REVIEW: Bloodstock Festival, Sunday
Infected Rain by Nic Howells
Sunday at Bloodstock 2024 was the final chapter of a weekend filled with metal mayhem, and the lineup delivered a mix of rising talent and iconic legends. The day was a fitting conclusion to an unforgettable festival. Here’s what we witnessed:
Straight For The Sun
Kicking off the New Blood Stage, Straight For The Sun brought a fresh wave of metal energy. This js by no means their first rodeo, which meant a dedicated crowd had formed on the barrier for some laid back but respectable rocking out on the final day. They played with the fervor of a band hungry to make their mark on such a big opportunity. Times like this is where booking the Sophie and New Blood Openers to start simultaneously is a lamentable choice, as Straight for the Sun deserved all the credit in terms of bands to kick your day off. Despite minor sound issues, the band’s enthusiasm shone through, and perhaps best of all is that they clearly just enjoyed the whole experience, which is a substantial difference maker in why fans will watch to catch an act again. Straight for The Sun certainly tick that box.
Raised By Owls
Over on the Main Stage, Raised By Owls injected humor and grindcore chaos into the morning. Now Saturday’s writeup did lambast gimmick bands somewhat, but Raised By Owls are a great example of doing silly and serious just right. In that same breath, I’d absolutely never have expected to see Ainsley Harriot fully filling the screen at the back of the Ronnie James Dio stage, during a song about ‘Hot Spicy Meat’. Raised By Owls blend of death metal with comedic flair made for one of the festival's most unique and entertaining sets. The main thing that sets it apart to something more palatable is the stylistic choice, as many a visual gag can pop up, but the music itself is still heavy as hell. The appearance of Sam Fowler’s mum and the disgusting mascot Mr. Blobby only added to the absurdity. Raised By Owls certainly delivered a bizarre yet memorable start to the day.
Awake By Design
On the Sophie Lancaster Stage, Awake By Design offered a melodic respite. Their sound in the tent showcased the band’s ability to blend heaviness with emotion, and the crowd responded with appreciation for what was a hefty slot early on in the day. The band's performance was tight, their harmonies on point, and they provided a calming contrast to the more aggressive acts of the day.
Cultura Tres
Back on the Ronnie James Dio Stage, Cultura Tres brought one of the few offerings of a more sludge leaning sound. The South American influence on the festival was very consistent across the board this year, but Cultura Tres’ slot was by far one of the more high profile acts. A significant draw for the fans was former Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson joining them in the place of usual member Paulo Jr. They built the set primarily off of last years release Camino de brujos, opening with the anthemic ‘The World And Its Lies’. The one exception of that was nestled in the middle with ‘Day One’ from their La Secta release . The band's musicianship was impressive, but the genre difference would perhaps have been a better fit on one of the other days for what is a very milestone set for the band. These are one we’d be happy to see again in future years.
Moon Reaper
Over at the Sophie Lancaster Stage, Moon Reaper delivered a crushing set of doom-laden post-metal. The band's atmosphere was by far their biggest draw over those who stuck with Cultura Tres’ set or ventured to Froglord on the New Blood stage who had gained a cult following over the course of the weekend. The people who chose to attend Moon Reaper may well have caught the first glimpse at a band we can expect to see much higher over the years at Bloodstock. Their performance was both haunting and heavy, a perfect fit for the darkened tent.
Soen
Soen graced the Main Stage with their progressive metal artistry at potentially one of the worst times as it was here that heat really started to hit the fans in Derbyshire. That said, the crowd was large, verbally enthusiastic, but a bit subdued in physical energy. Opening with ‘Memorial’, the band leaned more towards melody than chaos which served them well for how best to fill the fields of Catton Hall. Joel Ekelöf’s rich vocals and Cody Lee Ford’s soaring guitar solos earned a lot of appreciation from fans during ‘Lotus’ and‘Antagonist’, while the inclusion of pyro during set close ‘Violence’ was a definite surprise. Soen definitely seemed to over delivery vs the atmosphere when they took to the stage, the sooner and more high profile these are back, the better.
Root Zero
Back on the New Blood Stage, Root Zero offered a fresh dose of groove-laden metal. Whilst pushing the stage close to capacity with 6 members, the set was full of energy, with chunky riffs and catchy hooks from the South Wales M2TM winners. The crowd had a lot of enthusiasm for this band, which given they were not one of the more local flavours speaks to their quality. Root Zero is a band to watch in the future.
