Bloodstock Metal 2 the Masses 2018

WEDENSDAY 13TH
BLOODSTOCCK OPEN AIR 2018
WEDNESDAY 13
Playing: Friday, 10th August 2018

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage

BAND PHOTO GALLERY
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A grimly glamorous ghoul who first slithered from the cobwebbed shadows of Charlotte, North Carolina, in the early 90s, WEDNESDAY 13 has firmly established himself as the world's premier purveyor of balls-out horror punk insanity. With a vivid and vile imag… Moreination that has endeared him to countless fans of riff-driven macabre over the last two decades, he has been one of rock's most prolific protagonists, spreading his credo of grave-robbing rock 'n' roll and Hallowe'en debauchery around the globe and unleashing a seemingly endless stream of blood-spattered albums and EPs.

“All my favourite stuff, like KISS and ALICE COOPER and TWISTED SISTER, those guys set the bar pretty high,” he states. “I always wanted to do something in the worlds of those bands. That's the blueprint. It had to be as outrageous and crazy as that and I wanted to be on someone's wall one day and have their parents say 'Oh my god, what is that?' The formula's still there from when I started doing it as a kid and started wanting to be in a band. It's just GI Joe and Dracula!”

After several years of sharpening his creative teeth, WEDNESDAY 13 emerged from the fetid crypt of obscurity with his band FRANKENSTEIN DRAG QUEENS FROM PLANET 13, those masters of snotty schlock rock that released an astonishing five studio albums and six EPs between 1996 and 2002. Always the leader of the revolting pack, WEDNESDAY 13 then became a bona fide international rock star as front man for the MURDERDOLLS, his collaboration with SLIPKNOT’s Joey Jordison. The band took the world by storm, with Europe and the UK in particular succumbing to the feral charms of 2002 debut album, »Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls«; a raucous eruption of big tunes and bad attitude that noisily redefined the horror punk genre. After MURDERDOLLS went on an extended hiatus in 2004, WEDNESDAY 13 embarked on a widely lauded solo career that again provided him with an outlet for his relentless outpouring of fiendish musical and lyrical ideas. Albums like »Transylvania 90210« (released by Roadrunner in 2005), »Fang Bang« and »Skeletons« all cemented our pallid hero's reputation as the bastard son of ALICE COOPER and THE MISFITS, while his outlaw country project, BOURBON CROW and one-off glam metal vehicle, GUNFIRE 76 proved that he had sufficient versatility to survive outside the graveyard and abattoir.

MURDERDOLLS reconvened in 2010 for the vicious »Women And Children Last« album and another successful world tour before disappearing once more into the freezing midnight fog, leaving WEDNESDAY to revive his solo career with a few thousand volts of wicked electricity yet more highly praised albums and tours including 2014’s scintillating acoustic opus »Undead Unplugged« and the following year’s thunderous »Monsters Of The Universe: Come Out & Plague«. However, absolutely nothing that WEDNESDAY has created in the past has even touched upon the horrifying potency and allure of his brand new studio album, »Condolences«.

Frustrated with the arduous process of releasing his own music, our favourite black-hearted freak has thrown himself and his music into a whirling maelstrom of reinvention. The result is not just the heaviest and most authentically disturbing record of the great man’s career but also a huge creative leap forward, neatly encapsulated by the new album’s simple and direct title.

“It’s more of a serious WEDNESDAY 13 record, I guess,” he says. “The campiness has gone and it’s taken a darker vibe. It’s definitely not in the camp, sleazy world anymore. The band is visually stronger and that’s taken things to a new level. Normally my album titles are parodies of something, like »Women And Children Last«, that’s a VAN HALEN album title gone wrong! (laughs) So I wanted to make sure that this record came across as a brand new version of WEDNESDAY 13.” Less

CANNIBAL CORPSE
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2018
Playing: Saturday, 11th August 2018

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage

BAND PHOTO GALLERY
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Many words come to mind when you hear the name Cannibal Corpse, but one truly defines the soon-to-be thirty-year death metal veterans: Unstoppable. Returning with their 14th full-length, the monstrous Red Before Black, serves to not only reiterate this but to once m… Moreore raise the stakes, making it very clear who sets the standard when it comes to always compelling music that is equally brutal and complex. Moreover, the band have pushed themselves again, ensuring that it stands out from their catalog. “Throughout our career we’ve tried to improve the precision of both our musical execution and our album production, while still maintaining full-on aggression. ‘Red Before Black’ continues in that direction, but might go even further on the aggressive side of things. It’s definitely precise, but it has a rawness to it that goes beyond anything we’ve done recently,” asserts bassist Alex Webster. “We really worked super hard crafting these songs, practicing them, and getting them where we wanted to be more so than on any of our previous albums,” adds drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. “And as Alex said, musically I think it’s the most raw sound we’ve had – and at the same time I think it’s our most focused, tightest and catchiest record.”

