What’s To Come On This News Piece
Once again Bloodstock Metal Festival have had to make some changes to the lineup. This news piece will explain those. They have also announced 10 new bands for the New Blood stage, acts that won through the various M2TM competitions. Finally, in this news piece, there is some very important information regarding entry to the festival due to the ongoing Covid issue. Fans will require test results via the NHS app to show folks are safe to join in the mayhem. However more on that later.
Four Bands Pull Out
Firstly, four bands have pulled out, a couple due to travel restrictions and two due to band issues, one of them being the issue that they have split up since their original announcement (perhaps another causality to Covid?). The four acts no longer playing (sadly) are Swedish melodic death outfit Dark Tranquillity, Canadians Unleash The Archers, Southampton band Bury Tomorrow and finally Lotus Eater who have split up.
Bands now added
Loathe are a Liverpool-based band formed around 2014 with their debut album The Cold Sun arriving 3 years later. They mix a few styles including ambient progressive in the vein of Radiohead for example. Their latest album is in fact not metal at all but totally experimental. I imagine they will play the more aggressive heavier-edged music for the festival. It is still reasonably accessible which explains why they were voted one of the bands most likely to cross over to collect some mainstream audience. They will play Friday on the Dio stage.
While She Sleeps are a metalcore band from Sheffield. They formed back in 2006 and after a series of EPS released their debut This Is The Six in 2012. The band are unchanged apart from the vocalist who has appeared on all the albums. Their latest album (number 5) came out earlier this year and is called Sleep Society. See them on the Saturday of the festival on the Dio stage.
Spiders
Black Spiders, a band most folks who love rock and metal will be aware of due to the fact that for a number of years they toured with everybody… and I mean everybody! They impressed so much that they were hand-picked at one point to support Ozzy! Playing loud, dirty hard rock, they love a party and a crowd to join in with a chant or 3 of “Fuck you Black Spiders“. Their self-titled third album came out this year and features new drummer and Planet Rock DJ Wyatt Wendels. They will perform Thursday night in the Sophie tent/stage.
Foetal Juice have a new album out (Gluttony) which has a first song called “Take Your Face For A Shit“. That sold me already! This Manchester band are brutal/death metal. Although formed back in 2007 it took 9 years (and a slew of EPs/singles) before they released their first album in 2016 called Masters Of Absurdity which was the last year they last played Bloodstock. They say that was their biggest ever gig, well this time they are on the Dio so they should get to outdo themselves in 2021. See them on Friday.
Moving onto the M2TM winner announcements
Friday Bands
Terminal Sun Sheffield winners. A 5 piece extreme metal band formed in 2018 apparently working away in a bunker complex (number 31?) making music for the apocalypse. Musically a mix of death, doom, black metal with hints of prog, they have an EP called Threads out now.
Beyond Extinction Essex winners. 5 teenagers from Essex who formed the band in 2018 and play brutal heavy riffs which merge into deathcore. They are more metal than punk on the breakdowns. They have already in their career released several singles along with 2 EPS (already in 2021 they have released 2 singles and an EP! Busy lads).
Sail
Sail Somerset winners. 4 guys who play melodic, proggy sludgy metal. From the photos they all seem to own dogs so animal friendly as well! They formed 2016 have released some singles and EPs along with one album. Those who like both Baroness and Mastodon should find much to enjoy. They plan to release/launch a new single called “Flood” at the festival. Be the first to hear it at Bloodstock.
Beyond Salvation Manchester winners. A thrash metal band with hints of groove and death along with hardcore type vocals. They say they do not down-tune, have no fads or tricks, but just play solid metal songs,which sounds perfectly fair. They have two singles and an EP available to check out.
Severenth North Wales winners. They formed originally in 2007 but split in 2013. After a break of several years they have reformed with one change member-wise. They are a tech-metal update of what was called “nu-metal”. Their 2012 album seems to have been reissued so it is accessible to all.
Saturday bands
Black Atlas Hitchin winners. A 4-piece outfit from Bedfordshire who play a mix of stoner and grunge. The slow heavy grooves sound wonderfully dirty. They have a single, EP and album out with the latter called Weight Of The World having come out in 2018. They are working they say on their next one as we prepare for Bloodstock.
A Horse Called War Norwich winners. Another band that formed in the earlier 2000s but split for a few years only to reform again. This time they have dropped a member and are now a 4-piece. This sludge outfit have a new EP out called Good For Glue (And Nothing Else) and on listening I could only write “angry, disturbing and ugly”. I am sure the band will be delighted with that, well I certainly hope so.
