Bloodstock Bound: Rogue Limb
As Bloodstock gets closer, we delve deep into the line up to find out more about some of the bands playing the New Blood and EMP stages at this years event.
Today we chat with Rogue Limb
The Razor's Edge: Please introduce yourself and your band mates.
Rogue Limb: There’s only two of us, so this’ll be quick! We’ve got Greg on guitar and vocals, and Thew on the drums and vocals. We’ve been playing together for about 15 years in this band or that, but we’ve only been doing Rogue Limb since 2021. In that time we’ve recorded and self-released an album and gigged with a ton of red-hot bands around the Midlands.
The Razor's Edge: How would you describe your sound?
Rogue Limb: We think of our core sound as nominally 90’s / early 00’s metalcore similar to bands like Every Time I Die, Converge, Botch etc. It took a minute for our core sound to emerge, which kinda happened organically as we rolled that early metalcore vibe in with whatever felt good at the time, creating a cocktail of heavy influences such as stoner, HC, sludge, thrash, noise rock, etc. I think what defines the Rogue Limb sound is a frantic sense of neurotic urgency, and we’re very self-critical, so we refer to ourselves as “neurotic hardcore”, if that means anything!
The Razor's Edge: How did you land your spot on the Bloodstock bill?
Rogue Limb: We came up through the Metal 2 The Masses contest in Nottingham, which we mainly entered just to play a few gigs and have a blast, but we somehow managed to sneak our way through to the top spot. We’re still a bit bewildered - it all seemed to happen so fast! The other competing bands seemed to play flawlessly, so I can only imagine it comes down to what Jack from Evil Scarecrow, one of the judges, said to us; that we’re “a breath of fresh air”. We’ll take that!
The Razor's Edge: How tough was this years M2TM competition?
Rogue Limb: Oh, it was wild! Every stage was a battle. We never expected to win, and it was really encouraging to see the sheer number of banging local bands doing what they love with such a high level of quality and passion. We thought we were cooked by the semis, but we got through on the wildcard slot, and by some miracle, went on to win the final. Greg tipped a tech-death metal band called Orbital Alignment right from the start to win the whole thing, and they put on a fantastic show in the final, as did the other finalists, and they’ve all been so supportive of our win. There’s a lot of love in this scene and we’re ridiculously grateful.
The Razor's Edge: What does playing at Bloodstock mean to you?
Rogue Limb: Bloodstock is like hallowed ground for us, honestly! We started discussing this band while drinking in Midgard at BOA 2021, so it’s beyond absurd that we’re back, as artists, just three years later. Greg also met his partner at BOA 2013 and thinks of Bloodstock as the anniversary. We’ll have a big bunch of friends there, who Greg also met along with his partner, who go every year, so it’s a fantastic debut open air festival for us. It’s a huge honour and we can’t wait to hit that stage!
The Razor's Edge: For people who’ve never seen you live, what can they expect at Bloodstock?
Rogue Limb: I think the folks will appreciate how much noise we’re able to produce for a duo! We’re frequently the loudest band at our gigs as Greg has a taste for overblown amplification and Thew plays hard as balls. The set will be a good mix of upbeat bangers and repulsive riffing. We’re pretty mathy and like to intersperse some fast beats with some slow grooves. A supporter who’s now become a good friend described us in a better way than we could: a “claustrophobic maelstrom of awesome intensity”. Come on, that sounds sick.
The Razor's Edge: What day are you performing?
Rogue Limb: We’re playing on the Friday!
The Razor's Edge: What other bands are you looking forward to watching at Bloodstock this year?
Rogue Limb: It’s a pretty stacked line-up to be fair! The big ones for Thew are Clutch, Carcass, Igorrr, Deicide, Sylosis, Septic Flesh, and maybe Amon Amarth if I’m boozy enough when they come on. Greg’s also pretty hyped for Hatebreed, and it’d be good to catch up with Yersin after we played with them a few months ago. We’ll definitely stick around the New Blood stage to check out some fresh acts too. We’re both big fans of Burner, who are also playing on the Friday, so we better not clash!
The Razor's Edge: Playing the New Blood Stage is just the first steppingstone in a bands journey. What’s next in your plans for world domination?
Rogue Limb: Man, who knows? Bloodstock is only our fifteenth gig and it still feels like we’ve got a lot of dues to pay. We mainly want to keep some momentum going, level up the band and expand into the gigging circuit a bit further out from our home town. We’d love to get more established on the UK festival circuit next year, particularly Arctangent and 2000 Trees, and hopefully get new material recorded some time in 2025.
The Razor's Edge: Are you camping with the fans? Which campsite are you heading for?
Rogue Limb: We don’t have a concrete plan yet! Historically we’ve camped with friends in Midgard but this time around we’ll need a quieter night clear of the bin jousting and wrestling to keep us in top shape for the set!
The Razor's Edge: It’s festival weekend, what’s your food vendor of choice on site?
Rogue Limb: We’re big fans of the Yorkie Wrap vendor, if they’re back this year! They really sort you out for the day. Love that mash, it fills you for hours and sobers you up enough to carry on drinking. The dream.
The Razor's Edge: See you at Bloodstock in a few weeks!
Rogue Limb: Let’s goooooooo
