Bloodstock Friday. Where do we even start?
This is one hell of a lineup. From filthy sludge & ridiculous death metal through to industrial darkness, New York hardcore, modern deathcore, Brazilian metal legends & one of the biggest groove metal bands on the planet, Friday at Catton Park has basically everything.
And then there is the small matter of Sepultura playing their final ever UK show. Oh, & Lamb Of God headlining.
Yeah, this was always going to be a big one.
The sun is up, the beers are flowing, the dust is already getting everywhere & the Bloodstock faithful are ready for another day of absolute carnage.
Let’s get into it.
Starting the day with Gurt (On the Sophie Stage) is never a bad idea.
The London sludge merchants hit the stage with that filthy, grimy sound they have perfected over the years. There is nothing polished or pretty about Gurt. This is heavy music that sounds like it has been dragged through a swamp, thrown into a pub fight & then plugged into an amp. Perfect Bloodstock material. The early crowd might not have been as packed as it would become later in the day, but those who made the effort were rewarded. Heads were banging, beers were being raised & the atmosphere slowly started to build. Gurt don’t need fireworks or massive production. Give them some chunky riffs & a crowd who are willing to get involved & they will do the rest. The band have always had a bit of humour about themselves, but don’t let that take away from just how heavy they are. The riffs hit hard & there is something wonderfully old-school about watching a band simply get up there & play heavy music without overcomplicating the experience.
For an early festival set, this worked perfectly. The crowd may have still been waking up, but Gurt was already wide awake & ready to cause some damage.
Battlesnake have the honour of opening up The RJD Stage here at Bloodstock 2026 on a glorious Friday morning. What a buzz that must be; the bloodthirsty Bloodstockers are out in force to get this party started, and what a day it will be! What can you say about a band like Battlesnake? All preconceived ideas of what you think a metal band should be are out the window after watching these guys live. What a way to kick off the festival- talk about entertaining! You just cannot take your eyes off the stage; the cinematic quality of their performance has the arena in an absolute rager! It could be early-onset sunstroke, but I think I am witnessing a musical revelation unfolding before my very eyes! Gimme more, please!!
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
Now this is how you get a festival going. Party Cannon are one of those bands where you look at the logo, look at the song titles & think this is going to be a joke. Then they start playing. And fuck me, these guys are heavy. The Scottish death metal crew bring the perfect mixture of brutality & stupidity. It is death metal, but it is death metal with a sense of humour. There are no miserable faces here. Just riffs, blast beats, ridiculous song titles & people losing their minds. There is movement everywhere. People are laughing, people are jumping, people are throwing themselves around & the band look like they are having just as much fun as everyone watching them. Party Cannon are a perfect Bloodstock band because they understand what a festival crowd wants. Heavy music, A good laugh, and a fucking big pit. Job done.
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
Things take a darker turn with SKYND. This is a completely different experience.
The colourful madness of Party Cannon is replaced with industrial electronics, sinister visuals & a much darker atmosphere.
SKYND’s whole thing is uncomfortable. The songs explore infamous true-crime cases, & the live performance is designed to make you feel uneasy. And it works. The crowd reaction is interesting. Some people are completely hooked, others look slightly confused. But that’s SKYND. They aren’t supposed to sound like everyone else on this bill. The industrial beats give the field a completely different feel & the theatrical performance keeps people watching. There is a sense of tension running through the set which makes SKYND stand out. Not everyone is going to love it, but you cannot accuse them of being boring. And that is what a festival lineup needs. Something different.
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
Now we are getting serious. Life Of Agony have been around for decades & they have the songs, the history & the experience to completely command a festival stage. And that is exactly what happens. The New York band’s 30 Years of “Ugly” era has been giving fans a chance to revisit some serious classics, & their Bloodstock appearance feels like a proper celebration of the band’s career. Keith Caputo is an instantly recognisable presence. Alan Robert & Joey Z provide the backbone while Veronica Bellino keeps everything locked down behind the kit. The sound is heavy, but there is also a groove to it.
This isn’t about smashing people over the head with speed. It’s about making the whole field move. Songs like “River Runs Red”, “Through and Through”, “Underground”, “Other Side of the River” & “Lost at 22” still have that ability to connect with people. The crowd reaction is huge. There is singing. There is headbanging. There are plenty of fists in the air. And as the set moves towards the classics, the atmosphere gets even stronger. Life Of Agony isn’t trying to prove anything. They don’t need to.
They are simply reminding everyone why these songs have lasted. A proper festival performance from a band who knows exactly what they are doing.
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
Right… Now we get fucking heavy. Fit For An Autopsy are one of the best modern deathcore bands around & today they sound absolutely enormous. The band has the perfect combination of death metal brutality, hardcore aggression & huge atmospheric sections. And the Bloodstock crowd eats it up. The setlist includes “Lower Purpose”, “It Comes for You”, “The Wretch”, “Hostage”, “Warfare”, “Pandora” & “Far From Heaven”. Every single song hits. The riffs are massive. The drums are relentless. Joe Badolato’s vocals sound like someone has opened the gates of hell. And the crowd? Absolute fucking carnage… Crowd surfers are coming over the barrier constantly. The pit is getting bigger & bigger. People are jumping around like they’ve forgotten they have to survive the rest of the weekend. This is exactly what Fit For An Autopsy is built for. Their songs have enough groove to get thousands of people moving together, but they are still brutally heavy enough to keep the deathcore crowd happy.
There is something incredibly satisfying about watching a band like this on a huge festival stage. You can see just how far modern extreme metal has come. This is not a tiny club. This is Bloodstock. And Fit For An Autopsy absolutely owns it. One of the standout performances of the day.
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
Now let’s go back to New York with Biohazard.
If you don’t know what to expect from Biohazard at a metal festival, expect violence. Not actual violence. Well… You know what I mean. Hardcore violence. This is music designed to make people move.
The band’s current “Divided We Fall” touring set has been drawing heavily from the classics, with songs including “Urban Discipline”, “Shades of Grey”, “Wrong Side of the Tracks”, “Five Blocks to the Subway” & “Punishment” All titans within classic hardcore. This is the kind of set where the audience doesn’t need encouragement. They already know what to do. The pit opens. People pile in. People scream the words back. The band keeps the energy high from start to finish. There is something different about watching hardcore bands at a festival like Bloodstock. Metal crowds understand the heaviness, but Biohazard brings that extra sense of danger. That New York hardcore attitude.
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
Municipal Waste add a little chaos to proceedings with their gorgeous brand of thrash. Who doesn’t love a bit of Thrash on a sunny Friday afternoon? With their latest album ‘Tango & Thrash ‘, they have a plethora of new material to bring to the fore and entertain the Bloodstock faithful. And Bloodstockers LOVE Thrash, sending mass crowds over the top to keep security busy down front. The set is packed with old classics as well as the new material, and the energy levels are through the roof as fans clamber to be in the middle of a furious pit. What’s not to love about Municipal Waste? They are one of the great Thrash bands that have consistently delivered album after album, and live, it’s even better!
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
This is the one. This is the performance people will remember. Sepultura‘s final UK show.
Forty-plus years of history coming to an end on British soil. You could feel the importance of this before the band even appeared. When Sepultura finally walks onto the stage, the reception is enormous. And then… “Inner Self.” Fucking hell. What a way to start.
The song still sounds enormous. The riffs hit like a truck & the crowd immediately reminds everyone why Sepultura have remained such an important band in extreme metal. Derrick Green remains a ridiculously powerful frontman. Andreas Kisser is still an absolute machine on guitar & the band sounds tight as hell. There is no attempt to simply turn this into a nostalgia set either.
Material from the Derrick Green era gets its time. “Kairos” sounds huge. “Means to an End” sounds massive. And the new material from “The Cloud Of Unknowing” EP proves that even during a farewell run, Sepultura aren’t simply living in the past.
“The Place” in particular fits surprisingly well amongst the classics. But let’s be honest. We all know where this is going… “Territory”, “Refuse/Resist”, “Arise”, “Ratamahatta”, “Roots Bloody Roots”. Five songs. Twenty minutes.
Absolute fucking carnage.
The Bloodstock crowd loses its mind. The field becomes a sea of bodies.
People are singing every word. People who have been listening to Sepultura for thirty years are standing next to people who weren’t even born when these songs were released. That’s the legacy of this band. That’s what makes this moment so special. And when Andreas Kisser thanks the crowd for 42 years of support, the emotion becomes obvious. Derrick Green looks emotional. The crowd is emotional. Everyone knows what is happening. This is goodbye. And what a fucking way to say it.
Sepultura doesn’t just play a great set. They make history.
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
So… How the fuck do you follow that? You headline.
Lamb Of God has done this before. This is their third Bloodstock headline appearance, putting them alongside Judas Priest & Nightwish for the most headline appearances at the festival. They know what Bloodstock wants. They know how to play a huge stage.
And they know how to make 20,000 people lose their minds. The lights drop. Sparks fly.”Ruin” kicks in. And that’s it. We’re off.
“Ruin”, “Laid to Rest” & “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For” come flying out, and considering the crowd have already spent the day getting battered by Fit For An Autopsy, Biohazard & Sepultura, they somehow find another gear.
Randy Blythe is fucking everywhere. Running, Jumping, Screaming & Howling. Stomping around the stage like he has been let out of a cage. And that’s the thing about Lamb Of God.
They are heavy as fuck, but there is also a genuine sense of fun. Randy’s “Roger Brilliant” character appears during the show, giving the performance a hilarious British twist & proving that this is a band who are comfortable enough in their own skin to have a laugh on a headline stage. The set pulls from across their career. “Walk With Me in Hell”, “512”, “Redneck”, “Resurrection Man”, “Parasocial Christ”, “Memento Mori”. Big riffs. Big choruses. Big fucking pits. The crowd is absolutely loving it.
And the production is huge. Pyro, Sparks & Lights. The whole thing looks like a proper headline show.
“Walk With Me in Hell” is enormous. “512” gets another huge response. Then “Momento Mori” proves that Lamb Of God can still produce material that sits comfortably beside their older classics. But when “Redneck” hits, the place goes fucking mental. This is what Lamb Of God does.
They make huge crowds feel like one giant pit. And that is why they remain such a strong festival headliner.
No matter how many times you’ve seen them, they still deliver.
Review: Joseph Mitchell
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
