THURSDAY
After travelling from Newcastle on a bus for over 4 hours, our arrival at Catton Hall, Burton Upon Trent, was very welcome, and it wasn't long before we were given the traditional welcome to the mental festivities of the event from a mortal Scottish lad with dreads who ironically shouted "fucking moshers" as the northern hoards proceeded towards the camp-site. After a nonsensical episode surrounding my mate and his inability to find his tent poles I managed to get set up with another few mates, who I stayed with for the rest of the weekend in the Midgard (or Mudgard as it was known at Floodstock 2010) section of the site. A few cans later and we descended upon the main arena, past the very friendly security who were content at this stage to only search those in baggy hoodies or yorkshire rose flag capes. I took this opportunity to have a good look around the main arena, managing to score myself an Autopsy "Mental Funeral" shirt which is more akin to a dress in terms of size, as well as a lovely Sabbat shirt that I have been dying to get hold of for a while now. The music of the Thursday night was introduced by ACHREN, a Scottish black metal band, who played a very impressive set to a packed out SOPHIE tent. Their style was not dissimilar to that of the Saturday night headliner's Immortal, and they went down a treat with the eager crowd. They were one of a few black metal bands that would impress throughout the weekend with their combined onslaught of melody and savage war-like rhythms. I decided to leave the SOPHIE stage alone for a while, reverting to my previous shopping spree, hearing the horrific sound of Lamb of God omitting from the tent on one occasion. Upon my return to the tent I was greeted with a particularly surreal sight even by Bloodstock standards as a scantily clad pole dancer was busy dancing to Manowar - Warriors of the World, which made me chuckle. While Manowar have never played Bloodstock, in a sense, they are there in spirit around every corner, whether it be in the form of nocturnal drunken Manowarrior choirs or just hammering them on huge stereo systems, you can be sure that Manowar is never far away. The comedians Steve Hughes (formerly the drummer of Slaughter Lord and Mortal Sin) and Jason Rouse also graced the stage after the musical frolicking had ended. As a big Steve Hughes fan I was in creases at his set, which was full of excellent material as always, though I did struggle to hear his performance at times due simply to him not being loud enough over the PA. Jason Rouse wasted no time in getting into his most horrific content, which certainly divided the crowd, with a large proportion of men laughing at his sadistic and twisted humour, while women scoured their bags looking for pepper spray. I have heard a lot of people complain about this man, perhaps rightly so by normally acceptable standards, but no-one was forced into watching his set so I think they should shut up personally.
FRIDAY
It would be a safe comment to say that The Defiled stuck out like a sore thumb at Bloodstock, as they opened the Friday morning with a set that combined breakdowns, generic chug-core riffs and horrific vocal harmonies to disastrous effect. Thankfully Wolf were soon on hand to release an explosion of old school, riff driven heavy metal, with the anthem "Voodoo" going down especially well. They battled through sound problems, something which regrettably was to become a big problem throughout the weekend, to produce an enticing set which forced the crowd to take notice of their mighty metal machine. One of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing (and one of my favourite Bay Area thrash bands) was Forbidden and they thoroughly impressed, playing a diverse range of material which whipped up the first pits of the festival. Chalice of Blood was incredible live, as was Twisted Into Form, with the band powering through song after song with razor sharp precision. Two new songs from Omega Wave (Forsaken At The Gates and Omega Wave) served as an interesting accompaniment to the old classics, as Forbidden looked every inch the band that have truly found their greatness once more. The entertainment on the Dio stage resumed for me in the form of Triptykon who produced a crushingly heavy performance. However, whether it says more about the strength of Tom G Warrior's back catalogue or the comparative weakness of Triptykon's material that a rendition of Circle of the Tyrants was the highlight of their set is a point of debate for some. After a crushingly slow set from Tom G Warrior and his crew, it was up to the newly reformed Coroner to pick up the pace once more. Whilst lacking in stage presence, they produced a fantastic set, which paid homage to their later days, with particular highlights being Internal Conflicts and Grin. Masked Jackal also made an appearance, and it was amazing to hear such a fantastic and influential song performed live once more by the master's who wrote it. After Coroner's set I decided, with a couple of mates, to catch what I could of the Black Thrash band Byfrost in the SOPHIE tent, who made an unholy level of noise for a three piece. Their style is entertaining and similar to Immortal's in a certain respect, and I enjoyed their set a fair bit. Massive German thrash outfit Kreator were next up on the Dio stage, and I enjoyed their punishing set stood next to Thursday's comedian Steve Hughes, who was great crack and a genuinely nice lad. It was great to see "Tormentor" and "Betrayer" played alongside the mandatory tunes like "Pleasure to Kill", "Flag of Hate" and "Violent Revolution", and Mille's stage banter kept us all entertained between songs. With nothing else particularly taking my interest, I returned to camp, but reappeared for a large part of W.A.S.P.'s set, which was entertaining and enjoyable, although not usually what I am interested in musically. Lawless' personal decision to refuse to play what was arguably the band's biggest hit (you know the one) led to frustration from some, but their performance of the classic "I Wanna Be Somebody" went down a treat with the hordes of fans.
