Bloodstock Open Air 2009 review

The weather’s unpredictable, there’s no foreign exchange rate to distract from the high beer prices and wasps buzz around on their endless campaign of annoyance; it’s good to see nothing’s changed in my two year absence from a UK open air festival. In its five years of existence, Bloodstock Open Air has cemented its reputation as the UK’s equivalent to the mighty Wacken festival and given that the BOA site is roughly only 1/10 the size of said German ‘fest, there’s plenty of potential for growth. Such reduced surroundings are no disadvantage though: frequent spottings of participating musicians and regular re-encounters with newly made friends (you know: those cool people you drank with last night and never expected to see again all weekend) bring a greater feeling of intimacy and community. This reviewer certainly never anticipated such a sense of unity at a UK ‘fest (marred by one idiotic event – more on that later).

Day 1 – August 14th

Hangover-stricken yet ready to rock, I trek to the main stage to find that I’ve missed half of Blitzkrieg (3.5/5) as they’ve been moved to the 11AM opening slot. D’oh. Looks like I should pay more attention to the campsite grapevine in future. Next on my agenda are Manchester’s Bisonhammer (3.5/5) on the Unsigned Stage. What they lack in originality they make up for in energy and entertainment value. They’re followed by Petersfield maestros Bloodshot Dawn (4/5) who engage an impressive crowd with unpredictably complex death metal. Hopefully they’ll soon have no place on an unsigned band stage. Over on the main stage Die Apokalyptischen Reiter (4/5) deliver perfect summer afternoon fun by giving one lucky girl the opportunity to crowd-surf in a dinghy. Not bad for a band with a keyboard-playing gimp. Municipal Waste (4/5) follow: cue a dramatic shift in energy but certainly no lessening of fun. An attempt to break the world crowd surfing record brings a deluge of bodies to the barrier; bet security just loves these guys. Retiring to the campsite for beer and food, I miss Katatonia but am fully prepared for the UK return of Sodom (4/5), who deliver a terrific bombardment of Teutonic thrash; the pit for ‘Agent Orange’ being my highlight of the weekend thus far. Saxon (4/5) show no sign of slowing down this year as they fire out new and old classics and Biff announces that much-maligned rock weekly Kerrang! is being outsold by Metal Hammer. Nice. Arch Enemy (4/5) are the first of tonight’s headliners and are as impressive as ever but it’d be hard for any band to match Carcass (4.5/5) for live intensity. Despite frontman Jeff Walker’s ever-relaxed demeanour, the reunited UK grinders are now a tremendously fierce live unit thanks to a year of touring. If 2009 really is the year where UK metal returns to prominence, then Carcass’ performance as the first British band to headline BOA’s main stage (yes really, shocking isn’t it?) will be a major highpoint. Special props to the band for playing ‘Empathological Necroticism,’ although fuck knows what those fireworks and ticker-tape explosions were all about. Time for bed…

