight of the band no doubt. I’m already applying the tag of ‘ones to watch’ when tornadic punch of ‘Masochist’ strikes a blow. In amongst the serious business of the music there’s a blithe sense of playfulness. Briscoe points coordinated to the drummer’s striking of a solitary bell and the bassist ‘falls’ to the stage-floor as the vocalist exaggeratedly stomps.
The artillery despatch of ‘Duplicity’ tingles the spine as a bluesy segment is laid down from one of the band’s guitarists and there’s time for one final mosh pit as the track re-ascends to a pulverising yet composed outro. Colour me impressed.
Impressed, this is a particular shade that is a continuing theme for the Bloodstock weekend. The ongoing voyage of discovery advances band by band and next up we’re headed Eastwards across the European continent to Ukraine. Yellow and blue flags, vivid flashes of colour on a dull grey morning, fly proudly on stage and in the B.O.A. crowd.
Amidst their haunting atmospherics and heavyweight rages Ignea there’s an intrinsic patriotic pride. Enthralling vocalist Helle Bohdanova, following the ethereally compelling ‘Daleki Obriyi’, expresses gratitude not just on behalf of the band but of their nation “Thankyou for all the support in these dark times” imploring “Please continue supporting us.” It’s heartfelt and heartbreakingly sincere; take a moment to consider how impactful an invasion of your country would prove.
‘Daleki Obriyi’, with its curious mix of Unleash The Archers and All About Eve in Bohdanova’s crystal clear voice, forms the last of a triple serving from last year’s ‘Dreams of Lands Unseen’ album. Alongside the ethereal prog thrash of opener ‘Dunes’ and the pugilistic ‘Camera Obscura’ it’s a fine introduction applied by the Ukrainians upon their first ever UK festival appearance.
Across their timetabled 40 minutes Ignea to each of the three albums they’ve released in their nine-year career plus 2021’s ‘Bestia’ EP. It’s a well-constructed set that works in a tidy reverse chronological order with braces from the aforementioned EP along with 2020’s ‘The Realms of Fire and Death’ and 2017’s ‘The Sign of Faith’ one after another.
The intense ‘Bosorkun’, capturing the chill power of the Carpathian winds, possesses a touch of Scandinavian borne symphonics that provide a melodious edge that flows through its blackened veins. A total highlight. Spectral presences tear through the arena afront the Ronnie James Dio stage as ‘Magura’s Last Kiss’ enthrals under threatening leaden clouds.
The Pagan undertow of ‘Jinnslammer’ melds so organically with ‘Gods of Fire’. The guitaring of Dmytro Vinnichenko and Yevhenii Zhytniuk’s glorious keytar, a delightful portmanteau in musical realms, entwine as the climbing rose does about its willing host.
Only recently re-introduced into the set, during their slot at Wacken, the rugged speed metal of ‘Alexandria’ gets a mosh pit going, somewhere in its midst a Ukrainian flag, flying tethered to a crutch, orbits. Bohdanova is down into the pit during the pounding rally call of ‘Leviathan’ to indulge in some high-fives with the barrier. It’s a monster of a closing number; a brooding sacred order from upon dragon-toother peaks. Once again, I’m shaded most impressed.
Remaining on the Dio stage we switch not just countries but continents and hemispheres in one fell swoop. Brazilian death metallers Crypta steam roller in surfing atop a gargantuan wave of expectation. Having begun 2024 with a month-long tour of America including appearing on board the 70,000 Tons of Metal festival this South American quartet have been industrially touring the European continent since. They have brought their ‘Shades of Sorrow’ tour, across several months, to some 18 countries.
With a force that is guaranteed to melt rocks and set the skies ablaze Crypta set about Bloodstock in a mean uncompromising fashion. Taking to the Shining-esque tones of their intro ‘The Aftermath’ there’s a steely gunslinger approach in their collective demeanour. ‘The Other Side of Anger’ with its 110% rapid thrashing stripped right back to the bare bone sets the stage for a 40-minute unrelenting rollercoaster ride. Once onboard there’s no desire of exiting, it’s that captivating.
It’s a set compromised, in the main, from last year’s ‘Shades of Sorrow’ album with only the closing number ‘From The Ashes’ – a rising phoenix of melodic death metal – coming from debut release ‘Echoes of the Soul’.
‘Poisonous Apathy’ burns wildly yet is never beyond the dimensions of control, bucking and rearing the beast explores the wildest regions but masterful command ensures its obedience.
There’s scintillating fretwork from both Jéssica di Falchi and Tainá Bergamaschi whilst vocalist/bassist Fenernanda Lira raises a clenched fist. These are road-tested warriors – Lira, like aggressive drummer Luana Dametto, is a former member of Nervosa – and as a quadrumvirate they pack a combined punch even stronger than their individual powers.
