Review by Sheri Bicheno for MPM
Friday was a glorious day and with it came heat!
So off to obtain a couple of Serpents Lair frozen Strawberry and Lime daiquiri’s hit the spot before heading over the Sophie Lancaster Stage for Scottish Groove metallers Hammer.
Having seen Jim Andrews and Kieth Blaikie in other projects (Tableau Mort and Dog Tired) and following these guys for a few years, I knew that my day was about to start in an explosion of energy and brutal soundscapes.
I was not disappointed.
The tent was full already by the time the guys entered the stage and what followed was a performance that knocked the blocks off everyone present.
Electrifying presence and tight chemistry on stage meets blunt force trauma, we’re whirled through a set that delivers brutality, melodic death elements and even some thrashy moments under Piotr’s bassnotes.
Trapped In A House With A Maniac gives horror and gore vibes through the kick off of frenzied tech riffs entwined in groove speed double kicks.
Jim’s guttural vocals create ground shaking tremors as they bounce off the heaviness of the tech infused beats.
It’s a maddening pace with twists and turns of tempos and the guys are fuelling the live setting of the track with huge movement across the stage.
Jim stomps and whirls around, which leads example to the first mosh pit I witness of the day.
Basilisk comes across in thrashing grooves and speedy riffs that march across the melodic undertones.
This is where we plainly see the hugely skillful techniques of Keith combine with the crunching seamless yet intricate riffs of Dave and Evelyn fold into each other to deliver a visceral and bloodthirsty mood across the audience. The crowd surfers have started and make their way down to the barriers.
Keep your eyes on these lads. They are heavy as hell and have loads coming up.
Staying at the Sophie Lancaster Stage, it’s time for something that stands out and it takes form in York based Power mercenaries, Sellsword.
Long known for their immersive showmanship and crowd inclusion, the guys have a huge following that reflects the crowd spilling outside of the Sophie Stage come to witness their return since Bloodstock 2018.
With newly released album “…With Might and Vengeance” just dropped, we’re taken through a stunning 40 minutes of both new and well known tracks featuring story telling, siege ready and an on stage working trebuchet launching t-shirts into the crowd!
With the stage lit in tremendous fiery hues of Orange and the crowd chanting “YORKSHIRE! YORKSHIRE!”, one by one the guys enter the stage and kick off with The Bringer of War.
With epic, medieval battle ready effects and blasting drums blending with jumping melodic riffs, we’re launched into a tirade of upbeat, empowering moods.
Vocalist Nathan Harrison has a beautifully clean range that reaches soaring heights underlined by the striking symphonic tones wielded by Henry Mahy and James Stephenson’s guitars, bringing forward both beautiful melodic and marching speedy riffs, with the odd fret slide thrown in!
Saxon Steel is a fan favourite from its release last year.
Soaring soundscapes, with a strong traditional heavy metal backbone, the track tells the story from the perspective of an Anglo-Saxon warrior preparing for battle.
With orchestral elements in the background running along heavy power riffs.
Tom Warner is an absolute powerhouse behind the kit. He injects the pace with speedy double kicks and groove edged beats which bounce off Tom Keeley’s intricate, killer bassnotes that acts as the glue to the epicness.
Taking us back to 2016, Rise and Take Command comes with huge Power tones with a pinch of thrashy elements in the guitars.
Bringing out a trebuchet to launch t-shirts into the crowd, Liz loads the firing weapon up expertly and shoots them into the crowd, with a few lucky fans grabbing the wares!
Mighty Mercenaries served as a recent single, encompassing heroic, uplifting tones whilst Warwolf shifts the dynamic with heavy, groove laden and sinister twists.
Heads banging so hard they’re practically flying off, beers in the air, this one saw Sellsword’s audience going absolutely bananas with a pit forming behind me.
Another firing of the trebuchet sees a roar of cheering in the air before we land into Merchants of Menace, blending marching guitar sections and folk infused injections with winding melodies and a stunning solo from Henry.
