The Razor's Edge BIG BLOODSTOCK PREVIEW
Words: Dan Barnes
How is it fast approaching Bloodstock again? It barely feels like a couple of months have passed since we were putting our backs into the oar, singing drunken lullabies and dancing like Barney fuckin’ Greenway; but sure enough [checks calendar] and Destination Catton Park is most assuredly on the horizon.
Now in its twentieth iteration, Bloodstock Open Air is a very different beast than the one that first made its home on these grounds back in 2005 ***shameless plug: have a peruse of our article about the last two decades of Bloodstock Open Air [Part 1] [Part 2]***, not least in the infrastructure, size and status of the event, but in the bands being booked.
There have been nay-sayers – there are always nay-sayers – as to the deviation of this year’s line up from those of festivals-past, but to evolve is to survive and would the show have thrived and grown in such a manner if it remained as the European-style predominantly power metal show we attended at the Assembly Rooms?
For all those nay-sayers, Bloodstock Open Air 2025 plays host to more previous headliners than in any of its previous events. This time around is the first occasion of all three Ronnie James Dio stage headliners have occupied that position before; add to that the trio of previous bill-toppers on Friday, and one each on Saturday and Sunday, and, along with ghosts of Bloodstock’s early past with the return of FourWayKill and Breed 77, and Catton Park suddenly doesn’t seem so much a Brave New World, as a reunion of sorts.
It's been a full decade since Trivium last trod the Bloodstock boards, back as Friday headliner in the fantastic year of 2015. People baulked about them occupying such a slot, one previously taken by Down, King Diamond and W.A.S.P. among others. In fact, the very appearance of the Florida four-piece seemed to generate much consternation across the interwebs. That night, their show was the perfect way to close out the first day of the festival and it’s more than assured that Matt Heafy and co will bring the same energy to 2025.
It's essentially the same personnel, except for new drummer Alex Bent, who wrecked Catton Park that day, but the decade more experience and four studio albums since August 2015, and Trivium are long overdue a Bloodstock return. Going on after Emperor, though? Brave move, boys!
Only Rob Flynn remains from Machine Head’s last Bloodstock headlining performance in 2012, though all four members have experience of the Catton Park atmosphere after their ‘secret’ appearance in the sweltering heat of 2022.
Repeating their Saturday night stint of thirteen-years ago, the Californian groove metal titans will find themselves greeted like homecoming heroes when they hit the stage. Such is the love that Bloodstock has for the band, and with their new, Unatoned record, becoming familiar with the fan base, they’re promising a set of hard-hitting earworms and bouncing rhythms to bring the middle-day main stage antics to a blistering finale
French legends, Gojira, have hardly put a foot wrong since breaking through in 2005 with their From Mars to Sirius album. They first came to Bloodstock in 2010, playing the Sunday of that year alongside GWAR, Cannibal Corpse, Bloodbath and Twisted Sister; in 2013 with Lamb of God, and as Mastodon’s special guests in 2016.
The first headlining appearance came in 2018, again with Cannibal Corpse, when the Frenchmen laid waste to the whole field and almost made people forget that Judas Priest had played the night before.
Seven years later and the Olympic Opening Ceremony stars head back to the festival, global icons and a musical vision uncompromised by their growing success and citation as a bona fide influence on a myriad of new, up and coming artists. I can’t see a scenario where Gojira will cede the crown of Bloodstock 2025’s Best Headliner easily, but the competition means the Sunday slot is no walk in the park. Luckily, Gojira don’t have a bad show in them and, as their consummate professionalism proves, it might not be too long before they are too big for Bloodstock and, heaven forbid, we’d have to go to Download to see them headline a festival in the UK.
Back after seven years – eleven since their debut performance as a 2014 headliner, is the mighty Emperor bringing the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to a hopefully sunny evening in Derbyshire. The black metal legends will bring the sun down with their symphonic darkness and infernal bombast. In previous years we’ve had full renditions of In the Nightside Eclipse and Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, but this time we might get a set culled from across the band’s career. However it turns out, it’s bound to be astounding.
