Kerenza Hudson discusses the great array of acts who brought lively crowds to the fields of Bloodstock 2023
On the Thursday, with great weather and a buzzing excitement after the lectures I had gruelled through in the day, we set up camp early in order to get the best experience from the bands over the weekend.
With bands like Knocked Loose, Gatecreeper, Killswitch Engage, Meshuggah and Megadeth all
coming up over the weekend, it was difficult to sleep. Luckily with a silent disco in place (with an
amazing electronic dance music channel) I managed to wear myself out enough to crawl back into
my tent with a pint and get ready for the first day of bands.
Due to transport issues, Gatecreeper took over from Sacred Reich’s slot on the Friday, bringing a
heavier and more hardcore set earlier in the day. It wasn’t previously announced this switch was
occurring, with Gatecreeper coming on stage and announcing their earlier set before shredding up
the Ronnie James Dio stage with their Arizonian death metal. Sacred Reich followed in what was
Gatecreeper’s set, with a classic American thrash 80s set. The set switch and generosity of
Gatecreeper playing an early set meant all the bands were still able to perform and bring a heavy
hitting morning.

Our first New Blood act of the weekend were Devil’s Henchmen, from Liverpool, winning the Metal 2 the Masses competition in Merseyside, it was clear to see why. With one of the most active and
energetic pits I had seen in the New Blood stage all weekend, they tore up the stage on the first day.
With such enthusiasm for their thirty minute set, I had the pleasure of interviewing two of the
members on the Saturday about their band and future endeavours, with them explaining that they
are delving into the hardcore DIY scene in the UK, due to its sense of community and closeness.
After taking a brisk walk around the arena, one of my friends, Matt, pulled us over to the Sophie
Lancaster stage. After previously being to Outbreak Festival, Matt recognised the band playing as the
first band he saw at Outbreak. With a UK hardcore sound and incredible female vocals, Pest Control
were the first band we saw at the Sophie stage over the weekend. A crossover of thrash and
hardcore, this band were perfect for Bloodstock, an impressive start to their career as they only
formed over lockdown as a DIY project. Straight after was Fit For An Autopsy, the post-deathcore
extreme metal band from New Jersey. With technical riffs not usually seen in classic death metal,
they delivered a slower and more sludgy sound compared to the thrash heavy morning.
To close the Ronnie James Dio stage on the Friday night were Killswitch Engage, a wildcard of a
headliner in comparison to the classic thrash and heavy metal bands that are the shining gems of
Bloodstock Festival. The classic metalcore band did not feel out of place and brought an incredible
first headline slot to the weekend, with plenty of pyrotechnics and showmanship, and a cover of
Holy Diver perfect for the Ronnie James Dio. For me personally, their set was a welcome surprise and my friends and I enjoyed it despite not being particularly well endowed with knowledge of their discography.
"The classic metalcore band did not feel out of place and brought an incredible first headline slot to the weekend, with plenty of pyrotechnics and showmanship"
Saturday rolled around, with the sun blaring through Blake's and my tent, to the one of the days we
were looking forward to the most. As a group we prepped ourselves for the day, hyping each other
up to take on the pits of the day, with the notorious Knocked Loose being the pit we all looked
forward to the most. After a night of the famous bin jousting which could be heard from all over the
festival, most people had a late rise compared to the other days.
Employed to Serve, the heavy metal band from Woking, hyped up the crowd for the day, starting
some of the best mosh pits of the weekend. They announced during their song World Ender that
they released a deluxe version of their album Conquering. The band seemed a little nervous, but
with an energetic crowd, they quickly took on the Ronnie James Dio stage as their own.
Stepping into the afternoon sun (which didn’t last particularly long) were Knocked Loose, the Orange
County legends, and they were by far the set I was most excited for this weekend. Playing songs from their album Laugh Tracks, in particular Billy No Mates, which caused a human whirlwind within the
crowd. With limbs and shoes flying everywhere, playing their new singles Deep in the Willow and
Everything Is Quiet Now, the songs landed well upon the crowd. Halfway through the set, the
heavens opened up and poured down on the mosh pit, with front man Bryan Garris barking during
the chaos “We're not letting a little rain stop us, are we?”, turning it more into a mud pit. Most
noticeably, my friend Blake, slipped and got spin kicked with the mud setting in. Indefinitely a fun
set, all thanks to the barking heavyweights, ARF ARF!
"Halfway through the set, the heavens opened up and poured down on the mosh pit, with front man Bryan Garris barking during the chaos “We're not letting a little rain stop us, are we?”, turning it more into a mud pit. "
After taking some time out after the incredible bands we already seen that day, and taking some well-needed rest, we were ready to take on the headliners of the night, Meshuggah.
The Swedish extreme metal band delivered a wave of groove across the festival with the crowd
headbanging in the off-beat and contemporary time signatures. With their polyrhythmic signature
grooves, the band is no doubt influential for today’s complex metal. The set was the same as their
UK tour last year, touring the album Immutable, with highlights being Future Breed Machine,
Straws Pulled at Random and In Death- is Death. To many fans' surprise, the band didn’t play their
largest hit Bleed, which is something the band have commented on before, as Tomas Haake has
stated he “really doesn’t like playing it”.
Lastly, Meshuggah’s set was perfectly complemented by the showmanship of the lights. To
many Meshuggah fans, it is known that the band specify on having their own light director at all of
the performances they do. The impressive timing is all done live from behind the decks, with each
colour matching the album the song is from. Clearly a bundle of talent from these guys and a great
mid-weekend headliner!

