As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 10th. Your chance to check them out and start planning which bands to get there early for!
Trust us when we tell you that this is bound to result in some frustrating clashes because, as ever, there are some great bands on these three stages.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Blood Oath – Hobgoblin New Blood Stage, Friday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Hello everyone! We’re Blood Oath, a groovy, deathy, heavy metal band hailing from sunny Leicestershire.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We formed back in November 2015. Funnily enough after seeing a facebook post requesting bands entering the Metal to the Masses competition.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Good question, after sticking our name in the M2tM pot last year we decided we quickly needed a name. We all kept bouncing bandnames around, some more ridiculous than others. For me though, the Blood Oath name comes from our determination of becoming a ‘Bloodstock’ band. I just didn’t visualise us doing it quite so soon!
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
In my opinion, a good Bloodstock band is one that really gets the crowd raising the horns, drinking beer and banging their head. Something with that nicely paced groove that makes you want to sing along and thrash out with your mates. I’d like to think Blood Oath meet that criteria perfectly!
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
That all depends on who’s on the other stages. Our songs are seriously heavy metal with a subtle hint of black, thrash and death metal all garnished with my dodgy sense of humour. I sing songs about Vikings, zombies and drinking beer. What else do you need?!
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Aw man, yeah. This will be my ninth Bloodstock I think. Absolutely love it. Every year it’s been a great weekend and I recommend it to everyone. We all camp VIP, because I prefer a decent night’s sleep! That and the Serpent’s Lair bar has many awesome choices of ales and ciders.
Did you enter M2TM thinking you could win it? Which region did you win?
We entered the Leicester M2tM for the last two years and honestly, no we didn’t. Last year was a whirlwind, starting from nothing to reaching the final and gaining so much attention I thought we could take on the world. To lose out last year was heartbreaking but it encouraged us to get back into the studio and polish our set for the following year.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
Like I mentioned earlier, I sing about Vikings and beer. I also tend to rant about witches, ex-girlfriends and wanksocks!
Which main stage band do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
For me its Amon Amarth. I’ve seen them a fair few times and they’re one of my favourites. A major influence. I’m looking forward to checking out Decapitated, Soilwork and Arch Enemy. Also Kreator never fails to destroy the festival!
What are you working on at the moment?
Well, we’ve just released our debut album Kingdom of Dead Souls so now it’s time to hole up in the studio and write album number two!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?
You’re talking to the wrong band. We all have early nights.
Jager, Hobgoblin Ale, Kraken, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon?
At Bloodstock it’s a shot of Jager for breakfast. For me, though, it’s just got to be the Bourbon!
