Friday


After Malefice & Freedom Call had rattled the cages of the early bird punters keen to start on their metal fix as soon as it became available it was time for Grand Magus to take the festival from the warm up to the tear up in one metal leap. 

After more than 15 years the Magus boys know how to handle such a task without too much trouble. GM make a grand old entrance and it has to be said make a fine noise for a trio. 

The songs such as I, The Jury are played well and frontman JB does the same to the crowd.  They leave the stage with the festival truly up and running. Job done.


In contrast Finnish Pagan metallers Moonsorrow enter the fray with something of a whimper. 

The opener, Tulimyrsky Part I, lumbers along without much in the way of fighting spirit and the lead guitar work of Henn Sovali is looser than a banker’s morality. In all, despite Unohduksun Lapsi raising a genuine cheer or two mid-set, this is a definite step backwards.


Over on the SophieLancaster Stage seminal trad metal outfit Sweet Savage prove to be far more entertaining. 

The Ulstermen don't really offer anything new but the wares they have got are shown with confidence and power. 

It's not hard to understand how these guys have inspired many that came after them, Metallica included.  Singer Ray Haller bellows an unwitting festival rallying cry with closer NO GUTS, NO GLORY!  Indeed.


Back on the RJD stage Iced Earth, who carry a decent away following with them, waste no time in going for the throat with their starter Dystopia. 

New frontman Stu Block recovers well from a comedic mic fumble to conduct the crowd through Angels Holocaust and the cheese laden Watching Over Me.

With Block willing to shoulder the burden of focus, guitarists Shaffer and Steele are left to concentrate on serving up performances of real quality, so by the time IE close with their classic eponymous number, the day for them is pretty much won. 


Whatever form they take, when Sepultura are mentioned metal fans will prick up their ears and come running.

In front of the biggest crowd of the day so far the 'Seps' thunder into Beneath The Remains and instantly prove they still have enough power to compress vertebrae at 100 paces. 

Yes, OK, there are still the gaping holes that appeared when Sepultura converted to a one guitar band, but these are still great songs and the crowd reaction confirms that metalheads will probably always believe that.

The imposing Derrick Green, a man who has faced down his critics, leads with confidence and a guest vocal appearance by Tim Owens for a mighty rendition of Territory stirs the hearts of the crowd. 

The sing-a-long Roots Bloody Roots that ends the set proves that no, this may not be the real thing, but it's close enough.


Back on the SophieLancaster Stage Pythia attempt to put on what appears to be a pound shop Wagnerian panto. 

One would think that there is just about enough of this malarkey around these days but the sizable gatherings enthusiasm perhaps suggests otherwise as they bark their approval for songs such as Betray My Heart.

It also seems to prove that there is, in fact, no accounting for taste.
A covers band on the main stage? No, really? But yes it's true. OK, the stage this particular one takes bears their mentors name but Dio Disciples are just that, a covers band, plain and simple. 

With  Tim 'Ripper' Owen making a decent stab at 'doing a Ronnie' and Toby Jessop who fits the shoes a little more comfortably, the band turn on the RJD jukebox.

Holy Diver, a duel of the Dio's during a Kill The King romp, Neon Knights, Man On The Silver Mountain, Heaven & Hell all add up to some splendid audience pleasing fun, albeit fun that - as one punter remarked - we could have seen down the local on a Friday night.


Watain prowl out onto their impressive stage set and to the strains of dark choral music; they light their pyres and tridents. 

With flames reaching skyward Watain then ignite the whole festival, launching into their lupine inspired; doom soaked, heads down brand of metal. 

Malfietor serves as a warning to be prepared and there is no let up.  "We're here to bring the sun down" declares frontman Erik Danielsson and a quick look to the horizon does seem to back this wild claim up to the hilt.

Either way it's a moot point as The Serpents Chalice proceeds to punch the ol' fireballs lights out.  Visually exciting in their metalgore make up Watain are tight and accomplished if at times a little bit 'by the numbers'. 

Nevertheless the Swedes provide the first real spectacle of the weekend and The Waters of Ain brings a black curtain down on an impressive contribution.


Dainton & Pritchard, the Dirty Sanchez duo, provide a live slice of their wince inducing, gross out brand of comedy on the Sophie Stage.  It’s just all part of their eternal quest to find the lowest common denominator.  Those with weak stomachs look away for the duration.


Not wanting to be outdone by anyone Behemoth have invested in some pretty heavy duty stage decor themselves. 

As the stage descends into darkness the crowd chant the name, and as if summoned by the will of the masses the Polish protagonists enter, one after the other, building the pure air of menace.

Nergal steps forward to survey the congregation one last time before Ov Fire and the Void brings the meeting to order. Moonspell Rights continues the soundtrack to Armageddon, every line is growled out as if casting a curse on all non-believers. 

Solid as granite rhythm guitars drive the whole thing forward and razor sharp lead riffs slash through the night air.

This has become something of a ceremony. "It feels good to be alive" rasps bassist Orion and yessir it sure does. Christians to the Lions is a celebration of Behemoths dark musical art.

Pyros and an impressive light show are the order of the day until the self-explanatory Lucifer calls time on the whole day’s proceedings. Behemoth troop off stage knowing that theirs is the marker the rest of the weekend must rise to.


BEST OF THE DAY - Behemoth.


Saturday


I AM I provide todays portion of breakfast crunch and seem to give a passable account of themselves in front of what does count as a reasonable gathering.  The songs do well with Silent Genocide rising to the top. They possibly could have done better except that.


Over on the Sophie stage Dripback pull off a very neat trick, i.e. packing out the second stage on Saturday lunchtime. Pretty much unheard of, right? Well you heard it here for sure. Dripback don't just steal thunder they fashion it into a club and smack you around the face with it, and they do it a lot! As their pulsating set closes the stunned punters walk away, blinking into the sunlight.  Dripback are smash-mouth metal who have enough UMPH! to turn an average sized Alsatian inside out.  This outing alone proved promotion far up the bill is both warranted and deserved for their next B.O.A. appearance.


Not often are bass players the focus of attention but then not all bass players seem to have been injected with some kind of ultimate beauty steroid. 

In Doris (yes really!) Chthonic have that very thing and with testosterone levels high around Bloodstockland the Taiwanese outfit are in with a shout. Points are scored for originality and cultural inclusion (frontman Freddy's Taiwanese erhu) but some sloppy musicianship means this is mostly metal manga - OK if you like that kind of thing, I suppose.


Crowbar turn-up and fill the place with sludge.  Masses of thick, New Orleans, metal sludge - and then they ram everybody's face right into it. 

OK visually there isn't that much to behold but that's not Crowbars M.O.  It's alright though, it's just what is needed as many may be conserving energy for later, absorbing the 'lower than a Catfish's belly grooves' fully.

Singer Kirk steps up to the mic and vows to "jam their b**** off", which, with songs like Burn Your World and High Rate Extinction; they did for the next 40 minutes. So there!


Black metal pioneers and alleged church burners Mayhem enter the fray.  It's fair to say Mayhem shows have oft courted controversy to say the least with tales of violence and extreme behaviour, so one can't help but wonder exactly how many in the healthy size throng are there just to see if it goes off or not. 

The rubber neckers are left disappointed as the Norwegians realm of evil power only seems to stretch as far as the first four rows and the set passes off without incident. Songs like Death Crush and Carnage flat line harmlessly away. It's pretty much a non-event, and as Mayhem slink off the local clergy can breathe a collective sigh of relief.


In contrast, the Saturday teatime crowd that remains for the appearance of Sanctuary is like Wayne Rooney’s barnet, a little thin.  It’s clear from the off that the ‘pit from hell’ demanded by frontman Warrel Dane just aint going to happen. 

It’s a pity really because Dane & Co. are tight and highly adroit as they blast their way through their set which includes Taste My Remains and Mirror Black. As Battle Angels winds things up the poor turnout means a good performance has gone begging.  Meanwhile the noodle bar down the way is doing a roaring trade.


Fed, watered (lagered) re-energised and ready for more the acolytes return in time for the arrival of Hatebreed.  The air raid sirens that greet the Connecticut metalcore exponents turn out to be a real warning because the ensuing assault is nothing but ferocious. 

Defeatist, As Diehard As They Come are belted out like turbo charged cluster bombs and the pit returns, matching Jamey Jasta’s hyperactive display bounce for bounce.  The crushing guitars of Wayne Lozinak & Frank Novinec thrust out wave after wave of solid metal hardcore. 

Destroy Everything winds things up and it’s Jatsta’s declaration that nobody ever regrets giving 100% that best explains why Hatebreed win friends and  respect wherever they go.


