Day two dawned upon the moistened ground that today would play host to a whole host of different genres within the hard rock and metal scene. Combine that with some of the best touring bands in existence then you’ve got the recipe for a good day.
Today kicked off with Ward XVI on the New Blood stage. Stripey and creepy, they played to an absolutely packed tent and deservedly so. There were even some Alice Cooper-esque gore effects! Opening up the main stage, Fallujah began the day with a tight, heavy and technical performance. The crowd however was still building this early in the day and as a result, the reaction to the band was limited. Those that were awake, which included your senior editor, were still chatting about them all day and thoroughly enjoyed them.
Hundred Year Old Man then brought ethereal post-metal to the Hobgoblin stage; it was good to finally see them live and they entertained a pretty full tent.
With their black metal sound, Winterfylleth performed on the main stage to a bigger crowd than the previous with a good reaction and plenty of sing-alongs to the clean moments amongst the intense blasting. With their catchy riffs and melodic moments, thrash metallers Eradikator were enjoyed by all judging by the loud cheers filling the Sophie Lancaster tent between songs.
Glasgow M2tM winners Titan Breed attempted to set a record for the most times the word “f**k” was used on stage during a crushing set. A large audience, probably too scared to turn their backs on a scary loud Scotsman, gave the band back as good as they got. Havok‘s brand of aggressive no-nonsense thrash metal proved to be a treat for the huge crowd at the main stage. Their relentless sound caused plenty of moshing all round leaving the audience wanting more when their time slot ended.
Coming back over to the New Blood stage, Derbyshire mentalists Raised By Owls had the tent so packed, the crowd was 10-deep outside. Being extreme/grindcore’s “answer to Lawnmower Deth”, they delivered a performance that set the bar incredibly high for all bands that had to play after them. King-810 had a fair crowd watching their set with a degree of interest while a small hardcore went mental to their heartfelt, angry vocals. A busy Sophie Tent awaited Abhorrent Decimation whose current album seems to be garnering very positive reviews. Their technical but brutal brand of extreme metal had the front rows active from the off.
Annihilator drew one of the biggest crowds of the day so far. Their old-skool thrash metal fun and main man Jeff Waters’ crowd banter was definitely a highlight of the afternoon with Municipal Waste literally laying waste to the main stage. Their raging crossover thrash caused the biggest and most relentless mosh of the festival so far, as proven by their second world record for the most crowd surfers at a gig (711 at final count).
Red Rum brought their fun pirate-themed metal to Sophie stage. The massive crowd in the tent had a great time cheering and raising their fists to the band’s catchy sound whilst over on the main stage, Hatebreed absolutely tore Bloodstock apart with a superb set. Frontman Jamie Jasta looked as though he was having the time of his life with the crowd eating from his hand (not literally!).
Kreator brought the smoke and flames to the festival with their unmistakable brand of thrash metal. Their energetic performance, striking stage set, insane amounts of pyro and confetti and frontman Mille Petrozza’s crowd work went down more than a storm with the raging audience. Rounding off the New Blood stage, Dakesis, complete with heavily pregnant bassist, delivered a stunning set of progressive power metal and flags to those that were in attendance.
If there’s a band you should be watching in the dark with a great light show and the accompanying atmosphere, then that band is Ghost. They’ve come a long way in five years or so, but this is where they belong and judging from the number of band t-shirts and amount of people talking about them, it’s safe to they went down a storm.
As per yesterday, the second day of Bloodstock served to more than sate the appetite of the masses that were in attendance. Couple that with the announcement that Gojira and Nightwish are headlining next years festival, the atmosphere was electrifying. Day tickets are still available for the final day with headliners Megadeth, Wintersun and Arch Enemy along with a whole host of other bands.
