Bloodstock Festival: The Indoor Years

Bloodstock Festival: The Indoor Years [2001-2006]

by Dan Barnes

It’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that Bloodstock is twenty-five this year, and the behemoth of a show at Catton Park has become as much as fixture of the UK music scene as Download, Reading/ Leeds and Glasto – only with better music – and a world away from the humble beginnings at the Derby Assembly Rooms in 2001. I don’t think many of us would have imagined that Bank Holiday Monday we were witnessing the birth of something huge, something that would see some of the scene’s biggest names play and grow so close to so many people’s hearts.

In saying that, I do not for a second discount the huge amount of hard work and dedication it’s taken to bring Bloodstock to this point. But first, a bit of background…

The latter-half of the Nineties was slim pickings for Metal fans looking for a festival experience. The obligatory Monsters of Rock returned in 1990 after its forced hiatus the previous year, with strong one-stage line-ups to 1992; but changes were afoot and 1993 didn’t happen, ’94 was two stages and with the date moved to early June. Bill-toppers that year, Aerosmith and Extreme couldn’t hide the fact that the main draws in 1994 were Pantera and Sepultura, with Therapy? being the first non-metal act to appear at the show. 1994 was also the last time a show at Donington Park would bear the name Monsters of Rock.

A year later and Metallica took a break from recording Load to bring a nine-band bill to Donington, under the guise of ‘Escape from the Studio’ a show that included Slayer, Skid Row and Slash’s Snakepit; Therapy? became the first band to play consecutive years, and earlier in the day we had Machine Head, Corrosion of Conformity and White Zombie.

The following year the event was simply referred to as Donington, was co-headlined by Ozzy and a post-reformation Kiss and featured a second stage including Type O Negative and Korn.

Reading went all indie in 1989 and was a shadow of its hard-rockin’ self, but without a Donington show in 1997 it was Metallica’s debut in Berkshire that was the only real festival draw that summer. The Sunday bill also featured Terrorvision, Bush and a special guest slot from an Antichrist Superstar-era Marilyn Manson was scant replacement.

1998 and 1999 had big shows at Milton Keynes’ Bowl: the first UK Ozzfest happened in June ’98 with Sabbath headlining and Ozzy playing a short support set; other bands on the bill included Foo Fighters, Pantera, Slayer and Soulfly and a second stage which featured Pitchshifter, Entombed and Coal Chamber among others. The following year it was the turn of The Big Day Out, headlined by Metallica, again with Marilyn Manson as special guest, the main stage line up featured Ministry and the first festival appearance of Derrick-era Sepultura. Creed, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals and Placebo demonstrated the nature of the music industry at the turn of the millennium was becoming varied. The second stage, headlined by Terrorvision, had Pitchshifter back, an Isreal-bound Mercyful Fate opening the stage and an early-hour appearance by Queens of the Stone Age.

Maiden’s Metal 2000 tour was rumoured to be bringing a big show to Donington but that became a single show at Earls Court with Slayer and Entombed. The year 2000 was a crisis for metal festival goers; and it was from this time that Bloodstock Metal Festival was born.

Happening at Derby’s Assembly Rooms on the Whitsuntide Bank Holiday of 2001, the debut Bloodstock show was a solidly attended event, where, for twenty-five pounds you could see the likes of Primal Fear, ex-Purple man, Glenn Hughes, a solo Blaze Bayley and the final Martin Walkyier-

fronted Skyclad set. In the Darwin Suite were Return to the Sabbat and headliners Orange Goblin who, a matter of weeks before had been opening shows for the Alice Cooper / Dio tour.

Main stage headliners that Monday were NWoBHM survivors, Saxon, who rumour has it replaced the proposed Cradle of Filth. Huge in Europe, Saxon have never seemed to get the widespread recognition they deserve in their homeland, but Bloodstock 2001 found them preaching to the choir and, with the like of Heavy Metal Thunder, 747 (Strangers in the Night) and the obligatory Demin and Leather, how could they fail?

German Power Metal heavyweights, Primal Fear made a rare appearance on UK soil that Monday and started a relationship with Bloodstock that lasted beyond the lifespan of the indoor shows, with them being the band with most Assembly Rooms billings under their belts,

Elsewhere on the line-up were Dirty Deeds, who’d been touring with the likes of Motorhead and Dio and even provided support to Maiden’s Virtual XI trek a few years before; progressive melodic rockers, Area 54 were voted runners up in Metal Hammer’s Best New Band poll of 2000 (being pipped for the top spot by some fly-by-nights from Iowa called Slipknot). In the Darwin Suite you’d also find Crossover band Freebase, an unbelievably young Occupational Hazard and, opening the whole thing, Bloodstream from Bradford, who pretty much crammed the whole of the metal genre into one performance.

