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!
Na Cruithne – Hobgoblin New Blood Stage, Sunday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are based in Galway City in Ireland and we also hail from Co. Cavan, Co. Fermanagh and Brazil.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We’re together with our current lineup for about two and a half years but have been playing as Na Cruithne for five years.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Na Cruithne is a name that describes the earliest race of people in the North of Ireland and Scotland. The Romans referred to the Cruithne in Scotland as “The Picts” which means “the painted ones”.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Simply put it’s heavy folk metal with plenty of groove and black metal in the mix. There’s a bit of craziness in our sound that you might not find elsewhere.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We are pretty much the only folk metal band on the New Blood stage this year and something different is always nice. We are also loads of craic. And we demand dancing.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Some of us have been before and Ronan, our guitarist, played last year with Ten Ton Slug. Such a great atmosphere around the place. Getting to see new bands on the Jager and New Blood stages is class. Also bin jousting. God, we love that bin jousting.
Did you enter M2TM thinking you could win it? Which region did you win?
We entered the Dublin/Ireland competition and while we were sure we could make a good impression, we didn’t think that far ahead. We were just happy to get through the first round. Playing in the final was such a rush! We were so proud to make it that far. Being announced for the New Blood stage was the icing on the cake for a memorable Summer for Na Cruithne.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We have a very lively set, we love to see the crowd going crazy. We will be playing a new song for Bloodstock, so expect a fast groovy folk metal extravaganza.
Which main stage band do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
Loads. Ghost, Obituary, Municipal Waste, Amon Amarth… there are too many to mention really.
What are you working on at the moment?
We’re currently writing a follow up to the album we released earlier this year, Gairm An Fhiántais which translates to “Call Of The Wild” which you can find on our Bandcamp page. We have nearly half of the new album written and it promises to be bigger and better than the debut. Also we are playing Metaldays festival in 2 weeks and we are over the moon as we are opening the main stage on Monday the 24th of July – it’s gonna be crazy! We also have a few shows lined up for a warm up to Bloodstock with gigs in Galway, Limerick and Dublin in earlier August!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?
Recently we had a jam with a Mongolian folk metal band (Nine Treasures) in a park in beside a castle in Slovenia. It was something very special and certainly does not happen every day!
Jager, Hobgoblin Ale, Kraken, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Hobgoblin, Jager and Kraken. All in the same glass please!