There’s crowdsurfers aplenty gliding about the circle pit in the bloodletting of ‘Lift The Blindfold’ and the doom-laden ‘The Outsider’. This is the ride of your life atop the tsunami of pure unadulterated thrash. The dinosaurs surf and circle as touches of Judas Priest max out; the hook catches its prey, there’s goosebumps.
There’s the not-so-small matter of a US tour opening for Hatebreed in a few weeks’ time, but the focus is the here and now. Crouching over Lira shades her eyes to survey the scene, as the commander across the battlefield, during ‘Stronghold’. Away from the mic, raising her fist and beating her heart see roars “Let’s go Bloodstock!”
The rage unshackled ‘Dark Clouds’ is a veritable behemoth, imagine if Sabbath were a thrash band, leading into the scorched earth of the might of set-closing ‘From The Ashes’. Crypta, on this impactful showing, are going to be most welcome visitors to these lands in coming times.
With a name shortening, in 1985, from Forbidden Evil – to prevent mistaken perceptions of them being a black metal outfit – so Forbidden came into being. The San Francisco Bay Area thrashers are back in the UK for the first time since their B.O.A. appearance in 2011; it’s a rare opportunity to soak up their total fury as their forays over here are infrequent to say the least.
With numerable lineup changes and having twice broken up and subsequently reformed it’s remarkable that there’s a nucleus of founding members remaining in the current ranks. Guitarist Craig Locicero along with bassist Matt Camacho have kept the flame burning whilst others went in various directions such as, amongst others, Machine Head, Slayer and Testament.
Gremlins of a technical slant delay the Californians slightly but ultimately that, along with tight scheduling, means a cutting short of the set at the end. Before that however, there’s a glorious chance to indulge in a number of tracks from Forbidden’s first two albums – ‘Forbidden Evil’ and ‘Twisted into Form’.
With a new album mooted for 2025, in time for their 40th anniversary, this is an outfit that is reconstructing but for the present moment we’re taken back to those formative years with an initial coupling from ‘Twisted into Form’ in the ol’ school form of ‘Infinite’ and ‘Out of Body (Out of Mind)’.
Blending dashes of early-Metallica with classic Judas Priest they’re instantly accessible and get an enthused Bloodstock ensemble swiftly engaged.
Vocalist Norman Skinner greets B.O.A. “We’ll keep the energy going with a little ‘Forbidden Evil’”; a promise that is executed to its fullest. Coming a couple of years before Priest’s ‘Painkiller’ I wonder if there was a degree of influence upon it from this frenzied opus.
Percussive heavyweight Chris Kontos is introduced to Bloodstock, “You may know him from his time in Machine Head!” informs Skinner.
The uncaged demonics of ‘March Into Fire’ do precisely that, a pure thrasher spattered with nods towards classic-era Anthrax. With cracks appearing in the grey skies Skinner illuminates that it’s 35 years since ‘Twisted into Form’ first emerged. The muscular title track witnesses the sun breaking through.
The punky infusions of ‘Step by Step’ skate across the concrete and tarmac of the inner city preceding the encompassing barrage of ‘Through Eyes of Glass’. A straw-haired shrunken skull, atop its carved staff, bobs about furiously in what proves to be an abrupt termination of Forbidden’s set. “Well, I guess that’s it but we gotta go” notes Skinner somewhat frustrated. The crowd feel his pain, but the festival’s timetable must roll on.
B.O.A. does, indeed, roll onwards with Vancouver genre-defying quintet Unleash The Archers right on time as they step forth out into the mid-afternoon upon a stage bathed in empathetic green and blue lighting. There’s a noticeable swelling of the ranks out in the arena as dynamic vocalist Brittney Slayes powers out the first lines of the set-opening ‘Abyss’.
These Canadians, in spite of being about since 2007 and having six studio albums in their weaponry, only came to my attention a few months ago upon an invitation to ‘cover’ Germany’s Rockharz Festival. An intriguing name quite literally jumped straight off the poster and some hours later a good friend and I were still hypnotised by their intricate, technical weaving of extreme metalliferous notions into a framework of more traditional ones.
Bloodstock is on point pretty much immediately, to the visible pleasure of the on-stage ranks, with a noisy chant of “Oi, Oi, Oi” punctuating the Derbyshire afternoon. Although we’re on the banks of the Trent this isn’t the location for a quiet afternoon of riverside activities.
There’s a beautiful overseeing of disciplined chaos within ‘Soulbound’. There’s not a single ounce of weariness in evidence even though they’ve been out on the road in Europe since their appearance at Rockharz at the beginning of July following on from a tranche of dates in Australia and New Zealand beforehand.
