BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2012

DATE:

VENUE:

Friday 10th August - Sunday 12th August 2012

Catton Hall in Derbyshire, UK

Testament at Bloodstock Open Air, 11th 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)

TEMPUS FUSION

Describing themselves as “epic metal” (ughh, a vague term that’s far too overused at the moment) – heavy melodic prog metal is closer to the truth - and citing influences such as Devin Townsend, Scar Symmetry, Gojira, Frost* and Pink Floyd, I was pretty damned sure that this would be one not to miss, especially as Bloodstock wasn’t offering too much on the prog front this year. The tracks available on their website caught me enough to decide to catch 10 minutes of Winterfylleth on the Sophie stage, and sacrifice seeing the rest of their set to then run across site, to catch what I was pretty sure was going to be a set worth watching. So was it worth it? Well, as the singer rightly proclaims, playing a set that clashes with Sanctuary and Winterfylleth was always going to be tough, but the crowd gathered to see them is small to say the least. Immediately on entering the tent I also twigged they have Dave Stanton from Season’s End on bass and, as a long-time SE fan (and still waiting for the long-overdue second album), figured this would be no bad thing. However, they are plagued with an abysmal sound mix; regardless of where you stand, probably the worst of the weekend, which loses all of the melodic sampled/keys backing that are integral to their style, and drums that practically override the whole mix and drown the harmony vocals. Disappointing. Equally disappointing is the frontman, who just looks thoroughly uncomfortable onstage - either that, or just despondent with the small number of people that have come to watch them. Appreciative of the crowd that they have, and what looks like excellent technical playing, after 10 minutes, I admit defeat and head back to the Sophie stage to catch the rest of Winterfylleth. With a good mix, I dare say Tempus Fusion are great to watch, as recorded they come across very well, but sadly it just doesn’t cut it today. Shame. (HS)

SATURDAY 11th AUGUST - PART 3

WITCHSORROW

And now for some serious 70s inspired doom! Southern trio Witchsorrow, with their roots firmly placed in the traditional doom stylings of Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard, make their third biennial Bloodstock appearance to a gradually swelling crowd as the masses make their way over from Sanctuary finishing their set. But it’s apparent, not only to me but to those around me (so I know it isn’t my ears!), that Necroskull’s vocals are really bloody wavery, especially during their first song, and it’s plain off-putting, to be honest. To me, this style of music commands a certain strength in vocal tone that is just plain lacking here. That aside, musically they can’t be faulted, and the fact that I still have the main riff from their first song ‘The Agony’ going around my head two weeks later is testament to the apparent catchiness of their songwriting [but please brain, I’ve found out what the song’s called now… please stop!]. Lapped up by the crowd and an inflatable killer whale making its way across the floor; worth going to see, but I just wish the vocals had been a bit more on form. (HS)

TESTAMENT

Just as Sight of Emptiness finish their set over on the Sophie stage, Testament commence theirs on the main. Like the Costa Ricans, it's been five years since these legendary American thrashers last graced Catton Hall, headlining the festival's main stage on the first day but, today, they return in a "special guest" slot, prior to Machine Head. Many would have happily seen those slots reversed but I guess current popularity rather than history, consistency and talent has secured Robb Flynn and co. headline status. Still, bands have all so often fared better in the penultimate slot on Bloodstock's main stage, as has been the case at other festivals, and Testament, this evening, are no exception. After a piece from Christopher Young's 'Hellbound: Hellraiser II' score blasts through the PA, band members appear on a stage that has been decorated with two banners, 'Randy' and 'Free' (which I'm guessing until recently would've been positioned the other way around at shows while the Lamb of God frontman was still incarcerated). Book-ending their back catalogue with a set derived from their last three and first three albums, opener 'Rise Up' from new album 'Dark Roots of Earth' sits comfortably alongside the following song, the title track from 1988 album 'The New Order'. It's testament (no pun intended) to the Americans' longevity and songwriting integrity that they've managed to capture the old Testament vibe in their new material while also progressing with their sound. The juxtaposition of old and new in their set today makes such an observation more emphatic. And the band look as enthusiastic and hungry for performing live as they've ever been with Chuck Billy's trademark semi-air guitar mic stand widdling featuring prominently during instrumental passages (there's definitely a repressed guitarist in that man!) Mic stand widdles aside, he's also in fine voice with his polyvocal styles roaring through Catton Hall's early evening air. With Gene Hoglan temporarily (permanently?) back on the drum stool, together with Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson's onslaught of thrash riffs and virtuosic leads, and Greg Christian's pounding bass, Testament sound monstrous. Climaxing with '3 Days of Darkness' as dusk kicks in, Billy and his bandmates exit the stage to some of the loudest applause heard in the grounds of Catton Hall all weekend. Legends. Follow that Machine Head... (MH)

