Bloodstock 2026: Sunday Review – Ronnie James Dio Stage
9th August 2026
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Tim Finch
And before you know it, we’re at the last day of 2026. There’s rumours the sun might jog-on and give us all a break at some point today, but I’m not holding my breath on that one.
Yee-haw! In from the badlands of Basingstoke come country rockers, Bootyard Bandits, who get Bloodstock’s final day underway with a whole load of fun and a spot of smut. The debut album, Songs for the Saddle Sore is well represented, as are a host of new ones, just ripe for the releasing. Country Music features a saucy syllable pause, Shirt Potatoes is full of puns, and Disco Cowboy finds some of the early security staff to have a little bit of a hoedown before the main business of the day begins in earnest. Cannibal Barbecue, Let’s Rodeo and Hoedown Showdown are perfect ways to start the day.
From the traditional American west to the alternative nu-metalcore, Graphic Nature have made their way to Catton Park from Alcatraz Metal Fest in Belgium for their last show of the year. Edgy rhythms and hardcore attitude support the big grooves and electronics, lifted from the band’s two records. Into the Dark, Sleepless and Killing Floor all come complete with industrial undertones; Locked In and N.F.A. show a movement toward utilising two-steppin’ rhythms. New track, Faceless, leans into the Nu, and suggests a third full-length is on the way soon. Vocalist, Harve Freeman even intimated this would be the last time we would get to hear some of these songs live.
Brooklyn theatrical doom band, Castle Rat, wowed at Damnation last November with their unashamed performance, clad in scanty animal skins and regaling glorious tales of victorious campaigns. In the beating heat of Bloodstock, the blend of Sabbath-doom and stoner metal coalesce in a medieval mythology, heavily inspired by comic book author Frank Frazetta, becomes the battleground where the armies of Castle Rat will clash with their sworn enemy, the Rat Reaperness. Last year’s album, The Beastiary chronicles the conflict, through Wizard, Wolf I, Siren, Dragon, and Serpent, with protagonists The Rat Queen, The Count, The Plague Doctor and The Druid – or the musicians of the band – defending the realm from the aforementioned Rat Reaperness. It’s all very bonkers, but a whole lot of fun.
Kittie vocalist, Morgan Lander, eschews the usual black garb and opts for a red dress for the band’s show this afternoon. It’s not as out-there as Riley Pinkerton’s furry loincloth, but it does serve to remind us all that some folks still like to make an effort on a Sunday. Either that, or she’s off out for a carvery straight after the set. Away from the scenes of the nineties and early noughts, Kittie don’t bear the yoke of being the most successful all-female band of their time and can be looked at as creators of fine and heavy music. Early material Mouthful of Poison, Brackish and Spit, sit comfortably with 2011’s I’ve Failed You, Ugly and We are the Lamb, and equally so with the newest songs Fire and Eyes Wide Open which bookend the set.
Theirs has been a steady rise to mass acceptance, with the Swedish modern metal machine that is Orbit Culture being one of the stand-out names on a bill jam-packed with mouth-watering treats. Last year’s Death Above Life occupies half of the set with the title track, The Storm and The Tales of War all being aired. Huge Gojira-influences colour the sound, contemporary metal mixed with the home country’s death approach. The oldest song on offer today is Nija’s North Star of Nija with its pummelling, almost power metal, march. Fourth tune from the new record, Hydra, finds itself interrupted and, ultimately, abandoned due to an injury in the pit. After four days of this heat and such intense action, it’s scarcely a wonder more casualties haven’t been reported.
It’s an old school thrasher’s dream set from Testament on their fifth visit to these hallowed grounds. Henchman’s Ride and a galloping More than Meets the Eye are lifted from 2008’s The Formation of Damnation record and hit during the first half of the set. Otherwise, it’s a trip back in time to the Eighties for opener Into the Pit, still a stone-cold thrash monster after all these years. Practice What You Preach bounces as much as it rages, and Sins of Omission make us scratch our heads as to why the 1989 record doesn’t get more love. Flame pot blast, turning up the heat even more, with clouds of dust being kicked up by the spinning pit. All members of the band are wearing shades this afternoon, more of a protection from the sun, than a coolness thing, me thinks; Electric Crown hints at the nineties direction the band would take, and Nature of the Beast is the only tune lifted from Para Bellum, which finds guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick exchanging licks like they were Tipton and Downing. Over the Wall is the set closer, one of thrash’s greatest moments.
