Sometimes you just know you will feel at home.
Walking into Catton Hall for the first time, it is clear that it is exactly the sort of place we should always have been at. Not least of the reasons why is the crowd. There is a refreshing lack of people who attend festivals but who don’t actually like music – the sort of people who you might get a V or Reading, say.
But walk into the Bloodstock arena and it’s hard to tell who is in a
band and who is in the crowd, and that’s how it should be when dealing with
Britain’s premier metal festival.
And that’s why Malefice immediately look perfect to kick things off. One
of the very best British bands, they just continue to impress. “Delirium” and
“Omega” were designed to be played at these types of events, thrash on a
massive scale; they continue to deserve their success.
From thrash to power and another of RTM’s faves, Freedom Call. By rights
they should be awful. They are entirely ludicrous and pompous, but they are
also superb and for Germans, they keep their tongues firmly in cheeks. They are
here, they say, to start the “Heavy Metal Party” and are tremendous fun.
Another of RTM’s favourites Grand Magus are up next, the Swedes a touch
lower down the bill than might have been expected, but they are no less entertaining
than you would have hoped. No one can argue with songs of the quality of “The
Oar Strikes the Water,” “Valhalla Rising” and set closer “Hammer of the North.
Perhaps a place in the upper echelons of metals elite still awaits.
Up until the moment Moonsorrow walked onstage Catton Hall had been
bathed in glorious sunshine all day. Perhaps fittingly the sun goes behind a
cloud in time for some Portuguese Doomy Black Metal. Despite having two superb
new albums out they are the first slight let down. Perhaps they would be better
in a little club, where the darker atmosphere they create might come over
better, but on a festival stage in mid afternoon their songs don’t quite
resonate.
Iced Earth, though were born to make a big sound. Now including former
Fury UK man Luke Appleton, they seem on a mission to bring the denim quota up.
Far more overtly heavy metal than Freedom Call, Iced Earth’s set is a
magnificent and joyous affair. Main man Jon Schaffer grins his way through,
while new singer Stu Block looks steeped in the role. They knock out the day’s
first ballad “Watching Over Me” as well an astonishingly good “Anthem.” Older
tracks like “Damien” and ending number “Iced Earth” also manage to sound fresh.
As always Earth are a triumph.
It’s hard for Sepultura, you would guess. Once metal’s big hopes, they
are now firmly in stalwart mode. Their best days are behind them perhaps but
they remain a fine live draw. Frontman Derrick Green gives it everything he’s
got and if you can’t enjoy songs like “Refuse/Resist” and an incendiary “Roots”
then Bloodstock ain’t for you. They even fetch Ripper Owens out on “Territory”
and are very good indeed.
The aforementioned Owens is here as frontman for Dio Disciples, who
fittingly perhaps are on the stage named after the man who’s like they
celebrate. Ronnie James Dio remains one of the iconic voices in metal, and
hearing “Holy Diver” is always a thrill, but RTM opts to head to the
Jagermeister stage to check Absolva. Ex Fury UK men Chris Appleton and Martin
McNee’s new venture, while there is Midlands interest too as former Point Blank
Fury bass man Dan Bate is in the group.
Happily despite being only five gigs old – and with Iced Earth’s Luke
watching on - Absolva might be the real
deal. The addition of a second guitarist as foil to Appleton has beefed up the
sound and there is an instant appeal to songs like “Code Red” and “Breathe. “
Ones to watch.
Like Moonsorrow, Alcest are another band to suffer from a festival
setting. With Watain due on the main stage, the crowd in the Sophie Lancaster
tent is a little more sparse than might have been expected. While “Autre Temps”
might be a damn fine song on record, here it lacks spectacle.
Spectacle on the other hand, is what Watain do. Surrounded by corpse
paint and flames, theirs is a set that is surprisingly good. Part gig and part
Ritual it is a captivating performance of a quality that RTM didn’t expect.
“Reaping Death” and “Waters Of Ain” are black metal with a modern bent and even
the sceptics are won over.
All that is left is for Behemoth to close things off. And it is a task
they perform with aplomb. In many ways the feelgood story of the day, just the
fact that front man Nergal has beaten leukaemia to even be here is great news.
That they are excellent is merely a bonus, but the from the minute they kick of
with “Ov Fire And The Void” to the ending of “Lucifer” they deliever a black
metal masterclass.
Beat that, day two!
