Rocker (feedbot)
Gold Member
Sunday at Bloodstock feels like the last big push, the point where tired bodies somehow find new reserves of energy. The arena is buzzing from the off, breakfast beers in hand and pits already forming, and there’s a sense that everyone wants to squeeze out every last drop before Gojira bring the weekend to a close.
Rivers of Nihil are handed the unenviable task of waking up a field of metalheads on Sunday morning, and they do it with style. They launch into ‘The Silent Life’ and immediately sweep the cobwebs away with technical riffs sharp enough to cut through any hangover. Their set draws heavily from 2018’s ‘Where Owls Know My Name,’ blending death metal brutality with soaring textures that make the Dio Stage feel oddly serene for such an early slot. By the time they close with the title track, the crowd is locked in, and a saxophone sample at a metal festival before lunchtime feels like the perfect kind of madness.
Over on the New Blood Stage, Rizen waste no time proving why they’re tipped as one of the UK’s brightest new acts. Their opener thunders out and the pit is moving almost instantly, which is impressive given some people are still clutching bacon rolls. Mid-set highlight ‘Ashes to Embers’ gets fists in the air, a proper call-to-arms that shakes the tent awake. By the closer, the crowd are fully with them, shouting back and grinning, the kind of reaction that makes you think you’ll be seeing this band on the main stage in a couple of years.
August Burns Red arrive with a bang. They open with ‘Fault Line’, the pit goes nuclear, and Jake Luhrs is already commanding the stage like he owns the place. The setlist is a greatest-hits sprint, with ‘Composure’ sparking chaos and ‘Invisible Enemy’ getting one of the biggest singalongs of the afternoon. Every breakdown lands harder than the last, and the band play with the kind of precision that makes other musicians quietly hate them. They close with ‘White Washed’, the crowd screaming the words like their lives depend on it, and it feels like August Burns Red have just levelled the field.
Dogma bring their industrial-punk hybrid to the Sophie Stage and turn it into a rave inside a riot. ‘Forbidden Zone’ sounds like being hit by a truck full of strobe lights, the tent bouncing as if it’s 3am in a club rather than mid-afternoon at a metal fest. The band are a blur of motion, snarling through songs that refuse to stick to any one genre. By the end, the Sophie crowd looks like they’ve just survived an exorcism, sweaty and dazed but grinning ear to ear.
Lowen take things in a completely different direction, their doom-laden soundscapes rolling across the stage like a storm front. Nina Saeidi’s vocals soar above the weight of the riffs, equal parts mournful and commanding, and there are moments where you could hear a pin drop in the tent. Songs from 2021’s ‘Unceasing Lamentations’ unfold like ritual chants, slowly building until the air feels charged. They finish with ‘Hymn to the Mother’, the whole thing feeling less like a gig and more like a ceremony, and the audience leave quieter than they arrived, still processing the spell they’ve been under.
The Black Dahlia Murder hit the Dio Stage and instantly turn grief into celebration. They open with ‘What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse’, pits opening up as if on command, and Brian Eschbach proves he’s more than ready to lead from the front. The energy is relentless, ‘Statutory Ape’ causing carnage halfway through, the pit stretching almost across the field. They close with ‘Deathmask Divine’, the crowd screaming every word, and for a few minutes it feels like the entire festival is united in remembering Trevor Strnad. It is brutal, heartfelt and proof that this band is still very much alive.
Lord of the Lost sweep onto the Dio Stage looking like they’ve just walked out of a gothic opera. They open with ‘Drag Me to Hell’ and it’s instantly clear they’re here to put on a show, all black leather, towering choruses and more melodrama than a soap finale. The set jumps between pounding industrial anthems and soaring ballads, each one somehow bigger than the last. ‘Blood & Glitter’, 2023’s German Eurovision entry, gets the biggest singalong, but closer ‘Loreley’ feels almost sacred, voices rising with the dusk. It is camp, theatrical and completely irresistible.
The Sophie Stage nearly implodes when thrown step up. They blast straight into ‘guilt’ and the pit detonates, walls of death colliding like rugby scrums on steroids. Marcus Lundqvist stalks the stage like a man possessed, every line barked like a challenge. ‘on the verge’ only adds fuel, the crowd practically tripping over themselves to get involved. They close with ‘look at me’, and by the end it looks like the entire tent has been put through a blender. It is chaotic, nasty and exactly what everyone came for.
Mastodon arrive on the Dio Stage and ease in with ‘Oblivion,’ the progressive layers slowly drawing the crowd into their otherworldly realm. Their set sprawls across their catalogue, from the crushing ‘Mother Puncher’ to the soaring ‘More Than I Could Chew’, each track delivered with trademark intricacy. The visuals behind them; cosmic, surreal, psychedelic, elevate the performance into something hypnotic.