SATURDAY
The early hours of Saturday saw an interesting development as a totally unknown Irish lass called Cassandra (apparently) drunkenly stumbled into my tent before anyone was even in it and proceeded to "have a party" with us. Mortified. She left not too long after she arrived and we all got some sleep to prepare us for the pure armageddon of what was to ensue when the sun rose from its slumber. The morning was opened by unsigned thrash outfit Bludvera from Liverpool, who tore up the New Blood stage with their killer brand of Teutonic influenced thrash. It was the perfect start to a great day at BOA, and I would encourage anyone to check them out if they are even remotely into thrash. Almost immediately after the final note of Bludvera's set, blackthrashers Skeletonwitch set about demolishing the main stage. This band combines the raging heaviness of evil death thrash with Maiden/Mercyful Fate guitar harmonies and solos to great effect and their set epitomised what they are all about, as they provided a diverse range of enthralling material. For me, the highlight of their set was "Beyond the Permafrost", although they also delivered some promising new material from the upcoming "Forever Abomination" record, which is shaping up to be a good one for certain. Upon the recommendation of some death heads on the bus, I went to see Dripback in the SOPHIE stage, although I am not too sure what to make of them. They provided a set blasting with savage intensity, and their mix of hardcore and death metal (but never deathcore) worked fantastically in places, while other aspects to their sound were far from inspiring. The pseudo hard man persona adopted by certain members of the band wasn't quite my thing either, with samples of cockney gangsters raging being played before some songs. Nevertheless, I did enjoy their set and will retain further judgement until I have heard more of their recorded material. Finntroll were fantastic, and whipped the crowd into a frenzy in no time with their iconic brand of black-folk metal, the anthem Trollhammeren going down a storm. They were followed by Ihsahn, who provided a varied set of progressive blackened metal. A particular highlight of this entertaining set was "Frozen Lakes on Mars", which highlights all of the best aspects to the band's sound in my opinion. One of the most requested bands of the festival took to the stage in the form of Wintersun, who despite suffering from a poor sound mix and only having a very limited catalogue of material, managed to entrance the audience with an incredibly tight and passionate performance which certainly made up for their failure to attend a couple of years back. "Beyond The Dark Sun" was sensational live, as was "Winter Madness", as these songs perfectly demonstrate chief songwriter Jari's remarkable ability to shred effortlessly and still produce a song that is catchy and unique. One of the bands that threatened to steal the show was Italian power-metal outfit Rhapsody of Fire. Long have fans waited for them to grace British shores, and their thirst was quenched in emphatic style with a brilliant set which saw classics like "Emerald Sword" and "Holy Thunderforce" unleashed upon England for the first time. The level of crowd participation was exemplary, and certainly deserved with for the band, who unfortunately suffered from a small amount of sound problems later on in their set. After Rhapsody of Fire had ignited a whirlwind of buzz around the main arena, I soon found myself in the most aggressive crowd I have ever been in as the sons of northern darkness themselves came onto the stage. Despite having a set riddled with yet more sound problems, Norwegian black metal band Immortal proved exactly what they are all about by unleashing a relentless barrage of discordant, unholy noise upon the baying crowd. "Sons of Northern Darkness", "Blashyrkh" and "One by One" were the highlights of a thoroughly fantastic set, which was accompanied by a great stage show with full pyro and other effects. The dedication of Immortal to their fans was blatantly obvious, even down to Abbath's hilarious (yet almost totally silent) stage banter in between songs, which included him jumping around like a loon, cupping his ears, throwing a tab into the crowd and saying "what the fucking hell?" as he struggled with feedback from his lead. Immortal closed what had been a fantastic day at Bloodstock, and a day that the following bill of bands on the Sunday would have a hard job to rival.