The spectral apparitions of ‘Ghosts in the Mist’, a spectacular haunting in itself, along with further etherealness delivered by ‘Green & Glass’ serve as an appealing appetising for the recently delivered ‘Phantoma’. UTA’s sixth album is right up there in my favourite releases of the year.
Slayes forms a heart shape with her hands to salute the crowd, it’s their last festival before heading across the Atlantic for a couple of weeks as special guests to Powerwolf. It’s evident that they want to savour every last moment. There’s a particularly loud cheer in response to the news that Slayes breaks of a European tour in February next year; dates I, amongst many, eagerly await.
The swiftly paced underworldly powerhouse of ‘Awakening’ is as stunning as the condor in full flight. There’s an outpouring of Scandinavian influences herein as Slayes joins the front-line to air-guitar alongside guitarists Grant Truesdell and Andrew Kingsley Saunders and bassist Nick Miller. A sense of fun amongst the serious despatch.
The vehement delivery of ‘The Matriach’ embraces a melodic snare that sinks its teeth deep into the conscious afore the rousing battle-cry of final track ‘Tonight We Ride’. UTA have enthralled and stolen the stow right from under the noses of all. I count down the days to their return next February.
For AC/DC read Airbourne, for Iron Maiden read Tailgunner, for Led Zeppelin read Greta Van Fleet and so forth. There are many that can be added to this list but one of the more recent additions to come to my attention is Asomvel and their direct comparisons to Motörhead, most poignantly appropriate given the unveiling, to the massed hordes, just yesterday of the commemorative bust of Lemmy upon the fabled surroundings of the Ronnie James Dio stage.
Formed over thirty years ago Asomvel have cemented themselves as cult heroes amongst the UK underground scene and I’m keen to witness them in action. It’s balls to the wall from the first note with the bulldozing sledgehammer of ‘Louder and Louder’ serving up precisely that.
Afront a mighty ‘wall of death’ the four-piece continue the demolition with the title track of this year’s album ‘Born to Rock n’ Roll’. There’s a spiky Ramones’ feel melded with the Airbourne/ Motörhead crossover. All that all-action frontman, and bassist, Ralph Robinson is missing is a certain Rickenbacker.
The accelerated Motörhead of ‘Beware The Full Moon’ is roughly half a moon too early in the current lunar cycle but no-one cares as they’re all clinging on to Saturday given that Ralph has, pre-track, threatened “Ryan (Thackwray – drummer) is gonna knock you into next week!”
In response to a request that Bloodstock has put out for bands to pay their respects to Motörhead the fist-pumping metal of ‘Cold Day In Hell’ is followed by a particularly stoked up rendition of ‘Born to Raise Hell’. After the NWOBHM-influenced ‘Outside The Law’ tribute is paid, by Ralph, to his uncle and founding member Jay-Jay Winter who tragically lost his life in a car accident late in 2010.
‘Stare at Death and Spit’ is a job well done and the headbanging unicorn high above the crowd towards the front surely agrees. Granting ‘permission’ to forget about the outside world Ralph notes “You’re at Bloodstock, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!” ahead of the AC/DC-drenched ‘When The World Goes to Hell’. The accelerator is pushed hard through the floor in the concluding number ‘The Nightmare Ain’t Over’. Bloodstock’s Sophie stage hits a gnarly warp speed as Asomvel dispense one final tornadic wave.
Continuing on upon the Sophie Lancaster stage is a complete swerve ball for me and boy oh boy what a despatch it is! There is not a single square inch inside the tent that isn’t occupied so a vantage point on the ‘perimeter’ is found. Formed by Norwegian vocalist Andy LaPlegua in Atlanta over 20 years ago Combichrist, described as aggrotech (a new one on me to be honest) and industrial metal, are about to swoop from their lofty perch to indulge a fear-rendering reign of terrorising.
The atmosphere is electrifying, and, in a singular flash, I’m swept back in time to The Lemonhead’s Evan Dando getting heckled off the stage of Glastonbury’s Acoustic Stage by an expectant crowd awaiting the arrival of Portishead. Ok it’s a different genre entirely but the expectancy is equally as high. The feeling of an impending ‘I was there’ moment runs hither and tither.
Having been had my middle stump, in musical terminology, knocked right out of the ground by the likes of Oomph! and Heldsmaschine in Germany recently what transpires is right up the rock n’ roll avenue I’ve swerved into of late. A brutalistic alloy of Rob Zombie and Rammstein ‘Planet Doom’ packs an enormous punch.
Melodic gothic death metal meets, head on, Neue Deutsche Härte (NDH) at the darkened crossroads. ‘Compliance’ deftly brews an infusion of Germanic industrial techno and alt-metal. Putting it simply, this is as cool as a taco-eating sloth riding bareback upon a Tyrannosaurus rex. The large tent bounces throughout to the rough-edged buzzsawing hypnosis of ‘Children of Violence’; Trivium, Rammstein and Pendulum all rolled up in one rapturous wrap.
