Featured image: Steve Dempsey
Bloodstock returned to Derby for its 25th anniversary this year, welcoming thousands of metal fans for an extended four-day celebration of the festival legacy and its place in the metal community. With a packed bill spanning a broad range of metal sub-genres, this is what Thursday had to offer.
As the four-day festival opens its gates and hearts to the metal community of far and wide, it also welcomes a flurry of battle jackets, fancy dress, and even dinosaurs. Proving that, beneath the façade and gloomy reputation of ‘moshing brutes who worship satan’, metalheads are, in fact, deep down, the biggest softies who just want to have fun, let their manes down and run wild.
Boasting three sizable stages – The Ronnie James Dio, The Sophie Lancaster, and The New Blood stages – all within its main arena, there are many acts to peruse and discover over the weekend.
Opening the fan-favourite Sophie Lancaster Stage is West Midlands nu-metal revival band, Mantis Defeats Jaguar, bringing the party (and the balloons) for the weekend. Providing a fusion of metal and funk, like their Californian predecessors and influences Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine, the band’s mission is to have fun and spread love.
As the crowd evolves from bashing each other with the band’s branded balloons, to bashing into each other in the pit, songs like ‘Bounce’ and ‘Advantage Mantis’ amplify the atmosphere under the blue dome tent as it sets the tone for how the weekend is going to unfold.
Meanwhile, on the James Dio Stage, opening on a lighter note for the weekend, are light-hearted fan-favourites Heavysaurus. Bringing the magic, humour and light-hearted lyrics, the band bring fun for all of the family. With a stage full of very musical dinosaurs (and one dragon), boasting their classic rock knowledge and introducing us to their own hits like ‘Heavy metal horns’, the set provides a much-welcomed lighter interlude between acts.
Following on, the main stage takes a somewhat sinister turn with the return of Bloodstock cult classic Evil Scarecrow. Peacocking with crude inflatables bouncing among the crowd, the field echoes with chants of ‘CRABULA’, summoning the demon from their hit ‘Crabulon’ and the mock fear of the interruption of the hen-octopus of ‘Release the Krakhen’. Blending theatrics with Heavy Metal, their fiercely loyal fan base grows among the 20,000-strong crowd. Showcasing their hits alongside amateur dramatics and heavy crowd participation, their set proves a very welcome return for their cult fanbase.
Saxon’s howl echoes across the hallowed ground of Bloodstock, just as it did 25 years ago – a fitting full circle moment for the band. The pioneers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal ask us, “Can you feel the power?” And power is certainly not in short supply.
With an ever-commanding stage presence and still-mighty vocals songs like ‘Denim and Leather’ sound still as powerful nearly 50 years on, Saxon’s closing set of the opening night is a reminder of what metal is all about: its deep-rooted origins, enduring spirit, and why Bloodstock has such a strong clutch on its devoted followers. Delivering heavy, thrashing riffs, piercing whistles and plenty of onstage head banging, Saxon prove that despite their ageing legacy, they’re not done yet.
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