Joining the gathering of former headliners is Italian gothic metallers Lacuna Coil, who first appeared way back in 2007 and again in 2014. Earlier this year, the band released their tenth studio album, Sleepless Empire and, if their shows last autumn are anything to go by expect a fierce, yet melodic, set, packed full of sweet anthems. Beginning the headliner reunion – for today at least – is British Institution, Orange Goblin, survivors of both the very first indoor show in 2001 – where they topped the Darwin Suite – and the outdoor show of 2012, where they headlined the S.O.P.H.I.E. stage on Saturday night (see Eulogy for the Fans for more information). Sadly, after thirty-years of outstanding riffs and awesome live shows, the Londoners have decided 2025 will bring the curtain down on their career. No more will we hear those Sabbath-meets-Motörhead anthems, so embrace it while you can.
It's not all about repetition in 2025, as the organisers have lined up Zurich Deathcore exponents, Paleface Swiss who’ve been making waves across the European festival circuits since their inception in 2017. Their third album, Cursed, landed earlier this year to positive reviews and saw the band add the word “Swiss” to their name for the first time. Whitechapel and Chelsea Grin have paved the way for more modern interpretations of heavy music, so it’ll be interesting to see how Bloodstock takes to these boys. At the other end of the spectrum are the grizzled veterans of many a campaign, thrash royalty from Phoenix, AZ, Flotsam and Jetsam, making their second appearance at Catton Park after their 2014 slot. Unlike many of their contemporaries, F&J have been consistently cranking out albums since their Doomsday for the Deceiver debut in 1986, featuring… well, you know who it featured. The bodies might be older, but the need to thrash remains strong and it’s up to these elder statesmen to show the Swiss youngsters how it’s done.
Early Friday will have something of a Doom-laden atmosphere as Danish four-piece Konvent bring the kind of dark death to Bloodstock for their debut performance. It’s been a few years since their sophomore disc, Call Down the Sun, but the omens are right for some crushing morbidity. A bit more of a traditional take on Doom will come from Famyne, the Canterbury quintet, whose victory in the Kent Metal 2 the Masses back in 2016, earned them slot at that year’s festival on a New Blood bill that also included Heriot and Conjurer. Opening the Ronnie James Dio stage for 2025 will be East Anglicans Shrapnel whose sound is thoroughly modern, while somehow maintaining a hefty punch.
Making their debut at Bloodstock as Saturday’s special guests is Al Jourgensen’s Industrial legends Ministry. Formed in Chicago, Il, back in 1981, the band’s first album, With Sympathy in 1983 had more in common with Gary Numan and Talking Heads than the unstoppable metal machine we know today. With the release of their fifth record, Psalm 69 in 1992, you could hardly switch on the music media and not hear Jesus Build My Hotrod.
Having a back-catalogue featuring some of the era’s finest Industrial releases, from Twitch and The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, through to House of the Mole and Rio Grande Blood, has confirmed Ministry’s status as one of the world’s premier musical outfits. My shirt from Graspop 2008 suggested the band were calling it a day, but Relapse in 2012 and the four subsequent albums have found Al in a rich vein of creative form. An artist, like Uncle Al, who thrives when the world is in turmoil must find the current situation to be manna.
Making their third Bloodstock appearance after the Demanufacture set of 2016 and the co-headliner with Children of Bodom in 2010, Californian Industrial behemoth, Fear Factory make a return to Catton Park looking very different than the last time they were here. Dino Cazares and Tony Campos remain, but it’s Bloodstock’s first opportunity to see Milo Silvestro filling the not-inconsiderable shoes of the departed, long-serving voice of Burton C Bell, the man who has appeared on all the band’s records to date. Not that Milo is a stranger to the festival stage, with Fear Factory having played the European circuit last summer. Metalcore heavyweights, Kublai Khan TX, will make their own Bloodstock debut, bringing with them their blend of down-tuned guitars, heavy hardcore and some fearsome beatdowns. Five albums in ten years show these Texans are no slouches and that attitude is sure to transform into the performance.
It's odd to think the first time I saw Creeper was opening the show for Gallows at Manchester’s now-defunct Sound Control. I’ve subsequently caught up with the band at Download and Slam Dunk festivals, so they’re to strangers to the big event, but it’ll always be the night in Manchester, in front of a handful of people, when you just knew they would become something special. Another band who need no introduction to the festival environment is Heriot, the Swindon metalcore act have barely looked back since Church Road issued their 2022 EP, Profound Morality. Appearances on the S.O.P.H.I.E. stage that year, along with slots at Slam Dunk and Damnation honed the stage craft and debut album, Devoured by the Mouth of Hell is a savage examination of personal torment, societal decay and existential despair. Just the sort of subject matter to get a party started. Bet we all have a good time, though.
Los Angeles thrashers Warbringer have more than two-decades under their belts and have regularly visited these shores, going back to their shows with Annihilator in 2010. More recently, the band have finished warming crowds across the continent for Decapitated and Cryptopsy in one of the year’s finest touring packages. Expect no respite from The Spirit as the German duo blend blackened death metal with cosmic and fatalistic subject matter. Kicking things off on Saturday will see Cage Fight’s return to the festival after their S.O.P.H.I.E. set in 2022 proved to be one of the year’s most belligerent shows. Sadly, the band have not yet added to the awesome self-titled debut of 2022, but that scarcely matters as Bloodstock gets a fearful wake-up call.
In a strange inversion of the 2016 bill, where Gojira played special guests to headliners Mastodon so 2025 finds the Atalanta quartet offering a reciprocal service in return. The unexpected departure of original guitarist, Brent Hinds came as a shocker, but the band have the more than capable replacement of Nick Johnston filling Brent’s shoes. It’s been four-years and counting since Hushed and Grim hit the shelves so we might be treated to a sneak-peak of new material as they go head-to-head with Gojira in what is sure to be a titanic rematch.
Hamburg gothic industrialists, Lord of the Lost had the honour – or trial by fire – of opening for Iron Maiden back in 2023; they were afforded significant stage space and used their opportunity to play their Rammstein / Marilyn Manson / Lady Gaga influenced brand of cyber metal to a wider audience. In all fairness, they have been producing albums – 9 of ‘em – since 2010, so are no mere Johnny-come-latelys where experience is concerned. Michigan melodic death metallers, Black Dahlia Murder were scheduled to appear at Bloodstock in 2020, and again in 2022, the band have been victims of unfortunate circumstances beyond their control, not least the tragic passing of charismatic frontman Trevor Strnad in May of 2022. Brian Eschbach was brought in to fill the void and they issued the Servitude album, picking up where Verminous ended. Much love was felt at Catton Park when Black Dahlia were announced, and they can expect a warm welcome to Bloodstock as they take to the stage.
Bavarian octet and German Eurovision contenders, Feuerschwanz, look to bring a sense of levity to Bloodstock’s closing day with their hybrid of medieval, folk and power metals servicing the dearth of such sounds at this year’s show. Their many albums issued since their inception in 2004 shows they are not a band short on material. The opposite of that comes in the shape of August Burns Red, a suggestion or foreshadowing of the weather conditions, perhaps? Another band with a plethora of material and a long history, the metalcore mob are sure to bring a varied set to Catton Park for their festival debut.
Tech death band, Rivers of Nihil have already been busy this calendar year, with their late winter tour and release of the self-titled album, they join today’s top two bands in an effort to bamboozle and bludgeon with their musical output. After a near decade-long hiatus, London proggy, power, thrashing groovers, One Machine broke radio silence with last year’s A New Plane of Existence single with Bloodstock 2025 possibly acting as the starting pistol on their resurgence. Opening the final day and charged with the labour of dragging people from their slumbers is Ghosts of Atlantis, with their symphonic and bombastic approach to their craft.
If it’s too peopley in the main arena the S.O.P.H.I.E. stage has a full three and half days entertainment to keep you away from the worst of the weather and in the half-light of the tent. As ever, Bloodstock kicks things off on Thursday evening with five-bands just to ease us all into the weekend without causing too much of a shock.
Headlining is the country/ blues project of Adam Darski, better known at Bloodstock as Nergal of Behemoth, Adam has taken time out of the promotion of The Shit ov God to slip in a few Me and That Man dates over the summer. A million miles away from his day -job, the band’s debut, Songs of Love and Death had a distinctly Nick Cave vibe at times and the twin records New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, volumes 1 and 2 lean more into the Occult Rock of the Seventies, and include guest appearances by, among others, Gary Holt, Devid Townsend and Alissa White-Gluz. The Bloodstock organisers seem to enjoy throwing a curve ball into their Thursdays, but it’s always a gamble that pays off, and I can’t see this being any different.