Having played in the region of two hundred shows around the globe in support of the titanic A Skeletal Domain, the quintet – rounded out by guitarists Rob Barrett and Pat O’Brien, and vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher – settled down to begin writing after completing their successful run on 2016’s Summer Slaughter tour. As has always been the case, there was no blueprint for what they wanted the full-length to be, rather letting it develop naturally with instruments in their hands. “Towards the end of the ‘A Skeletal Domain’ cycle we did talk about having some riffs that breathe a little more, but that was about it. When everybody started writing I believe it actually became a feel thing more than it ever has been with us,” says Mazurkiewicz. “That it wound up being a really raw, mostly straightforward kind of album wasn’t part of a big plan or anything,” Webster asserts. “We just tried to write the best songs we could, and this is how they turned out.” The aforementioned aggression, rawness and catchiness leap out from the speaker as soon as the listener hits play, “Only One Will Die” perhaps the most ruthless yet immediate album opener 2017 has seen. What follows is a relentless barrage of ferocious music that maintains the insanely high standards the unit have long held themselves to, and while there is a great diversity in dynamics there is never a let up in intensity. The devastating “Firestorm Vengeance”, for instance, sounds like the work of men only the most foolhardy would choose to mess with, likewise the title track and ultra-belligerent “Destroyed Without A Trace”. The vile, lurching passages of “Code Of The Slashers” play menacingly off against bloodthirsty thrashings, while “Scavenger Consuming Death” stands out as one of the heaviest additions to one of the weightiest catalogs in extreme music. With “Remaimed” – penned by O’Brien – unleashing some sickening tones that sound wrought from an instrument designed to devastate everything and the eerie droning breaking into “Hideous Ichor”, new flavors have been introduced to their sonic palette this time out. “We’re always looking for ways to move our sound forward while maintaining the style we’ve developed over the years,” Webster states. “I think we managed to do that with ‘Red Before Black’ – it has some new ideas, but you’ll also hear things on this album that would sound at home on our earlier releases. We want to grow as a band while staying true to our roots”. Less

AT THE GATES
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2018
AT THE GATES
Playing: Sunday, 12th August 2018

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage

BAND PHOTO GALLERY
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AT THE GATES are one of the most important bands in the history of death metal. But, with that sort of reputation comes expectation and pressure. Especially when you are dealing with the band's first new studio album since 1995.

“What we wanted to do was to be… More old school, but to ensure everything was also up to date,” says vocalist Tomas Lindberg. “Because we didn't want to be rooted in the past.”

The Gothenburg band have been careful not to raise fans' hopes for a new album since they reformed in 2007, 11 years after splitting up. When they did return, it was with the full classic line-up, namely, Lindberg, guitarists Anders Björler and Martin Larsson, bassist Jonas Björler and drummer Adrian Erlandsson. But, for a long time, the five-piece were careful to distance themselves from any thoughts of new recordings.

“We decided about a year ago that we would do a new album,” reveals Lindberg. “But we never went public with this for a while, because we didn't want to put any demands on ourselves.”
But slowly, the band assembled the material for new album 'At War With Reality'. The actual writing process was fairly straightforward, but what took time was getting the song structures and arrangements exactly as they wanted them to sound. At no stage did the band rush the process, but through the exchange of ideas by email and person, it all took shape.

All of the riffs and melodies here came from the Björler brothers, with Anders being responsible for 70 percent. And lyrically, there's a concept at work, which again differentiates the material here from the four previous records.

“It's not that I've come up with a storyline that runs throughout. But there's definitely a theme. And this is Magic Realism.”

Magic Realism is a sub-genre of surrealism, where magic being cast as part of everyday life. It's been best defined as 'what happens when reality is invaded by something too strange to believe'. “I've been reading a lot of 1950s/60s South American authors in this genre, and felt this idea could be adapted to fit into the world of death metal. So that's where my lyrical inspirations come from. And, throughout the songs there are hints acknowledging some of the writers I have read. Yes, the lyrics are ambitious, but they are also a return to the early days of the band when the words had a philosophical edge and depth.” Less

BLEED FROM WITH IN
BLOOD STOCK OPEN AIR 2018
BLEED FROM WITHIN
Playing: Friday, 10th August 2018

Stage: Sophie Lancaster Stage

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erseverance. A powerful word with an equally powerful meaning. Says the dictionary: “steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” BLEED FROM WITHIN’s new album, Era, is that story, a no-compromise tale of the… More price of victory.

