Bloodstock 2025 // The Ronnie James Dio Stage // Saturday August 9th
Review: Joseph Mitchell
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
1. Kicking off Saturday & getting the dust blasted out of your ears, Cage Fight brings their unique brand of thrashing hardcore. Vocalist Rachel Aspe’s aggro vocals & the Hatebreed & Stampin Ground get the crowd going & it’s only lunch time! Now that’s a feat, but these guys keep the intensity and get things off to the perfect start.
2. Germany’s The Spirit bring their cold style of blackened death metal to the UK shores. With the sun shining bright, it doesn’t deter these fellas. Bringing that melodic black death like Dissection & Sacramentum, their set flew by quickly as I was captivated by their sonic assault on the scene & it seems like the crowd ate it up too. These guys are a band I hope to see again in the future for a headline set!
3. Bringing up the speed & the carnage, California’s Warbringer took to the stage & levelled it. The endurance the crowd had for these guys was superb. Nonstop circle pits encouraged by charismatic frontman John Kevill didn’t help anyone’s hangovers, that’s for sure. These guys bring that fun & enjoyment to thrash metal that some bands lack. But also at the same time, their riffs & songs are punishing & a force to be reckoned with. If you love your metal fast, chaotic & soaked in war. Then these guys have something you’ll wanna hear.
4.England’s homegrown HM2 chuggers take to the stage, even with a mini technical issue they level the arena. With their hardcore, death metal & industrial fusion they bring heavy breakdowns. But also giving us a track like “Opaline” which is one of the band’s most lustrous tracks featuring Debbie Gough’s soulful clean singing but builds into this industrial nightmare. Giving the crowd a great showcase of their fanatic songwriting & giving everyone watching something to latch onto. It’s so great to see a band who’s grinded for the last few years get a midday slot on a big stage & draw such a huge crowd.
5.The great palette cleanser of the day comes with UK goth punks Creeper. With their intense brooding tracks but with gorgeous choruses, hooking melodies these guys plant their flag high at bloodstock. Showing no fear & giving the battle jacket wears a great slice of horror influenced pop sensibility. Vocalist Will Gould’s seductive tongue brings you in while keyboardist & singer Hannah Greenwood is the other side of the dark coin. Join together in their haunting melodies to give us tracks that you will be singing days after you heard them. Even getting a circle pit for their newest track “Headstones” from their upcoming album it feels like Creeper are at home at bloodstock & hopefully they return again.
6.Now it’s time for the big boys from Texas Kublai Khan to bring the gravy riffs & get the pit raging again. Over the past few years KK has gained a great following & today’s set just shows the diverse crowd they pull as the arena is chocked full it’s hard to move. Frontman Matt Honeycutt’s stage banter is on full force like always & gets the audience eating out of his hand. With a monolithic wall of death & circle pits that kick up a dust storm the band are in full form today. Bringing some older tracks “No Kin” into the set was a great surprise. “Theory Of Mind” shows a huge pop as the song intros from the crowd & turns things up a notch. It’s great to see KK finally get the flowers they deserve. A band that works there arse off & getting to see them on the main stage was an utter pleasure.
7.Industrial metal gods Fear Factory are celebrating 30 years of their landmark album “Demanufacture” & with a special set of album bangers & a few others popped in for good measure this set was a highlight of the day. Not only was the band’s stage set up with huge tall FF light up logos & backdrop the enthusiasm in front the whole band & especially frontman Milo Silvestro shined the whole way through their set. Classics such as “Replica” & “Body Hammer” had the crowd singing along at the top of their voice & heads banging so hard they would have a concussion. It’s rare to see a band with such a troubled past comeback better than ever & tonight’s set reminded us that Fear Factory are the kings of their genre & will always be untouchable.
8.Chicago’s new wave industrial act Ministry is here to turn things up to 11. Tonight’s set from the band was a real showcase of what classic bangers they have. Everything from pumpelling bass heavy tracks to the dancer side of pop style new wave tracks. I must admit they were the first band of the weekend who were the loudest & even my ear protection didn’t help ha. Feeling that bass hit you in the chest like a shotgun blast was a great feeling. “Stigmata” , a classic for the band, was a true highlight & showcased just how tight the veteran musicals frontman Al Jourgensen has ranged for this line up of the group. A superb set from such a monumental band.
9.Tonights closers are the bay area thrashing metal titans Machine Head.
Right from the rip & opening track “Imperium” you can feel something special is going to happen in the air. As the sun slowly sets & frontman Robb Flyn puts his middle fingers up & says “Sing with me bloodstock.. Hear me now, Words I vow, No fucking regrets..” the festival erupts.
Machine Head has had some defining eras of the band but each track they chose for tonight’s setlist gives you a taste of where the band have been throughout their long but fantastic career. A bittersweet moment when Flyn dedicates “Darkness Within” to their former publicist Michelle Kerr who had a huge mark on the UK metal scene helping MH, Slipknot & other goliaths within the metal scene. With lights in the air & warmth of living in the moment Flynn & co really help celebrate such a fantastic woman.
As the set draws to a close two classic MH numbers are left to drain every last ounce of energy from the crowd. “Davidian” & “Halo” two stonker tracks which blew the house down & with a huge stage production of pyro & streamers has to be one of the best live performances a bloodstock crowd has seen.
Review: Joseph Mitchell
Photography: Artur Tarczewski
