As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 9th. 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!
Orphaned Land – Sophie Lancaster Stage, Saturday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Straight outta Israel.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
I (Chen) joined a few years later, but Orphaned Land exists since 1990. This current lineup is holding up still since 2013.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Uri, our bass player, found the name (in Hebrew) on our favorite Israeli artist song, The name just fitted perfectly to what we sing about.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Orphaned Land is the first band to blend such middle-eastern elements with modern metal music. You’ve got all the Viking and folk music going on out there…so that’s our kind of folk. Other than that, I believe our message is most important. We strive for unity among people of all kinds.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
In my taste, our music can reach every part of the emotions. We’ve got it uplifting and even make people shed a tear. Our show is the place where people show us that it’s all possible to be all together as humans and celebrate with this religion of metal.
Have you played Bloodstock before? If so, when?
Yeah, we have! 2014.
How/when did you find out that you’d be playing the SOPHIE stage?
A few months ago. That’s super nice to grow a bit each time we go back.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We will obviously feature as much as we can from our new album Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs that was just released, among the greatest hits of all times of the band.
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
Obviously we’re not clashing with the big guys (Judas Priest, Gojira, Nightwish), but we would love to see At The Gates, DevilDriver, Mr Big and more.
What are you working on at the moment?
We have a few special release vinyl coming up very soon, getting ready as well for the next festivals and composing the new album already.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
As an Israeli band, we’ve so much Arabic fans in the crowd standing next to Israeli fans, all cheering together, proving that it’s very easy to get along.
Jäger, Hobgoblin Ale, Red Bull, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Hobgoblin and Red Bull. Classic.