BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR FESTIVAL 2007
Arriving on the Thursday with the whole band (Seregon : http://www.seregon.co.uk) in tow, the first order of business was to set up camp and make a (booze) trip to the local (30 minute round trip) Tesco! Catton Park in Derbyshire, the home of Bloodstock Open Air would usually be a rambler’s paradise but this weekend it was anything but!
With 3 stages and over 50 bands set to play, a few thousand people were already drinking their way into Bloodstock Open Air 2007 in the adjoining field. After setting up and polishing off my first of many Scrumpy Jack’s (Yes I’m from the South West), I headed to the Press Office to pick up the various passes I needed so I could take a few snaps of the bands to then pass on to the good people here at MetalTeamUK! I gave John Lambeth a call who was also working with MTUK over the weekend and met up with him as I was a complete n00b to this Press/Photo pass malarkey, I’m usually on stage making an arse of myself rather then walking around backstage and making an arse of myself… actually, I do both, EITHER WAY I was new to the whole photo/press aspect of a festival/gig.
John accompanied me into the press office in which we quickly found out that MTUK had only one pass allocated for them, which John had already picked up that day. I was under the instructions that I would be given a photo pass for the weekend but as that pass had already gone I was luckily given a press pass. With press pass in hand, John ran off to start taking some picture’s and as I walked out of the office I was ambushed by Dan of MetalFoundry who started asking a lot of questions about MTUK in which I tried my best to answer and felt like the guy at a new job and felt like saying ‘Hey, I’m new here!’.
By this time it was 07:00PM and Dan shuffled me into the Press Tent in which I was duly notified I would be interviewing the band FIREWIND (www.firewind.gr). Now I’m going to be honest and say that before Bloodstock, I had only heard of the name and knew they were playing that day, but… I knew nothing of the band or their music and was being told to interview them for 5 minutes. At this point all I wanted to be doing was taking a few pictures for MTUK and enjoying the bands but instead I was sat with Gus and Bob of the band talking about the crazy thunderstorms we had all witnessed while flying over Paris the night before. As they were on there way back from Tunisia playing a festival with After Forever, I had been flying back from my holiday in Egypt. Even though they may have been a bit bemused by this, 1 minute of the 5 minute interview had already gone and so it was time to bring out the very knowledgable Firewind fan that was inside me. Gus and Bob were both excited to be at Bloodstock and were looking forward to Testament later that evening, although they explained that they wouldn’t be able to stick around for the weekend as they had a gig on the Saturday with Wolf at JB’s in Dudley. I asked them about the set for that evening *not knowing any song titles*, in which they replied “Just the one, it’s a 50 minute medley”, the bemused expression on my face turned even more bemused as I was trying to scribble everything down and Gus and Bob looked at each other and laughed, do you think they had realised I had never heard of them before this…, well “Yes” is the answer. They ended up playing a 10 song set, playing a good few from the ‘Allegiance’ record and we soon got talking about the new album they have lined up. All of the music for the album, as yet untitled, has been recorded and the lyrics are being written as we speak. The album should be completed by late October.
The new album they say is a lot different from the ‘Allegiance’ record with this being much more guitar heavy/driven and will bounce from Heavy to Speed to Thrash metal in places, by this point we had been talking for well over 10 minute’s, joking around and just chatting as a couple of guy’s into Metal, Firewind played an awesome set and really impressed me, as I have done many a time, after seeing a band I’d head out and pick up a copy of there album’s, Firewind will be no exception!
Firewind Setlist: Allegiance - Insanity - I Am The Anger - Destination Forever - Ready To Strike - The Fire And The Fury - Till The End Of Time - Falling To Pieces – Tyranny
So now, I’m walking around backstage out of the Press Tent and a Bloodstock organiser lady came up to me and asked where my wrist band was. I showed her my press pass and wristband for the campsite but she politely(ish) informed me on all the magical colours and what each wristband would let me do and where It would let me go, so I was promptly marched to the gate’s and thought, well that’s my press days numbered; 1 hour into the job as well!
By this time it was nearly 8:30PM and Firewind were due to hit the stage and I was back at the tent talking about the above exploits, after another 1-2 Scrumpy’s we headed to the main arena where I caught half of Firewind’s set and was getting ready for the mighty TESTAMENT!
