BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008
CATTON HALL, DERBY - SUN 17 AUG - PAGE THREE
Cock rock for breakfast? Like it or not this is what we were getting served up from Heaven’s Basement and my first thought was what time had this lot had got up to get their hair sorted, or had they gone to bed in the first place? ‘Fear Of Getting Off,’ well with this Sunset strip boogaloo I reckon these glamsters could have had their pick of the boys and the girls. Not too sleazy but nice and easy, it was evident that these rockers were going down well as the day’s openers and had people tapping feet whilst they waited for last nights hangovers to leave them in peace. Although not my thang in the slightest I could see the appeal here and the band were good performers and an energetic and bouncy wake up call for those who had stumbled out and heeded it. Trying to get the crowd to shout out “fuck you” was a tad pretentious and silly though, boys will be boys I guess. (PW)
Waking up on Sunday morning was not high on my agenda, having listened to the previous band from my tent whilst struggling to come to terms with my biggest hangover of the festival so far, I was trying to get outside and see the metal again. Thankfully Crowning Glory restores my faith in being awake. These guys are a great live band and it was great to see them on such a big stage. I was disappointed to see the small turnout for this band though. The usually terrible PA sound was spot on by Sunday, and really gave these lads a much better chance to put across their classic metal music. ‘Dead Man’s Paradise’ (from their split 7” with ‘Gates of Slumber’) and ‘The Devourer’ are both cracking tunes and Ripper Owens would be proud of the vocal performance. ‘Winter in Our Blood’ and the inevitable ‘Sea of Dead Dreams’ (a personal favourite) closes the set, a fist raising, headbanging set, denim and leather is a must for this one. (PM)
I strolled leisurely across the campsite ready to get my first metal fix of the day in the form of De Profundis, who put a damper on the midday sunshine and replace it with a miasma of gloom. These lot strike me as London’s answer to The Prophecy, as they lay out a pallid assault of death-soaked doom. There are some occasionally blackened shades in the guitar delivery, as they are struck allowing the notes to ring sluggishly out above the earth shattering bass, while the deathly growls are smoothly secreted with an air of dark romanticism. Perhaps in all honesty having them play the Sunday lunchtime wasn’t great timing when we’re still trying to wake up but nevertheless these are a band worth watching out for. (LH)
After all that doom and gloom I was in need of something to liven me up and Alestorm were just the band to do it! Over on the main stage the buccaneering quartet were giving the crowd a thorough pillaging and I, for one, was staying out of view for fear of being made to walk the plank. After missing most of their set supporting Turisas I had been looking forward to watching this bunch of brigands tear up Bloodstock today and it appeared that I wasn’t the only one, with them garnering possibly the most receptive crowd of the day. Trying to snap some photos through the raging sea of pirate flags proved to be an epic challenge in itself, while Cap’n Christopher Bowes (with his less than piratey name!) had the crowd “Yarrrrr”-ing like a plundering crew fired up and ready to unleash ‘Terror on the High Seas’.
Proving that even pirates have a sense of humour they kick off their set with the theme tune to ‘Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’, as they simultaneously reveal the shameful secret that at least half of the crowd are closet fans of the show (of course, yours truly was not among those who were singing it word for word ;) ). Songs like ‘Death Before The Mast’, ‘Set Sail And Conquer’ and ‘Captain Morgan’s Revenge’ go down as well as a bottle a rum with this crowd and while I don’t find Alestorm the most exciting band to watch, the exuberant atmosphere in the crowd somehow makes up for it. Hopefully when the gimmick eventually wears off, ‘Nancy The Tavern Wench’ will be on hand with a cold one to drown our sorrows. (LH)
Back on the Scuzz stage it was time to check out Serotonal the latest project led by Darren White ex of Anathema and The Blood Divine. This was another set I had expected to see more people at but guess the kids were too busy waving plastic swords to watch proper metal innovators in action, a sad sign of the times really as songs like ‘Wasteland’ were well crafted future anthems with some lovely meandering fretwork about them. Darren’s vocals are pretty much instantly recognisable, bereft and lonesome at times and full of power at others and the rhythm section here had plenty of tricks including schizophrenic tones on one number that really gave it distinction. Another song delivered a dark Gothic rock out illustrating a lot of ideas from another band that really did not deserve an unsigned status but in the present climate is unfortunately what they find themselves lumped in with. In fact it has to be said that today this stage was the one I found myself drawn to out of choice as there was some great talent to be found here. (PW)