Beast In Black
On the Ronnie James Dio Stage, Beast In Black continued a stay of form for power metal and its performance on the main stage. Like Unleash the Archers at the same time the day before, the European unit took the stage with substantial bravado, with Yannis Papadopoulos proclaiming themselves as “true heavy metal” as they strode on with ‘Blade Runner’. In reception alone, it’s hard to argue that they aren’t a case of exactly what metal is about. Their sci-fi aesthetic is a slight step outside of the “traditional” bounds of power metal, but it has 0 effects on their quality on tracks like ‘Power Of The Beast’ and show closer ‘End of the World’.
Grove Street
Grove Street might’ve been one of the most exciting acquisitions of the Sophie stage in 2024. The inclusion of them as a “crossover” artist endeared them substantially to the Bloodstock setting, and this show felt like a real arrival for them. Their set was a no-holds-barred assault, with a guest executioner on stage as part of a rarely seen gimmick part of the performance in hardcore bands. Said executioner brought an axe down at the start of the set to kick things off with ‘Lessons of The Past’ as well as providing guest vocals during ‘Divided Kingdom’. The relentless riffage of the set combined with Ben Sullivan’s ability to barely ever be in the ground drove circle pits and even a crowd-surfing inflatable dinghy. The band fed off the chaotic energy; Grove Street proved that they have a firm place at Bloodstock.
Septicflesh
The appetite for Septicflesh appearing once more at Bloodstock was very high. Though often featured as a mid-afternoon band, the Greek legends always deliver on a higher level than that. Spiros Antoniou’s ability to orchestrate a crowd (or “his friends” as he regularly refers to them as) is second to very few. Septicflesh performances in the UK are still a relatively sparse thing, with them only having one tour and one festival appearance since their last time at Bloodstock. Those in attendance for their last set in 2018 will remember the bulk of the setlist, as it was largely unchanged with the exception of ‘Neuromancer’, ‘Heirophant’ and ‘A Desert Throne’, all off of 2022’s Modern Primitive. There’s 0 criticism involved in that fact, as the set plays out in stellar fashion. The crushing 45 minutes ending with the classics ‘Anubis’ and ‘Dark Art’, though it’s been said a couple of times during out Bloodstock coverage, please have these headlines any night at all on the Sophie stage.
Ankor
Over on the Sophie Lancaster Stage, Ankor delivered a dynamic set of modern metal from substantially closer to home than a lot of the lineup, hailing from Catalonia, Spain. Jesse Williams says the Bloodstock fans have 0 to want from their home country though as it is quote, “hot as shit”. This much was true, and it made the set all the warmed for the fact Ankor spewed energy. Their blend of alternative metal and catchy melodies made for an engaging performance. One thing that definitely defines this set is synchronicity, as the members are constantly on beat with each other right down to physical movement, specifically with Williams and Fito Martinez having a fun back-to-back interaction during ‘Stereo’ (which is an insanely satisfying song title to make that point about).
The Night Flight Orchestra
The Night Flight Orchestra has for many years at Bloodstock been subject to many oohs and ah’s about their presence at the festival since their first booking in the 2020 in an “absence makes the heart grow fonder” sort of way. The fact these have made the jump from Thursday Sophie, to Sunday Sophie, to Sunday Main Stage in a key slot is a massive testament to their star power. The retro rock vibe is an amazing fit for this stage in the day, and it brought with it some infections energy as well as some of the more subtle fancy dress of the weekend. We’re looking at you, dinosaurs. Dressed in air hostess uniforms and aviators, the band’s catchy choruses and groove-laden tracks like ‘Midnight Flyer’ ‘Divinyls’ and ‘Gemini’. The highlight of their set was a spontaneous conga line during ‘West Ruth Ave,’ proving that classic rock can hold its own at a metal festival, especially when it makes people get just that bit silly.
Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly brought their unique blend of Celtic punk to the Main Stage, as well as enforced further rules to that silliness from Night Flights set. Now musically, Flogging is anything but daft, and the use of Folk itself as a genre at this point in the day just kept spirits so high. Tracks like ‘Drunken Lullabies’ and ‘Swagger’ almost force the audience to dance just because of how jovial Catton Hall feels. There’s many a pint in the air, some of them some very obligatory Guinness, given out by the band. The idea of the band’s infectious energy and catchy tunes initially had fans gawping after their announcement at least years festival. But their placement on Sunday made it clear exactly what the plan was. The group has the perfect blend of talent, joy, and poignancy as they rattle off ‘What’s Left of The Flag’ & ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ and call Bloodstock “perfect”. This was just wholesome.