Day 2 – August 15th

The GWAR-esque shenanigans of Uncle Rotter would have been an entertaining start to the day… if I’d known what they were like and hadn’t forgone their set to have a few beers. Note to self: more pre-festival homework next time. Battlelore (3/5) however, are adequate - if only for the alluring presence of vocalist Kaisa Jouhki – but are certainly no match for the other Tolkien lovers on today, and they don’t need costumes. Sweden’s Wolf (4/5) hammer home the message that traditional metal is well and truly back to conquer but there’s no reason why Scandinavia should rule the revivalist roost, as Glasgow’s Switchblade Scream (4/5) later prove in the unsigned tent. With energy to spare and the mighty vocal presence of Matt Dorian, they’re just as good as any trad-metal band receiving column space right now. Back on the main stage The Haunted (3.5/5) and Entombed (3/5) battle valiantly against the afternoon wind robbing them of their usual power. More audio problems prevent Candlemass’ (3.5/5) UK festival debut from being a total triumph although the doom faithful at the front – this currently ‘Mass-mad hack included – are too busy enjoying themselves to care. ‘Hammer of Doom’ brings the weekend’s most unexpected moshpit and a nifty cover of Rainbow’s ‘Kill The King’ closes proceedings, prompting a mass (no pun intended) jaunt to the meet and greet tent. Whilst queuing I can hear Enslaved (3.5/5) weaving their usual ethereal magic over crowd and manage to watch a little of their set before witnessing possibly the weekend’s strangest offering yet. Abgott acoustic (3.5/5), while very weird, proves to be strangely compelling and an unlikely success judging by the crowd huddled around the Jagermeister stall. Saturday however, belongs to Kreator (4/5/5). Picking up where Sodom left off, except with even more violence, they incite the most destructive moshing of the weekend and possibly the most chaos any Germans have left on UK soil since WW2. Brilliant stuff, although the little nitpick demon on my shoulder insists that I deduct half a point for only playing one song from excellent new album ‘Hordes of Chaos’. Metallica covers on cello have some novelty appeal but in the live arena said intrigue wears thin quickly so while Apocalyptica (3/5) do what they do well, it does little for me. Changeover delays and an unfortunate clash with a certain Hobbit-loving band force me to catch only one feedback-laden song by Abgott proper (3/5). Sorry guys. In 23 years of existence Blind Guardian (4.5/5) have only played three UK shows but this hasn’t stopped them from gaining a large and devoted British fanbase. With countless anthems to their name, it’s nigh-on impossible for the Germanic bards to play enough songs and please everyone but setlist staples like ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Bard’s Song’ are all present and correct while rarely-aired numbers such as ‘Quest For Tanelorn’ and ‘Another Holy War’ receive welcome airings. 75 minutes of sing-along heaven ensues. Surely a proper UK headline tour can’t be too far away now? Love them or hate them, Cradle of Filth (3.5/5) are one of the UK’s most successful metal acts and their headline slot is well-deserved. Visibly more energised than during their workmanlike showing at Hellfest, the Filth unleash killer cuts from their latest album plus classics for long-time fans. Then some selfish prick hurls oversized sweets at the stage, injures guitarist Paul Allendar and forces security to pull the plug, spoiling an otherwise fine performance (despite being disappointingly low on Cradle’s trademark theatrics). Proving that Cradle are divisive as ever, this abrupt conclusion prompts cheers from some and disappointment from others. As a proudly defiant member of the latter faction I can only say to the missle-throwing fuckhead (assuming he or she is reading this): if you don’t like a band then don’t fucking watch them! Twats like you have no place at metal festivals so kindly fuck somewhere you belong, like a bin of AIDS-infected needles. Cunt.

Day 3 – August 16th

Sabaton (4.5/5) kick off the final day in tremendous bombastic style. Despite the minimal press coverage they’ve received over here thus far, they have a very impressive following (or should that be army?) and songs like ‘Cliffs of Gallipoli’ and ‘Metal Machine’ are rapturously received. No ‘Panzer Battalion’ though; awww. Girlschool (3.5/5) offer spot-on accompaniment for downing some breakfast beers and Equilibrium (3.5/5) make their UK debut with some enjoyable folk-tinged metal. Back at the unsigned stage Primitive Graven Image (3/5) unleash their prog-tinged brand of hell. No offence guys but if you’re bold enough to wear corpsepaint then you might want to apply it a bit more professionally for better visual impact. Being completely unfamiliar with Anathema (3/5), their highly-praised performance made little impact with me although they deserve huge respect for a flawless rendition of Iron Maiden classic ‘Phantom of the Opera’. The first time I witnessed Turisas (4.5/5) was their marvellous showing on the main stage at Download ’07 and since then no other performance I’ve seen by them has matched up until now. These Finnish warriors clearly need the open space of a large stage for their epic battle anthems to take full effect rather than the echoey surroundings of a club. They came, they saw, they conquered; it’s just a pity that an ill-timed call of nature forces me to miss some of their set. Damn festival food. Moonspell (3.5/5)’s darkened theatrics fare better in the evening sun than at Wacken ’07 - if only slightly - before Amon Amarth (4.5/5) arrive for today’s second display of Viking conquest. Undoubtedly one of the weekend’s top draws, the Swedes performance – drawing heavily from their latest album - is nothing short of triumphant. This band look set to grow and grow. It’s Satyricon (5/5) however, that unexpectedly give the performance of the weekend with a crushingly majestic display of blackened power. Satyr – part rock star, part drill instructor – stalks the stage commanding constant chanting and pumping of fists. The jet-black rock anthem ‘Fuel For Hatred’ prompts the best moshpit this side of Kreator and an overwhelmingly powerful ‘Mother North’ mops up survivors. Mission accomplished troops. Like many other attendees I only know one song by Europe (3.5/5) – bet you can’t guess what it is – but I still find them entertaining. Their set drags somewhat halfway through and some softer numbers fall flat for me but when playing the likes of ‘Seven Doors Hotel’ and ‘Rock The Night’, they’re great fun. And yes, they finish with THAT song and everyone goes bonkers, ensuring an awesome conclusion to a great metal weekend.

Article by Gordy Jeans