Saturday of Bloodstock saw Lamb Of God headlining and plenty of killer sets from the likes of Gojira, Sabaton and Hell. Like Friday Rocksins team on the ground were there to keep reviewing it all!
After how good the first day of Bloodstock was it’s hard not be a bit disappointed by openers Stormbringer (5), their hard rock songs aren’t bad, they’ve just been done a lot better elsewhere leading to their 35 minute set feeling rather boring. Boring is something that could not be said about Hell (8.5) who treat their mid-afternoon set as a headlining slot by putting on a stage show to rival King Diamonds. With enough pyro to last Rammstein at LEAST two songs and some rather outlandish costume changes – that include frontman David Bower entering on stilts dressed as a minotaur and proceeding to spin a flaming trident in circles. Hell’s brand of ridiculous theatrics is exactly what a hungover bloodstock crowd need this morning.
Gojira (9.5) have pretty much become a by-word for excellence and today is no different. The French metallers put on a characteristically intense performance, with the pit going so crazy that they have to stop temporarily due to the barrier breaking, a surprise appearance by a certain Randy Blythe for ‘Backbone’ seals the deal and sets Gojira up nicely as one of the bands of the festival.
There aren’t many bands that can match Gojira in pure extremity, thank god for Sabaton (9) then who are the perfect band to follow Gojira’s full throttle intensity with a characteristically fun performance, despite early technical difficulties Sabaton keep fists pumping and grins wide all around.
Finally it’s time for the most anticipated set of the whole weekend the entire crowd is buzzing before Lamb Of God (9.5) enter and open with ‘Desolation’ inciting pure chaos, with the biggest pits of the weekend so far opening up.
Things get so crazy that five songs into their set – midway through ‘Ruin’ the front barrier breaks completely leading to a long break whilst security repair it. For a lot of bands this could have ruined their night but it doesn’t stop Lamb Of God from coming back on, restarting “Ruin” and letting the chaos commence once again. Randy Blythe kept talk about his recent ordeal in prison to a minimum but made it clear to the crowd that they are to look after each other. The closing combination of “Redneck” and “Black Label” see the pits get even bigger and more chaotic ending the night with a mass of deliriously excited metallers running in ever bigger circles. Despite problems that could have potentially ruined their set Lamb of God leave the stage victorious.
Were you at Bloodstock? Got a different opinion on the bands we reviewed here? Make sure you let us know it below in the comments! Also, if you missed the first part of our Bloodstock Open air 2013 Festival coverage, where we discussed and reviewed the Friday of the event, you can check it out here!
Words by: Sam Dignon and James Halstead
Pictures by: Fran Dignon