BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR
CATTON HALL DERBYSHIRE – 9/8/11
The inevitable talking point for any festival is always the weather and setting off in the morning having to make a dash to the tube station to avoid a heavy downpour does not inspire any confidence. Thankfully despite travelling up feeling rather like a wet dog, by the time I arrive at Catton Hall the weather seems surreally pleasant. Contrary to my last Bloodstock camping experience in 2008 the problem is knocking them tent pegs into the solid ground rather than sliding around in the mud, and only the most fleeting of rain-showers are seen for the rest of the weekend. Metal festival gods be praised!
That’s not the only change I notice from my last visit, as the festival has now gained an extra stage; the Sophie Lancaster stage has grown and now offers more of a real alternative to the main stage with bands like October File, The Rotted and Lawnmower Deth being just a handful of well established acts to look forward to watching while the New Blood stage is the place to catch the “next big thing” before anyone else has heard of them.
For those of us who got down early, the Sophie Lancaster stage had some evening entertainment to help us warm up and make all the beer and spirits go down that bit better (yes, the first night can often be the messiest). Speaking of messy, it’s Xerath who open things up and within five minutes it is clear that there are severe technical issues – hell, things are never perfect and better for the sound to be ironed out now rather than later on. It may seem a bit of a cop-out, but a review for this band would be seriously unfair as the sound was so abysmal I couldn’t work out what the hell they were all about. Listening to their MySpace their deathly progressive style comes across far better than it did live and am sure the poor performance is no reflection on their musicianship in this instance.
With some notable improvements in their sound, Welsh boyos Revoker bring their infectious Southern swagger to the table and the crowd seem to lap it up. Their big riffin’ style is modern enough for the Down generation yet has a classic flair that is welcomed just as much by the oldies in the crowd who no doubt feel ‘Too Young To Die’. There’s a smoky soulfulness to frontman Jamie Mathias’ vocal that brings to mind a Load era Hetfield and the winding riffs and bouncy drumming on ‘Stay Down’ really make this a booty-shaking, foot stomper of a track. It’s easy to see why this lot are creating a stir supporting the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Cavalera Conspiracy; they have that fresh-faced energy and some good old fashioned rock’n’rollin’ tunes that appeal to all but the most miserable of metalheads.
Dare I say things are kept fairly rock-oriented on this opening night? Well, none of the bands were ones I was really beside myself with excitement over seeing, all seeming quite innocuous and I suppose that’s really what you want on the first night when we’re all still settling in to our campsites and more interested in downing beers and sharing a laugh or two with our fellow Bloodstockers? Much of my evening was spent outside on the benches with the bands merely background music so bands like Beholder really go down well on both this level and yet just as much for the many who are inside the tent watching the band. These Birmingham heavy metal titans seriously put on a good show packed with chunky riffs, frenetic drum beats and an all-round beefy sound. Yes, this is real mans metal played the way it was meant to be, and if you don’t like it then fuck off! Frontman Simon Hall after all isn’t someone you’d wanna mess with; not only does he seriously command the stage in a manner that you’d expect him to set fire to the speakers before riding off on his Harley leaving you wiping the dust from your face, but his vocal roars are fearsome enough to make you back down in an instance.
Okay, do comedians really belong at a metal festival? Our camp is divided on this one, Pete Woods says a straight no, but as I am a fan of stand up comedy I disagreed however tonight it just didn’t work for me at all. The sound was still very much an issue from where I was standing with the only audible word being ‘fuck’. Yeah yeah we all know those words but the idea that metalheads are so simple as to find them funny is an insult (the absence of laughter in the audience tells me I’m not alone on this one too). With that, I disappear back to the tent and make a mental note not to watch any more stand-up for the duration of the festival. Still, a good start to the weekend and got me a little too much in the mood for things to come (the next mornings hangover confirmed this).
Words Luci Herbert, Photos © Pete Woods
BEHOLDER
BEHOLDER
BEHOLDER
BEHOLDER
REVOKER
REVOKER
REVOKER
REVOKER
REVOKER
XERATH
XERATH
XERATH
XERATH
MTUK HOME