On the final day of bands, with aching limbs from the previous mosh pit and the camp tending to
their pit injuries, we made our way back to the arena to the Jägermeister stage. This small, pub-like
stage was quickly swamped by fans of the local Nottingham hardcore band, Those Once Loyal. With incredible energy and crowd interaction, this small band tore up the turf from underneath the
bars tent with thrashing guitar riffs and hefty vocals. The band put on an incredible performance and
met a variety of fans afterwards, including ourselves; with such welcoming vibes, these guys are
definitely on a must-see again list.
Those Once Loyal had warmed us up for the day ahead, with Decapitated on the Ronnie James Dio
stage next to us. The Polish death metal band switched up the vibe with much deeper and grittier
vocals. Another band to combine a highly technical ability with the slow groove of classic death
metal. With a brief view of Decapitated, I was off to the V.I.P Serpents lair to meet Oscar of Those
Once Loyal for a quick and friendly interview.
A brief pit-stop was well-needed after the hardcore energy from Those Once Loyal, to make it back
into the arena for Sepultura. After missing the Brazilian groove metal band at Download 2022, I felt
complete being able to see them whilst at Bloodstock. With their punk influences, clearly shown
through their lyricism, they are a unique band with Latin American flair. Banging out tunes which lift
the spirits and energy levels of even those banged-out bodies of the weekend.
Unfortunately the weekend wasn’t completely smooth sailing. The German power-metal band
Helloween unfortunately had to drop out due to injury at the last minute, but this didn’t stop the day
from clanging on. In replacement was KK’s Priest, with a band producing their take on Judas
Priest. An incredible stand in, giving off great tunes such as Night Crawler with an explosive front
man which delivered a set that pleased.

A re-jig of the Saturday Night Sophie stage headliner, Bloodstock gave us Zeal & Ardor, a black-metal gospel fusion. With a packed tent at tea time on a Sunday, they delivered an eerie and
enchanting set. With total carnage in the pit, the dusty and mesmerising light show by the Swiss-American band gave what so many fans had been waiting for. Death to the Holy being one of my
favourite songs of theirs, it truly lifted my spirits in the darkest gospel music I’ve ever heard.
A return of the thrash metal kings, Megadeth was one of the big four to close the Ronnie James Dio stage at the weekend. It was the most exciting set for my friends Adam, Blake and Matt, after seeing them at Download 2022, I knew we were in for a real treat. Opening with Hanger 18, Dave Mustain made some light-hearted banter about a giant inflatable unicorn gliding it’s way over the sea of people. An insanely good set with the likes of Sweating Bullets, Tornado of Souls, Symphony of Destruction and of course Holy Wars… , the perfect song to end on and crowd surf out to for the closing ceremony of Bloodstock Open Air. Breaking more records this weekend, as they have done at Bloodstock previously, the face-melting thrash band are welcome back any time on UK soil. Pleasing a mega crowd, Megadeth know they sell, and know who’s buying.
Kerenza Hudson
Edited by Tabitha Smith
Cover and in-article images courtesy of Bloodstock Festival via Facebook
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