The world is still rolling in the third wave of COVID-19 as numerous music festivals have ceased their yearly gala owing to thousands of lost lives and thousands more to go. The whole of the music festival industry seems to be hanging by a rope. Say for example a Glastonbury, a Womad, or the Supersonic Festival for that matter, all have been canceled due to the pandemic and the collective global crisis. However, the UK-based metal community seems to be one step ahead in their games to the extent of even managing a whole festival. The Bloodstock Festival descended on Catton Hall in Derbyshire in full power. In June, the Download Festival also took place with a limited capacity of 10,000 people. Bloodstock is UK’s only boutique festival for heavy metal music.
Friday
Bloodstock opened for the public on Wednesday itself. A rewarding experience for most who have been missing every social scene for over a year and a half, the festival saw flowing beer at Lemmy’s Bar with bands playing on stage on an English field for a change. The pop-punk group, Wildhearts was one of the performers of the day and in the presence of metalheads or people in general, the festival seemed to pick up its pace towards a more celebratory direction. Skindred kept the crowd going with songs like ‘Kill the Power’ and ‘That’s My Jam’. The headliner for the day was Devlin Townsend. Other performances by Napalm Death and Dead Kennedys were some of the highlights of the opening day.
Saturday
Some of the highlights for Saturday were performances by Netherhall and Conjurer with their captivating progressive rock cycles. Paradise Lost was one of the other performing acts but sadly, did not stand out as well as the others. The final acts for the day were Kreator and Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons who took the crowd to town. German thrash metallers Kreator presented an incredible set with tracks such as ‘Flag of Hate’ and ‘Satan is Real’. Mosh pits were inducted everywhere in the music festival as a norm as Petrozza sent out a final warning before embarking upon the track, ‘Pleasure to Kill’. Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons were again the steals of the show played originals as well as songs such as ‘Killed by Death’, ‘Ace of Spades’, and more.
Sunday
Sunday was Heritage Day with performances by Orange Goblin and Saxon. Diamond Head was another act on the final day but failed to ignite the crowd with excitement. Headliners Judas Priest also failed to connect with the audience, resulting in gradually accumulating disinterested faces in the crowd. Orange Goblin’s performance was commendable and crashed songs such as ‘Sons of Satan’, ‘They Come Back’, ‘Some You Win, Some You Lose’, etc. Axon took the stage with might and energy with Motorcycle Man. There was some rain causing commotion and confusion but not over the top. Biff Byford led the crowd into a happy and content sing-along.
The musical variety at Bloodstock seemed to be depleted this year but also managed to give audiences a respite that they have been looking for for over a year.