When All For Metal supported Lordi last spring I couldn’t help but picture the band rowing up the Trent, torches flaming as war-drums pound, ready to disembark and cause chaos as they pillage. Well here that come, the embodiment of the kind of metal extravagance Bloodstock was founded upon. Oiled-up muscles and furry budgie-smugglers and the kind of fist-pumping, horn-raising vibes to get the berserkers ready for the weekend.
Belgian proggy-sludge trio, Gnome’s recent tour got a great review from Matt W in these very pages, though whether he indulged in a £5 pointy hat he didn’t reveal, but the chilled-out vibes and intricate riffage could well be the sorbet needed before All For Metal’s uncompromising performance. Like Marley’s ghost, FourWayKill is a band that won’t stay down. Survivors of the very first open air show in 2005 and featuring at the Assembly Rooms in 2003 before being elevated to be the second stage headliner merely a year later. Their aggressive groove-heavy metal never failed to get the blood pumping, and their 24 Hours to Die disc still had much to offer after more than twenty-years. Might see if my “Give me the gun…” t-shirt still fits! Opening she whole shebang will be Herfordshire deathcore quintet Dead Flesh, who’ll no doubt be keen to show the breakneck aggression of their Dehumanise EP will transfer to the big stage.
It's been a dozen years since Canadian death metal machine Kataklysm last visited Catton Park and be ready for that amends to be made as ever-present Jean-François Dagenais has been leading his charges from their inception in 1991. Fifteen albums under their belts and these Canucks will bring the curtain down on the first day proper by wringing the very last drops of energy from those still standing.
I’m just going to say one word: Nailbomb. Point Blank is one of the defining industrial metal albums of the Nineties; it’s a shame that Alex won’t be present – an even bigger one if the show clashes with Emperor. But Nailbomb are coming to Bloodstock! Oh yes!
Aaron Stainthorpe finally makes it to the stage at Bloodstock Open Air, sadly not with My Dying Bride, but with his current project, High Parasite. Their debut album, Forever We Burn emerged last year and found the band at Damnation in November, where they wove gothic spells from their self-proclaimed Death Pop. Produced by Gregor from Paradise Lost, there is certainly a nostalgia trip back to the hey-days of the Peaceville Three awaiting all who care to join the morose fun. French folk duo, Eihwar will bring something of the past with them for their debut Bloodstock performance; embracing the traditions of Wardruna and Heilung, the duo bill themselves as Viking War Trance, and seem tailor made to slake the thirsts of the mighty Catton Park hordes.
Finns Shade Empire have been peddling their brand of symphonic black metal since the millennium, producing six full lengths, most recently Sunholy in 2023. Expect the kind of bombast usually served up by Cradle or Dimmu, compressed into the confines of the S.O.P.H.I.E. tent. Out of the Steel City come Rough Justice purveyors of the same brand of metallic hardcore as fellow-Sheffield crew, Malevolence. Their Faith in Vain release strongly suggests they could well be following their more illustrious city-men across to the Ronnie James Dio one day. Over from Belgium come heavy psyche and stoner rock trio My Diligence, whose extended compositions aim to explore darker themes of the human condition.
Northern Ireland’s Lock Horns will bring a Celtic rawness to their progressive sound to the S.O.P.H.I.E. stage after a stint on the New Blood in 2019. Modernists Turin have garnered a reputation for powerful performances that they been invited to the likes of Dragged Into Sunlight, Origin, Ingested and Decapitated, and opening the Friday festivities will be Ofnus, whose atmospheric black metal will set the show off in the right sort of manner.
Los Angeles industrial / Nu / alternative metal band, Static X were scheduled to play Bloodstock back in 2022 but had to pull that show, along with all their scheduled European dates. Thankfully, they’re revved up and ready to play this year after a period of turbulence, when band founder and guiding light, Wayne Static passed away in 2014. Tony Campos will be pulling double-duty after his show with Fear Factory earlier in the day, as the band extend Saturday’s dalliance with the more industrial side of the genre.
Gibraltar isn’t the first place you think of when pondering rock & roll. But Breed 77 have used their home on the rock to incorporate elements of Spanish flamenco into their alternative sound. Another survivor of the first Bloodstock Open Air in 2005, the band’s silence was broken last year at Uprising Festival in Leicester. Consider them to be a distraction from the musical carnage over the rest of the weekend.
In stark contrast come New York brutalists, Undeath, who shook Damnation to its core a couple of years ago, and I suspect the intervening years have not mellowed then much. Neonfly have played with such Bloodstock alumni as Gamma Ray, Freedom Call and Alice Cooper, and bring their accessible, though hard-edged rock/ metal hybrid, to another festival stage. Fresh from opening the stage on Sunday in 2023, melodic and in keeping with that core Bloodstock sound, Phoenix Lake have but a short trip from their native Nottingham.
Metalcore agitators, Waterlines last graced Catton Park on the Jagermeister stage, also in 2023, but this year they’re back in full assault mode, blending electronics and Nu sounds. Sheffield’s Ba’al bring their post-black metal to show their hometown isn’t just about Def Leppard and Malevolence. Vnder a Crumbling Moon have the backing of Church Road Records and the intensity of a doom-laced Cult of Luna or Amenra. Likely to be devastating to fragile heads, early on a Saturday. Ireosis open things with a classic British heavy metal sound, augmented with a few progressive intricacies to blow your mind early doors.
‘twill be a bitter-sweet moment when Florida Death Metal legends, Obituary, make their fourth visit to Catton Park and their first as a headliner: bitter, because they are the last live act of the weekend and it’ll be a long year before we’re back on site; but sweet because, well because it’s Obituary playing a show, and I don’t care how many of those you’ve seen, there’s always room for a couple more. Their uncompromising commitment to touring has seen them rack up miles by the bucket load, but it never seems to affect either their performances or their recorded output, with the excellent Dying of Everything now a couple of years old. The brothers Tardy, along with guitarist Trevor Peres have been constants, with the current line -up being fleshed out by Kenny Andrews and death metal legend, Terry Butler, on bass.
Bands rarely come more Metal than Canada’s 3 Inches of Blood whose long-overdue return to Bloodstock has been twelve years in the waiting. Granted, for a number of those years the band were on hiatus, and their last full-length record was 2012’s Long Lie Heavy Metal, but who can honestly say they aren’t chomping at the bit to hear Cam’s pipes bellowing out Deadly Sinners once again?
Dark, industrial laced hardcore is the order of the day for Swedish troublemakers Thrown, whose debut album, Excessive Guilt, is barely a year old. Siglos main man, Sinhue Quirin has an impressive CV, boasting memberships of bands like American Head Charge, Society 1, Revolting Cocks and until quite recently, Ministry. Taking ideas from all those acts and mixing in a big dollop of industrial groove, Siglos should be a continuation of Saturday’s electronic fascination. Very much in the vein of those early Bloodstock at the Assembly Rooms, Arizona’s Spirit Adrift will scratch the itch of those yearning for a more power metal sound.
Sure to bring a level of theatricality to the S.O.P.H.I.E. stage on Sunday will be mysterious four-piece, Dogma, whose self-titled debut album has had a couple of years to find its audience, and their cover of Madonna’s Like a Prayer found itself with a single release last year. Coming off the support of Gnome are Wall, an instrumental duo just about to pummel several thousand people into submission. Never a band to let anyone down is Barbarian Hermit whose sludgy metal vibes are just what the doctor ordered, no matter the affliction; leaving just Apathy to start the ball rolling on this final day with their energetic, psychedelic approach to modern metal.
So that’s what’s on offer at Bloodstock Open Air 2025. There’s also the New Blood and Jagermeister stages to distract, though be aware that a band you might see on the New Blood could well end up on the S.O.P.H.I.E. or the Ronnie James Dio. All are worth giving support to as there’s never anything wrong with chasing a dream.
Of the RJD bands, Emperor is the most immediate attraction for me; Ministry and Gojira too, but with Cage Fight and Heriot bound to make things difficult for the big boys. On the S.O.P.H.I.E. it’s all about Obituary and Nailbomb, though Static-X and the return of FourWayKill have very large ticks next to them.
No matter who I’m looking forward to the most, it’s bound to be another year when memories are made through great music, great friends, and a step away from the madness of the modern world, if only for a few days.
Photo credits: Tim Finch Photography
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