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!
Everest Queen – Jägermeister Stage, Sunday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
The band are from and based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We formed in June 2013 and started gigging in April 2016.
Where does the name of the band come from?
‘Everest Queen’ is a character in our song “Curse of the Everest Queen”, which is about a girl who travels east to escape living under a totalitarian leadership. However, her totalitarian mindset is still a part of her psyche and she imposes her ideologies and beliefs on a tribe she discovers. The tribe, dissatisfied with the way she has corrupted their people, end up killing her. It’s also a strain of weed and we like the fact that it’s a name that doesn’t try to be macho or male orientated. The music will still either beat you into submission or engulf you in an ethereal blaze.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Sludge, doom and progressive metal are the foundation of our sound, but we often dip into other sub genres, like stoner and black metal, for example. Each song is simply an expression of what we were feeling at the time we wrote it. We can have one song that dooms hard and another song that screws around with time signatures and rhythms. We try not to limit our sound to specific genres. That gives us more freedom to do write what we want.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We start with slower songs, build up a momentum and gradually get faster. It’s a brooding, emotional and ferocious set, with a lot of dynamics and layers. Considering there are only three of us, a lot of people are often surprised by our large sound. We’re an effective blend of heavier subgenres of metal, particular underground stuff. If you’re into stuff like Crowbar, OM, Mastodon and ISIS (the band), we may be your match made in heavy heaven.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Our bass player Jimmy has been to Bloodstock. He absolutely loved it. In fact, it was his stag weekend and he got to meet Grand Magus after being on stage with them watching their set from the side.
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
We took part in the Metal 2 the Masses competition in Hertfordshire. We genuinely thought we’d get through to at least the second round before being kicking out. However, we got to the final and two bands went through. Ourselves and Raze the Void (who are on the New Blood Stage).
What sort of setlist can we expect?
With a half hour set in mind, we’re going at it non-stop. Raw energy and bombastic waves of pure emotion. We have a lot of energy and that always feeds into whatever crowd we are playing to.
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
It would be a shame to miss Possessed, Obituary or Brujeria, who are playing around about the same time we are. However, we are getting to see Bossk later that evening and Zhora, Ohhms and Mantar the night before so swings and roundabouts we figure.
What are you working on at the moment?
We’re heading into the studio in a week to record a single. Following that, we have plans to play more shows and record our first album. And by early next year, we hope to have a couple of short tours across the UK booked in for 2018. Playing in Europe is a tentative plan, but I guess watch this space.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Wildest thing that happened while we played was our drummer Brad gushing blood all over his kit from his nose for the entire set on the last tour date with Zhora. The wildest thing we saw was probably when we supported Elephant Tree in Hertfordshire. They covered “Wild Thing” to close proceedings and the Hertfordshire metal heads just swarmed the stage and joined in. Fucking magical.
Jager, Hobgoblin Ale, Kraken, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Hobgoblin… no question. Jagermeister is a close second, but cannot be diluted. Alcohol was not made with this treacherous intention in mind.