Drummer Ali Richardson says. “We are here now for a love of music; a desire to create and share the songs that we would want to listen to. There is literally nothing that can take that away from us.”

After guitarist Martyn Evans left the band BLEED FROM WITHIN initially tried to carry on as a four-piece, but things weren’t really shaping together quickly and smoothly enough. None of the local Glesga guitarists fit the BLEED FROM WITHIN vibe until they chanced on guitarist Steven Jones. They knew instantly Jones was the right for the job; and that guitarist Craig “Goonzi” Gowans had his sideman. With half of Era already in the bag, BLEED FROM WITHIN, with Jones in place, knew the rest wasn’t too far off. That Jones was also an experienced live musician and producer also helped BLEED FROM WITHIN right the proverbial ship.

“We started writing for this album shortly after releasing/touring Uprising,” guitarist Craig “Goonzi” Gowans recalls. “I think the first song we wrote ended up being ‘Alone in the Sun.’ We had a few rough songs done before the Death Walk EP, but decided to write two completely new songs specifically for that EP and save the rest for the album. Once Steven joined and started giving his input, things were picking up speed. We always bring our separate ideas into the studio and work together as a band on the songs, rather than one person dictating everything. We put a big focus on trimming the fat on this album, going over the songs again and again and taking anything out that really didn’t need to be there, as we felt some of the songs on the last album were too long/had a lot of unnecessary parts.”

The influences this time around centered on genres outside BLEED FROM WITHIN’s comfort zones. To wit, songs like ‘Clarity,’ ‘Afterlife,’ ‘I Am Oblivion, Part II,’ and ‘Ruina’ attack from a mindset unrestrained. They’re genuine BLEED FROM WITHIN, but the riffs are tighter, the hooks are stronger, and the choruses bigger. “The biggest difference for us this time round was the actual song writing,” says Ali. “We focused a lot more on how the songs were actually put together on this album. Most of the tracks follow a more conventional ‘pop song’ structure than anything we’ve done in the past. This was a massive learning curve for us. What we have learnt here is already being practiced on [our] new material.” Less

BLOODBATH
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2018
BLOODBATH
Playing: Friday, 10th August 2018

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage

BAND PHOTO GALLERY
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Bloodbath formed in 1998 when, one evening, friends Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) - Vocals, Anders Nyström (Katatonia) - Guitars, Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) - Bass, Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity) – Drums, thought it would be good to thrash out some classic death metal in the s… Moretyle of early Entombed, mixed with some of the US Florida death metal scene bands. Quite simply, Bloodbath was born out of this shared admiration for quality death metal in the old style & the guys quickly realized that they could churn some ugly metal out to a pretty high standard. From this one session the Breeding Death EP was written; the songs naturally & spontaneously coming together, and subsequently released in 1999.

Upon releasing Breeding Death, Bloodbath described their style as "a tribute to the old-school death metal that reigned in the late '80s and onward." The response to the EP's three songs was tremendous. Metal Maniacs hailed it as "the collective effort of Sweden's most prolific and talented power hitting songsmiths… Finally, a super group has taken the idea of praising the glory years of death metal...and further, this super group has done the right thing by pooling its abundance of talent to form something new instead of falling victim to the stylistic trappings of the retro movement."
It was two years later that Bloodbath were ready to unleash their debut album upon the world, to be titled ‘Resurrection Through Carnage’. Speaking of the material, Mikael Åkerfeldt (who let loose his corrosive throat on the entire album) calls it, "ten tracks of the purest form of winter like death metal"; an album of old-school head banging bliss that recalls the glory days of Swedish savagery at the dawn of the '90s.Featuring the same lineup as the EP, the album was greeted with much critical acclaim, quickly establishing Bloodbath as one of Scandinavia’s top death metal acts of the time.