Ascaris Bristol winners. The band was started in 2012 by friends who loved both the intricate fury of death metal and the occult stylings of black metal. The band who it seems like to dress as gentlemen of a bygone era make music that is the antithesis of their look. They have an album called The Raised Hand out for your listening pleasure.
Desolation
Desolation Newcastle winners. This 4-piece groove metal band from Darlington formed in 2017 and have released 2 EPs to date, the latest being Inhuman Race. The band say they have entered M2TM a couple of times before primarily for experience, fun and getting to meet other bands and organizing gig swaps, however, this time they have won and they are as you can imagine delighted and excited.
Hawxx London winners. This 4-piece from London only have one actual English person in the band, the others coming from Wales, Greece and Bahrain! The EP that is out called Deadlands has songs about self-empowerment, the lies of the diet industry and mental health (something very important in this horrendously stressful Covid period). They have plenty of melody whilst still being crushingly heavy when needed. Oh, and they are all ladies!
Hot Off The Press
One band not yet officially announced but if you managed to catch the streamed Edinburgh M2TM (a bloody good show also involving 2 bands playing the festival already in Dog Tired and Ramage Inc) you will have seen and heard Nassau winning through. Death metal but with plenty prog leanings, this Edinburgh band are happy to throw all sorts of styles and moods into their songs. As they aren’t on the official email I don’t know which day they will be playing. As an Edinburgh man writing this my congratulations to them.
The All-Important Covid Entry News
As you can imagine the festival is taking the welfare of fans along with artists and staff very seriously and want everyone to have a safe healthy and FUN festival. The latter will be achieved for sure no matter the extra precautions in place. The first thing to point out is that on entry you will need to show a negative lateral flow test which should have been done within 36 hours of arriving at the festival. Now depending on where you are in the UK these are available from the NHS website or places like libraries and community centres. To find all the relevant information please check the NHS site right HERE
Negative
Upon a negative result from the NHS (which can be either a text or email from them) show that to stewards on entry to collect your wristband. Attendees will not be allowed onsite until they are able to show a negative test result. Obviously, there may be some who end up finding they are positive and cannot attend which of course is awful. The festival, however, has made it clear that by sending confirmation via email or text of said positive test you will be able to receive either a face value refund of your ticket or rollover the ticket for 2022.
They will also have plenty of handwashing stations along with extra cleaning measures for everyone’s safety.
To read all about Covid restrictions and what Bloodstock are doing to make things safe please check their announcement page HERE
The rest of the bill includes
Devin Townsend (Friday headliner), Kreator (Saturday headliner) and Judas Priest (Sunday headliner) along with Skindred, The Wildhearts, Cradle Of Filth. Therapy, Napalm Death, Paradise Lost, While She Sleeps, Raging Speedhorn, Bleed From Within, Lawnmower Deth, Diamond Head, Jinjer, Vio-lence, Saxon.
Gloryhammer, Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons. Evil Scarecrow, Onslaught, Conan, Memoriam, Ramage Inc. Green Lung, Conjurer, Orange Goblin, Black Spiders, Sylosis, Hacktivist, Winterfylleth, The Crawling, Loathe, Raised By Owls, Anakim, Colpocleisis, Broken Jaw, Hanowar.
More…
Devilfire, Divine Chaos, Venom, Prison, Borstal, Acid Reign, Beholder, Svalbard, Dog Tired, Bailer, King Creature, Grey Stag, Ghosts Of Atlantis, Strangle Wire, Shrapnel, Necronautical, Spectral Darkwave, Frozen In Shadows, Deitus, South Of Salem, Master Charger, Bad Earth. Fellowship, This Is Endless, King Corpse, Shackled, Tortured Demon, Hybridize, Halveksia, Odysseus, Solcura, Riptide, Casket Feeder, Son Of Boar, Words That Burn, Sorceress Of Sin, Wired, The Injested, Primitai.
Black Tongue, Liberty Lies, Pist, Terra IV, Internal Conflict, Thunderous Jones, Ashen Crown, Ward XVI. Slave Steel, The Best Medicine, Godeater. Luna’s Call, Urne, Forlorn World, Pemphigoid, As The World Dies, Battle Born, Kurokuma, Ghosts Of Men, Milliner, Axiom, Seething Akira, King Witch, Sharks In Your Mouth, Mother Vulture, Famyne, and Party Cannon.
The event takes place as always at Catton Park in Derbyshire for 5 (FIVE) days August 11 – 15!
Purchase Tickets HERE
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