I first saw Testament in the desert heat of Dubai back in 2006…no I’m not lying! I was lucky enough to head out to Dubai to stay with my uncle while the newish Dubai Desert Rock festival was on with Megadeth headlining. Testament blew me away. I first heard the obvious mosh pit anthem ‘Into the Pit’ and have been hooked ever since. The lights went down and the ever so familiar silhouette of Chuck Billy walked to the front and the band launched into ‘The Preacher’, Bloodstock was at boiling point and the place erupted, I counted about 5 pit’s going on (I was in one of them also). The band played a similar set as the one that can be found on the Live in London DVD from 2005 with several additions of old favourites ‘Alone in the Dark’ ‘D.N.R’ and ‘Eerie Inhabitants’ for example. The band played a solid 1.5hr set and showed no signs of slowing (Compared to a shorter set in Dubai last year). For me, the longer set really made this gig special. Bring on the new Album!
Testament Setlist: Intro - The Preacher - The New Order - The Haunting - Electric Crown - Sins Of Omission - Low - D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate) - 3 Days In Darkness - Practice What You Preach - The Legacy - Souls Of Black - Into The Pit - Over The Wall - Eerie Inhabitants - Alone In The Dark - Disciples Of The Watch
After Testament it was a night of partying and drinking till all hour’s, but the morning bought us yet more booze and…pasta. Full of cider and carbs, we headed to the main arena for a bit of a wander round the metal market.
The first band I really saw that day was KORPIKLANNI. Like Firewind, this was a band I had heard of but never really looked into but decided to go and see them for the fun aspect of things. Seeing the majority of people around me jigging about in a folk metal trance was a good enough reason to stay for the entire set. The band just kept churning them out making really good use of the time they had. The comical song ‘Beer Beer’ got everyone chanting and the band topped it all off with a cover of Black Sabbath’s – Black Sabbath. Overall, rather good indeed!
Korpiklanni Setlist: Journey Man - Tervaskanto - Happy Little Boozer - Beer Beer - Wooden Pints - Hunting Song - Korpiklaani - Tuli Kokko - Black Sabbath
The Next band I was really interested in seeing was the mighty NEVERMORE. After seeing the band back in 2005 in JB Dudley’s with Dew Scented supporting I was looking forward to getting another much needed fix of Warrell Dane and friends. Nevermore have such a sound that you can’t help but feel punished by the music as it is so brutal, with lyrics to match. An obscure opener ‘Medicated Nation’ worked very well and flowed into ‘The River Dragon Has Come’ perfectly. By this point I was in the 2nd or 3rd row with my notepad in hand, writing messages for the band making Warrell Dane laugh harder with each sign held up. The set list concentrated mainly on the latest release ‘This Godless Endeavour’ but either way it was certainly a brutal highlight of the entire weekend!
Nevermore Setlist: Medicated Nation - The River Dragon Has Come - I, Voyager - Inside Four Walls - My Acid Words - Final Product - Deconstruction - Born - This Godless Endeavour - Enemies Of Reality
After Nevermore I wandered around backstage with an AAA wrist band that was given to me by a more then helpful partner of Bloodstock whose name escapes me, I was lucky enough to meet the band (Nevermore) and grab a picture with them all. I also did some shameless advertising for my band and gave Jeff Loomis and Warrell Dane a Seregon CD each. After this I headed to the side of the stage to see DARK TRANQUILLITY. I first saw these with Kreator back in 2005 in London, fresh from releasing the great album ‘Character’ so I was looking forward to seeing them again. The band opened with ‘Terminus’, a good choice for an opener but the band seemed to be lacking in places. Even though the following track ‘The Lesser Faith’ was next, I found myself a bit bored by the 3rd track and soon enough wandered off. I returned to catch the last track ‘My Negation’, which was a vast improvement in momentum for the band, as they had started off at almost what seemed walking pace; shame it was the last song of the set!
Dark Tranquillity Setlist: Terminus - The Lesser Faith - The Treason Wall - The Wonders At Your Feet - Blind At Heart - Final Resistance - Misery's Crown - The Endless Feed - Focus Shift - Punish My Heaven - My Negation
Next up were Lacuna Coil. All I know is that vocalist Christina sang on the new Megadeth record and she has a good voice, but I have no interest in the band whatsoever…so to cut to the chase;
Lacuna Coil Setlist: To the Edge - In Visible Light - Swamped - Within Me - Senzafine - Closer - What I See - Fragments of Faith - Fragile - Enjoy The Silence - Daylight Dancer - Heavens A Lie - Our Truth
Again, after Lacuna Coil it was a night of partying and drinking till all hour’s, but the morning bought us yet more booze and…pasta, full of Cider and Carbs we headed to the main arena and had a bit of a wander round the market etc.
The first band I saw on the Saturday was LEGION OF THE DAMNED. The band tore it up for 40 minute’s and let everyone know that thrash from Holland was very much alive. Opening with track ‘Legion of the Damned’ they drove straight into the crowd at 110mph with no signs of stopping. The band focused on the album ‘Malevolent Rapture’ with the title track of the same name being a highlight for me. Yes, LOTD are that damn good.
Legion of the Damned Setlist: Legion Of The Damned - Son Of The Jackal - Undead Stillborn - Death’s Hea - March - Bleed For Me - Werewolf Corpse - Infernal Wrath - Malevolent Rapture - (Incomplete setlist)
Next were FINNTROLL. Now all I know of the band music wise is the Caveman Anthem ‘Trollhammeren’, and by the look of things so did the crowd with the exception of one guy who had full caveman gear on, covered in red body paint. Someone must have really had it in for that guy when they told him, “Don’t worry, everyone is dressing up…!” Finntroll; fun to watch. ‘Trollhameren’; fun to see live. Every other song; forgettable.
A band who I’ve been excited to see ever since announcing they were getting back together for a ‘couple’ of shows were SABBAT! A band who alongside ONSLAUGHT are flying the flag for the UK Thrash revival in recent years. A familiar face in the metal scene plays guitar for the band and that is Andy Sneap; a man who has worked with more metal bands over the years then I’ve had hot dinner’s! The man has many talents. A highlight of the set was ‘Hossana in Excelsis’ in which I made sure the band saw me ‘Windmilling’ (Or as Bob form Let Em’ Burn would say ‘Helicopter-ing’) my hair at the side of the stage. The band live we’re really good, although don’t quite compare to Onslaught. Onslaught win on the live show ground, but you’ve to remember that Sabbat do not have any new material either so do not rule them out as winning this friendly battle one day down the line!
Sabbat Setlist: A Cautionary Tale - Hosanna In Excelsis - The Clerical Conspiracy - Behind The Crooked Cross - Do Dark Horses Dream Of Nightmares? - I For An Eye - Best Of Enemies - For Those Who Died - The Church Bizzare
By this time I was more or less ready to go home, I was tired and after Sabbat I wasn’t that interested in the last 2 bands of the day. ARCH ENEMY who were up next opened with ‘I Am Legend/Out for Blood’ to an awesome sound from the crowd. We were not allowed to watch the band from the side of the stage so were told to vacate the premises (not sure why they needed us to move as no one or any equipment filled the gap we left). So it was quite funny to see Angela struggle to sing when all of her effects failed on her voice and she was left more or less stranded with an annoyed 100yd stare at the sound desk, The second song ‘Ravenous’ was a fan favourite, although in between that and ‘We Will Rise’ it all seemed rather lacklustre with their set mostly taken up with filler material. In the end Arch Enemy did put on a fairly good show, although I did expect more.
Arch Enemy Setlist: I Am Legend/Out For Blood - Ravenous - Blood On Your Hands - My Apocalypse - Dead Eyes See No Future - Burning Angel - Enemy Within - Revolution Begins - Dead Bury Their Dead - We Will Rise - Bridge Of Destiny Solo
Speaking of Lacklustre, IN FLAMES were up next and the penultimate band of the weekend, with a promising start (aka the Little Britain Intro tape). They meandered through the track ‘Leeches’ followed by a 5/10 minute break while the band seemed to argue with one of the guitarists. This for me was a disgusting site to see, with no explanation for the long pause apart form the singer shouting at the guitarist ‘You can either play the game or leave, it’s that simple’. And that was enough for me to get in my car and leave early so I could be home before the rush even started to leave the site. This was as much of a disappointment for me as the new album Come Clarity was a highlight of last year, which I still enjoy to listen to from time to time but tonight’s performance was not a band performance in the slightest.
And well, that for me was Bloodstock Open Air 2007 and what an experience! The laughs with all my friends as well arsing around with Rob from Let Em Burn and Mel from Thousand Lake Events, as well as meeting a lot of great people and bands backstage. BOA07 truly was a festival to remember. Will I be going again next year? Yes. For £60.00, and to end up being a highlight of my summer, completely worth it, bring on BOA08!
James Moore (www.seregon.co.uk)
CATTON HALL DERBY, 16 - 18/08/07