The synchronised jig on stage before the bridges and Liz holding up a board during the chorus has the crowd shouting back the lyrics, which gives another glimpse into the personality of Sellsword.
These guys are here to create fun and as Nathan commands the crowd to jump, that’s exactly the vibe fed back to the stage.
Sellsword don’t just do Power Metal well, they pull together soundscapes with elements that compliment Power Metal, lined with visuals that make watching them an experience.
Over to the New Blood Stage and this one is an exciting one!
Oxford Metal 2 The Masses winners Redeemon have been growing more over the last few years and bringing something that Bloodstock has never hosted before – Skacore meets metal!
In addition to the guitar, bass, and drums, the ensemble featured three brass instruments: saxophone, trumpet, and trombone, with vocalist Pook performing with the trombone in places to mix a huge energy!
Distinctive by their rapid tempos, intricate guitar work, and brass arrangements, their compositions effectively integrate the core of todays metal including aggressive vocal delivery akin to modern metalcore, alongside dynamic ska influenced sections featuring prominent saxophone, trumpet, and trombone contributions.
Their songs are fast, heavy and tone to mixing modern metal with Pook’s explosive guttural vocals with the amazing skills from the band edging ska-like bursts from the sax, trumpet, and trombone.
Anaphylactic is a pure example of what embodies Redeemon.
Full of so much fun, a killer aura, highly skilled musicianship with headbanging meets two step, their audience was moving, pitting and encouraging others to join in.
And please note, that as these guys go hard on their delivery, are some of the most loveliest, humblest people around.
Also let me tell you, the New Blood Stage was so full you could barely squeeze a sardine in there.
Keep your eyes peeled for future Redeemon – they’re not stopping anytime soon!
Over to the Sophie Stage for some of my favourite lads from Pompey – self described Chav Metal, but lets face it – a bunch of guys that are so much fun, they lift your spirits super high and have such an inclusive attitude, that do party metal like no one else… huge love to the guys in Nu-core outfit Seething Akira.
Having followed these nutters since their earlier days, it’s a privilege to watch a band that means heaps to you absolutely smash one of the most established festivals they’ve faced out of the park and watching everyone else’s reaction to them.
This band truly wears their hearts on their sleeves, and I’ve always found them completely down to earth yet so positive in their approach and delivery. Their music resonates deeply, emitting a kind of raw honesty though always carrying a cheeky grin. It’s a gentle reminder of the passion that fuels the underground music scene.
Kit and Charlie are the dual voice of Seething Akira who bounce off urban rap styles and crunching ranges with each other whilst the dynamic between Simon, John, Spud and Jordan flirt with vibrant elements of dance, rap, nu metal and metalcore. So like… a rave with metal! And done with precision and fuelling energy that gets the crowd moving, jumping and pitting beneath their feet.
Something In The Water and Metaphors are both tracks that always gets me moving to these guys and in their live setting, the energy always stands out.
Full of humour, encouraging lyrics and pure feel good vibes, the energy on the stage is pure – and to top it off, Charlie ends the set with getting on one knee and asking the lovely Rois to be wifey Bowes!
Unforgettable moments!
Back to the New Blood and Metal 2 The Masses Birmingham winners are melodeath shaped Atarka.
A totally worthy win, I’ve seen these guys pop up everywhere and they’ve gone from strength to strength both as musicians and in their performance.
Today – ATARKA COME TO TAKE YOUR SOUL.
And then give it back, coz they are lovely.
They kick off with a bang, mixing the best of Melodic Death Metal with a blend of their own darkened Hardcore. It’s intense and bludgeoning, Jamie’s vocals are raw in places but beautifully face melting with his guttural range.
Alex and Biff exchange speed bullet riffs and winding blackened melodics whilst Phil wields the kit with stunning groove techniques.
With tracks ranging between 2023’s EP The Mountain and 2020’s album Sleeping Giant, there’s a host of different light and dark spectrums running through the set.
