Day two, the first feature-length day, sees a wake-up call courtesy of UK powerhouse Rock trio Haxan and their competent riff-loaded tunes. Bolini’s vocals were aggressive and controlled, while the drum work behind her was natural and workhorse-esque. All blending together to create punchy and catchy Rock tunes that had you nodding your head, tapping your toe, and raising your fist in unity. It was a great start to the day, for sure.
First up on the Main Stage, the Ronnie James Dio Stage, was the powerful Stoner Southern Rock from Desert Storm, and they were not going to let us rest on our laurels or let anyone’s lack of sleep or banging hangovers hold them back. They brought their crushing and melodic Metal and unleashed it onto the gathered ensemble, Matt Ryan paced the stage while opening up his lungs to unleash his impressive vocal range, another success which carved open the Main Stage and one which was reminiscent of a Santoku slicing through a roasted rib of beef.
Brazilian Thrash tinged Death Metal was the order of the day next on the Main Stage, courtesy of the powerhouse that is Nervosa. Amaral pretty much claimed front and centre for the whole shift, while behind her, the kit was pounded within an inch of its life on the backline. The band opened with ‘Seed Of Death’ and set out their intentions from the off to deliver a set of brutality and caustic aggression, which the crowd absorbed and responded to tenfold. Amaral spat out the vocals with toxic passion and the thicker strings were tamed and manipulated by Pyre with decadent precision. ‘Jailbreak’ and ‘Venomous’ were absolute giants and were served with pride and enthusiasm from the four piece, while the rest of the set was delivered with an endearing and enchanting hunger and thirst for the art they unleash on your soul.
I then headed over to the Sophie Stage for another dose of Death Metal, this time by way of Birmingham Death Metal advocates Death Collector, and boy was I ever grateful that I had made the journey, they were simply crushing. Scott was an absolute beast on the vocals, prowling the stage as if he was a leopard hunting out his next feast, the Death had a rapid tempo sat behind it and the vocals were guttural and rhythmic with each word that was deployed. The kit was being pounded with a rapid and hypnotic rhythm while the strings were adding the tendons and ligaments to the whole creature, which formed to create a compelling and enthralling silverback of a set. One to definitely watch out for in the future. They are going to be huge.
Back over at the Main Stage and a little respite with some funky and charismatic Stoner injected Doom Metal from the capital Green Lung. A huge crowd had descended upon the battleground in front of the stage for these compelling and alluring rockers. The set was well constructed, and the sound was crisp and elegant, ‘Mountain Throne’ and ‘Hunters In The Sky’ were charming and captivating and really allowed Templar to show off his vocal range and the skill he holds to be able to well and truly deliver vocals of that standard, while Black delivered intricate and complex riffs and chords with relative ease.
I loitered around the main stage for my next delight and this came by way of some powerful Swedish Heavy Metal, Doom Maestros Grand Magus. Grand Magus are by no means new to Bloodstock, having graced us with their presence back in 2019, and it was good to see them back at the helm, entertaining a sizeable crowd with their crunching and catchy tunes. ‘Hammer Of The North’ was absolutely blistering, verging on barbaric in its muscle and power, which it detonated throughout. Christoffersson spat out his vocals with a commanding presence, and this, in turn, initiated the crowd to return the vocals in an untamed and loud unison, the crowd even being left in parts to sing into the heavens with no backing musicality. Another successful Derbyshire outing for the Stockholm juggernaut.