As the sun dips, they close with the sprawling ‘Blood and Thunder’, the entire field screaming ‘white whale, holy grail’ as one. It’s a cathartic end to a set that reminds everyone exactly why Mastodon are revered: few bands can be so heavy, so complex and yet so universally captivating all at once.
Reunited and hungry, 3 Inches of Blood storm onto the Sophie Stage with ‘Deadly Sinners’, the crowd instantly transported back to the glory days of early 2000s metal. Their dual-vocal assault cuts through the tent like steel, fans bellowing along with every chorus. Midway through, ‘Destroy the Orcs’ sparks a frenzy, plastic swords and inflatable axes waving above the pit in pure joy. They close with ‘Goatrider’s Horde’, the audience in full voice, a triumphant comeback soaked in nostalgia and fire.
The day belongs to Gojira. As night falls, they open with ‘Ocean Planet’, the Dio Stage bathed in deep blues and smoke. The crowd roars as ‘Backbone’ follows, its stomping groove sending shockwaves through the field. Every song feels monumental, from the thunderous ‘Flying Whales’, greeted with inflatable whales bouncing above the pit, to the colossal ‘Silvera,’ which sees the entire crowd screaming along.
The second half of the set grows ever more intense, pyro and visuals amplifying the band’s overwhelming presence. ‘Stranded’ turns the field into one massive bounce, and by the time they reach ‘L’Enfant Sauvage,’ it feels as though the whole of Bloodstock is moving as one. They close with ‘The Gift of Guilt,’ its outro stretching into the night as fireworks burst overhead. It’s a masterclass in modern metal headlining. Gojira not only justify their place, they deliver one of the defining performances in Bloodstock’s history.
Obituary stride onto the Sophie Stage like seasoned executioners, wasting no time in turning the tent into a swamp of riffs. They open with ‘Redneck Stomp’, the crowd instantly moving in that slow, grinding way only death metal can inspire. John Tardy’s growls sound as feral as ever, cutting through a wall of filthy guitar tone that rattles the walls. Midway through, ‘Slowly We Rot’ whips the pit into a frenzy, fans colliding with grins plastered across their faces. They close with ‘Chopped in Half’, the iconic riff landing like a sledgehammer, and it feels like Obituary have given Bloodstock one last, glorious beating before the weekend fades.
Words: Kathryn Edwards // Photos: Jez Pennington
Rivers of Nihil
Rivers of Nihil are handed the unenviable task of waking up a field of metalheads on Sunday morning, and they do it with style. They launch into ‘The Silent Life’ and immediately sweep the cobwebs away with technical riffs sharp enough to cut through any hangover. Their set draws heavily from 2018’s ‘Where Owls Know My Name,’ blending death metal brutality with soaring textures that make the Dio Stage feel oddly serene for such an early slot. By the time they close with the title track, the crowd is locked in, and a saxophone sample at a metal festival before lunchtime feels like the perfect kind of madness.
Rizen
Over on the New Blood Stage, Rizen waste no time proving why they’re tipped as one of the UK’s brightest new acts. Their opener thunders out and the pit is moving almost instantly, which is impressive given some people are still clutching bacon rolls. Mid-set highlight ‘Ashes to Embers’ gets fists in the air, a proper call-to-arms that shakes the tent awake. By the closer, the crowd are fully with them, shouting back and grinning, the kind of reaction that makes you think you’ll be seeing this band on the main stage in a couple of years.
August Burns Red
August Burns Red arrive with a bang. They open with ‘Fault Line’, the pit goes nuclear, and Jake Luhrs is already commanding the stage like he owns the place. The setlist is a greatest-hits sprint, with ‘Composure’ sparking chaos and ‘Invisible Enemy’ getting one of the biggest singalongs of the afternoon. Every breakdown lands harder than the last, and the band play with the kind of precision that makes other musicians quietly hate them. They close with ‘White Washed’, the crowd screaming the words like their lives depend on it, and it feels like August Burns Red have just levelled the field.
Dogma
Dogma bring their industrial-punk hybrid to the Sophie Stage and turn it into a rave inside a riot. ‘Forbidden Zone’ sounds like being hit by a truck full of strobe lights, the tent bouncing as if it’s 3am in a club rather than mid-afternoon at a metal fest. The band are a blur of motion, snarling through songs that refuse to stick to any one genre. By the end, the Sophie crowd looks like they’ve just survived an exorcism, sweaty and dazed but grinning ear to ear.