When Ravenage initially took the stage I had my doubts about them. Sure, they looked the part (to be more precise, they looked like they could be distant relatives of Moonsorrow) but they seemed to be holding back, and when unexpected technical problems hampered their set I was in two minds whether to hang around or not. Things were looking rather calamitous, yet finally given the thumbs up they raced full speed ahead through a storming set of epic pagan black metal. It then becomes clear that those aforementioned shades of Moonsorrow aren’t only confined to the red war-paint, as it’s also hinted at in the swaggering, blackened riffs of ‘Raiders March’ and the ravaging soundscapes of ‘Flaming Arrows Of The Northern Skies’ that brought back fond memories of yesterday’s set. The vertiginous pacing back and forth of the front man made for difficult photographing and slightly uncomfortable viewing, yet his scything rasps and rapport with the crowd made up for it. After all, where else can you see a man chomp into a week old chicken leg before chucking it back into the crowd? The jovial atmosphere seemed to spread like wildfire as the set progressed, with arms linking and swords wielded. There are a few edges that need to smoothed out, but in the end I was glad this lot got the full set they deserved. (LH)
Ah, since their newest album release (which is a classic) I have wanted so much to see Grand Magus play their new material live, having witnessed only one new track earlier this year. Bloody hell, the bass is so loud and heavy, that it certainly shakes out the cobwebs! ‘Like the Ore Strikes the Water’ bellows out, JB’s vocals are note perfect and very powerful, the band are so tight too. Earlier doom-ish tracks give way to ‘The Shadow Knows’, a true future classic tune. ‘Grand Magus’ has always done well live and today they put on a very strong showing and produce the best performance thus far of the day for me. The band clearly are having fun onstage even though the majority of the time it’s heads-down and play the music most of the set. JB congratulates Great Britain for a gold medal in Rowing, hmm, thanks, and then we are treated to more riff-tastic tunes. A killer show, no doubt about it. (PM)
And so it’s the end of an era as far as Necrosadistic Goat Torture are concerned as this was to be the last ever show on English soil for singer Goat Throat. The future of the boys she is leaving behind uncertain but likely to be drunk! This show was much clearer in the mix than last time I saw them i.e. you could actually hear what they were playing, still it was a savage and bestial stew of oldschoolblackthrashdeathmetalworship giving the stage a fetid baptism. Plenty had ventured into the tent for this too and looking around it was a bit like a night at one of London’s toilet venues with plenty of familiar faces. I guess there were plenty of curiosity seekers too intrigued by the group’s unique name. It was evident that the band were enjoying themselves on stage and seemed tighter than normal, perhaps helped by the afternoon slot. The levels suddenly got boosted which gave ‘The Maniacs Banquet’ some extra oomph and the audience were by now into the swing of it all and pumping fists in the air. The last words before they left us were “see you at the bar” and quite honestly this was the fastest I have ever seen goats run, faster than those with wolves snapping at their heels. (PW)
Featuring past and present members of such illustrious bands as Orange Goblin, Iron Monkey and Skyclad, Ravens Creed were a must see proposition. Once one had got used to singer Ben Ward’s short haircut it was time to attempt to adjust to the slightly different sound of numbers like ‘Panzer Maniac’ and the preposterously entitled ‘Imperial Leather’ a number about marching boots and not soap in case you wondered. This went to two extremes, fast and furious punk laced and diesel fumed assaults and slow and heavy crawls which hit you like lumps of lead. Speaking of which you could easily imagine a bunch of bikers going haywire at this and wrapping lengths of chain round each other as they snorted meth in the pit. Beer was obligatory and I noticed one song ‘Stand Up And Be Cunted’ was a perfect title for getting wrecked to. This was a much heavier proposition than the Gob and one that Ben was vocally suited to and I got the impression this allowed him to move in directions that he was unable to travel in with his day job. By last song ‘Unholy Force’ I decided that this was a band I would definitely be checking out again (PW)
As previously mentioned, the promotion for the Lava tent was…blah, blah, you get the picture…less than adequate, but props have to go out to those bands who made the effort to get up early and shove flyers into the hands of passers by. After getting collared by the bassist for EsOterica
