BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2012

DATE:

VENUE:

Friday 10th August - Sunday 12th August 2012

Catton Hall in Derbyshire, UK

Grand Magus at Bloodstock Open Air, 10th August 2012

Photograph copyright © 2012 Graham Hilling - www.metal-discovery.com

Reviews by Mark Holmes & Hannah Sylvester; Photography by Mark Holmes & Graham Hilling

(Freedom Call; The Commander-In-Chief; Grand Magus)

(Moonsorrow; Andraste; Sepultura; Dio Disciples)

(Watain; Alcest; Behemoth)

(Splintered Soul; I Am I; Dripback; Chthonic; Crowbar)

(Rising Dream; Mayhem; Bull-Riff Stampede; Winterfylleth)

(Tempus Fusion; Witchsorrow; Sight of Emptiness; Testament; Machine Head)

(Kobra and the Lotus; Corrosion of Conformity; Flayed Disciple)

(Nile; The Black Dahlia Murder; Anvil; Shattered Skies)

(Paradise Lost; Dimmu Borgir; Alice Cooper)

FREEDOM CALL

Now, I’m not afraid to admit that power metal is far from my preferred cup of tea but, ever since Bloodstock 2007, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Freedom Call’s unashamedly fun Euro-power-cheese after their memorable performance back then when the annual metal pilgrimage to Catton Hall was a much more intimate affair. I’ve also been afflicted since that day of having random bursts of “United Alliance, once and for all whoa-hohoho… we are Freedom Call” going around my head – surely a testament to the catchiness of their music and, at times, plain bloody annoying, but hey, it could be worse! Drawing a large crowd for this time of day, and extremely well received with much clapping, headbanging and unprompted and prompted singing along, together with vocalist/guitarist Chris Bay’s cheery banter with the crowd and his occasionally bizarre German humour make for another memorable Bloodstock performance. And I guess this will be a memorable visit for the UK for them too, with bassist Samy falling ill on the plane on the way home shortly after it took off, and the plane having to turn around to land again so he could be whisked off to hospital in Birmingham (he’s okay now though going by recent reports). If only all power metal bands were this fun to watch. If you’ve never made the effort to go and see them at a festival, quite simply, do! (HS)

FRIDAY 10th AUGUST - PART 1

THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

As Freedom Call bombard Bloodstock's main stage audience with a barrage of festival friendly power metal cheese, it seems there's something of a buzz surrounding the opening act on the Sophie stage as the tent is surprisingly full for The Commander-In-Chief's pre-midday time slot. Eschewing use of her actual name, The Commander-In-Chief is the alter-ego of a 22 year old female 7-string Norwegian guitarist who riffs, shreds and sings her self-penned compositions with a session bassist (Toshi Ogawa) and drummer (Hans Menacho) in tow for the live stage. Attired in blue regalia, The Commander conveys a striking image although as she begins to perform, my attention switches immediately to her musical talents, both vocal and fretboard. Working her way through a short half hour set, her skilfully intricate playing, both rhythm and lead, is offset against some more straightfoward passages of fretboard work...it's all about what's right for the song rather than aimless displays of fretboard widdling. And every note and chord is played with precision and passion. Then there's her wide-ranging voice which she uses to vocalise and emphasise the emotions inherent in her guitar playing, hitting some high notes that leave many audience members looking as astonished as they are impressed. I understand it was The Commander's manager/mum who taught her to sing in recent years so for what is effectively a trained voice, her delivery sounds ever so natural and guitar/vocal sonics are at one in a series of melodically engaging songs. Musically, in talent and delivery, The Commander is flawless although my only minor criticism of her performance is that she doesn't look entirely relaxed during the first half of the set and doesn't stray too far from her mic stand during instrumental passages. It's left to bassist Ogawa to fill out the empty stage space with some energetic moves. However, as the set progresses, The Commander seems to relax and settle into the live vibe, and is evidently thoroughly gratified and humbled by the enthusiastic crowd reaction she receives. Keep an eye out for The Commander-In-Chief in the future boys and girls as I've a feeling we're all going to hear a hell of a lot more from this uber talented Norwegian lady. (MH)

Click on thumbnails for larger images:

GRAND MAGUS

Grand Magus never fail to deliver at festivals; they’re always solid and always great to watch but bloody hell, what’s this?!? JB is morphing into Brian Blessed! I had no idea he was growing his hair more but, jeez, that’s some impressive facial growth there! Seriously though, facial hair aside, Grand Magus are on usual fine form today, ripping their way through tracks from their last four albums, including airings of ‘Sword of the Ocean’ and ‘Valhalla Rising’ from their recently released new full-length ‘The Hunt’. It never ceases to amaze me, the immensely powerful sound they have for a three-piece and whereas, vocally, some bands, especially of the doom/stoner genre, just don’t cut it live, vocally, JB never fails to deliver perfectly dynamic vocals every time. (HS)

Reviews by Mark Holmes & Hannah Sylvester; Photography by Mark Holmes & Graham Hilling

(Freedom Call; The Commander-In-Chief; Grand Magus)

(Moonsorrow; Andraste; Sepultura; Dio Disciples)

(Watain; Alcest; Behemoth)

(Splintered Soul; I Am I; Dripback; Chthonic; Crowbar)

(Rising Dream; Mayhem; Bull-Riff Stampede; Winterfylleth)

(Tempus Fusion; Witchsorrow; Sight of Emptiness; Testament; Machine Head)

(Kobra and the Lotus; Corrosion of Conformity; Flayed Disciple)

(Nile; The Black Dahlia Murder; Anvil; Shattered Skies)

(Paradise Lost; Dimmu Borgir; Alice Cooper)