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

KATAKLYSM

With the first half of Sunday's lineup largely favouring bands of a distinct retro essence and lighter, more traditional metal sound, sixth on the main stage, French-Canadian death metallers and 'northern hyperblast' masters, Kataklysm were set to give Bloodstock's final day a huge kick up the arse. Judging by the spontaneous crowd antics a few minutes before they appear on stage, it is evident that particular audience members are geeing themselves up with excitement in eager anticipation of something much heavier - punters separate to leave clear a large circular area which provides enough space for piggy back fights, mud wrestling, and several failed attempts at a human pyramid! In fact, the rest of the crowd seem so pre-occupied with watching this spectacle, the unbelievably intense sound of Max Duhamel's kit being soundchecked seems to pass people by. By far the best drum sound through the PA of the entire weekend, it fortunately lasts throughout Kataklysm's forty minute set as they plough their way through material new and old such as 'The Chains of Power' from latest studio effort 'Prevail', and 'In Shadows and Dust' from 2002's 'Shadows & Dust' album. The Canadian four-piece are an intense live experience with Duhamel's inhumanly fast bursts of blast-beats and generally skilled drumming providing a solid backbone for the downtuned guitar and bass of Jean-François Dagenais and Stéphane Barbe. And then there's frontman Maurizio Iacono's gutturally growled delivery which grates along in fierce unison with the sonic vehemence that explodes through the PA speakers. Full credit to the sound engineer, who I'm guessing must be the band's own. The expected large and violent pits erupt in the middle of the crowd as Iacono tries to incite even more audience ferocity by branding the crowd "a bunch of pussies" at one point for not being lively enough. Katakylsm are Sunday's wake up call for a tiring audience on this final day of the festival. An astoundingly good, flawless performance.

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SUNDAY 17th AUGUST - PART 2

AS I LAY DYING

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OVERKILL

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AT THE GATES

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NIGHTWISH

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I'd heard around 11:30 this morning that As I Lay Dying were stuck at customs in France due to some anomaly with their travel documents, so was curious to see if they'd managed to make it to Catton Hall in time. As I wait with other photographers by the side of the photopit, I discover that they have only just turned up, ten minutes before their allotted slot of 5:40pm, and that one of Nightwish's huge trucks is stuck in the mud directly behind the stage, thus blocking their path to where they should have driven to! Appearing on stage at 6pm, only twenty minutes late, As I Lay Dying are forced to cut their set from forty to thirty minutes, although vocalist Tim Lambesis' declaration to the crowd - "we only arrived half an hour ago" - is met with a degree of sympathy. This is quite surprising, as is the large-ish audience gathered to watch them considering the negative, and unwarranted, response from a significant number of people on Bloodstock's website forum when it was originally announced they'd been booked for the festival. I put this down to the inanity of the term 'metalcore', and its often inappropriate use, which is how the media have incessantly labelled the band, perhaps to their detriment on occasion. Lambesis' vocals could be generically construed as hardcore, although the band's overall sound pertains to one of progressive thrash with elements of the classic Gothenburg sound à la early In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. From opening number 'Through Struggle' to set closer 'Confined', As I Lay Dying prove themselves a highly polished live act and, considering their lengthy and problematic journey to the grounds of Catton Hall, put on a mightily impressive and highly energetic performance. Judging by the positive crowd reactions to their music, the San Diego quintet successfully manage to silence at least some of their critics.

The past 3-4 years has seen some unexpected, although very welcome reunions in the metal world - Atheist; Emperor; Sabbat; Cynic; Carcass....and At The Gates. Discovering At The Gates back in 1995 with the release of their seminal work, and final album, 'Slaughter of the Soul', widely regarded by many to epitomise the Gothenburg melo-death subgenre they'd already helped create along with peers In Flames and Dark Tranquillity, I'd never had the chance to see them live as a year later saw the band unexpectedly split. Their addition to the Bloodstock bill was, therefore, most welcome, particularly as the reunited band members are those from the classic 'Slaughter of the Soul' era. A few minutes before the Swedes are due on stage, it unfortunately begins to rain rather heavily, the first real showers of the day. However, a determined crowd refuse to let this dampen their enjoyment and unique opportunity of catching At The Gates live in this exclusive UK appearance, as when the band emerge on stage after a slightly overlong soundcheck and open with the title track from 'Slaughter of the Soul', large, intense pits begin with accompanying widespread crowd surfing. Utilising their hour long time slot well, charismatic frontman Tomas Lindberg informs the audience early on that they'll be playing something from every At The Gates release although the bias is predictably towards 'Slaughter of the Soul' - 'Under a Serpent Sun', 'Cold', 'World of Lies' etc sound as relevant and fresh in 2008 as in their original recorded incarnations back in 1995. With the exception of guitarist Martin Larsson, all other band members have remained musically active over the years, so it is no surprise that they each look comfortable onstage performing enthusiastically in front of Bloodstock's huge audience, although I am seriously impressed by how tight they are as a live act in 2008. An incredibly good sound and mix through the PA helps matters, although with Larsson's guitar through the right channel, and Anders Björler's the left, only those standing central to the stage can properly benefit from the distinctive twin guitar harmonies characteristic of At The Gates' style. On stage for around forty five minutes, pre-encore set closer 'Need' sees them briefly disappear, only to re-emerge to the intro music from 'Blinded By Fear', as they treat a now very wet audience to this song and two more. It is a genuinely sad moment when Lindberg implicitly announces the reunion will not run for much longer and informs the crowd this will be the band's final appearance in the UK, also stating it brings a tear to his eye seeing so many people turn up to witness the Swedes' last ever UK show. He reaffirms this before closing encore track 'Kingdom Gone' by declaring it to be the final song they'll ever play in the UK. Judging by general audience reactions, I am not the only one moved by this moment of finality, and when they cease playing, the final track from 'Slaughter...' - 'The Flames of the End' - is played through the PA, apposite outro music, almost as if it was named and written all those years ago for such a future occasion. The moment is both symbolic and poignant. On the positive side, five minutes after At The Gates exit the stage, the heavy rain that has lasted for the duration of their set finally stops!