Listening to the Kataklysm sound check gave a impending sense of excitement as the bass drum rattled my scrawny rib cage. Easily one of the most bludgeoning outfits of the festival, next to Napalm Death of course, the Canadian deathsters came on stage to a surprisingly lesser crowd than I expected and immediately kicked my head in with the title track from their corking new album “Prevail”. The guitar sound was a touch lost during “Chronicles Of The Damned” due to the inordinately loud bass drum sound (but I loved it all the same). The guys in the band have made substantial improvements over the years, noticeable since their crushing Party San performance a couple of years ago. The stage was used fully by all band members, not leaving it to just one guy to stoke up the pit violence of which there was plenty. The awesome pummelling of “Like Angels Weeping” played into the crowds hands as the bands superb ability to create supremely catchy metal tunes continued into “The Chains Of Power”. Just watching Maurizio bellows and his brilliantly savage confidence which just deluged the stage was captivating. As expected the crowd was awaiting the monumental popular tracks and they didn’t have to wait too long before “As I Slither” was greeted to a roar of approval. As the track coiled its way around the festival another new song was unleashed, “Taking The World By Storm” which caught the crowd out a tad, serving only to give the pit a short-lived breather. “Crippled And Broken” was brutality personified yet, as always, “In Shadows & Dust” stole the show due to its infectious riff yet show stopping bedlam. Surprisingly there was no “Ambassador Of Pain” as the bands awesome performance ended with “The Road To Devastation” and left everyone who watched these death metal warriors astonished. (MH)
First up I’ll shatter any illusion you readers may have built up judging purely on the fact that I even reviewed this next lot. For two consecutive years I have groaned as I pulled apart an envelope only to find an As I Lay Dying album awaiting my oh-so-humble opinion, and needless to say, stuffed them straight back in the red post box up the road off to some other poor sod on our panel (for which I’m always more than apologetic for). I throw up my hands and admit that out of sheer boredom, or maybe a temporary lapse of sanity, I escaped the confines of my tent and *lowers voice* watched As I Lay Dying. Now, these Yanks always struck me as an unorthodox choice of band to inflict upon the Bloodstock elite, and smelt a bit to me like an attempt to cash in on those sickeningly young and trendy “br00tal”ly inclined scenesters that the majority of us wanted to keep at arms length. So I must admit that I was quite shocked at the crowd that had amassed for this band when I dragged my arse down to the main stage area, as rather than the handful of idiots flailing their skinny arms about and hiding their mascara sodden eyes behind preened fringes as I had so blinkeredly envisioned, there was a crowd of somewhat appreciative metal fans clapping and sensibly banging their heads and stomping all over my preconceptions. Oh well. The worst of it all is that as much as I was really looking forward to wandering back to the bar, shaking my head in disapproval, screwing up my nose ready to utter the words “Oh, weren’t they AWFUL!?” to the next person I engaged in conversation with, I actually found them to be surprisingly tolerable. Whilst metalcore holds about as much appeal to me as the average boy band, watching the singer jump about the stage in an attempt to get the crowd going as opposed to shouting down the mic with his back to the crowd is rather like a breath of fresh air. The thrashing riffs and perceptible vocals are enough to keep me from wanting to stick my head in a blender and they plough out ‘Nothing Left’ and ’94 Hours’ with an infectious energy, proving that while I’d struggle to tell their music apart from the next metalcore band, they can cut it live. Just keep this one quiet, ok? (LH)
Next up there was scum on the Scuzz stage courtesy of London’s gobbiest musical miscreants Ted Maul. It seemed like everyone wanted a piece of this too. The band gave each other a group fisting (perhaps I worded that badly) and steamed on to deliver the most ferocious and intense display I have seen from them yet, in fact it turned out to be the most ferocious and intense performance of the whole festival. They literally owned the stage and as for the tent, it was reamed, rammed, chocker despite the rather daft clash with Kataklysm on the main stage (it would have made much more sense having the Maul and Mob Rules on at the same time). Slewed guitars scythed up and down the scales, bombastic keyboards added a splash of manic ethnicity of the heady burgeoning clamour of songs such as ‘A Catalogue Of Wasted Opportunities’ and it was only right that they also played ‘Forest.. With This Memory Of A Free Festival’ in their set. The audience participation was at full tilt and those willing to get involved were given a helping hand after a run up and were sent over the barrier, giving security a right old job to handle it all. A few times I saw legs inverted in the air from my slightly safer vantage point. Singer Solomon J Christ roared his way through the set admirably and the surprise announcement that drummer Cave Gnome was playing his last gig was the only down point to a truly incendiary show. The anti-life junglist movement really had put its stamp on Bloodstock and next year can only truly claim main stage space. (PW)