SUNDAY
The final day of the festival played host to some of it's finest bands. A surprise for many (although not those who have and love the famous album) came in the form of ancient British heavy metal band Hell, who play in a fantastically old school and British style, as they had the crowd captivated from the moment they burst onto the stage. Vocalist David Bower possesses an unbelievable quality as a frontman and a vocalist, oozing charisma as he adopted several different personae throughout the set and engaged with the crowd in a way that ensured Hell produced one of the most memorable sets of the weekend. Next up on the main stage was black metal brigade 1349 who's set was unfortunately ruined for the most part by severe sound problems, such as the vocalist's mic constantly cutting out. They managed to get things sorted for the back end of their set however and impressed especially with "I Am Abomination" despite being faced with a generally less than enthusiastic crowd. Following in the footsteps of 1349 were Irish black folk metallers Primordial, who's emphatic display of their signature epic sound was cruelly shattered midway through their set as vocalist Alan suffered what is believed to be an allergic reaction which rendered him unable to sing. Still, it is testament to the power of their music, and their clearly strong relationship with their fanbase that they were able to soldier on instrumentally through the rest of their slot, while still providing solid entertainment and continuing to engage the crowd very well. After Primordial I headed over to the unsigned stage to watch my mate's band perform, although this unfortunately meant missing out on catching Napalm Death on the main stage. North Eastern power metallers Sacred Illusion played an inspiring set, with the vocalist showcasing his impressive vocal range and twin guitar harmony attacks present at every opportunity. They finished their set with two excellent covers of "Electric Eye" by Judas Priest and "The Wicker Man" from Iron Maiden's "Brave New World" album, which really got the crowd going and served as a fitting end to a great set. The power metal fun continued on the Dio Stage not long afterwards, with Hammerfall hammering out a range of singalong classics like "Any Means Necessary", "Let The Hammer Fall" and "One More Time". They went down exceptionally well with the crowd, and good news came in the form of them announcing a UK tour later in the year. After some timing issues with their soundcheck, Exodus pounced upon the main stage and sent the crowd absolutely wild with their short and furious set. While opinions over vocalist Rob Dukes are certainly divided, material like "Bonded By Blood" and "A Lesson In Violence" whipped the crowd into a frenzy, although their set was over far too soon, leaving many in a state of disappointment. I decided to skip At The Gates, as I'm not a great fan of what they do, so the next band of interest to me on the Dio Stage was the previously mighty Morbid Angel. Without doubt, their new album is shocking in every sense of the word, and I wouldn't encourage anyone to listen to it, or worse still, waste any kind of money on buying it, but thankfully this disastrous material was kept to a minimum for their set, which saw the return of some great old material like "Maze of Torment" and "Angel of Disease". The awful inclusion of "I Am Morbid" from the new album didn't dampen the mood too much, as they played a tight and very entertaining set. I nearly snapped my neck to "Where The Slime Live". After Morbid Angel, who were simply "too extreme", and in no way forgiven for the tripe they have released as a new album in "Illud...", Sunday night's headline act Motorhead came on stage. I have to confess to being severely disappointed by them, as they struggled through a load of monotonous material, seeming not a shadow on the band they were in their heyday. Motorhead bored me, and I left after about two thirds of their set had passed, and decided to get myself back to camp and say goodbye to the main arena for another year.
OVERALL
GOOD- Crack, mostly fantastic bands (especially Forbidden, Coroner, Kreator and Immortal among many others), Primordial powering on through their set despite the vocalist's problems, the obscure patches available from "Goddess.NL", my mate being dressed as a mummy and being surfed to the front to "Immortal Rites" by Morbid Angel, toilets were mostly very good, a diverse range of genres across the three stages and the excellent value for money that the festival provides.
BAD- Horrific amounts of male nudity, the often poor sound on the Dio Stage, The Defiled and Motorhead providing a disappointing performance in my opinion.
See you next year!
/L
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