OneMetal.com music ARTICLE:
Bloodstock Open Air Metal Festival 2010 – Day 2 Review

From Friday the 13th to Sunday the 15th of August, Catton Hall in Derby was the site for a weekend of metallic excess, in the form of the tenth anniversary of the Bloodstock Festival. OneMetal.com sent Phil Whitehouse, Amy Drewnicki and Ryan Neal along to soak up as many of the best bands on the bill as possible and report back to you. After many days of comparing notes, unearthing photographs and trying to piece together booze-soaked memories of the festivities, we’re pleased to bring you our extensive coverage of the second day of the festival. You can see what we thought of the first day of Bloodstock 2010 by clicking here, and you can see our appraisal of day 3 by clicking here.

Opening the Ronnie James Dio stage today are Swedish prog-metallers Andromeda, and they put on a show worthy of a much higher billing. Their compositions are drenched in technical wizardry, creating melodic proggy soundscapes that would serve as the perfect accompaniment to any dream vision. Unlike lesser prog outfits, Andromeda remember to add metallic stomp and heft to their songs, rather than getting lost in technical widdling and ambient keyboard-centric noodling, and the vaguely sci-fi atmosphere conjured by their material makes a pleasant change from the usual swords-and-sorcery twaddle. [RN]

Andromeda’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/andromedaonline

They’re followed by Scandinavian gothic metal sextet Leaves Eyes, whose mainstream-friendly sound fails to make much of a connection to the assembled crowd. Their songs, while full of pomp and circumstance, are painfully generic and instantly forgettable. The band do their best, throwing dramatic keyboard accompaniments and stomping rhythms out to the crowd, and singer Liv Kristine’s operatic vocals are beyonf reproach – but without hooks to latch on to, the band’s efforts are swept away by the light breeze that wisps through the arena. [RN]

Leaves Eyes’ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/leaveseyespage

Over on the New Blood stage, Glaswegian quartet Achren have had the ingenious idea of handing out flyers announcing that their performance will be filmed for a DVD. A DVD, you say? These guys must be something special, I’ll make sure not to miss them. This is seemingly the only way they could think of drawing a crowd, because their music certainly wouldn’t have done so, consisting as it does of somewhat blackened death metal that seems to take inspiration Bolt Thrower‘s mid-paced, martial tempos, but forgets to include memorable riffs to marry them to. Shame, really, as the band seem to have a knack for ostentatious acts of self-promotion (check out their MySpace for an amusing bio touting the fact that the band have been accused of kidnapping). [RN]

Achren’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/achrenmetal

London-based groove-rock quintet Zocalo are up next, managing slightly better. Their female-fronted, bluesy, grungey attack is a refreshing sound on a bill of extreme metal, and is reminiscent of fellow 90’s-inspired Londoners Zico Chain. While hardly groundbreaking, Zocalo at least have some genuinely infectious grooves and a knack for a catchy, bluesy riff. [RN]

Zocalo’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/zocalorocks

Back over on the Ronnie James Dio stage, UK thrash legends Onslaught deliver an effective reminder to the brace of modern thrash revival bands that the originals still have some fire in their bellies. Opening with the title track from 2007′s comeback album Killing Peace, and delivering a setlist that included cuts like ‘Metal Forces’ from 1986′s The Force, Onslaught sound as if that whole 14-year gap from their dissolution in 1991 to their reformation in 2005 never happened, delivering groovy, Exodus-style thrash with conviction and skill. Closing with ‘Power From Hell’, from the 1985 release of the same name, Onslaught leave the stage having reminded the gathered crowd of the potency of classic thrash. [PW]

Onslaught’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/onslaughtuk

Back over on the New Blood Stage, Brighton-based progressive/alternative metal quintet Lithurgy kick off their set, having earned their place on the Bloodstock bill through the Metal To The Masses competition. They performed well, their off-kilter riffage and dynamic song structures combined with their energetic stage presence getting the crowd going – but unfortunately, their rhythm guitar was pddly quiet in the mix, and this affected the overall sound they were trying to put across. Still, the band displayed enough of a unique personality to keep the audience’s interest, combining Tool/Mars Volta-esque prog and Meshuggah-style heft. [AD]

Lithurgy’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lithurgy

Following Lithurgy are another band who got their place on the Bloodstock lineup through winning a Metal To The Masses heat – London-based death metal quartet Aghast. The judge for Aghast‘s particular heat of the MTTM competition was TotalRock.com DJ Maz Star, and it’s immediately apparent why she put the band through – they’re a whirlwind of insanely speedy, technical death-grind riffage, delivered with a frightening intensity married to a cheeky sense of humour. Vocalist James Anson doesn’t remain still for a moment, delivering throat-stripping roars and paint-peeling screams directly into the front row’s faces, while guitarist Christiaan Verheij Van-Wijk’s fingers are a blur, unspooling reams of technical, yet punishingly heavy riffage. A hugely impressive set. [PW]