Overkill are the band of the festival for me as far as killer bands go. No matter how many times I see them, Blitz & DD and the gang are always giving 110% for the fans. Tonight was no exception, as the opening chords to ‘Necroshine’ play out the band erupts onto the stage and so does the crowd. The well-oiled machine that is this ‘Wrecking Crew’ (yes they played it!) show how things should be done. The energy and precision is excellent. ‘Rotten to the Core’, ‘Bastard Nation’, ‘Thanx for Nothin’ and ‘Hello From the Gutter’ are all highlights, in fact this is the perfect set list for me, even newer tracks like ‘Skull & Bones’ sound beefy as hell live. Are we ready for a barn dance? ‘Here’s to the Old School’ is a great tune even if it does have that feel to it, one funny thing about this set was my mate observing some fan gaffer taped to a camping chair going crowd surfing, that’s different for a thrash assault! ‘Elimination’ and the expected ‘Fuck You’ closes things, the light, the sound the band were just terrific, Blitz says bless you to the crowd and thanks, right back at you, you made my festival! (PM)
It was a shame not to get Carcass on the bill here as well as At The Gates who were definitely the main attraction for many of the day here. They had cancelled all press interviews and I cannot say that I blame them, there are only so many times that you can say that you will not be releasing a new album and that no, sorry, they were not disclosing how much they got paid for this little musical resurrection. I have to be somewhat cynical about all this I’m afraid but then again I was lucky to have caught the group first time round a fair few times, unlike many catching them for the first today.
The red sky was not actually theirs in fact it was raining and grey but this did not put ATG off belting out a sharp succession of great numbers such as album titles ‘Slaughter Of The Soul’ and ‘Terminal Spirit Disease.’ Musically this was great but atmospherically it seemed lacking, the audience seemed more subdued than I expected although this was the near culmination of a long festival and I just couldn’t shake the impression here that the band were going through the motions. This certainly was not an event like LA2 gigs with Dissection and the last brief London show where they knocked us flat turning up for a legendary 15 minute goodbye set with Crowbar, Napalm Death and Face Down (that was a show).
Tompa harangued the masses and the frantic instrumental charge formidably powered and driven by Adrian Erlandsson’s drum tattoo sounded on top form. The atmospheric caress of ‘Raped By The Light Of Christ’ momentarily calmed things down before the guitars shredded back in and we were flung into ‘Under A Serpent Sun.’ The hits were certainly coming fast and furiously and that lone guitar and spoken word part of this particular number did send a shiver down my spine and stopped the cynicism for a moment. The greatest hits package could not be faulted, I am sure nobody was disappointed with the set list here. ‘Nausea’ ‘Unto Others’ and a storming rendition of ‘Blinded By Fear’ were all included, however as I left I couldn’t help think that I hoped this was the last time I would be seeing the legacy of At The Gates in action. (PW)
When I sent out review lists there had been a scrum of takers for covering Nightwish. I wish this was true and I was well and truly hoisted by my own petard and back catalogue and had no choice but to do the duties. I have to admit that I was actually interested in catching them for the first time with singer Anette Olzon and was looking forward to seeing what this was going to be like. The fact that the group had cancelled fan signings and swanned on stage half an hour late did not bode well and had the words “rock star pretentions” firmly lodged in my head. This was somewhat negated with the full stage show pyrotechnic blaze and formidable storm and power behind the opening two numbers ‘Bye Bye Beautiful’ and ‘Dark Chest Of Wonders’ though. In fact I found myself virtually headbanging at the side of the stage from my vantage point where I had the 3rd song to steam in and attempt to get some photos (we were wisely not allowed in for any numbers with explosions for this set).
I have to admit I was lucky to be busy as that particular number ‘The Siren’ was dull as dishwater compared to what had preceeded it and I could easily have dropped off to sleep during it. This was luckily a bit of an exception to the rule, as on the whole, the set was made up of much stronger numbers. Case in point ‘Dead To The World’ which in true fairytale metal standards was the musical equivalent to Sleeping Beauty, a song that thankfully did not have me sent to sleep by a prick (bad choice of words again methinks). Newer songs such as ‘Amaranth’ had really failed to wow me on album but I did find myself enjoying them here and feel that this is an album I should perhaps revisit.
