BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008

DATE:

VENUE:

Friday 15th August - Sunday 17th August 2008

Catton Hall in Derbyshire, UK

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

DIMMU BORGIR; ICED EARTH; SOILWORK; NAPALM DEATH; MOONSORROW; COMMUNIC; SWALLOW THE SUN; ELUVEITIE; RISE TO REMAIN; CLOUDSCAPE

SUNDAY

NIGHTWISH; AT THE GATES; OVERKILL; AS I LAY DYING; KATAKLYSM; MOB RULES; GRAND MAGUS; ALESTORM; CROWNING GLORY; HEAVEN'S BASEMENT

OPETH; HELLOWEEN; SOULFLY; PRIMAL FEAR; DESTRUCTION; AKERCOCKE; TYR; PRAYING MANTIS; EVILE; SAINT DEAMON

CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY PART 1

SAINT DEAMON

Opening the main stage of Bloodstock Open Air 2008 at the early time of 10:45am are relatively new Swedish/Norwegian band Saint Deamon. Formed in 2006, their debut album, 'In Shadows Lost From The Brave' was released earlier this year, although the individual band members' discographies include work for the likes of Primal Fear, Hammerfall, and drummer Ronny Milianowicz and bassist Nobby Noberg's previous band, Dionysus. With their setlist lifted entirely from their latest, and only, release, the band's skilled musicianship and songwriting pertains to an aurally pleasing fusion of progressive and power metal elements, which perhaps explains why they've been booked for the prestigious ProgPower USA festival in September this year. There is nothing original on offer here, but Saint Deamon play their blend of prog-power with incisive perfection and a heavy groove, and the likes of 'The Burden', 'Daemons', 'Ride Forever' and 'My Heart' are well received by the moderately sized crowd in this early time slot. With a full, resonant sound through this year's much larger PA, it is a shame that Noberg's impressive bass playing is occasionally lost in the mix - otherwise, they are flawless. Vocalist Jan-Thore Grefstad, a lively frontman who manages to engender some movement from those who have made the effort to attend so early, is a powerful singer and, collectively, the band deliver some tonally rich vocal harmonies. Grefstad deems it to be a good idea to introduce the individual band members before set closer 'The Brave Never Bleeds', which is perhaps a little misplaced in a half hour set, although overall Saint Deamon are a solid act, and kick-start Bloodstock 2008 into life with a memorable performance.

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FRIDAY 15th AUGUST - PART 1

EVILE

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PRAYING MANTIS

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TYR

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AKERCOCKE

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Riding high on the current wave of thrash metal's resurgence in the last couple of years, and signed to Earache, a label who seem to be snapping up more than their fair share of retro-thrash acts, Huddersfield based Evile are up next. With frontman Matt Drake wearing a t-shirt that quite simply says 'Vagina', which he feels the need to draw the crowd's attention to mid-set, it is a completely inane gesture that leaves me wondering to whom Evile expect their target audience to be. Playing clichéd thrash and treading the fine line between pastiche and blatant plagiarism, there is absolutely nothing original about this band. Palm muted riff after palm muted riff are encased in compositions that are nothing but overt mimicry of those they evidently idolise - Slayer; Annihilator; Testament; Metallica et al. The songs aired today such as 'Thrasher', 'Man Against Machine' and the title track from last year's debut album, 'Enter The Grave', are well performed by four talented individuals, and what they lack in originality, compensate with technical ability and a very tight delivery. Evile also prove their worth as a main stage festival band as they manage to sustain a wildly energetic, huge circle pit pre-midday. Mike Alexander impresses on bass with a commanding and dynamic stage presence, while lead guitarist Ol Drake accompanies his skilled shredding with an array of comical facial expressions. I guess Evile are a band that don't take themselves too seriously, and with their material completely devoid of musical ingenuity, this works to their advantage.

