The annual Bloodstock Open Air Festival held at Catton Hall has always catered to the more extreme end of tastes with both a friendly and intimate atmosphere and a consistently fantastic lineup. This year is no different with death metal heavyweights Cannibal Corpse and Death To All making appearances alongside headliners Trivium, Rob Zombie and Within Temptation.
There’s something for every single fan of the heavier end of metal; modern metal pioneers Trivium headline Friday night while Symphonic metal sees a welcome return to headliner status at Bloodstock in Within Temptation. Rob Zombie is, additionally, sure to provide a show on the Sunday night. Some might be discouraged by the lack of a truly extreme headliner but, really, with Cannibal Corpse, Opeth and Death DTA coming in near the top of each days bill is there much to worry about? By the time it reaches the headliners anyway, surely it’s time for a break having been bludgeoned all day by the likes of Dark Angel, Napalm Death and Belphegor. Additionally, both Within Temptation and Rob Zombie both have gigantic, and very impressive stage shows which are sure to be a welcome chance to relax at the end of the day. Trivium, additionally, have one of the finest back catalogues of any metal band in the past ten years. Sure, they’re not Emperor doing ‘Nightside in full. But not much is really going to top that at BOA in the near future, is it?
Once again Bloodstock have excelled in booking acts rarely seen in the UK. Particularly exciting this year is the booking of Bay Area Thrashers Dark Angel; once enviously described by Kerry King as being better than Slayer they’re sure to whip up a storm. Also playing, Ihsahn returns with his solo project after headlining with Emperor last year. With Ihsahn playing the same day as Trivium could this also see the unveiling of the long awaited Mrityu material he has been working on with Matt Heafy of Trivium? They’ve certainly been taking their time about it. Meanwhile the smaller stages are packed with some brilliant British talent of all ages and genres – be it Hang The Bastard, Reign Of Fury, Ol Drake, Triaxis or Ageless Oblivion, any of whom in the future could join the group of bands who’ve graduated to main stage status including the likes of Xerath and Savage Messiah, who are now rubbing shoulders with long time home grown favourites Raging Speedhorn, Orange Goblin and the aforementioned Napalm Death. Not to mention it all kicks off on Thursday night with some hero worshipping courtesy of Arnocorps! GOOOOOOO!
The gates at Catton Hall open for BOA 2015 tomorrow (Thursday 6th of August) with music taking place at the festival all four days (6th – 9th of August) and the camp site closes Monday the 10th of August. There are still limited tickets available for Bloodstock Open Air Festival 2015 which can be collected on the gate at the festival. Please visit www.bloodstock.uk.com for details of how to purchase and collect tickets. With all that having been said, Rock Sins will see as many of you as possible at Catton Hall! Stay tuned to this website after the festival for tons of coverage including an in-depth day-by-day review, photos and interviews with many of the bands.