Grand Hall: SAXON / Glenn Hughes / Blaze / Skyclad / Primal Fear / Dirty Deeds / Area 54 / Shadow Keep

Darwin Suite: ORANGE GOBLIN / Return to the Sabbat / Consumed / Freebase / Underule / Evoke / Occupational Hazard / Bloodstream

After dipping their toes into the festival waters, 2002 was when the Bloodstock ethos first appeared. The idea of creating a European-type festival in the UK, albeit on a smaller scale to begin with, seemed to capture the imagination and the 2002 line-up was less diverse and more Power Metal orientated. The great coup for Bloodstock was the British debut of Blind Guardian, a booking that so excited the organisers that Blind Guardian sat atop the back of the event shirt that year, above the Bloodstock logo itself (and that’s a fete neither Motorhead, Judas Priest, Scorpions or Alice Copper have achieved)

The festival stayed at the Assembly Rooms but moved to the end of August, where it would remain for the next few years; the format remained the same too: a one-day festival using the Grand Hall and the Darwin Suite. 2002 also saw the birth of the Rock Society for a tenner a membership. An odd memory I have of the 2002 show is standing outside the Assembly Rooms waiting to get in and noticing the amount of Iced Earth shirts surrounded me. Iced Earth were (sadly) not playing that year but it was like an invasion had taken place.

Joining Blind Guardian that day were Kai Hansen’s post-Helloween outfit, Gamma Ray, and NWoBHM survivors, Diamond Head, alongside progressive outfits, Threshold and Balance of Power, German power metal heroes, Freedom Call and, opening the mainstage were highly touted London crew, Biomechanical, whose version of metal was imbued with everything the new millennium believed it should be.

Return to the Sabbat were back in the Darwin Suite, headlining this time, above sci-fi black metallers, Bal-Sagoth, Irish pagan horde, Primordial, made a rare visit to Albion, and Elvenking brought their folky power metal to Derby much to the satisfaction of the assembled masses. Yet it wasn’t just wall-to-wall power metal, with Bloodstock having booked Nu metal outfit,

Twelvepointhead and their Defaced debut still gets a spin or two from myself when I’m in that kinda mood; Hull’s Infobia opened and Enemymaker888 would rebrand as Babylon Fire a few years later, but their show in 2002 was very enjoyable.

Grand Hall: BLIND GUARDIAN / Gamma Ray / Diamond Head / Threshold / Balance of Power / Freedom Call / Biomechanical

Darwin Suite: RETURN TO THE SABBAT / Bal-Sagoth / Primordial / Elvenking / Enemymaker 888 / Twelvepointhead / Infobia

The 2002 programme showed Bloodstock was far from content to stand still and announced the 2003 edition would take place over two days and be the biggest yet. Saxon were confirmed for the Friday night headline slot and they promised a huge show of Euro festival proportions (or as much of an approximation of one you could fit onto the Assembly Rooms stage) and brough the eagle set with them to Derby. But it was Saturday’s headliner that drew the most interest: Nightwish. Another UK debutant, Nightwish were touring their Century Child album and had not broken into the British market at that point. Also on the bill that day were home-country heroes Paradise Lost and a little band called DragonForce who were but one album into their career.

The success of the Rock Society saw its return in the same format, but this year had the advantage of early access to the signing room. The Bloodstock brand has always championed new artists and the early days were no exception. As a member of the Rock Society the organisation would periodically send out demo samplers from up-and-coming bands who would be playing the next show. I still have CD samplers from the likes of Bumsnogger, Bates Motel, Enemymaker888 and a whole load more.

Not so much a two-day event as yet, Bloodstock 2003’s opening salvo happened on Friday evening with just four bands appearing in the Grand Hall. Early arrivals had the chance to appear in the video shoot for The Awakening by Biomechanical who’d be back this year for a Darwin Suite headline show. 5th Man Down and Power Quest got the crowd warmed-up and Blaze, now an established solo performer, did his damnedest to unseat Saxon, with a mixture of current material and a few Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden numbers in there for good measure. But the Yorkshire veterans had the eagle and brought And the Bands Played On, Denim and Leather, Princess of the Night and a climatic Wheels of Steel to the Assembly Rooms.