Carcass
Now only on a handful of occasions do you get former headliners of a festival appearing in any other slot than that. Carcass have a legend status among Bloodstock fans, and their pattern of going at least 5 years between appearances just welds that cross to them. The group has been especially active since 2022 opening the world back up to touring, so there’s a lot of grease on the gears for the grindcore icons. Their set was intense but cathartic, for many this band is so special that ferocious tracks like ‘Kelly’s Meat Emporium’ play out like classic rock if you were solely looking at the crowd. But as expected, the Liverpool outfit delivered a hard-hitting, albeit somewhat stationary set, with only Bill Steer in his bell-bottom jeans kicking much dust around the stage. Jeff Walker’s growls contrasted sharply with his very humorous, matter-of-fact way of speaking between songs. Carcass has a lot of character for a band so prided on the grotesque and heavy subject matter. That’s why we love them though.
Infected Rain
Over at the Sophie Lancaster Stage, Infected Rain joined several bands in making a UK and festival debut this summer. This was a beyond striking set of note for just how perfectly framed every bit of their performance was. The visuals of both Elena ‘Lena Scissorhands’ Catagra and Vadim ‘Vidick’ Ojog’s dreadlocks flailing through the air added a lot of flash to the grooves of the music and the impact of the vocals. Everyone’s presence was especially demanding on stage, where the Sophie layout was especially stripped back compared to other bands with Infected Rain’s output being primarily through PA. As the penultimate act on this stage, and the direct lead into headliners Amon Amarth, these certainly blew some people away. The crowd responded enthusiastically, with a sea of headbanging and moshing. This level of energy felt almost wasted on a Sunday, but Infected Rain’s set was a highlight of the day for bands playing the Sophie stage.
Amon Amarth
With the final offering of the main stage, and arguably the biggest name of the weekend for 2025, Amon Amarth headlines Bloodstock for the second time. The Swedes were brought in around that “special guest” level for the first time in 2009 and in those 15 years overtook bands like Carcass, moved to headline in 2017, and haven’t really looked back since. The Viking metal spectacle brings with it the grandest stage layout of the weekend as well as, predictably, the most pyro. From the second the curtain drops to begin the set, there’s almost always some element of flames. The large Viking helmet does almost entirely obscure Jocke on drums though. In opening the set, it’s kind of clear Amon Amarth have the potential to be a “play the hits” type of band, with ‘Ravens Flight’, ‘Guardians of Asgard’ and ‘Pursuit of the Vikings’ all being iron clad in the setlist now. Not to mention the regular feature of Giant Viking statues and choreographed sword fights, as well as the ever-consistent rowing pits in place of mosh pits that have become synonymous with the band, the latter more specifically being used in ‘Put Your Back Into The Oar’. It doesn’t seem like there’ll ever be a time that Amon Amarth isn’t a home run at Bloodsrock. Johan Hegg is the centre of a lot of this pageantry, hence he gets to fight the giant inflatable snake. But he also has a field of 15,000 fans clinging to his every word, so…
Satyricon
Closing the Sophie Lancaster Stage, Satyricon brought their brand of black metal darkness to Bloodstock. Unfortunately, the darkness extended to their lighting as well, with the stage almost completely washed out in blue. The Norwegians have the big name value to close out the festival though and the atmospheric experience, with frontman Satyr’s commanding presence in ‘To Your Brethren’ makes them feel very warranted. It also feels like a polar opposite to the lighter parts of the bill we’d just been praising, despite holding all the same merits. Satyricon’s set was a reminder of the power and allure of black metal, leaving the crowd in awe in show closer ‘K.I.N.G’ to send the Bloodstock faithful home.
All in all, Sunday at BOA 2024 was a day of intense performances. There was a diverse lineup that catered to every metalhead’s taste as potentially one of the most star-studded across all stages. From the brutality of Carcass and Septicflesh to the anthems of Amon Amarth and the energy of Flogging Molly, the day was packed with memorable moments. We’re already counting down the days until next year.