And the nightmare continued! Swedish Bloodbath, mostly wrongly referred to as just a retro project or all star outfit, got fiercely back on the metal map with a new album. Very suitably entitled Nightmares Made Flesh (2004), Bloodbath were determined to prove all of those wrong who thought we were dealing with a short-lived and rather fun-orientated back-to-the-roots unity here. Åkerfeldt had recently opted to abandon the band’s ranks due to his busy schedule. After intense research among befriended and likeminded musicians, Bloodbath could proudly announce their new line-up entries of vocalist Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain) and drummer Martin "Axe" Axenrot (Opeth, Witchery) behind the kit as Swanö switched to guitar. This new musical set up added a lot of challenging variety and fresh intensity to Bloodbath's compositions (as well as the long-awaited ability for the band to finally play live shows), as easily witnessed on the featured 12 new tracks of Nightmares Made Flesh. Recorded with producer Jens Bogren in Örebro, Sweden at Fascination Street (Katatonia, Opeth, Soilwork, Amon Amarth etc.), this striking album gathered the best elements of both the Swedish death metal old school as well as the magic brutality and technical edge of US-Style death metal, highlighted by Tägtgrens heaviest, most intimidating vocal delivery ever as well very organic, full-on pounding drumming by Axenrot, into an irresistible, breathtaking mixture which will leave no follower of brutal metal questioning Bloodbath's value and qualities. Less

EMPEROR
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2018
EMPEROR
Playing: Friday, 10th August 2018

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage

BAND PHOTO GALLERY
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Eventually there comes a time when the hype about a band becomes superfluous, and their status alone speaks volumes. Such is the case with Emperor, the black metal gods hailing from Telemark, Norway. Emperor has become known as one of the originators of symphonic Black… More Metal that Norway is internationally renowned for. Their cult album “In the Nightside Eclipse” has been ranked among albums like Slayer’s “Reign in Blood” and Venom’s “Black Metal” as a definitive masterpiece of our time.

Beginning life as a trio in the spring of '91 with Samoth (drums), Ihsahn (guitar/vocals) and Mortiis (bass), the band quickly recorded and circulated the now legendary "Wrath of the Tyrant" demo. It was this demo that brought them to the attention of the then still-fledgling Candlelight record label. A deal was inked, Samoth moved to guitar and Bard Faust was recruited for the now vacant drum stool. By the end of 1992, the band had recorded their half of the "Emperor / Enslaved" split CD which surfaced early the following year. Mortiis departed, and was later replaced by Tchort.

The press response was justifiably excellent and by the summer of '93 Emperor were recording once more, this time working on their debut full-length album "In the Nightside Eclipse". By the time of the albums release in 1994 they had become without a doubt one of the most important bands in the genre, gathering worldwide critical acclaim and a rabid fan base to match.

In autumn of '93 a series of headline-grabbing events took place, which lead to turbulence within the scene, causing Emperor to suffer some instability within the bands line-up. Despite these events, the entity of Emperor would come out even stronger in the end. Eventually a new permanent line-up was announced. Alver had replaced Tchort on bass, and Trym (ex. Enslaved) had replaced Faust on drums. The bones of what would become their most epic and majestic material to date were taking shape.

By the end of '96, now fully prepared and rehearsed, they went back into the studio. First the "Reverence" EP announced their return to the fold, followed up in early '97 with what is without doubt one of the most ambitious and important black metal releases to date..."Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk,” an album of epic savagery! Not only beautiful, but bestial in it's wide ranging scope. The press agreed. Not only was "Anthems.." featured in almost every "album of the year poll" across the globe, but actually won the album of the year in both Terrorizer (UK) and Metal Maniacs (USA).

Since the release of the genr Less

NIGHT WISH
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2018
NIGHTWISH
Playing: Sunday, 12th August 2018

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage

BAND PHOTO GALLERY
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As four guys looking like they’re fresh out of high-school and a girl in leatherpants played at the legendary rock-venue Lepakko in Helsinki, Finland, no-one could’ve known that one day they would be performing gigantic tours and would become the most successful ba… Morend to ever come from Finland with album sales in figures with more than six digits, well known by their name NIGHTWISH.

From their first album of "Angels Fall First" onwards Nightwish gradually grew, or rather evolved.

The final shackles of labeling scattered with the release of their fourth album, entitled "Century Child". It strayed more away from the more obvious references to melodic “power” metal, and showed promise of a band that was really starting to find its own sound, a band that would yet become something greater. The orchestrations and the choirs met on this album were indeed magnificent and befitting the epic feel of that Nightwish had always yearned for.
Nightwish's 2004 album "Once" sold platinum on its release day in Finland and later in Germany, gold in Austria, Sweden, Norway.
Everybody knew of Nightwish. Even the Finnish prime minister confided as a Nightwish-fan.