Earlier in the day, as the queue snaked its way around the square in front of the venue, Central Six News came and did some interviews for the local news that night. An afternoon in the Walkabout Bar and I thought I was as erudite as Peter Ustinov, when in reality I was just pissed-up; the cameraman said we had to go again due to a technical issue, but my pithy observations and witty repartee had forsaken me and I just babbled incoherently second time around.

2003 was the first time Bloodstock sold out, and with a strong Saturday line-up it was hardly surprising; perhaps more surprising was the lack of beer come the evening! This rock thing is thirsty work and as the pumps ran dry, someone was sent off to Asda for creates of beer. It’s small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but I can say I contributed to that shortage.

I’m going to suggest that Saturday in 2003 was the strongest single day in the Indoor show’s history, with both stages been rammed with names that would become and remain firm friends of the show. Hard to believe that until that time, Finnish symphonic band, Nightwish, hadn’t played a single show on UK soil, and their debut was in front of about eighteen-hundred expectant punters. Touring the Century Child record, Nightwish absolutely nailed it, mixing tunes from it with earlier material and

cover versions of Crazy Train, Walking in the Air and the closing Over the Hills and Far Away, they set the benchmark for all headliners to match.

Paradise Lost were firm favourites across the European festival circuit and came to Derby with their Symbol of Life album, playing one of the best PL shows I could remember; Edguy were a late replacement for Hammerfall who’d been forced to cancel due to some motorcycle madness; Masterplan were another Helloween spin-off to reach Derby for a UK debut show, Saracen were NWoBHM-adjacent local heroes, and a little band from London called DragonForce, who were only one album into their career but would blow up pretty big in the years following.

The Darwin Suite had Biomechnical as headliner, FourWayKill, who would spend the next few years as Bloodstock’s proxy house-band and the wonderful Illuminatus, who were years ahead of their time and whose light shone so very brightly. Waylander ticked those folk metal boxes, and Invey were one of the UK underground’s leading lights. Local lads, Cruel Humanity played black metal and were years ahead of the wave of UKBM bands that emerged half-a-decade later; Bates Motel were Nu, NineDeNine were alternative and Bumsnogger were as you might expect with such a name.

Friday Grand Hall: SAXON / Blaze / Power Quest / 5th Man Down

Saturday Grand Hall: NIGHTWISH / Paradise Lost / Edguy / Masterplan / Saracen / DragonForce / Mercury Rain

Saturday Darwin Suite: BIOMECHANICAL / FULC / Waylander / FourWayKill / Invey / Bates Motel / Illuminatus / NineDeNine / Cruel Humanity / Bumsnogger

Bloodstock Metal Festival’s bar had been set extremely high by the 2003 event, so it was a perhaps inevitable that 2004 would feel a little uninspired. Of the twenty-five bands booked for that year’s show, the faithful had already seen eight of them play this venue in the previous three festivals.

That said, the Bloodstock brand was spreading its wings and looking at the wider genre of Metal, rather than simply trying to repeat 2003’s sell-out formula. In 2004, were had both stages working full time both days. The truncated Friday show was headlined by the returning Gamma Ray who were making a rare appearance back at the Assembly Rooms. Threshold found themselves bumped up the bill to Special Guests, as both Illuminatus and Infobia traded the Darwin Suit for the Grand Hall.

The Darwin Suite became the Femme Fatales Stage, with four female fronted acts, including a returning Invey, gothic collective, Liquid Sky and Super Massive Object opening the show. Headline duty was undertaken by Season’s End, who played a blinder. I might have been drunk that night, I can’t remember.

Saturday brought eclectic line-ups to both stages: from the pure metal mayhem of Intense, through the forward-looking style of Panic Cell, and on to the more familiar waters of Balance of Power, there was something for everyone in 2004. Evergrey made their Bloodstock debut and made a load of new fans, Primal Fear did their thing with a ruthless efficiency and Finns, Sonata Arctica took the special guest slot with a fragile power that made one wonder why they didn’t have more exposure on these shores.

Grand Hall headliner in ’04 was fellow Finns, Children of Bodom, whose appearance would begin a long relationship with Bloodstock organisation which lasted up to Alex Laiho’s tragically untimely death at the age of forty-one in December 2021. While not as vital as Nightwish’s headline slot the previous year, Bodom proved there was a place for power metal mixed with melodic death metal in

the festival’s future. Tracks from Something Wicked, Hatebreeder, and the break-through Hatecrew Deathroll went down a storm and brought Bloodstock 2004 to a rousing conclusion.