Lowen
Lowen take things in a completely different direction, their doom-laden soundscapes rolling across the stage like a storm front. Nina Saeidi’s vocals soar above the weight of the riffs, equal parts mournful and commanding, and there are moments where you could hear a pin drop in the tent. Songs from 2021’s ‘Unceasing Lamentations’ unfold like ritual chants, slowly building until the air feels charged. They finish with ‘Hymn to the Mother’, the whole thing feeling less like a gig and more like a ceremony, and the audience leave quieter than they arrived, still processing the spell they’ve been under.
The Black Dahlia Murder
The Black Dahlia Murder hit the Dio Stage and instantly turn grief into celebration. They open with ‘What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse’, pits opening up as if on command, and Brian Eschbach proves he’s more than ready to lead from the front. The energy is relentless, ‘Statutory Ape’ causing carnage halfway through, the pit stretching almost across the field. They close with ‘Deathmask Divine’, the crowd screaming every word, and for a few minutes it feels like the entire festival is united in remembering Trevor Strnad. It is brutal, heartfelt and proof that this band is still very much alive.
Lord of the Lost
Lord of the Lost sweep onto the Dio Stage looking like they’ve just walked out of a gothic opera. They open with ‘Drag Me to Hell’ and it’s instantly clear they’re here to put on a show, all black leather, towering choruses and more melodrama than a soap finale. The set jumps between pounding industrial anthems and soaring ballads, each one somehow bigger than the last. ‘Blood & Glitter’, 2023’s German Eurovision entry, gets the biggest singalong, but closer ‘Loreley’ feels almost sacred, voices rising with the dusk. It is camp, theatrical and completely irresistible.
thrown
The Sophie Stage nearly implodes when thrown step up. They blast straight into ‘guilt’ and the pit detonates, walls of death colliding like rugby scrums on steroids. Marcus Lundqvist stalks the stage like a man possessed, every line barked like a challenge. ‘on the verge’ only adds fuel, the crowd practically tripping over themselves to get involved. They close with ‘look at me’, and by the end it looks like the entire tent has been put through a blender. It is chaotic, nasty and exactly what everyone came for.
Mastodon
Mastodon arrive on the Dio Stage and ease in with ‘Oblivion,’ the progressive layers slowly drawing the crowd into their otherworldly realm. Their set sprawls across their catalogue, from the crushing ‘Mother Puncher’ to the soaring ‘More Than I Could Chew’, each track delivered with trademark intricacy. The visuals behind them; cosmic, surreal, psychedelic, elevate the performance into something hypnotic.
As the sun dips, they close with the sprawling ‘Blood and Thunder’, the entire field screaming ‘white whale, holy grail’ as one. It’s a cathartic end to a set that reminds everyone exactly why Mastodon are revered: few bands can be so heavy, so complex and yet so universally captivating all at once.
3 Inches of Blood
Reunited and hungry, 3 Inches of Blood storm onto the Sophie Stage with ‘Deadly Sinners’, the crowd instantly transported back to the glory days of early 2000s metal. Their dual-vocal assault cuts through the tent like steel, fans bellowing along with every chorus. Midway through, ‘Destroy the Orcs’ sparks a frenzy, plastic swords and inflatable axes waving above the pit in pure joy. They close with ‘Goatrider’s Horde’, the audience in full voice, a triumphant comeback soaked in nostalgia and fire.
Gojira
The day belongs to Gojira. As night falls, they open with ‘Ocean Planet’, the Dio Stage bathed in deep blues and smoke. The crowd roars as ‘Backbone’ follows, its stomping groove sending shockwaves through the field. Every song feels monumental, from the thunderous ‘Flying Whales’, greeted with inflatable whales bouncing above the pit, to the colossal ‘Silvera,’ which sees the entire crowd screaming along.
The second half of the set grows ever more intense, pyro and visuals amplifying the band’s overwhelming presence. ‘Stranded’ turns the field into one massive bounce, and by the time they reach ‘L’Enfant Sauvage,’ it feels as though the whole of Bloodstock is moving as one. They close with ‘The Gift of Guilt,’ its outro stretching into the night as fireworks burst overhead. It’s a masterclass in modern metal headlining. Gojira not only justify their place, they deliver one of the defining performances in Bloodstock’s history.
Obituary
Obituary stride onto the Sophie Stage like seasoned executioners, wasting no time in turning the tent into a swamp of riffs. They open with ‘Redneck Stomp’, the crowd instantly moving in that slow, grinding way only death metal can inspire. John Tardy’s growls sound as feral as ever, cutting through a wall of filthy guitar tone that rattles the walls. Midway through, ‘Slowly We Rot’ whips the pit into a frenzy, fans colliding with grins plastered across their faces. They close with ‘Chopped in Half’, the iconic riff landing like a sledgehammer, and it feels like Obituary have given Bloodstock one last, glorious beating before the weekend fades.