New Jersey groove-thrash legends Overkill commence playing around 7:10pm, so the allotted thirty minute change-over time is adhered to, albeit the day's schedule is now twenty minutes behind. Formed in 1980 with their debut album, 'Feel The Fire', released in 1985, the thrash metal veterans have stayed active over the years, although only vocalist Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth and bassist DD Verni remain from the original lineup. Commencing with the title track from 1999 release, 'Necroshine', Overkill's hour long set includes an array of material from their 25 year recorded history (25 years by taking into account 1983 demo, 'Power In Black'). Having never been into the American thrashers at any point during their lengthy career, I am less excited about their appearance at Bloodstock than many others - in fact, thousands of others by observing the huge audience they manage to attract - and although unfamiliar with many of the songs aired today, am impressed by the hard-hitting, succinct delivery of the music coupled with the band's enthusiastic performance. While standing in the photopit, my eyes are greeted with one of the bizarrest things I've encountered at a gig in recent years. I temporarily halt shooting the band when I am distracted by the surreal sight of a young fan appearing just in front of me. Not so strange, as Overkill's music engenders lively audience reactions with many surfers plucked from the crowd by security. But strange considering that this particular fan is gaffer taped to a chair to the point it renders him motionless apart from his wandering eyes, and smothered in some white substance (shaving foam/toothpaste?)!! Involuntarily crowd surfed into the pit, security seem simultaneously confused and amused as they place him up against the stage for a couple of minutes before carrying him out, still bound the chair!

As Bloodstock Open Air 2008 nears its conclusion, Nightwish's slick, professional crew get to work with not only setting up the band's gear, but also rigging a whole array of pyro pots. With the festival's final day now over running by around half an hour, the forty minute change over time is all the roadies need to set everything up in what is obviously a well practiced routine. Originally headlining Bloodstock back in 2003 at the third occasion of the indoor festival for their first ever UK live appearance, Nightwish are bestowed with the honour to close the festival tonight. Playing largely the same songs as when I caught the band in Newcastle earlier this year, they open with 'Bye Bye Beautiful', swiftly followed by 'Dark Chest of Wonders' as pyros explode en masse - minus the deafening bangs that accompanied Dimmu Borgir's the previous night, although more excessive in their usage. With some of Nightwish's fans still mourning Tarja Turunen's departure from the band, many others, myself included, regard Anette Olzon as a much better performer, both vocally and visually, albeit lacking Turunen's operatic tones. Sure, it is unlikely we'll ever hear the likes of 'Stargazers' live ever again, although no-one can deny Olzon's onstage chemistry with both her fellow bandmates and the audiences to whom she performs. Plus she has the sincerity that Turunen lacked, and eschews the pretentiousness of elaborate flowing dresses with colour co-ordinated microphone and mic stands. However, there are evidently Nightwish haters within the audience tonight who make their presence known by hurling missiles at keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen - whether these be bottles of beer or piss it is uncertain, although it is despicable behaviour that is quite unexpected from a Bloodstock audience. Playing for around 55 minutes, Olzon and bassist Marco Hietala look genuinely disappointed when they announce the next song, 'Wish I Had An Angel', as their last due to other bands overrunning earlier in the day, and apologise to the audience for having to truncate their set. It's a shame that the Bloodstock organisers felt it necessary this year to end the festival at the scheduled time of 11:30pm, as in previous open air editions, most headline bands have been allowed to finish half an hour late. However, most people in attendance would agree that the bombast of Nightwish's symphonic goth metal and visually breathtaking pyro show is a perfect finale to Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes