Why, good morning to all from Metal Wani! We hope you all have enjoyed our Thursday and Friday coverage of Bloodstock Festival so far. With even more batterings of Mother Nature, all were prepared to capture Saturday’s edition of the band. No winds of change could stop us from witnessing history being made.
Krysthla had no problem of rattling a few brains first thing of a murky Saturday morning. “Lose your fucking minds”, snarled Adi Mayes as his comrades raged with their tech thrash hybrid monster through the speakers. As it was gathered, it was no easy task to shake the morning spot on the bill, but it felt like a victory for British metal and for the Northamptonshire’s metal fury.
Not a lot of hardcore punk bands get to play on the Ronnie James Dio Stage and make an absolute delight to watch through the brutal weather. When it came to the party poppers Cancer Bats, they’re one of the few hardcore punk bands are just as comfortable in a local show as well in a top metal festival slot. The quartet came in swinging with massive grins across their faces the entire time and when it came to closing their huge set with their rendition of War Pigs, it brought in one of the most wholesome singalongs of the weekend.
An eerie murmur of gothic tones conjured Swallow The Sun to channel a depressive temper matching the bruised clouds. Despite having minimal crowd interaction from the band, it was the music that told the story of such melancholy and despair to their cult. There were at times where messages were sonically expressed on a much deeper level that all were hypnotized in plain sigh. The devastating Finns left quietly as they appeared like the haunted ghost of its past, leaving an emotive marker on their set.
Demonstrating that the party was officially beginning, Evil Scarecrow were no strangers to their familiar field. Once again, their live experience in today’s eyes was no exception while scuttling en masse as a triumphant rendition of Crabulon blasted through all cylinders. Although the battering winds forced the pyrotechnics to be ditched, hearts were melted when 12-year old Alfie Wood for fan-favorite Robototron – and the lad can shred! With all the gimmicks from the over-the-top props to the ridiculously enchanting views and addictive songs in their catalog, the metal machine can shine its chrome for topping another enjoyable enactment.
First impressions are very important when it comes to any stage of Bloodstock Festival. A lot of spectators were intrigued when Red Method greeted all with their chaotic barrage of huge nu-metal explosions whilst the quintet collectively lost their minds. This left a notable first impression of matching jumpsuits, keyboardist AVD wreaking havoc and an intimidating fella in a mask offering every song with the right note of limitless supply of raw energy.
Metal Wani were expecting a lot from the mad Aussies Thy Art Is Murder to decimate the Ronnie James Dio Stage, and boy, did the quintet completed their task with such ease! The Aussies didn’t ask for the crowd to open up and swallow all that was fed with Make America Hate Again, The Purest Strain of Hate and Puppet Master. A Michael Jackson moment of screaming into the wind during Slaves Beyond Death gave a genuine best moment of the festival, but their performance was effortless, heavy, and downright pulverizing from all corners of the field.
Given the fact that The Wildhearts replaced Code Orange, the punk rock legends looked genuinely happy to be playing at the Ronnie James Dio stage. Whilst the songs have the power to get the crowd moving along, the British quartet gave their spectators safe hits set, giving some great tunes from this year’s ‘Renaissance Men’, along with Suckerpunch and Disconnected into the mix as a good measure.
With a massive following finally making their step on the Sophie Lancaster stage, the Norwegians quartet treated their set as an open-ended journey that was quite reminiscent to Enslaved. Helheim embarked on a mesmeric rich undertow into the black metal unknown and each ambitious nature of the band’s songs meant they can’t fit a great deal into their set. However, the few tracks that were aired felt focal in how great live-sounding the band was.
It was disappointing to hear for Cradle of Filth and their fans that the stage had to be closed until Mother Nature had calmed down. Fret not, they were rescheduled to play on the Sunday edition of the festival. So, you, the lovely viewers, will need to wait until then!
When the stage eventually opened, the mighty Anthrax were next on the Ronnie James Dio stage. Although the weather was still shattering and made those a little worried if the stage was going to collapse, it was not an issue for the New York thrash smashers to make it happen! The crowd reaction was incredible as the pits swelled up very quickly to Caught In A Mosh, Got The Time and Madhouse. The thrash emperors simply refused to let go of the accelerator with I Am The Law, A.I.R., Anti-Social and the iconic Indians closing the set. This was a set made up exclusively of the very best cuts from the legendary back catalog and it was done in such immense fashion that all were left in awe at what they just saw when all is said and done. Simply put, Mother Nature failed to dampen everyone’s spirits!
Byron Bay’s destructive natives’ Parkway Drive were only moments away from making their headlining UK festival debut a reality. There were two things that had to be noted. The controversial spectacle almost did not happen. Mother Nature fought with all in her wake delaying some crucial minutes throughout the day. Also, it could not be denied that there was a dichotomy of their dedicated flock and the doubtful naysayers with their noses high. One can be the critic of the precedented event that was bare for all to witness. What was the verdict?
As the quintet were being escorted through their cult by cloaked figures holding burning torches, it only took one spotlight to beam on the phantom menace. Winston McCall gave a command to the collective souls to let go right on cue. With the gravitas, Wishing Wells kicked into their 90 minutes of flabbergasting metal velocity, Prey, Vice Grip, and Karma carried through with scathing spirit. The calm Cemetery Bloom led to the storm with The Void by blinding lights and sparks flying. The charm of the Aussie horde allowed onlookers to fully embrace their worth on Bloodstock soil [Mac and Cheese chants, anyone]; with circle pits breaking bodies with the monstrous Idols And Anchors, fire soared to Dedicated and Absolute Power to, well, literally drop like a bomb with such brutal force. A string quartet were made seen through the atmospheric Writings on the Wall and Shadow Boxing, giving the chance to refuel as well as encapsulate their open sound before Wild Eyes gave out the loudest choir from the field’s throats. Parkway Drive were the judges, the jury and the executioners at proving to Bloodstock Festival their mark on the metal map by bringing all to hell with the earth-shattering Crushed and necks snapping to closer Bottom Feeder. Although there was the very doubtful few, and Metal Wani said a very few, many opinions were quickly changed for all to witness the night. Take your bow lads!
Bloodstock had a great reputation to have bands that were of the extreme and for all to take a massive bite out of it. This year it was the Norwegian’s Taake who took the torch to decimate the Sophie Lancaster stage. Their performance was a statement of commitment to bringing the extreme in full force and no mercy was shown. Taake paced on their ground and dominated their onlookers while ejecting untold amounts of bile and anger in their overall black metal sound.
Whilst Friday had Sabaton revealing their audience with the spectacle, Saturday showed Parkway Drive devouring all with spectacle and songs, both claiming their own rightful crowns as worthy headliners in Bloodstock Festival’s history. The last day of Bloodstock is upon us and it is leaving us a little sad. However, Metal Wani can’t wait to cover on their 19th birthday. Until then, be ready for the last rendition!