Saturday’s Darwin Suite line up was nothing if not adventurous, with Bloodstock 2004 looking to bring as broad a spectrum of heavy music to the stage as possible. Resin 69, SevenYearsDead and Humanity were great examples of where the UK metal scene was headed at the time. Nowhere Near the Garden took things in a more alternative direction; The Prophecy followed in the footsteps of fellow Yorkists My Dying Bride and early Paradise Lost by exploiting the glorious misery of their Ashes debut, and pagan Celts Crauchan took the Assembly Rooms back into Prehistory. However, it was the double whammy of aggression from Northampton’s Gutworm and FourWayKill returning as stage headliner for an almighty climax.

In time for the 2004 show, Bloodstock produced the compilation DVD Pure Blood: Volume 1, meant to kick off a series showcasing the best of the “New Blood of British Metal”. I’ve lost count of the number of drunken nights that ended up with this being put on and, although the production values of some of the promo videos on offer are questionable, there is a sincerity to the whole endeavour that echoes the Bloodstock ethos and intension. Biomechanical’s The Awakening kicks thing off, FourWayKill’s confrontational 24 Hours to Die blasts, Illuinatus’ Wargasm features crowd and festival shots from the 2003 show, The Prophecy’s Killing Fields is suitably gothic, while Panic Cell – who get two videos – suggest they were capable of more than they managed to achieve.

Friday Grand Hall: GAMMA RAY / Threshold / Sinergy / Illuminatus / Infobia

Friday Darwin Suite: SEASON’S END / Invey / Liquid Sky / Super Massive Object

Saturday Grand Hall: CHILDREN OF BODOM / Sonata Arctica / Primal Fear / Balance of Power / Evergrey / Panic Cell / Intense

Saturday Darwin Suite: FOURWAYKILL / Cruachan / The Prophecy / Gutworm / Nowhere Near the Garden / Humanity / Seven Years Dead / Rezin 69

The indoor show of 2005 was the second Bloodstock event of the year, with the inaugural Open Air show having taken place back in June. The wing-spreading of 2004’s show continued into 2005, but the organisers seemed to keep such experimentation to a minimum for Friday’s show, which finally saw Hammerfall – booked for 2003 but unable to appear- come to Derby, with a supporting Grand Hall cast of power metal soldiers Stormwarrior, billed as performing a “Kai Hansen exclusive Helloween set”, Metalium and the thrash-oriented Reckless Tide. The non-more-metal continued in the Darwin Suite with Conquest of Steel headlining a bill including Italians Warchild, Deliverance and Zillah.

On Saturday the Grand Hall hosted the most ambitious bill yet, with Dutch heavyweights, Within Temptation, Viking Horde, Amon Amarth and Floor Jensen’s pre-Nightwish band, After Forever topping the show. Bob Catley’s solo appearance is the closest Bloodstock came to booking Magnum, which was a constant source of amazement to me around the time – I’ve learnt to live with it in the years since – as well as the Geordie band who were Venom before Venom, Raven, and power metallers Iron Saviour and Suidakra.

Fresh from the Femme Fatal Stage headline last year, Hampshire Gothic crew Season’s End took the opportunity of a main stage appearance to record the long-form in-concert video, Ascension. Opening act Rise to Addiction already had the chops in the form of Steve Wray and John Slater who had been part of Blaze Bayley’s solo band before heading off in a more modern direction.

The Darwin Suite was another mixed bag reflecting the music scene of the time; legends Cathedral headlined, with a supporting cast of progressives Soliloquy, thrashing metalcore outfit, Balance of Silence; gothic punks, Jesus Fix; short-lived Anticulture aggressors, Kingsize Blues, youngsters Dreadnought, industrialists Pjo-Jekt; programmed insanity from MFKZT and Bristol’s Osmium.

Friday Grand Hall: HAMMERFALL / StormWarrior / Metalium / Reckless Tide

Friday Darwin Suite: CONQUEST OF STEEL / Warchild / Deliverance / Zillah

Saturday Grand Hall: WITHIN TEMPTATION / Amon Amarth / After Forever / Bob Catley / Raven / Iron Saviour / Suidakra / Season’s End / Rise to Addiction

Saturday Darwin Suite: CATHEDRAL / Soliloquy / Balance of Silence / Jesus Fix / Kingsize Blues / Dreadnought / Pro-Jekt / MFKZT / Osmium

Without want to sound wise-after-the-event but it was clear in 2006 that the Bloodstock Metal Festival was suffering under the weight of the Open Air show and running both was not a realistic option. We had baked at Catton Park watching Edguy and Stratovarius back in July, in that year’s sweltering heat-wave – and the indoor show was shaping up to go further beyond the Bloodstock boundaries than ever before.