I marched my way back over to the Sophie Stage for some more extreme music, Haliphron on the cards this time with their symphonic brutal and barbaric Blackened Death Metal. The tent was well packed for these Dutch maestros and the set that was delivered under the canopy did not disappoint, it was absolutely majestic and ferocious on all forms. Voskuil of previous Izegrim fame took up the vocal duties and spat each and every lyric out with cruel and barbarous intent while Wechgelaer (also of Past Izegrim notoriety) and Ploeg tamed their strings with flaming speed and dexterity, all which formed a prodigious demon on all levels. Simply put, I was absolutely blown away
Hellenic Black Metal must mean only one thing, Rotting Christ were next on the Main Stage and all I can say is WOW. Tolis et al came to destroy and they delivered, they were powerful and on point from start to finish. The vocals were crushing, the strings were piercing and melodic (while keeping a barbed undertone) and the drums were fascinating and magnetic. Sakis Tolis commanded from the front and the whole field lapped it up and simply rioted to the Greek Black hymns which were being preached upon them. New album ‘Pro Xristou’ had one representative in attendance this afternoon, ‘Like Father, Like Son’, and it was absolutely beautiful and entrancing from the opening chord to the final riff. The set had opened with the absolute warlord ‘666’ with other highlights coming courtesy of select tracks from the humungous ‘Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy’ including the colossal ‘In Yumen Xibalba’ and the flawless ‘Grandis Spiritus Diavolos’. Take a bow, Gentlemen; this had been absolute perfection personified. Ευχαριστώ
Staying on the Main Stage and some more Black Metal, this time with a different flavour, this time it was a Norwegian affair with the iconic Enslaved. Again, the crowd swelled for these Norse legends, and an energetic crowd display represented them as the band dispatched grand and sweeping tracks with power and aggression that swept across the field from every angle possible. The vocals were as powerful and emotive, and the guitar work from Isdal was flamboyant and eccentric while still maintaining an ever-present intricacy and sophistication. Each track was gifted with honesty and passion which sat alongside an overflowing sense of pride and craftsmanship, this had unmistakably been a set of beautiful cascading audible and visual marathons which few are able to replicate.
A celebration of a 30-year career and a back catalogue of hit after hit, anthem after anthem, and it was Hatebreed next on the main stage. The field was absolutely rammed for this one, overflowing at the edges and stretching for as far as the eye could see and as Jamey Jasta and the rest of the band hit the stage the whole place went crazy, it was utter pandemonium. As the muscular and frenetic offerings were poured from the stage, each one was lapped up by every single person stood before them tonight. The vocals from Jasta were powerful and brawny, inciting friendly fire violence from the crowd at every possible moment, while the drums were formidable and authoritative with every single beat that came crashing down from up above. The amount of crowd surfers coming over the top and infiltrating the front line was crazy, wave after wave. It was relentless, with the amount of bodies pretty much resembling an unwavering blackened tsunami. ‘Live For This’ was absolutely killer, totally crushing and battering, but the unconditional highlight of the set for me, and potentially the festival, was when they paid respect to Slayer and then launched into ‘Ghosts Of War’. I’m not sure there are enough words to place against just how awesome that rendition was, it was violent, potent and formidable, an absolutely barbaric addition to a pulverising set.
Special guests on the Main Stage tonight were Clutch, and for many, they were the most anticipated band of the weekend, with thousands still animatedly talking about the set right up until the close of the festival two days later. Fallon was the main focal point for the set, traversing the entire square footage of the stage, colourful and enigmatic in his interactions with the crowd and belting out his vocals with power and weighty authority. The size of the crowd was astronomical and the set list was almost as big spanning seven albums from their back catalogue, there was enough to satisfy both the hardened and old school Clutch fan and new friends alike. As the set closed out with ‘Impetus’, this had been a lesson in how to deliver a set of good old American Stoner Rock without fault.
So onto the headliners for the evening, Prog Metal masters Opeth. From the moment the stage lit up, and the band emerged, we were subjected to a seminar on luxurious and decadent prog metal. The tracks were velvety and abrasive in equal measures, Akerfeldt’s voice was imposing and strong, and the musical score behind the beautiful diction was intricate and elegant throughout. The set was a ‘fan picked’ set, and it didn’t disappoint those in attendance tonight. It was bookended by ‘The Grand Conjuration’, which opened the set in the most lavish of ways and then the unmistakable ‘Deliverance’, which closed out the evening and absolutely defined the whole set and showed everyone just why Opeth are a massive force to be reckoned within the Metal world.
