Who Are The Bloodstock 2025 Headliners?
For weeks now Vicky Hungerford, Bloodstock Festival booking legend, has been stating on social media that the 2025 Bloodstock Festival headliners are locked in, and we can expect an announcement directly after the Clutch set at this years festival.
But who could those headliners be?
We put our thinking caps and speculate who may be taking the coveted three spots atop the 2025 Bloodstock Festival bill. These are our runners and riders...
*to note: This piece is pure speculation. We have no inside knowledge and we take no responsibility if you lose your life savings betting on it being a band we speculate on 😉
To start off with, we are only looking at headliners of the Ronnie James Dio stage. Whilst the Sophie Stage headliners are also said to be locked in, we could be here for days listing off headliners for both stages, so we focus on the main stage today.
And we can rule out this years headliners, it's highly unlikely Amon Amarth, Opeth or Architects will return to the top of the bill two years in a row. So lets discount them now.
Machine Head – They played a stunning set at Download just a few weeks ago, and indeed reports from mainland Europe suggest they have gotten better as the weeks go by. They of course played the secret set at Bloodstock in 2022, they headlined in 2012 and it's about time they returned. I think we can say they are odds on favourites to return.
Odds: 2/1
Slayer – They have "reformed" this year to do a handful of US festival dates, with suggestions that they only ever retired from full time touring and that special appearances like that were always on the cards. With no UK special appearances yet announced, could Slayer make their UK return at Bloodstock? We think there is a good chance.
Odds: 5/1
Gojira – They last played the festival in 2018 and have graced the hallowed fields at Catton Hall three times over the years. Is it time for thier return or will the corporate might of Download steel them away. These would be a welcome addition for the Bloodstock faithful and the chances are good.
Odds: 8/1
Nightwish – Another band who last played Catton Hall in 2018, they are due a return. A festival staple for many years and favourites in some quarters of the fan base. There is always a place on the bill for Nightwish, but will they take it up in 2025?
Odds: 10/1
Within Temptation – They've headlined the festival twice before, but not since 2015. Their career has grown in parallel with the festivals, and they seem a logical choice. Which day do you think suits them best?
Odds: 15/1
Slaughter to Prevail – Could it be? Vicky is known to be a fan, they have the following to make them a ticket seller for the festival but are they big enough to headline our beloved festival? Maybe they will, or maybe they join as special guests... we will find out soon enough.
Odds: 15/1
Korn – We've been waiting for the nu-metal revival to hit for many years. It's always there or there abouts, threatening to break out. They play a handful of UK summer dates in 2024 at the same time as Bloodstock, so will 2025 be the year they make their BOA debut?
Odds: 20/1
Trivium – They headlined in 2015 and ever since this band has been speculated as a return Bloodstock headliner, but it's not happened... yet! Will Matthew H and the gang be one of the 2025 crop of stars. Maybe it is their year!
Odds: 20/1
Panetra – Plenty of people on the interwebs are calling for Pantera. Another band who played a blinder at Download this year and have the draw as Bloodstock headliners. However, they have just announced their UK arena tour for February 2025, with hefty ticket prices and the need to shift tickets. Announcing Bloodstock now would impact their own ticket sales... from a fans perspective why pay the inflated arena ticket price when they can get value for money seeing them at Bloodstock? With that in mind, it seems unlikely from a business stand point that Pantera will be headlining Bloodstock in 2025, but you never know... outsiders at best is our guess.
Odds: 20/1
Helloween – They had to pull out of their booking at Bloodstock in 2023 and everyone assumed they'd return to the bill for 2024. When they didn't did that mean the door for 2025 was left open? They owe the Bloodstock faithful the performance we've been waiting years for, there is a chance it's them!
Odds: 20/1
Sabaton – A semi-regular Bloodstock band, they can always pull a crowd at the festival and of course they have headlined before. But is there really an appetite at present amongst the festival faithful for another Sabaton set? We shall see if Vicky has Sabaton hidden up her sleeve.
Odds: 2w/1
Deftones – Contemporaries of Korn and survivors of the nu-metal movement when it died a death many years ago. They forged a path that kept them in the limelight and moved them away from their nu-metal roots. Their popularity has never wained, but in that could mean they are just that bit too big for the Bloodstock stage? There is always a chance, will Deftone headline Bloodstock in 2025?
Odds: 25/1
Sleep Token – A little birdie told me one of this years headlines could be "out of left field". Does Sleep Token match that description? Yes. Are they big enough to headline the festival? Their ticket sales in arenas in November confirm they are. In fact this almost makes them too big for Bloodstock, with headliners generally performing regular shows at Academy level venues rather than arenas. So has Bloodstock passed them by? Or do we get the chance to see them at Catton Hall prior to them reaching the pinnacle of headlining Download? We will see, but there is an outside chance...
Odds: 40/1
Janes Addiction – Recent dates suggest they are on form, and they also fit the "out of left field" criteria I mentioned earlier. I don't think they've ever been thought of as a "Bloodstock band" but that doesn't mean Vicky's ignoring them. Could they headline 2025? We can only hope!
Odds: 40/1
Parkway Drive – They've been here, done it. But could they return? Yes there is always a possibility, but their "secret" set at Download this year suggests the corporate behemoth are lining them up for their own festival in 2025. It seems unlikely.
Odds: 50/1
Anthrax – It's been a few years since they graced the Bloodstock stage, and then they were not headliners. They are big enough to go for the headline slot, they have the following and they have an awesome autumn tour in the offing. But will it be them? The tour coming up suggests if they are on the bill, they wont be announced in the first batch of announcements, but never say never...
Odds: 60/1
Misfits – The legendary New Jersey punks have yet to bring their reunion tour to the UK, having fixated on sporadic US dates. It is known that they have out priced themselves in the past causing Download to take a pass on the opportunity. Will Glenn and Jerry make a surprise appearance on the 2025 bill? In all honesty it seems unlikley with their price tag compared to Bloodstocks budget, but stranger things have happened.
Odds: 100/1
Ghost – Their name always gets bounded about, and we'd love to see them headline the festival a second time. But let's be honest, they are far too big now. They sell out arena tours, they've had their own movie in cinemas this year, the next step for them is headlining the main stage at Download, they aren't returning to Bloodstock any time soon (sadly).
Odds: 100/1
Obviously all this is just speculation. We'll all find out on the Friday just who the headliners for 2025 are!
*Bloodstock board meeting following the announcement of Slaughter to Prevail*
Adam: “Vicky – why? We’re getting slaughtered on social media for this? The Sophie people are getting pressure put on them”
Vicky: “No idea…what’s the controversy?”
Adam: “The guy has a black sun tattoo ffs..he had a tour cancelled in 2015 following his support for far right bands”
Vicky: “He says its in his past, I don’t really care..surely this is about the music?”
Rachel: “Well it could harm ticket sales…do you remember what happened a few years ago over that tweet?”
Vicky: “I know…I said I’m sorry..but nobody gave a shit about King 810 last year”
Rachel: “Only because we’d spent a bit on public relations work and SOPHIE training for the security guards. We’re going to have to spend that money again now….you might even have to go on that podcast run by Gav from Damnation and Scarlett”
Adam: “Couldn’t you have just booked someone else? Someone safe like Sabaton?”
Vicky: “It’s more difficult than you think to book bands….Pantera decided to do a UK tour instead, Falling in Reverse are too expensive these days, Neurosis are more appropriate for Arctangent”
*Adam and Rachel facepalm*
GHOST!!!!!