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)

SIGHT OF EMPTINESS

Bloodstock veterans will no doubt recognise the name of this Costa Rican act as they won a place on the festival's main stage back in 2007 after winning the unsigned band competition. Invited back to the grounds of Catton Hall in 2012 for a fairly high billing on the Sophie stage, it's a great opportunity to see how the band have developed over the last five years. With a largely revised lineup, Sight of Emptiness' music has also progressed somewhat. While I recall being mightily impressed with their take on the melo-death subgenre with a heavy bias of the Gothenburg sound in their songwriting, it offered little fresh or original. However, their latest material transcends their roots and has diversified to incorporate a whole array of metal subgenres, and this they prove on the Sophie stage in their early evening slot. Unfortunately, while Sight of Emptiness make a triumphant return to Bloodstock musically with a slick, tight, professional and dynamic performance that is amongst some of the best, freshest-sounding metal witnessed at the festival the entire weekend, the audience gathered to watch them in action is sparse. Not clashing with a main stage band, I would've predicted a fairly packed tent but it seems to be an unfortunate "tea-time" slot where many have favoured disappearing somewhere else to fill their stomachs with food rather than their ears with music. It's such a shame and while delivering an energetic performance with his low/high dual-growled vocal styles, there are vague glimpses of disappointment on frontman fILTHY's face as he looks out into the tent's empty space. On the positive side, the hundred or so wise metal fans who've made the effort to check out this most talented of bands make their presence felt with a small but energetic pit as well as cheers and applause at the end of each track. Although Sight of Emptiness' return to Catton Hall has only been witnessed by a handful of festival attendees, they've done themselves proud by delivering forty minutes of intensely captivating metal - intensely melodic, intensely heavy and intensely enjoyable. (MH)

Click on thumbnails for larger images:

MACHINE HEAD

The divisive dichotomy of Machine Head lovers/haters on the festival's official website forum prior to today had echoes of Cradle of Filth's headline booking at Bloodstock three years ago. Personally, I believe that if the prior announcement build-up hadn't been so grandiose with ridiculous statements such as "the biggest band ever booked to play Bloodstock" (bigger than Alice Cooper and Motörhead? Really?), then more people would have been amenable to their appearance at Catton Hall. It didn't help that ubiquitous rumours were that of Slayer so the actual gimmicky announcement on the 6th day of the 6th month at 6pm of Machine Head fell a little flat for a large number of Bloodstock's core audience...apart from those who love Machine Head, of course. Me? I was indifferent. I regard Machine Head as a solid metal band albeit completely overrated considering their currently unjustified popularity and one of the most unjustifiably over-hyped bands of the last decade. They've written and recorded some amazing metal tunes but have yet to make an album that's consistently great. Fortunately, with a festival set, it's their better tracks you can rely on being aired so, for that reason, they make an adequate closing band for Bloodstock's second day. Opening with 'I Am Hell' followed by 'Aesthetics of Hate' and then 'Imperium', it's an explosive start as, throughout, each of the band's considered 'classic tracks' materialise in their set. Unfortunately, they don't sound too great through the PA as the overall mix of instruments is fairly muddy although Robb Flynn's vocals can be heard with too much clarity and are particularly rough - a man whose voice most definitely hasn't improved over time and with age. Pyros explode from the front and back of the stage in what seems like an after-thought - completely misplaced for a band such as Machine Head. And Flynn's mid-set monologue about the integrity of metal above the exclusion of all other genres disacknowledges the eclectic tastes of so many metal fans. I'm not sure whether his speech is well received or not but it's mis-timed considering he follows it with the balladic intro to 'Darkness Within' (and his vocals sound particularly terrible over some weak acoustic strumming). Following a subpar rendition of 'Darkness Within' is 'Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies' which sees the band exit the stage and a recorded version plays over the PA. When Machine Head promised the inclusion of five tracks from debut album 'Burn My Eyes' in their set (the most popular choices voted for by their fans prior to Bloodstock) I presumed they'd actually be playing them all live! To be fair, five tracks are eventually performed live, I guess this is simply a bonus sixth as it's used as an intro to 'Block'. Ultimately, their set is a little rough around the edges, sound-wise and performance, and not as polished as one would have expected for a band of the 'stature' of Machine Head. Enjoyable in parts but an anti-climax after the might of Testament. (MH)