Third on the main stage, and with the day getting increasingly hotter as the Friday of Bloodstock is blessed with fine weather as the sun beams down on the grounds of Catton Hall, are NWOBHM stalwarts Praying Mantis. Formed in the mid-70s by the Troy brothers, Tino and Chris, their lineup previously featured one-time Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton upon reforming in 1990 (who played on the band's last studio album in 2003, 'The Journey Goes On'). Perhaps more rock-oriented than metal, Praying Mantis offer something a little different to the Bloodstock bill, although the audience has considerably diminished in size as they take to the stage. Opening with 'Children of the Earth' and 'Panic in the Streets' from 1981 release 'Time Tells No Lies', their performance is far from perfect as one of the guitars sounds slightly out of tune, and the bassist accidentally pulls the lead from his instrument. However, after a few minutes, they soon settle into their groove, and look like they're starting to enjoy the occasion. Evidently appreciated by the smallish crowd that bother to witness their brand of AOR-edged NWOBHM, Praying Mantis are a welcome addition to Bloodstock's diverse billing. Cheesy, and very dated, but good fun.

After Praying Mantis' non too sizeable audience, it appears there is great anticipation for the next band, as the area in front of the main stage quickly fills up with punters eager to see the Faroese progressive folk metallers, Týr. Having caught them live earlier this year on the Paganfest tour at the London Koko and been impressed with their music, but not performance, I'd been looking forward to seeing them on the big festival stage. And it was most certainly worth the wait. Appearing to atmospheric intro music, the bare chested Faroesen warriors are greeted with loud cheers from an enthusiastic audience and reciprocate with a lively stage dynamic from the offset, striding around with assured bravura. A track from the new album is amusingly introduced as a song about "Scotsmen getting their arses kicked in Norway", before settling down into the infectiously melodic 'Regin Smidur' from 2003 release 'Eric The Red' as frontman Heri Joensen makes effective use of an E-bow to attain a pipe-like effect from his guitar for the song's intro. The down-tempo 'Hail To The Hammer' is an evident crowd favourite with a singalong en masse, and prompts one inventive fan to wield high in the air a homemade hammer constructed from beer cans! Overall, Týr deliver a significantly better performance than my initial experience of their live show back in April, although they aren't free from sound glitches - notably Terji Skibenæs, who seems to suffer from problems either with his wireless guitar system or amp channel switcher. Bassist Gunnar H. Thomsen is a big stage presence in both stature and performance as he does a fine job of rousing the crowd into mass movement. Týr, with their melodically epic compositions complete with skilful vocal harmonies, excel on the bigger festival stage and, with their uniquely progressive take on the folk metal genre, deserve greater success within the scene.

Watching a band like Akercocke in the bright sunshine seems somehow wrong and at odds with the blackened satanic imagery conveyed through their art. However, it's the contraposition of light/dark and ambient/heavy that works so well in their music, and their progressive black/death onslaught is apposite for this time of the day on Bloodstock's main stage. Frontman Jason Mendonca informs the audience that Akercocke will bring "a little violence to the proceedings...some mother fucking satanic violence", before launching into 'Beyond The Adversary' from 2003 release 'Choronzon'. For me, this was the album that marked a significant progression in the band's songwriting that transcended the limited stylistics of their more extreme black metal roots on debut album 'Rape of the Bastard Nazarene' and sophomore effort 'The Goat of Mendes'. Their 40 minute set today is comprised largely of material from the last three albums (with the exception of 'Of Menstrual Blood and Semen'), as Akercocke rip through the progressive dynamics of tracks like 'Verdelet' and 'Summon The Antichrist' to great effect, inciting lively pits in the middle of the crowd. As is often the case with extremity in music, bands require a pristine mix to properly convey the intensity of the material, so it is slightly unfortunate that Akercocke only have a sporadically good sound through the PA, occasionally abating the efficacy of the more extreme passages. However, the band are an engaging live act and, despite suffering various lineup changes in the past 2-3 years, remain so in 2008. Very impressive.

Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes