BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR
CATTON HALL DERBYSHIRE – 12/8/11
11AM is a bit early to get welcomed to Hell even if it is coming from just down the road. The group’s legacy is the stuff of legends and their comeback album may have divided the critics but it has fast become one of the best selling metal albums of the year and let me tell you in no uncertain terms their show is Fun with a capital F. From the second they come on stage the group are as entertaining as (well) hell, totally theatrical and over the top. We have singer David Bower wearing a crown of thorns and axe men Andy Sneap, Kev Bower and Tony Speckman on bass looking like they were about to do the timewarp having escaped from the Rocky Horror Picture show. The music has to match and it does! Scorching heavy metal licks are fired out with blazing solos, which got the audience hand clapping in the air. Every trick in the book of heavy metal was dished out; we even had the vocalist delivering many epic sermons from a pulpit. We were taken through lands of ‘Plague And Fyre’ to cries of “Bring out your dead” as contagion spread albeit in a Monty Python fashion. Later we were immersed in clouds of smoke, eerie synths, tolling bells and a bare-chested singer flagellating his sins away, whipping out his blasphemy all in the name of metal. “Our Father who aren’t in heaven, shallow be thy name” were obviously words the next band were fully going to approve of but before they arrived with their own plague nobody could deny the fact that Hell were incredibly good fun and totally entertaining, welcome back! (PW)
Aaagh! There we are thinking today was gonna be nice and sunny and those grim, frostbitten cunts 1349 arrive and go and blow all the sunshine away! It’s kind of appropriate that an icy wind blows through the field at this point, as it just seems so fitting with the bleakness of their sound. This lot continue the theme of hell and corpsepaint except now its more serious and less tongue in cheek as the gnarly razor-like riffs of ‘I Am Abomination’ really creates an aural nuisance. The drums on ‘Chasing Dragons’ are utterly unforgiving, pummelling the face of anyone who dares oppose it, ripping its way through the crowd leaving a bloody mess in its wake. Bassist Seidemann looks a right hooded menace as he lays things down. ‘Serpent Child’ crawls in grimly with the kind of dark, sinister ambience required to raise hell and summon demons. The vocalist spits venom through his frosty rasps and he fucking means it! Okay, can’t fault them musically as they really deliver a fine set (would have preferred more off Revelations though please), but can we have our sunshine back now? (LH)
I had been really looking forward to Primordial it’s not like they play every day of the week and their shows are always special. Today’s was going to be no exception but not quite in the way we at first expected. It was business as usual as the group opened with ‘No Grave Is Deep Enough’ enriching the audience in passion, yearning and overwhelming atmosphere which really gets totally beneath your skin. Frontman Alan Averill’s croons are as mighty as his war-paint and stage presence. This is a singer who is happy to sing his heart out and hang off the front of the stage getting as close to the crowd as possible, making the performance all the more special and personal to them. We were fully in the caress of the opening song from epic new album ‘Redemption At The Puritans Hand’ making the most of things knowing full well that due to the fact the group’s songs are all so involving every second would count. From there we were back into ‘The Nameless Dead’ with ‘As Rome Burns,’ a song where you can practically feel the souls of a thousand slaves residing over, this was everything one could expect from a performance but at the end of this song disaster struck! I have to admit at first I thought that the announcement that Alan’s voice was gone was a joke and that the group were playing with us but they are not the joking type when they are at their most professional and as he croaked out the fact that he had no idea what was going on and that this had never happened before the realisation sunk in. You could only feel for the vocalist and the band, they gave it their all and played on, Rome was not going down without a fight and they were ‘Bloodied But Unbowed’ albeit in the instrumental sense. Over the course of this and the next couple of songs including the fantastic ‘Coffin Ships’ the singer attempted to raise a voice but it had me wishing he had not fearing he could further damage things for the future. The crowd stuck by and even hampered the Irish men proudly fought and did not give up. The news later came that Alan had found his voice again (possibly it was in lost property) and we breathed a sigh of relief, they will be back and twice as strong! (PW)
I’ve seen Evil Scarecrow a couple of times and whether you appreciate humour in metal or even as a piss-take you could not but admire this bunch of nutters. Arriving onstage in various costumes varying from sultry goth of Princess Luxury, grim gore outfit by Dr Hell or monk style gown worn by Brother Pain to name a few. I was not too familiar with the bands tunes but highly familiar with their stage antics as a classical piece started their set before launching into synchronised horn raising by all band members on the opening track whose title escapes me. I did recognise “Vampyre Trousers” after a couple of songs and plenty of stage merriment. Dr Hell seemed genuinely taken aback at the number of people at the S.O.P.H.I.E. Lancaster stage to watch them and seemed to spend a lot of time thanking everyone for turning up. After a couple of upbeat heavy metal tunes Dr Hell said he was going to make us as miserable as a room full of emos with “Blacken The Everything”. A much slower track that was replete with various requests from the audience for fists, horns and even hold up a claw, which everybody did. The band went into “Sixty Six Minutes Past Six”, the title track of their last album as I think there was even a cover of the Thundercats theme fitted in somewhere in the set. Anyone who has ever seen Evil Scarecrow will know their signature tune is “Robototron” from the debut and it appears they were aiming for a world record attempt at the number of people doing the Robot dance. Once the band got underway with the songs and gave everybody a few demonstrations of the square robot dance, right – down – left – up then repeat like a robot with both hands faced inwards and parallel and slightly up at the start, geddit. They paused for everybody to strike the pose and I kid you not up to 2000 people all did the robot dance in perfect synchronisation, including me, my mates and my sister who was filming the whole thing as best as she could. The scene was marvellous and bolstered by the good guitar playing by Brother Pain. Once the applause had quelled and the laughing had subsided by everyone Dr Hell announced that the last song would be a test of our black metal lyrics mettle. Starting with laa la la la la laa, we had to finish it off which was of course the start to their cover of “The Final Countdown” which was sang like it was their own song. The version was excellent as their playing credentials are faultless as Brother Pain disappeared from stage still playing guitar and ended up stood on the bar at the side of the venue headbanging like his life depended on it, though most people didn’t realise he was there until Dr Hell said so. Security looked after him and seemed quite perplexed at it all and made sure no one went near Brother Pain which was sensible before he jumped down and returned to the stage to close what has to have been the single most enjoyable and fun set I’ve watched by a band in years. We are allowed to make fun of our own scene but only us no one else. The band is playing a headlining charity gig at Rock City on 3rd September with all proceeds going to Epilepsy Action with all bands playing for free. (MH)
What I said about not often seeing Primordial cannot be said for Napalm Death but it’s always a pleasure catching the long serving Brummie grind machine in action and it’s impossible to get bored of them. We were aware that the solid figure of bassist Shane Embury was going to take one side of the stage, guitarist Mitch Harris the other and Barney Greenway was going to be charging all over the place between them. The only question that remained is what songs and political rants were going to be order of the day and how many would they be able to fit into their set-list? The answer was unsurprisingly quite a lot. The first pause for breath saw Barney apologising for the racket and blazing into ‘Continuing War On Stupidity.’ It seemed like the group had drawn a big crowd and it was a brave man who was going to head to the middle and get involved in the violent pit action from these peace loving hippies whose causes are as pacifist as their music is violent. We were aware we were going to get songs new and old and they followed in very quick succession. ‘When All Is Said And Done’ is as close a number as they play with an actual chorus and further back right to 1988 it was followed by ‘Lucid Fairytales.’ We were warned not to blink as we might miss some songs and indeed some launching themselves over the barrier got caught out tumbling over in silence. Pulling a Cryptic Slaughter song ‘Lowlife’ out of the hat, I was quite amused at Mitch’s high quacking Donald Dark sounding vocals but the song certainly went down well. There were a few obvious ones that had to be played and they came as no surprise, ‘Scum,’ ‘You Suffer’ and the inevitable ‘Nazi Punks.’ Watching this it was like stepping back to 2008 when the band played here last! Long may they continue (PW)
Bay Area thrashers Exodus are no strangers to the UK in Fact they seem to be over at every opportunity, and I know I come across as miserable in my review but I wasn’t particularly looking forward to watching them. Why? Well for one I have seen them too many times and two while I love the early stuff from the band I have been really unimpressed with more recent recording output and have never fully gotten along with Rob Dukes vocals on CD. In this instance, after a fairly long delay which allowed me to have a brief mooch around the stalls, my cynicism worked in the bands favour as the Bay Area boys fucking owned it! They stormed the stage, flying through a punishing assortment of classic thrash faves such as ‘A Lesson In Violence’ which really brings the aggression, rattling forth at full speed as they dole out a truckload of blistering riffs and blazing solos. Rob Dukes is a big scary bastard, his on-stage persona really bruising for a fight as he riles up the crowd and his vocals come across far more abrasive than I remember. ‘I’ve not seen any tits yet…dudes don’t count you douchebag’ he jests, demonstrating a clear sense of humour before sinking those piranha-like teeth into the titanic ‘Bonded By Blood’. ‘You can’t beat a good old fashioned sing along’ the guy behind me chortles in the most Northern accent imaginable, although dancing is more what the band seem interested in as they step into ‘Toxic Waltz’. I left feeling I really misjudged this band, as they really blew me away on this occasion. Thrashtastic! (LH)
I had to admit that I was always going to watch Hammerfall so long as they didn’t clash with someone I hadn’t seen before, but as it turned out watching the Swedish metal warriors was a real highlight of Sunday, not quite in the same league as Rhapsody Of Fire the previous day though. The bands new album “Infected” is a real departure in terms of songs with a huge 80s heavy metal template being used as a foundation for the songs but Hammerfall is Hammerfall anyway. Kicking their set off was the opening intro sequence from said newie before moving into “Patient Zero” with its infectious beat and head rocking style which was a perfect start and lead nicely into “Any Means Necessary” a favourite of mine with its cheesy but highly vocal chorus.
Joakim had a little speech about 1981 and the day he discovered heavy metal at 11 years old and being blown away and hooked, but we all have a moment like that don’t we. Dedicating “B.Y.H” or “Bang Your Head” was enough instructions for most people as the guys frivolity on stage was matched by the enthusiasm in the crowd at singing every line possible. “Blood Bound” passed me by as I’m not too keen on the “Chapter V” album for some reason. That was quickly forgotten when something from their awesome debut was aired, namely their namesake song “Hammerfall”. I got plenty of people into Hammerfall back in 1997 when the debut was released all of whom still follow the band, probably more than I do. The stirring chorus was greeted like a homage to heavy metal itself as by now the guys in the band were in full posing mode, something they find very easy, especially Oscar, but when you have a band playing music this good then posing can be forgiven and let’s face it most of us would like to have been up there anyway. Another new song was aired before the encore of the brilliant “Hearts On Fire” and the simplest audience chant back of all in the form of “Let The Hammer Fall” with the easiest sing back ever of the word fall from the chorus. I don’t think even the most inebriated could have failed to do this and even have the inevitable fist raised high into the sky that Hammerfall subliminally beg us all to do. As ever Hammerfall’s set was professionally delivered and executed to catchy perfection. (MH)
Another flashback to 2008 sees At The Gates returning again for another reunion show. We were somewhat excited last time thinking this was going to be a one off but now it all seems like the group are milking things out on the festival circuit, it’s not like any new material was being recorded or played. Still this is At The Gates, the seminal Swedes who have been imitated by countless but never really bettered. Songs like the eponymous ‘Slaughter Of The Soul’ should always be welcomed with open arms and banging heads and these evening saw no exception to the rule. Tompa Lindberg may have less hair than he did originally but he makes up for this with an energetic foot on monitors, tongue stuck out display which is infectious and cheeky to watch. As for the set list it offers no real surprises other than the fact as serving a reminder how many great songs the group packed onto their four full-length albums. They follow thick and fast, everyone no doubt having their own highlight be it ‘Terminal Spirit Disease’ the gunshot blast of ‘Suicide Nation’ and the fantastic ‘Under A Serpent Sun.’ Heads snap to the continuous melodic Swedrifforama and we are reminded that sometimes it is nice to spend an hour embracing past classics live on stage instead of having to concentrate on trying to decide whether new material we are hearing for the first time lives up to it. It would be churlish to complain about this set and the power behind it BUT, I really hope this is the last time we get to see it, history was never meant to keep on repeating itself.