Another point that should be made was that I thought Anette did a great job of both the new songs and the old, certainly she does not have, or indeed attempt the operatic range of Tarja, but credit where credit is due. I guess it was only possible that one could get accosted by a knight dressed up in (very well known) supermarket bags at a Nightwish show at a British festival and this kind of summed the whole weekend up and I was glad to be necking back some free beer and vodka purloined from the backstage bar area for the show and weekends climax. It was at this point my words seem to state that spoken word parts were damn sexy and ballads were painful but ‘Wishmaster’ was a bodice ripping extravaganza which simply couldn’t be faulted. All that ‘Poet And The Pendulum’ talk of being raped was a bit bemusing really and the over the top theatrics of the song, both musically and stage explosion wise, really was a bit overwhelming in the Andrew Lloyd Webber sense. With ‘Wish I Had An Angel’ ringing in my ears as I left to trudge back to the tent it was a case of having to state that although not wanting the words chiselled on my tombstone I have to admit that “yes I did enjoy Nightwish, amen!” (PW)
Festival Observations
Personally I enjoyed Bloodstock a lot and having been attending festivals of both a commercial and free nature since Reading back in 1989 think and hope that I am qualified to make the following closing observations.
There are some factors that are very important about attending a festival. The obvious one, the weather, is out of anyone’s control. Considering that this has been apparently the wettest August since 1917 we were very, very (unless you had made a barbeque around 7 on the Thursday evening) lucky. Other factors that are essentially important include the music which was varied and essentially well presented. What I mean is that the sound issues were excellent, the bands all got good sound throughout the festival in my opinion and scheduling by the organisers was on the whole faultless, so top marks for this. The unsigned stage is a brilliant and unique idea too and should certainly become a regular fixture of the festival.
I also thought that the layout was generally good, there was little in the way of sound wash from the stages and the campsite was well laid out and more importantly comfortable. I can see the point for no campfires and a designated cooking area quite honestly as we were given a nice grassy area rather than a patch of dirt to spend four nights camped out on. On the negative side as far as comfort issues are concerned, again as last year, there were nowhere near enough facilities. There needs to be much more toilets in future and some basic essentials like means to wash hands and brush teeth without having to pay for use of showers.
My other main gripe is the commercial aspects of the festival, already creeping in as Bloodstock gets bigger. The vendors selling food and drink were basically fleecing us and at a festival “By the fans for the fans,” this is not acceptable. Limits need to be put on prices next year and things need to be fairer. The same with the vendors selling things like camping essentials etc, £5 for 4 camera batteries is not acceptable. Also I was amazed and disgusted to find one stall selling laser pens, this should never have been allowed.
I am being critical but other things that really bugged were wasted opportunities. Why have a stage set up for 6-8 hours of ‘Guitar Hero’ competition a day? This was ludicrous when bands could have been playing. Failing that why not have something like a guitar workshop on, something to encourage people to pick up a real musical instrument! Also what on earth was a funfair doing here, another means of commerciality and taking more money off festival goers? Hell, put up a cinema tent and show music related and cult movies, performance theatre or something at least related to the arts rather than this in the future please!
Despite all this again I reiterate that I really enjoyed Bloodstock. Someone visiting from abroad commented that this is now at the stage that Wacken was a decade ago and he was spot on. Bloodstock is the only proper metal festival we have in England and long may it continue, thrive and go from strength to strength.
I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Adam Sagir of The Noise Cartel for his tireless and professional job behind the scenes organising a phalanx of photographers, he certainly made my job a hell of a lot easier. (PW)
Reviewing team - Spencer Bullen, Martin Harris, Dave Heward, Luci Herbert, Paul Maddison and Pete Woods
BLOODSTOCK REVIEW PAGE 1 - FRI
BLOODSTOCK REVIEW PAGE 2 - SAT
BLOODSTOCK PHOTOS - THURSDAY
BLOODSTOCK PHOTOS - FRIDAY (MAIN STAGE)
BLOODSTOCK PHOTOS - FRIDAY (SCUZZ & LAVA STAGES)
BLOODSTOCK PHOTOS - SATURDAY (MAIN STAGE)
BLOODSTOCK PHOTOS - SATURDAY (SCUZZ & LAVA STAGES)
BLOODSTOCK PHOTOS - SUNDAY (MAIN STAGE)
BLOODSTOCK PHOTOS - SUNDAY (SCUZZ & LAVA STAGES)
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