Aghast’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/aghastuk

As well as the unrestrained extremity of the likes of Aghast, Saturday at Bloodstock also offered a sampling of classic metal. German heavy metal quintet Edguy obviously enjoyed being on stage as much as the fans enjoyed seeing them – their unashamedly cheesy, keyboard heavy tunes bringing a stadium-rock, anthemic quality to proceedings. Tobias Sammet’s mastery of the crowd was complete – let’s face it, when a German can make jokes to an English crowd about the World War and the World Cup in the same breath and still get said crowd cheering, he’s obviously doing something right. Edguy‘s set was complemented well by the last minute drafting of Helloween‘s bassist, Marcus Grosskopf, and their set was well varied – including a Europe cover thrown in for good measure. [AD]

Edguy’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/edguy

Back on the New Blood stage, Taunton-based thrash quartet Flayed Disciple were the next band to greet the audience, and the group gave us a good taste of thrash – although the lack of a bass guitarist in the line-up does seem to sap the sound of some low-end heft. This is pretty much made up for with the ulra-guttural delivery of vocalist Tim Whyte, however, and their death-metal inflected thrash is played both tightly and energetically. The band’s uber-brutal approach lends their set an impressive physicality at first, but the energy wanes as the relative lack of really memorable riffs in their tracks become apparent. That said, by the set’s end the band managed to redeem themselves considerably with a great cover of Slayer‘s ‘Angel of Death’. [AD]

Flayed Disciple’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/flayeddisciple

I’d been waiting a long time to see Floridian death metal legends Obituary live, and the band’s performance from the Ronnie James Dio stage did not disappoint. Opening with ‘Redneck Stomp’ from 2005′s Frozen In Time, Obituary wasted no time whatsoever in laying waste to the gathered crowd with their bowel-looseningly heavy, groovy brand of death metal. Vocalist John Tardy still has one of the sickest and most unique voices in death metal, his incomprehensible gurglings combining perfectly with the ultra-distorted, downtuned riffage and thunderous drumming. The highlight of the set had to be the Cause Of Death medley, incorporating ‘Chopped In Half’, ‘Cause Of Death’ and ‘Infected’ – a great performance of songs from one of my favourite death metal records. The band closed a too-short set with ‘Chopped In Half’, leaving the stage having thoroughly satisfied the old-school death metallers in attendance. [PW]

Obituary’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/obituary

South-East London-based quartet Silas were the third unsigned band I saw that day, desperate to prove their worth. Good work from the sound desk gave the band the fully rounded sound that their set deserved, allowing the band’s jazz and funk-infused take on alternative metal to really breathe. I did have to duck to avoid low-flying EPs, but that just meant I fitted in nicely to the headbanging mass. [AD]

Silas’ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/silasworld

Back over at the Ronnie James Dio stage, Finnish prog/folk/goth-metal sextet Amorphis attracted and maintained a massive crowd for a brilliant and varied set. They played some newer material, including a rousing mid-set rendition of ‘From The Heaven Of My Heart’ from their most recent album, Skyforger – but they balanced this well with cuts from their darker, more death metal days – ‘Black Winter Day’ from 1994′s Tales From The Thousand Lakes in particular receiving a rapturous reception. Their stage presence really reflected the band’s years of stage experience, with Tomi Joutsen’s enormous, whiplashing dreadlocks providing a mesmerising spectacle by themselves. [AD]

Amorphis’ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/amorphis

In the first visible evidence of on-stage issues we’d witnessed thus far in the weekend, The Devin Townsend Project’s set was delayed by fifteen minutes by technical difficulties. Despite lack of sleep due to only flying in from the Czech Republic a couple of hours before, Devin stayed on stage whilst the kinks were ironed out, and through sheer force of personality (and the magic of interpretive dance) managed to keep the audience entertained. Once the set finally got underway, he managed to play material spanning his entire solo career – ‘Deadhead’ from Accelerated Evolution in particular receiving a particularly emotive airing, contrasting nicely with the ridiculous bombast of ‘By Your Command’ from Ziltoid The Omniscient. Despite having to cut his set short Devin left the stage having satisfied his fans. [AD]

The Devin Townsend Project’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/devintownsenddtb

It’s no secret that cyber-metal pioneers Fear Factory have been somewhat disappointing since their landmark album, Demanufacture. However, with Dino back in the fold and a line-up re-energised with the addition of Strapping Young Lad alumni Byron Stroud and Gene Hoglan, anticipation was high for the band’s performance. And you know what? We weren’t disappointed. Opening with the title track from their latest record Mechanize, the band quickly gained the crowd’s attention with a tight, heavy performance. Their older material was well-served too, with the band airing ‘Shock’ and ‘Edgecrusher’ from Obsolete, and ending their set with a choice selection of songs from Demanufacture. The instrumental sound was good, and the band engaged the crowd well, but we were left scratching our heads trying to work out what had happened to Burton C. Bell’s voice – he seemed to struggle with the higher notes, particularly during ‘Shock’, and sounded like his voice was breaking when he spoke to the crowd. Still, though, this was an impressively tight performance reminding us just why we took notice of the band in the first place. [AD]

Fear Factory’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/fearfactory

After Fear Factory’s set, we decided to head back to our tents, wearied from a day’s drinking and headbanging. By this point in the weekend, the rain that had turned the walkways between the campsites and the arena into a marshy swampland had subsided, though the mud sucking at our feet was still an irritatingly constant presence. Check back on Friday to see what greeted us upon emerging from our tents several hours later, for the third and final day of Bloodstock 2010.

All photography by Philip Whitehouse.