Some would have loved it to do just that, there were no doubt many keeping their fingers crossed praying that Morbid Angel were going to stick firmly in the past and not play anything from that controversial new album. Having heard reports from across Europe we knew what to expect and I was looking forward to it as it was the first time in a fair few years that I had the chance to see them. My first task was spent in the photo pit during Immortal Rites (from the first album cue many sighs of relief) attempting to get a clear shot of Trey Azagthoth’s face. What can I say, total fail, too much hair, how does he see what the hell he is playing? Secondly it was getting shots of evil Dave Vincent who was disappointingly not sporting any spandex this time around. Also it was a case of trying to avoid a rubber inflatable dinghy which was heading down towards the front, the rider having fallen off long before, bodies were however reigning over the top like some sort of trench warfare. Sluggish riffs bore us into ‘Fall From Grace’ and then the mighty ‘Rapture’ which I was by now watching in reverence from the crowd, the sound was good, the band were tight so all was good.
The moment many were dreading approached with a trio of songs from ‘Illud Divinum Insanus’ being aired. The drums sounded like an out of control lawnmower on Existo Vulgore, I was personally hoping they were going to really up the ante and play ‘Radikult’ Following this however we marched literally into ‘Nevermore’ and then got one of the songs that really had many cringing namely ‘I Am Morbid.’ What can I say I enjoyed these songs and although admittedly they are not to everyone’s tastes (I was asked if I could get back into photo pit and kill Dave Vincent for heresy) it was good checking them out live. I doubt there were any complaints for the rest of the set as it was pure classic territory and we got a feast of songs including ‘Angel Of Disease,’ ‘Chapel Of Ghouls’ and a firm favourite of mine ‘Where The Slime Lives,’ the green stage light on the latter making it forebodingly cold and atmospheric. With the words “bow to me” ringing in my ears I could only think, “well that depends on the next album Dave,” but this was a good morbid show in more ways than one as far as I’m concerned.
You tend to find yourself severely flagging towards the end of a festival and this one is no exception. Then you have a think about it and realise the lead singer of the next band Motörhead Mr Lemmy Kilmister is a pensioner and has been to considerably more festivals than you will, hell for every two metal festivals you go to the chances are he will be playing one of them. From the onset here things did not bode well, it sounded as though the volume had been turned down again and this was far from the loudest band in the world. Lemmy was hugging the shadows and not making his exuberant between song speeches like he normally does informing us that they were a rock n’ roll band and were here to raise hell. It all seemed a bit muted and the crowd was not the biggest considering the stature of the long serving institution that this lot are. Although they start with a classic ‘Iron Fist’ we are aware that there will be quite a few newer songs in the setlist rather than a whole load of hits from yesteryear. In fact (and I did not stick around for the whole set) this turned out to be one of the highlights. ‘Get Back In Line’ from ‘The World Is Yours’ sounded like typical Motörhead and although it had a bouncy tempo and a touch of the blues about it the crowd were not really getting into its grooves and with the exception of Phil Campbell who was flamboyantly putting on a shape throwing performance front of stage nobody seemed like they were giving it their all. It was evident that even with excellent songs like ‘Over The Top’ this was far from the groups best show of their career. Cutting it short here we went back to the backstage bar area where we could clearly hear what was going down and happily had a bang back there to the inevitable Killed By Death and Ace Of Spades, suddenly at the end of these realising that the group had cut their allotted time by 20 minutes short. Whilst surprised at this we did later learn that they had been suffering from some sort of virus and with that in mind we can hardly put them down on things, besides they are likely to be rocking long after you!
So that’s it for another year and I have to say that my faith in British festivals has been restored somewhat. The weather certainly helped by not pissing it down, the sound was on the whole a lot better than I remember from my last journey here and the organisation was excellent. Also I am pleased to say that apart from thefts from tents that were attributed to non festival attendees by the sound of it, everyone was well behaved and unaffected by the British disease that has affected the bigger more commercial festivals. Next year Bloodstock will be a week later so as not to clash with the end of the Olympics and will be held from 16-19th August. Keep up to date on announcements at the official website. (PW)
http://www.bloodstock.uk.com
Reviewers Luci Herbert,Martin Harris, Pete Woods Photos © Pete Woods
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