Bloodstock Metal Festival have made some more announcements regarding new bands and other things going on over the weekend of August 9 to 12.
They have announced bands for the New Blood stage which is exactly what it says, a stage for new upcoming bands who have fought in various heats around the country to win a place at the festival.
The first two bands announced are for the Friday and include Pelugion a three piece from Coventry who include in their interests “distortion, head-banging, breakdowns and alcohol” and are influenced by Black Sabbath, Alice In Chains and Black Label Society.
Hailing from my home town in Edinburgh winning through the Glasgow heats are groovy heavy rock outfit A Ritual Spirit who have (and I might get flak for this) the most smilely looking drummer on the planet! I can definitely recommend checking them out due to having seen them a few times here in Edinburgh.
Announced for the Saturday come symphonic seven piece from the Doncaster area who won through the Sheffield rounds Aonia. They feature and I quote “2 female singers with balls” and will be enjoyed by those into Nightwish or Therion.
For those who prefer their metal brutal Negative Thought Process will perhaps be a band to check out. The band came through the Reading heats and are described as “crust, grind power-violence”.
For those wanting more groove with their metal Oracle could be a band to check out. From Belfast they describe themselves as playing “metal oozing with riffs, harsh vocals and filthy rhythms”.
On Sunday come This Place Hell from Dublin who apparently put on “ferocious shows” which result in “organized chaos”. Sounds like fun!
For rockers who like power metal but with a huge slice of fun then Sellsword are a definite check
out. The band put their interests as “gold, weapons, battle, riding majestically into the sunset and besieging”. They are from York! Make of that what you will.
For those looking for some new thrash then check out Obzidian from around Wolverhampton. They are self-proclaimed lovers of thrash metal and beer. Should fit right at home at Bloodstock.
Six bands have also been announced for the Jagermeister stage and it is quite a mix of styles. On the Friday there is The Heretic Order an evil horror rock and metal outfit. A mix of things like Sabbath and White Zombie and with a love of Hammer House Of Horror, they should be a fun watch.
The Saturday includes Sinosence from Belfast. There are hints of progressive metal and melodies in amongst the heavy riffs.
Voodoo Sioux are a melodic classic hard rock band that seem to like the bass up front and rocking. There are hints of southern style rock in their music as well.
On Sunday all the way from Australia come True Believer who namecheck Dio, Mastodon, Ghost and believe it or not Foreigner in their list of influences.
As a change of pace there is also some black metal experimentation from France in the guise (fitting as they are in disguise) of Abduction. One description of their music is “miserable claustrophobic soundscapes”.
Finally there is Gemma Fox from the band Collibus who have the seal of approval from Brian May. This will be a chance to hear some of her new solo material which she is working on.
A real collection of styles and a chance to catch some artists before they make it huge.
Outside of the band announcements, in one of Bloodstock’s calling cards, that being asking fans to join in with lots of silliness, they are asking along with the mighty Cannibal Corpse for folks to come along on the Saturday in Hawaiian shirts and join in a large Ace Ventura mass dance during Corpse’sset! Between that and a muscle person competition and sword/battle metal fights, there is always lots of fun to be had along with the great music.
Headliners include Judas Priest, Gojira, Nightwish on the main stage (Dio) and Doro, Orphaned Land, Watain on the second stage known as the Sophie.