The first era of Nightwish ended with an open letter in which the band fired it´s formidable frontperson Tarja Turunen. Was this to be the end of Nightwish? No one knew. People took sides, and a true circus of the media-type began.

On "Dark Passion Play" the music in conjunction with the lyrics conjure a brooding atmosphere never yet seen, or actually felt, in this magnitude in the saga of Nightwish. The past years and the events leading to this day have naturally affected the outcome of this album, as it is known that Tuomas communicates best through music.
This sixth Nightwish album stands at a dividing line, separating what has been and what will become. Less

JUDAS PRIEST
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2018
JUDAS PRIEST
Playing: Friday, 10th August 2018

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage

BAND PHOTO GALLERY
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There are few Heavy Metal bands that have managed to scale the heights that Judas Priest have during their 40 year plus career. Their presence and influence being at an all time high as evidence by the group’s last studio album “Redeemer of Souls” reaching the… More highest US billboard Top 200 chart position and peaking throughout the world – their 2010 Grammy Award win for “Best Metal performance” – being a VH1 Rock Honors recipient plus much more.

Judas Priest originally formed in the early ‘70s’ in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed Heavy Metal). By 1974, long time Priest members guitarist K.K. Downing and Bassist Ian Hill welcomed singer Rob Halford into the fold – he was soon followed by the arrival of guitarist Glenn Tipton. It would be this nucleus of musicians of musicians (along with several different drummers over the years) that would soon go on to change the face of heavy metal. After a ‘feeling out’ period of a couple of albums – 1974’s ‘Rock Roll’ and 1976’s ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’ – the Rob/Glenn/K.K./Ian line up truly hit their stride. The result was a quartet of albums that separated Priest from the rest of the hard rock pack – 1977’s ‘Sin After Sin’ – 1978’s ‘Stained Class’ and ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ and 1979’s ‘Unleashed In The East’ which spawned such metal anthems as ‘Sinner’ – ‘Diamonds and Rust’ – ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ and ‘The Green Manalisha (with the two pronged Crown)’. Also Priest were one of the first metal bands to exclusively wear leather and studs – a look that began during this era and would eventually be embraced by metal heads throughout the world.

It could be said that Priest simply owned the ‘80s as they were second to none as far as pure metal goes – releasing such all-time classic albums as 1980’s ‘British Steel’ – 1981’s ‘Point of Entry’ – 1982’s ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ and 1984’s Defenders of the Faith’. Once more, these titles spawned countless enduring metal anthems including ‘Breaking the Law’ – ‘living after midnight’ – ‘Heading Out to the Highway’ and ‘You’ve Got Another Thing Coming’. The 1980’s were also a decade where Priest became a global arena headliner, and also offered show-stopping sets at some of the world’s biggest festivals including the First ever ‘Monsters Of Rock’ festival at Donington Park (1980) in the United Kingdom, the US festival (1983) in the United States and Live Aid (1985) in the United States. Less

GOJIRA
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2018
GOJIRA
Playing: Saturday, 11th August 2018

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage

BAND PHOTO GALLERY
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Magma causes volcanic eruptions. Lying beneath the ground’s surface, this molten material engages the earth to unleash its own lifeblood.

Gojira incite a similar release on their sixth full-length album and second for Roadrunner Records, Magma. Fueled by unbridled emoti… Moreon, the ten tracks confront the fragility of life, the aftershocks of loss, and what lies beyond this realm. Musically, the French quartet—brothers Joe Duplantier [vocals, guitar] and Mario Duplantier [drums], Christian Andreu [guitar], and Jean-Michel Labadie [bass]—gracefully swings between quaking and quivering guitars, mind-bending percussion, chillingly elegant melodies, and cosmic atmospherics. The band has always dealt in extremes, uncovering light in darkness and finding beauty in heaviness. Magma continues that tradition, while expanding the sonic palette.

From top to bottom, these ten tracks represent Gojira at their most passionate, powerful, and pure uninhibited by the any outside influences and literally in its own sphere. Mario can trace the record’s origins to writing sessions on the back of the bus as they supported Slayer across North America in late 2013. They’d continue penning music on the road, but Joe set out to build a creative haven upon returning to Brooklyn, NY in 2014. He personally envisioned, designed, and oversaw the construction of his own Silver Cord Studio over the course of six months.

“We always choose the hard way,” Joe smiles. “We literally put the walls together and fine-tuned every aspect of the space. It was worth it at the end because we had our own place to make music.” Less