Testament stride out onto the RJD stage to be greeted by the kind of enthusiasm that gives way to unashamed affection.  It’s a fact that the one of inventors of something as momentous as Thrash Metal are worthy of reverence. 

Songs Rise Up, True American Hate, Into The Pit and D.N.R. are all given the veneration they deserve, and as the set closes with 3 Days In Darkness many people are able tick off another from their list of ‘bands to see before I die’.


Labelling Orange Goblin isn’t easy. Are they trad metal, stoner, blues rock or what? Vocalist Ben Ward clears that one up for us straight away when walks onto the Sophie Lancaster Stage and announces ‘we’re just gonna play some metal for ya’.

In that instant OG claim the ‘packed to the back’ crowd as their own and triumph is guaranteed.  Whatever Ben wants Ben gets. Devil horns, air punching, clap-a-longs, sing-a-longs the watchers respond to every demand Ward makes of them. 

OG pump out anthems such as Time Travelling Blues, Blue Snow and the Ballad of Solomon Eagle, with newbie The Fog becoming an instant hit. Fair trade indeed. 

Guitarist Joe plays it straight down the line with his hard and heavy blue collar riffage, drummer Chris rolls around his kit effortlessly, bassist Martyn thuds out his bass lines behind a curtain of hair like a head banging Cousin ‘IT’ while Ben growls out the vocal like a big grinning grizzly. 

OG leave with everyone baying for more.  Not surprising as these Metal Team GB flag bearers are probably one of the best nights out today, tomorrow and probably forever.


Machine Head probably divide opinion as much as any metal band on the planet. 

Fronter Rob Flynn’s relationship with both press and fans has made for some choppy seas at times over the years, but there have been a lot of years, exactly twenty of them to this very day in fact, so tonight any and all differences are forgotten as we get to celebrate the anniversary of one of metals authentic game changers. 

Bathed in a sea of red light MH jammed the festival into hyper drive with I Am Hell, starting as they mean to go on. 

Singing duties are turned over to the watchers during Imperium before the whole gig is turned over to them by way of five audience selected tracks from the classic Burn My Eyes debut album. 

The five tracks A Thousand Lies, Death Church, the still insane Blood for Blood, Block and Davidian haven’t seen stage time for, on average, around fifteen years and MH need to think about that as it was those songs that really kept this set alive.

The truth is there are many who think this band’s best work is years behind them but will always stick around to hear what made MH such a revelation back in the day. 

On stage tech problems and a PA that was at least two notches too low didn’t help, but all in all it was a decent bash and the devotees traipsed off to carry on the shindig over at tent city.


BEST OF THE DAY: Orange Goblin.


Sunday


It is true that former Metallica favourites Corrosion of Conformity have slipped way down the rankings over the last few years. With the official status of the pit given as “Hanging” and bass amp gremlins doing their worst, the now three piece Raleigh outfit still created enough of a stir to send at least half of those present running for the energy drink and paracetemol cocktail.  Welcome to Bloodstock Sunday.


Once they actually got going South Persia enthusiasts Nile knocked off everybody’s snooze button with some pretty volatile stateside Death Metal.  

The maelstrom of Saunders and Toller-Wades guitars showed no mercy to anyone and songs Lashed to the Slave Stick and Sarcophagus are enough to resurrect an entombed Mummy (and a few hungover daddies).  It would seem the only ones displeased with Nile’s efforts were the ancient gods themselves as the first rain of the weekend began to fall.


Ryan Knight The Black Dahlia Murder’s guitarist makes friends early by berating the less than perfect performance of some of the concessionaires.  After that it’s plain sailing for the motor city five piece as they clatter in with set detonator A Shrine to Madness. 

Over the remaining thirty five minutes they demonstrate why their brand of extreme, skull melting metal has attracted so much favour over the years. BDM play it slightly tongue in cheek as singer Trevor Stnard bounds over every inch of the stage often chased by his band mates.  In the end BDM smash their way out with Funeral Thirst leaving everyone just a little breathless in the warm August drizzle.


Having being vaunted as the saviours of UK thrash metal it’s surprising that more people didn’t stick around to see why or if Evile are indeed the future.  The grafting Yorkshiremen give maximum effort for sure. The Drake brothers guitar work was sharp and pleasing but their efforts were a little let down by Matts vocals which, in truth, matched the atmosphere – a little flat.  In Dreams of Terror was a definite high point but if Evile are to continue upward they must do better than this.