Chugging bassnotes from Adam Bayliss hold the pace alongside the tech infused drums and then lands in some utter stunning beatdowns before we’re given a taste of upcoming single Human Again.
With some djent fused groove motions with symphonics akin to Gojira, we’re taken into a storm of bleeding guitar riffs and striking drum beats.
The vocals are absolutely brutal, with barking gutturals and rasping heights that have a blackened edge.
The whole crowd is headbanging, pitting and even two stepping until whiplash is evident.
These guys are insanely good. Go watch them melt faces off.
Now over to the Ronnie James Dio stage for tonight’s headliner – and it doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen them, Lamb of God always put on a spectacular show.
With the stage darkened, anticipation set amongst the full arena, the set kicks off with an almighty bang (quite literally!) with an explosion of sparklers and the chugging guitars unveiling intro song Ruin.
“WHAT’S UP, ENGLAND!?” Randy Blythe shouts into the crowd and is met with an almighty roar.
The crowd sings along to the lyrics as the pit opens up and absolute mayhem ensues.
The track takes us back to 2003 and is still as brutal, crisp and catching as it was back then.
Randy’s vocals never falter, even after these 32 years he still stays as one of the most influential vocalists in metal and delivers high end screams and thundering gutturals come to wipe us out. The breakdown goes hard and Randy encourages middle fingers in the air.
Laid to Rest and Now You’ve Got Something To Die For blasts from 2004’s Ashes of the Wake album and creates a storm of nostalgia yet EVERY TIME its like a new tracks within their live setting. The energy is insane.
Mark Morton and Willie Adler’s groove infused riffs blasts against the intricate tech fuelled beats of Art Cruz, creating a frenzy amongst the crowd.
With shoes kicked off in the pit and yeeted into the ether, bodies flying everywhere, its like re-living the Lamb of God experience over and over each time they play.
“I’m happy to say that I didn’t forget my pass this time” Randy banters about the viral video of him being stopped by security at the last headlining year due to not having his pass and good natured interaction between them has been an ongoing giggle.
Into Oblivion served as one of the newest tracks with thrashing inputs and groove controlled strings that flirt with melodics and chugging basslines from John Campbell.
With crunching beats, there’s tech infused sections that fold into the breakdowns and we’re left with a striking soundscape of heaviness that blows into your core.
Resurrection Man starts with the eerie keys that blast into a short, sharp but mighty BLEGH! and wind into a rainfall of stunning melodics and blast beats before leading into a raw offering of Grace, which I don’t believe I’ve seen in many setlists before now!
A killer drum solo delivered by Art Cruz crushes straight into Desolation, knocking the proverbial ground from beneath us whilst 512 is a fan favourite, a raw energy that is shared with the crowd.
“It’s always a pleasure to be here” this is Lamb of God’s 3rd headliner at Bloodstock and like the last couple of times, Randy banters in his best British accent to breathe more hype into the crowd.
Dedicating Walk With Me In Hell to all the bands that have played, the sheer velocity of movement and pure energy is rife with tonight’s mosh pits. A huge circle pit opens up as this masterpiece comes raining down on us in splintering guitar hooks, filthy breakdowns and stunning groove techniques behind the kit.
My favourite Omertá makes an appearance and I’m standing there throwing myself around with the rest of the crowd around me.
It’s empowering, it’s full of absolutely brutal breakdowns that fit a groove fuelled glove for its time back in 2004 and it encompasses everything I love about Lamb of God.
Finishing with the dynamics of Momento Mori and Redneck, a Bloodstock’s crowd forms one of the biggest circle pits and continues to grow until the whole of the front of stage circles around.
Pure, unadulterated brutality from start to finish. Lamb of God balances a heavy, swaggering groove with a level of aggression that hits like a sledgehammer. Randy’s vocals are venomous, and the main riff doesn’t just invite you into the mosh pit—it drags you in by the collar. It’s a masterclass in modern groove metal that remains just as devastating today as it was in 2006.
What a Friday!!
Photography by Pete Key for MPM