The Grand Hall played host to a third show from Primal Fear, who would be deservedly headlining, alongside German guitar god Axel Rudi Pell, Savage Circus, Majesty and British survivors Marshall Law. In the Darwin Suite UK progressives To-Mera headlined, even though they had only formed a couple of years earlier; Spanish power metal troupe, Eden, and German Thrashers Steel Tormentor took top spots. Come the close of business on Friday night, Bloodstock 2006 was very clearly undersold.

It was undoubtably a brave move to book Yorkshire doom death royalty, My Dying Bride, and Scandinavian Industrialists Deathstars to top the Saturday bill; Germans Brainstorm, Finns Machine Men and Omnium Gatherum, and Italians Spellblast, joined UK bands Sworn Amongst, Illuminatus and thrash legends, Onslaught, in a line up that didn’t seem to know what it wanted to do.

The steady exodus during My Dying Bride’s set was unfortunate, both for the band and those leaving early as they missed an awesome show, in which the band put Bloodstock through the emotional wringer.

A similar thing could be said of the Darwin Suite’s line-up; mixing progressive Germans Vanden Plas, thrashers Deadfall and Enemy Unknown, with Aussie grooving industrialists, Tourettes Syndrome, and Celtic folk band Mael Mordha for a very eclectic mix indeed.

The lack of uptake in 2006 – possibly not helped by shifting the show on by about a month to the end of September – suggested, even from an outsider’s perspective, that something was afoot in the Bloodstock camp.

Friday Grand Hall: PRIMAL FEAR / Axel Rudi Pell / Savage Circus / Majesty / Marshall Law

Friday Darwin Suite: TO-MERA / Eden / Steel Tormentor / Isaiah / Awaken

Saturday Grand Hall: MY DYING BRIDE / Deathstars / Onslaught / Brainstorm / Machine Men / Omnium Gatherum / Sworn Amongst / Spellblast / Illuminatus

Saturday Darwin Suite: VANDEN PLAS / Deadfall / Died Smiling / Enemy Unknkown / Tourettes Syndrome / Beyond Afterlife / Agankast / Mael Mordha / Hostile / Blood Embrace

Although 2007 announced shows at both Catton Park and the Assembly Rooms, ultimately the indoor shows were put on ice to concentrate efforts and finances into growing the Open Air event.

There were rumours at times that the Assembly Rooms might be used again for other Bloodstock related events, but nothing ever came of those; the Assembly Rooms itself was damaged by fire in 2014, leading it to stand idle for the next decade while someone at the council figured out what to do with it. I don’t think we should hold our breathes on this one, to be honest.

Putting this whistle-stop tour of the indoor Bloodstock events it was interesting to consider the bands I’d been writing about. Artists like Blind Guardian, Nightwish, Children of Bodom, Amon Amarth and Within Temptation were not big names in UK markets before they played at Derby, and then their stock began to rise on these shores. All five have been back to the festival at least once, with Amon making four further appearances, include two headlining shows in 2017 and 2024.

Children of Bodom returned on five occasions, including headlining the first Open Air show in 2005 and co-headlining with Fear Factory in 2010; their last performance was in 2019, alongside Soulfly and Sabaton, but their contribution to the Bloodstock legacy will never be forgotten. I’d be remiss not to mention DragonForce who went stellar in the years following their 2003 show. Supporting W.A.S.P. in 2004, having tunes on the popular Guitar Hero franchise, and generally just being larger than life. Personnel uncertainty destabilised the band and they – to date – have only been to Catton Park once, back in 2016; however, with former Arch Enemy vocalist, Alissa Whit-Glutz adding her pipes to Marc Hudon’s already impressive voice, the band could well see a resurgence.

There was also the other side of the coin: those bands who were sure to make it but, for whatever reason, never did.

The three that most stand out for me is FourWayKill, Panic Cell and Illuminatus; all had the chops to make it, all had the drive and desire out on the road, and all had a specific identity that separated them from the pack. Sadly, it was not to be, and we are left wonder that might have been. FWK’s appearance at last year’s show proved they were no flash in the pan; maybe PC and Illuminatus might be afforded a similar opportunity in the future.

So, a happy twenty-fifth birthday to you, Bloodstock, and many happy returns. It’s been a blast from day one!

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