The UK chapter of the Black Label Society are out in force this afternoon for Zakk Wylde’s first return to Catton Park since his 2015 Bloodstock debut. Oldie Funeral Bell from 2003’s The Blessed Hellride opens the 2026 account, followed by Name in Blood from this year’s Engines of Demolition album. It’s sludge-infused biker rock, full of emotionally charged soloing and a whole heap of noodling. John DeSevio plays the unmistakeable bass intro to Ozzy’s No More Tears and Zakk, having spent an inordinate length of time with the great man, pays his own tribute to his mentor. Set You Free is built around a ripping guitar line, inflatables are launched into the late afternoon skies during Fire It Up’s elongated jam, and the show closes with the back-to-back of Suicide Messiah and Stillborn. Sometimes BLS draw out their songs too much, in my honest opinion, but at Bloodstock today they did it the perfect amount.
It’s taken a while, but Body Count finally make it to Bloodstock for one of my most anticipated sets of the weekend. I had the benchmark of the Merciless tour in 2024 to set this show against, and that was easily one of the shows of that year. A blend of classic metal, thrash and heavy hardcore, along with Ice-T’s signature word-craft and Hip-Hop vibes, make BC an enthralling prospect.
The Civil War intro and Body Count’s In the House get the ball rolling, with the stage being filled with band members; Slayer’s Reign in Blood/ Postmortem show from where much of Body Count’s metal credentials stem; Point the Finger’s album version featured the late Riley Gale of Power Trip, and there’s a certain tongue-in-check feel during the autobiographical There Goes the Neighbourhood, as Ernie C shreds.
The Purge, from the last record, Merciless, takes the idea of the film of the same name and gives it a gang point of view; Manslaughter deals with the emasculation of men; and No Lives Matter is a wake-up call to everyone who thinks we’re divided across racial lines, when it’s really economics that separates. Ice rates the Bloodstock mosh pit during Psychopath as a seven, leaving Lil Ice on the mic for Drive By.
The Exploited medley finds War, UK82 and Disorder sewn together and Ice recruits a couple of youngsters from the crowd and gives them advice of how to deal with bullies during Talk Shit, Get Shot.
Cop Killer closes the show, into the virtual encore, when the band pretend to walk off stage, but actually stay in-situ, for Born Dead and the thesis that explains what and who Body Count are: This is Why We Ride.
Sunday night and the Priest is back! Making a third headlining appearance all-round Heav Metal royalty, Judas Priest provide the perfect mainstage climax to Bloodstock’s twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations. Without a new studio record to plug, the legends take Catton Park on a whistle-stop tour of their greatest hits. Like Sepultura, Priest’s intro tape is the Sabbath classic, War Pigs before the huge stage curtain drops and You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ blasts from the speakers. Metal
Gods and an early Breaking the Law finds everyone in good voice, even after four days of heat and dust.
The Ripper goes back to Sad Wings of Destiny in 1976; The Sentinel to the pedal-to-the-metal of ‘84’s roaring Defenders of the Faith, and Desert Plains carries with it the arid vastness of the American west. The rhythm section of Scott Travis and Ian Hill, who predates the Judas Priest name, have been in lockstep since 1989 and seem to have an unspoken connection; Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap have one of the most difficult jobs in Metal by trying to replicate the Tipton/ Downing axis, yet manage it with aplomb; and Mr Halford, for all his near-seventy-five years still prowls the big stages and still hits those high notes.
Newer songs Lightning Strike, Panic Attack and Halls of Valhalla show Priest’s later material can stand shoulder to shoulder with their more established tunes; for all its criticism over the past forty years, I would bet there aren’t many people in this field not singing along to Turbo Lover. Great to hear Steeler and Delivering the Goods and the classic Victim of Changes, all delivered with a powerful punch; but none so much as set closer, Painkiller.
The Hellion introduces Electric Eye, Rob’s Harley has been waiting backstage since nine o’clock this morning (we saw it gleaming in the morning sun as we walked in) and the British Steel anthem, Living After Midnight beings the curtain down on the Priest set, the day and the main stage activities for another year.
Reflections on 2026 and looking to 2027 will dominate the discussion for the coming weeks. For what it’s worth, my favourite Ronnie James Dio stage bands from this year were Party Cannon, Life of Agony, Biohazard, Sepultura, Body Count, Saxon and Judas Priest.
Photo credits: Tim Finch
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