Bloodstock Open Air 2023: The Review

Bloodstock Open Air Festival 2023 In Review

Bloodstock Open Air Festival 2023 was an absolute success, full of sunshine and rain, a raucous atmosphere, and many killer performances from bands across one of the heaviest weekends of the year. After last year’s insane heat it’s easy to see that folk all around Catton Hall were gracious for sights of rain, more coverage, and a jam-packed lineup.

Friday Roundup:

Opening the Ronnie James Dio stage on Friday morning was Hampshire doom metal band, Witchsorrow. The trio came in heavy and slow, drawing the punters into the grounds from their tents but as the crowd grew, so did the band’s confidence. It felt as though the three of them grew into their shared energy and what the audience was giving them back. Witchsorrow definitely set a decent atmosphere for the rest of the weekend ahead of them.

Earlier than expected due to scheduling issues, Gatecreeper graced Ronnie James Dio stage with violent brilliance. Not being the expected legends Sacred Reich, it was easy to see there was a view of confused faces amongst the fields, but that did not stop the audience from growing and growing over their entire set. The entire performance was brutal, heavy, and plain mean in the best way imaginable. Considering it was the Arizonan death metal band’s first appearance at Bloodstock will surely not be the last after the pits were circled. The set lacked nothing as it spanned over Gatecreeper’s 8 years as a band and their 3 full-length releases; there’s no need for gimmicks when everything you give is perfected craft.

Over on the Sophie Lancaster stage was another Bloodstock newcomer, Pest Control. Despite being an up-and-coming band straight from the Leeds DIY hardcore scene, they pulled absolutely no punches. With a short and sweet set of 30 minutes, Pest Control proved with great ease, exactly why they deserve a seat at every table in this scene. Don’t Test The Pest, their suitably named debut album was torn straight through with excellence and joy as it seems they truly relished their time on stage. They closed their set with their latest single Enjoy The Show and it’s a guarantee that the masses well and truly did. 

Closing the Ronnie James Dio stage on our first full day of metal was the notorious Killswitch Engage, making their first UK festival headline appearance one to remember. Despite it being several years since they last crossed the Atlantic, they certainly did not disappoint. Knocking one straight out of the park by opening their set with My Curse, the band had Catton Park in the palm of their hand. As they soared through a sweet 90 minutes of classics, it almost felt like Killswitch Engage was at its best and readiest. Jesse Leach was vocally on point throughout, supporting the band through what might easily be one of the cleanest and tightest sets of the whole weekend. They even had time for jokes and laughs between songs, which most definitely cemented the band’s confidence and presence as a reputable festival headliner for years to come, at Bloodstock and beyond. 

Saturday Roundup:

Bursting onto the Ronnie James Dio stage on Saturday morning was Seething Akira, who brilliantly combine rock, drum and bass, and electronic dance music in a way that just oozes fun and charisma. The time on the clock did not matter to a single person on stage – the energy was brought and couldn’t waver even if it wanted to. Their excitement and gratitude to be on that stage did not go a miss as they beamed and blasted their way through a sweet 40-minute set. Now, its safe to say they’re not exactly what you think of when someone says ‘Bloodstock’ but, over the last few years, they have grafted their way to climb the ranks, meaning it certainly wouldn’t take Seething Akira long to be synonymous with the festival in years to come.

Over on the Sophie stage, were Tortured Demon, who are more than known for nearly taking down the Jagemeister stage back in 2021 as hundreds of people flocked to see them. The Oldham-based thrash three-piece were on a bigger stage this year meaning more eyes were certainly on them but it didn’t seem to shake them. As soon as lead vocalist Jacob emerged from the side stage it was obvious that the crowd was in the palm of their hand; it erupted into circle pits again and again. Despite being so young, the audience varied over all ages and tastes, just desperate to get a glimpse of a band that is most definitely going to have a huge impact in the next few years. To put it simply, Tortured Demon are destined for a big, bright future after a killer set this weekend.

Employed To Serve ripped onto the Ronnie James Dio stage serving some seriously heavy riffage and killer vocals from lead vocalist, Justine Jones. Following the re-release of their third full-length album, Conquering, the band are on the up. The command Jones held on stage is impressive and paid off brilliantly as the crowd lapped it up and slipped into chaos at the drop of a hat. Whether it was the audience chanting “We don’t need them” with them or the carnage that was ensuing, Employed To Serve was clearly bursting with gratitude.

Closing out the Ronnie James Dio stage on Saturday were progressive metal legends, Meshuggah. It’s a known fact that they are not your typical three-and-a-half-minute song band, but that’s exactly what made them so captivating for their 90-minute set. You can easily say they’re a quite divisive band but Meshuggah certainly made their mark as headliners that night; sweeping through nearly 30 years of their discography. Opening with two tracks of their latest album, Immutable, back to back could have been seen as a risk for the group but it paid off. With the audience’s attention, leaving us to wonder what was coming next, Meshuggah stood proudly and chugged through a cacophony of metal touching many bases from Death metal to the technical extreme. Regardless of your kinship to the band, they undoubtedly carved out a space for themselves in Catton Hall’s history.

Sunday Roundup:

Sunday morning was kicked off by a band that is no stranger to Bloodstock Open Air, the Irish group, Dead Label. Despite it being the final day of the festival, they were far from afraid to show up and make some noise. After their set on the Sophie stage back in 2018 attempting to conduct the world’s largest ‘Wall of Chaos’, Dead Label came back with the same wild energy. Encouraging as much chaos as possible for the early morning turnout, their set was some serious Sunday morning fun.

Later in the day, Polish death metal legends Decapitated tore Catton Hall apart. After 6 years since their last appearance at Bloodstock, their set was highly anticipated. As the backscreen flashed up with the cover of their latest album Cancer Culture, they launched headfirst into three tracks from the album back to back. The crowd was elated to see Decapitated back and ready for disorder as the audience fell into pure chaos through every single minute of the set. With only gratitude spoken, the band flew through 45 minutes, seemingly wanting to give more by the end of their set. It’s clear to see that Decapitated will be back in the years to come, the genuine passion and enthusiasm from both the band and the audience is something special to witness. 

In the early evening, Zeal & Ardor took the Sophie stage with triumph. Despite clashing with the shortly announced metal legends KK’s Priest, the tent was packed with anticipation. The Swiss-American group is classified as Avante-garde metal due to their blend of African-American spirituals and black metal. They are something special and a wonder to witness, which was made clear by the crowd that grew and grew over their set. Notably, it wasn’t an overly rowdy set but that didn’t stop the voices of the audience carrying through the tent and tearing out into an insane applaude after every single song.

 Last but certainly not least, closing out the Ronnie James Dio stage on the final day of Bloodstock 2023, was metal titans, Megadeth. It is no secret that Megadeth has been in a league of their own for decades, and Sunday night’s performance was proof of exactly that. This year marked the third time the band had headlined Bloodstock, and it was still a true marvel. Despite the band’s current lineup having only played together for just over a year the entire set was solid and immensely impressive. But still, Mustaine’s stage presence is what makes them who they are; He IS Megadeth. Drawing in a crowd of all ages for a perfectly polished set, they know their place on that stage, and every single person at Catton Hall knew it too. As they soared through fan favourites like Tornado of Souls, A Toute le Monde, and Symphony of Destruction back to back, they had the crowd bursting at the seams.  Megadeth was a perfect close to an almighty weekend. 

Bloodstock Open Air will return next year from the 8th-11th of August 2024 at Catton Park. 

Tickets, lineup and more is available on their website now: https://www.bloodstock.uk.com/