The loudest cheer of the day so far is reserved for Anvil.  Are they serious? Are they the comedic real life Spinal Tap that is seen in the movies? Nobody seems to know but what we do know is that today during their set frontman Lips breaks the no swearing rule within seconds.

The band have a bass player that looks like a mad hobgoblin, a drummer that leads a jazz/metal odyssey, naff songs like Metal On Metal and Juggernaut Of Justice which contain killer riffs ripped off by many, with Lips playing a five minute solo using a sex toy , and the whole lot of them still play with the blind enthusiasm of sixteen year olds. Funny or not, who cares? Everyone loves an underdog, so around Bloodstock-land Anvil are adored. 


Paradise Lost are the last of the true Goth rock bands still more or less fully intact - which is why there is full attendance for their set on the RJD stage.

They open with Widow and Honesty in Death but it soon becomes clear that all is not well with singer Nick Holmes, but he struggles on backed solidly by the massive, majestic open chord guitars of messers Mackintosh and Aedy and the precision drumming of Adrian Eraldsson. 

Along with the doom laden bass lines of Steve Edmonson the cracks are covered and the set qualifies as a bone fide monster.  When Say Just Words ends, the goose bumps on our arms have nothing to do with the slight chill in the air.


After what seems like an endless chanting intro Dimmu Borgir slowly march onstage. 

For a band that trades on the darker side of music and imagery, seeing them bathed in the very pleasant evening sunshine is more than a little surreal.  The returning Norsemen are greeted with devil horns a plenty as they kick it all off with Spellbound. 

The trouble with DB’s brand of melodic black metal is that it isn’t overly mosh friendly and the pit remains static. Nonetheless the crowd give other numbers like Ritualist and Mourning Place their full attention. 

During his time presiding over the masses vocalist Shagrath calls for screams, obedience and Earths final titanic doom.  He got the first two; let’s hope the third remains a romantic pipe dream huh?


Over on the Sophie stage Anaal Nathrakh grabbed a fair portion of the Sunday night audience.  In fact they turned out to be much the better bet as the no frills, spikes or make up Black Country, black metal is belted out with genuine energy and none of the silliness of certain other bands.

It was all heads down for songs  Drug ******* Abomination, Submission Is For The Weak and Final Absolution, all except for frontman Dave Hunt who hobbled through the entire set on crutches due to injuries sustained during side project Benediction’s set on Saturday.  Now that’s metal.


For all the imagery, creativity, drama and theatrics of any band since the early seventies what they all must realise is that they are merely followers of one man, and that man is Alice Cooper. 

The original shock rocker has come to Bloodstock to show us how we all got here.  It’s a bit like your dad telling you the story of how he met your mom.  The curtain falls away to reveal a set of Hollywood proportions with the man himself standing atop a twenty foot pulpit. 

He spreads his arms and shows a set of spider legs as Black Widow opens the proceedings.  I’m Eighteen, Billion Dollar Babies, No More Mr Nice Guy, Hey Stoopid all electrify the appropriately biggest crowd of the entire festival. 

Props are in abundance as Alice plays the monster, the cripple and warped circus ringmaster.  Despite being the undoubted focal point AC has always insisted it is The Alice Cooper Band and he delights in showcasing the other group members, in particular the extraordinary talents of ex Michael Jackson guitarist Orianthi Panagaris.  Feed My Frankenstein and Poison continue the greatest hits show and AC’s inevitable mock execution during Killer is greeted by audience frenzy.  Schools Out closes the festival because it would probably break international law if it didn’t   Most of us have seen the stunts on show before but the video game generation that forms the first ten rows haven’t and like participants in a rite of passage, they walk away different people. 


BEST OF THE DAY: Alice Cooper


So there it is Bloodstock 2012 is over. A success? Unequivocally.  Will it get bigger?  With Anthrax already confirmed for next year it would seem so.  Also at this juncture an honourable  mention is due to those bands who got up onto the New Blood and Jaegermeister stages and took their chance to show us all that the future of UK metal is in safe hands.  Bands like Fallen Fate, Dreamcatcher and Andrast are the next wave and it is to the organiser’s great credit that these young guns continue to be given a platform to launch from.  So will Bloodstock 2013 be one of the more hip places to hang out next summer?  I suggest you bring your metal self to deepest Derbyshire and find out for yourself.


Review by Noel Fischer