Bloodstock 2015: Bin Jousting, Blast Beats And Burgerkill Await
Friday, 10 July 2015
Written by Alec Chillingworth
The internet can be wonderful. It reunites long-lost friends, it has the power to spread music with one simple click and it allows uniform fetish websites to flounder and flourish in abundance.
Unfortunately, the internet is also a breeding ground for vapid, basement-dwelling homunculi, who bash at buttons and moan about anything and everything, safe in the knowledge that their targets can't reach out and scissor-kick them.
Bloodstock Festival has been subject of such scrutiny. Cries of “That's not metal!”, “You're no better than Download!” and “I only liked it when Dave Mustaine was in it” have ricocheted from all corners of the web before dissolving into the ether. Bloodstock is on the rise and rapidly becoming an alternative to the bigger summer fests. Naturally, that isn’t going down well in some quarters.
Trivium, Within Temptation and Rob Zombie top the bill at Bloodstock's Catton Park bash this year. All three are mainstage fodder for Download – and actually played there last year – but this is a moot point. Bloodstock has, in fact, courted bigger acts almost straight from the off, with Saxon, Children of Bodom and Nightwish headlining in the first few years.
The festival has grown, migrating from the confines of Derby's Assembly Rooms into the cavernous Catton Park, allowing attendance to soar while still maintaining its sense of community. Alice Cooper, Slayer and Machine Head have all bulldozed through Bloodstock in its past few editions. Christ, Heaven & Hell were scheduled to play in 2010 – they sadly cancelled due to Dio's declining health – and that is, in essence, Black Sabbath being booked.
So this year's headliners, in hindsight, aren't that drastic a choice. Bloodstock haven’t booked Nickelback. And festival common sense - such a foreign concept to many - still holds. You think Within Temptation's latest album is a right old load of bollocks? Go watch Fleshgod Apocalypse. Think Rob Zombie isn't proper industrial metal? Get your fix with Godflesh. Think Trivi – actually, no. Trivium's festival shows are incredible. If you can't find something to enjoy from the Floridians' Friday night slot, you're either dead or a dolphin.
Ensiferum and Korpiklaani make up for last year's lack of folk metal, Ihsahn and 1349 will blacken the entirety of Derbyshire, Overkill, Nuclear Assault and Sepultura are set to thrash the knackers off all in attendance and Trepalium are poised to shine as a nugget of swing-infused individuality. There are also vast chunks of death metal, stoner rock, power metal and prog on offer, but we have a word count to adhere to.
Also, after bringing Nightwish and Blind Guardian to the UK, not to mention nabbing Emperor for last year's 'In The Nightside Eclipse' show, this year two Indonesian metal bands will make rare trips to these shores: Burgerkill and Jasad. It's refreshing to see a festival of this size take a punt on bands who’ve put in hard yards.
Even the campsite isn't 20,000 leagues away from the action. It’s one succinct, unequivocally metal package. And, if you're a warrior in the most literal sense of the word, pitch your tent in Midgard camping and fight your way to glory in one of the Bin Jousting tournaments. Or end up drowning in mud. Uncover your true calling and ride for Bloodstock, young knight.
Bloodstock Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Thu August 06 2015 - DERBY Catton Hall Park
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