Entrancing crossover ‘Not My Enemy’ furthers the thrills that are extended even more by the hard-driving industriousness of ‘Only Death Is Immortal’ that possesses subtle references to Sisters of Mercy here and there.
The heavy techno core of hyped NDH devil ‘Modern Demon’, with LaPlegua demonstrating touches of Andrew Eldritch, has horns raised throughout as the well-oiled cogs of machinery output a continued journey across the first disc of this year’s ‘CMBCRST’ offering with ‘Heads Off’.
There are smiles and dancing all about, this is the happiest of places not just at Bloodstock but for many, many miles about. Shimmering the obsidian doom-storming shadows ‘Violence Solves Everything Part II’ ensures that contagion levels exceed the maximum safely permitted.
There’s one further, even more powerful eruption with the razor-edged, hi-pace of ‘D for Demonic’ brings a blazing curtain down on a phenomenal outpouring of energies. LePlegau looks out over the tent “Fuck yes!” he roars triumphantly at set end adding “You’re fucking beautiful!” Nothing more need be said!
Leafing through the pre-festival comments it’s apparent that tonight’s headliners Brighton metalcore merchants Architects have widely polarised opinions. This is their first ever UK festival slot and I along with a totally ram-packed B.O.A. are completely stoked for their arrival.
Rock and metal have, over the decades, on an overall basis continually evolved and within this thus bands and festivals will do so too. The so-called gatekeepers and guardians can sling their hook as the organic process is an unrelenting and intriguing one. Be more John Peel about things and suddenly the world becomes a much easier place to enjoy the music for what music is.
There’s an invasion of multi-hued dinosaurs as Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ pumps up the crowd. It’s the overwhelming majority that know the words and singalong. A genius manoeuvre that ensures captivation; showers of red confetti explode from stage-front cannons as the raging inferno of 2023 single ‘Seeing Red’ detonates. It’s a befitting anthem to commence proceedings with, a forceful ebb and flow of alt-metal and an invasive techno.
I’m swept along in the moment as ‘Giving Blood’ and the stony-fringed ‘deep fake’ deal out high planar kinetics. Electricity surges and the organisers of B.O.A. deserve recognition in embracing what appears to me to be the forefront of metal’s broad front of advances.
There’s an unchecked rage that flows with a strength equal to that of the nearby might of The Trent in ‘Impermanence’, a cogency of marvelling incantations from a metalliferous realm. With a handful of spots focusing on vocalist Sam Carter he greets Bloodstock, “How the fuck you doing tonight?” adding “It’s so fucking good to be here, I can already feel there’s an energy in the crowd!” There certainly is and out there a goose lurks out in the darkness awaiting his moment.
With vividly coloured skies the sun sets spectacularly on Bloodstock’s Saturday and the crowd goes wild for the aptly crepuscular tonage of ‘Black Lungs’. Pyros flare as I ponder whether this could have provided some of the inspiration for South of Salem’s ‘Static’.
B.O.A. jumps, unified, to ‘These Colours Don’t Run’ rolling into mind-blowing ‘Hereafter’ as Carter announces that this is the first Saturday to sell-out at Bloodstock. Complete vindication of the decision making at the highest levels of the festival. “This festival rules, next year’s lineup rules!” Carter advances.
With the anger of enraged gods atop their jagged mountain pinnacles ‘Gravedigger’ avalanches into the anthemic ‘a new moral low ground’. It’s polished, as one would expect, right out of the arena circuit that Architects successfully inhabit and worthy of taking the step up to the upper echelons of the UK festival circuit.
There’s a great buzz in the crowd about me, close by two teenagers – Summer and Ruby’ – attempt to ‘teach’ their parents the steps to the Macarena during ‘Royal Beggar’s. I’ve seen some strange things this summer, including crowd-surfing industrial wheelie bins with human contents, but this is right up there. It’s these moments, shared, that make the memories.
As does Carter eyeballing a toy goose, complete with patched denim cut, prior to requesting a circle pit for ‘when we were young’. “Do it for the goose, if you’re gonna do it for anyone!” he implores. Some crazed ‘Kashmir’ vibes skitter about amidst the ‘grab your sphericals’ maelstrom.
The thunderous low-end of ‘Animals’ reaches into the chest cavity tearing at organs and flesh. A bona fide riotous potion rages “We’re just a bunch of fucking animals!” The overriding seal of approval for B.O.A. 2024 coming at the end of a spectacular Saturday.
Photography by Pete Key & Artur Tarczewski for MPM
