REVIEW: Bloodstock Festival, Friday
Igorrr by Nic Howells
Friday at Bloodstock 2024 was a day of intense performances, with fans eagerly anticipating a lineup that promised heavy metal at its finest. With Opeth and Hatebreed among the biggest names of the day, it was set to be one to remember. Variety was on tap for the day, here’s what we saw:
Disposable
Kicking off the day on the New Blood Stage, Disposable are a rising force in the thrash metal scene. Despite the early start, they played to an enthusiastic crowd, setting the bar high for the day. Their fast-paced, aggressive riffs and relentless energy got the festival-goers fully charged, and the New Blood stage worked overtime to iron out some technical kinks. This did nothing to dampen the rowdy Scottish spirits, and Disposable persisted for a belting set.
Desert Storm
Over on the Ronne James Dio stage, Desert Storm kicked off proceedings. Their groovy sound boomed across the field of Catton Hall and drew in a sizable audience as far as opening bands on the main stage have gone in years past. Despite the oomph of the set, this was a very chill way to get things going, tracks like ‘Master of None’ personal favourite ‘Queen Reefer’ mustered many a slow head nod. Desert Storm ensured that everyone had the cobwebs from Thursday shook out and were a very good choice to start the Friday.
Burner
The Sophie Lancaster Stage saw Burne deliver a fierce set that evidenced how wel hardcore genres work at Bloodstock. With bands like Hatebreed and Opeth to appear later in the day, these were a great blend of those styles. They had a lot of energy to show and some killer death metal style vocals in tracks like ‘Hurt Locker’, but that was matched by tight musicianship that is more synonymous with hardcore in tracks like ‘Prometheus Reborn’, with some pretty glorious mosh pits being drawn to boot. Pun intended.
Nervosa
Back on the Main Stage, Nervosa kept the momentum going with a thrash-heavy set that was all killer but had some very poignant moments. The Ronnie stage continue a very boisterous start, though the group played it incredibly cool throughout in spite of the blistering pace on some of their tracks. Frontwoman Prika Amaral was a highlight in the way they completely controlled the air at Catton Hall, as they spoke with a lot of purpose about supporting survivors of physical and mental abuse before tracks like ‘Kill the Silence’. Between some very cutting vocal performances, hefty duelling guitar work between them and Helena Kotina, and a very over eager kick drum, the all-female band delivered a solid performance with plenty of energy.
Green Lung
Green Lungs’ set was where things took more a turn towards the fantastical. Their mix of old school, Sabbath-esque metal and theatrics was a nice continuation of form where all showings on the main stage were very booming entries. Standout tracks like ‘Mountain Throne’ and ‘Hunters in The Sky’ carried well through the Derbyshire air as the weather picked up, while heavier tracks like ‘One for Sorrow’ showed some versatility to warrant their placing on the bill at BOA. Though not its usual bread and butter nowadays, older tinged acts like Green Lung are a safe bet and always perform well at the fest,, similar to hardcore bands, and they delivered one of the day's most memorable performances.
Grand Magus
Continuing up the Ronnie Jame Dio bill brought with it some familiar faces, as Grand Magus strode in for their 4th time playing at Bloodstock Open Air. This is one of the more imposing names that is less often seen in the UK, and with that they brought some spectacle to the afternoon. The trio kicked things off with ‘I The Jury’ as well as newly released track ‘Skybound’. The thing with Grand Magus’ style is that its a marathon, not a sprint, especially when they closed with ‘Hammer Of The North’ and that’s only the 7th song of the set. Power metal never seems to fail at Bloodstock, its not personally a favourite, but if you were to get anyone to do it, Grand Magus is a great choice. Fans of this set also noticed they were due to support Opeth on their upcoming dates in the UK, so the trio have more in store for us before the year is out.
Haliphron
Over on the Sophie Lancaster Stage, Haliphron had the opposite accolade from Grand Magus, with this being both their first BOA appearance, as well as UK date in general since forming in 2021. The group uncorked some new tracks from their ucpoming album An Enemy of Darkness. They offered a dark and atmospheric set that was a contrast to the main stages latest offering, and help skew things towards the heavier tones we could expect as the day went on.
Rotting Christ
Back on the Main Stage, Rotting Christ were another returning face for the 4th time, having last played in 2019 alongside Grand Magus. The fact the Greek outfit have been going for nearly 40 years has absolutely zero signs of showing, as Sakis Tolis was a force on stage, and the band’s performance was tight, with every riff and beat hitting its mark. The chanted vocals during ‘666’ bordered on ritualistic, whilst there was a sprinkle of new material with ‘Like Father, Like Son’ off this years album Pro Xristou. Rotting Christ have yet to enter a boring performance at this festival, delivering one of Friday’s most intense sets, but were also a very accessible example of what is technically a black metal band.
Wolf
At the Sophie Lancaster Stage, Wolf broke the mould amongst returning face, with their set here being a legendary 5th turn around for them. This was their first time at Bloodstock in nearly a decade, and the sparsity of their appearances paid off as they drew a crowd well for this point in the afternoon baring in mind their set coincided with Enslaved on the main stage. Their performance was a crowd-pleaser, with infectious classic heavy metal riffs and powerful vocals that as mentioned never fail at Bloodstock. These were extremely enjoyable and here’s hoping we don't have to wait another 9 years to see them play again here
Enslaved
As mentioned, Enslaved took to the stage while Wolf’s set was well underway, which with credit to the Swedes on the Sophie stage, did impact the attendance on the main stage a little. Their performance was setback somewhat by technical issues and a marginally late start, particularly with the vocal mix but the band's musicianship was predictably on point..
Hatebreed
Personal and forever favourites Hatebreed brought the chaos as they celebrated their 30th anniversary in style, complete with a video package chronicling a who’s who from the metal industry congratulating them on the milestone. Hatebreed has to be the band that can call Bloodstock home, and that proved the festivals versatility as they notably expressed doubt over how they’d be received when they first played back in 2012. This outing was a relentless barrage of hardcore anthems that would rival most festival environments worldwide. Frontman Jamey Jasta never has been one to let a crowd go bored, but he’s at his orchestrating best here. From opener ‘To The Threshold’, to classics like ‘Destroy Everything’ and ‘In The Ashes They Shall Reap’, prolific Slayer cover ‘Ghosts of War’ and more recent tracks like ‘Looking Down the Barrel of Today’ & ‘Honor Never Dies’, we are beyond spoiled to be able to say this is a “typical” Hatebreed setlist. The introduction of their “Ball of Death” was a beautiful little touch as well as the winds made it impossible for the stage hands to recover. By the time final iconic banger ‘I Will Be Heard’ rings out, Hatebreed have cemented themselves as legends in Derbyshire once again.
Absolence
Our final helping of New Blood is from Burnley M2TM winners Absolence, who have been at the heart of the press area throughout the entire day. All of the New Blood acts have been a joy to watch and interact with on the day, but Absolence have been right up there. Minor hiccups on the tech side have persisted through the day and they unfortunately reared their head right at the start of the set. But the Scouse gang and frontman Will Pascoe persist and hammer through a hell of a set where they were even up against Clutch. This one was earned.
Clutch
After the warzone of Hatebreed, Clutch on the main stage offered a more laid-back but no less engaging set on the Main Stage. While the band’s stage presence was mostly subdued, Neil Fallon was a captivating frontman, his charisma carrying the performance. Their setlist, filled with hits from all over their discography, resonated well with the audience, and even inspired some crowd-surfing. Clutch’s performance was a welcome breather in an otherwise intense day. This set was really a double edged sword, as it was perfectly fine, as Clutch always is but based off the reception they got when announced on the big screen last year, we kind of expected more?
Opeth
Closing out the day on the Main Stage was Opeth, the Swedish prog-metal legends who know a thing or two about a headlining set at Bloodstock. They’ve done the job twice before, but notably didn’t headline last time out in 2015, some fans then questioned if they still had it. Well, its safe to say this time around they produced one that was as intricate as it was powerful. Known for their blend of death metal and progressive rock, Opeth dialed up the heaviness. Track variety was a little scarce, as the whole setlist only made up 8 songs. But opener ‘The Grand Conjuration’ is 10 minutes in studio, and was even longer here when they beefed it up for the live setting. Even their lighter tracks like ‘In My Time of Need’ clocked in at just shy of 6 minutes, but did allow for some variety in the set as far as sound goes. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s harsh vocals are something else though it has to be said. Opeth may be a niche band, but they proved beyond a doubt that they deserved their headliner status, closing out Friday with a performance that was musically brilliant. Marmite, to some, but brilliant.
Igorrr
Finally, the Sophie Lancaster Stage was handed over to Igorrr to close out the night. Some people were clearly not prepared for this, with sections of the crowd visibly awestruck by the classical music chicken rave. Having caught them at Radar Festival last year, this wasn’t a surprise that the set was electric as the avant-garde group bringst an unpredictable and chaotic energy. Igorrr’s presence on the bill was personally the most exciting of the headliner’s on the Sophie Lancaster stage, but it was both a wildcard and perfect.
In all, Friday was a day filled with highs and lows as there were a few bands with tech issues throughout the day. Despite this Friday of BOA 2024 was one that left fans buzzing with excitement for what the rest of the weekend might bring. From Disposable’s early thrash assault, Hatebreed’s iconic powderkeg of a set, to Opeth and Igorrr’s late-night spectacles. This lineup showcased the festival’s commitment to offering something for every kind of metalhead.
