FESTIVAL REVIEW: Bloodstock Open Air 2026 Part 1 - Live at Catton Park, Derbyshire

Another year, another summer heatwave. Climate change is definitely a thing, but at this point I’m not entirely sure the organisers of Bloodstock Open Air aren’t just getting out and pushing South Derbyshire a few thousand miles closer to the sun.

Welcome to Arrakis 2026.

Thursday:

Refining and improving with each festival, this 25th anniversary year sees the introduction of a larger Sophie Lancaster tent, a bigger EMP stage, and for the first time the main stage is open on a Thursday. So, while local boys Mantis Defeats Jaguar open the festival, the Sophie tent jumpingthefuckup to their Rage Against the Bizkit stylings, Jurassic Park is happening in front of the Ronnie James Dio stage as the impractically costumed Heavysaurus belt out the likes of “Dino Disko” and “Rarrr” as well as some brief sing-along covers.

Where do you even begin with Evil Scarecrow? Pure audience participation entertainment backed by songs of actual quality. This time out, the band utilise every stage prop available as they treat the already mildly inebriated crowd to the likes of “Robototron,” “Cosmos Goth Moth Gong,” “Release the Krakhen,” “Green Bin Day,” “The Ballad of Brother Pain,” “Shoptimus Prime,” and of course “Crabulon.” You haven’t done Bloodstock properly until you’ve seen Evil Scarecrow.

Headliners Saxon closed the first-ever Bloodstock when it was still being held indoors, and they do the same tonight, but to possibly one or two more people. From “Motorcycle Man” to “Heavy Metal Thunder,” “Wheels of Steel,” “Denim and Leather,” “Dallas 1PM,” “747 (Strangers in the Night)” and “Crusader,” classic after classic is belted out while new songs like “Hell, Fire and Damnation” and “Madame Guillotine” prove the band is still far from a legacy act. And considering his recent health issues, frontman Biff Byford is basically unstoppable.

After the old-school party ends, it’s time to head back to the Sophie stage where Cryptopsy are in full swing. Celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of genre classic None so Vile, the cacophonous Canucks hack and slash their way through most of that record while frontman Matt McGachy makes noises with his mouth which in no way could be mistaken for actual human words.

Finishing off the night in the Serpent’s Lair VIP area, Kiss tribute act Dressed to Kill look like they’re having loads of fun before burlesque act Stripknot take the stage. Seven extremely attractive ladies removing their clothing to the calming sounds of drunken cheers and Slipknot. Bloodstock is ace.

Friday:

Avoiding the cacti, tumbleweeds, and the sun-bleached skulls of dead animals, it’s time to check out the ridiculously costumed and brilliantly fun Battlesnake. Running around in their underwear or dressed in ornate religious gowns and bizarre headwear, it’s far too early for Australians to be this mental. Over on the Sophie stage, Black Metallers Blood Countess draw a respectably sized crowd, vocalist The Cuntess (her spelling, not mine) screaming and shrieking for all her worth while people windmill their heads and throw themselves around the tent.

It’s time for Slam Death act Party Cannon on the main stage next, and the Scottish nutters are on fine form. Attempting (but not really) a series of record-breaking feats including most people crowd surfing on inflatables, or most people dressed as bananas in a circle pit, the band are comically scuppered at every turn by their Guinness representative who takes great pleasure in informing them of their repeated failures. Before being knocked unconscious by a fold-up chair, of course. Battlesnake look positively bland in comparison now.

After a triumphant headline set in the Sophie tent in 2023, this time SKYND enthrals and confuses the main stage with their true crime industrial rock. Heavy as hell with minimal guitars and maximum electronics plus a selection of offbeat vocal styles, the Aussie trio embark on a dark trip through cases/songs like “Gary Heidnik,” “John Wayne Gacy,” the especially twisted “Columbine,” a murderous version of “Michelle Carter” and new song “Jimmy Savile.” Yes, they went there.

While highly entertaining Power Metal act Sellsword are hurling free T-Shirts from trebuchets, back on the main stage Life of Agony are going down a storm. Frontman Keith Caputo might only be of diminutive stature, but he knows how to command an audience. Playing around half the classic album River Runs Red certainly doesn’t hurt either. Elsewhere, Aussie thrashers Hidden Intent are doing a great job tearing up the Sophie tent while Redeemon are getting the New Blood tent bouncing to their brass-infused Skacore.

As good as these acts are, though, none are capable of levelling Bloodstock quite like Brooklyn hardcore legends Biohazard. With what is easily the best performance of the day, the crowd barely gets a chance to draw breath between pummelling versions of “Shades of Grey,” newies “Fuck the System” and “Eyes on Six,” “Wrong Side of the Tracks,” “Black and White and Red all Over,” “Five Blocks to the Subway,” and “Punishment.” Plus, of course the usual cover of Bad Religion‘s “We’re Only Gonna Die.” Words alone cannot express the brutality of the pit and the energy spent trying to survive it. But to those who did, well done.

Re-re-reclaiming their record by having 1013 crowd surfers coming over the top tells you all you need to know about Municipal Waste. The crowd surfing crown is rightfully theirs once again, and the dust storm mosh pit proves it. Brazilian Thrash innovators Sepultura are today’s special guests, bowing out in style with their last-ever UK show. A nicely weighted mix of material, the band tear through bona fide classics such as “Inner Self,” “Arise,” “Dead Embryonic Cells,” “Territory,” “Refuse/Resist” and “Ratamahatta” as well as more recent songs like “Kairos,” “All Souls Rising,” “Beyond the Dream,” and “The Place.” Whether or not the classic Sepultura will ever reunite is a conversation that will probably rumble on forever, but for now this is very much it.

By the time Lamb of God begin laying waste to Bloodstock, the crowd has more than doubled in size, and there’s literally nowhere to move other than over people’s heads. Remembering his laminate this time, frontman Randy Blythe runs, leaps, and prowls the stage. Angry, introspective, warm and occasionally funny, even his terribly accented English character, Roger Brilliant, makes a brief (welcome?) return.

With a new album to promote, the band pick some of its best tracks with “Blunt Force Blues,” “Parasocial Christ” and title cut “Into Oblivion,” while elsewhere the set is littered with the bloody corpses of “Ruin,” “Laid to Rest,” “Walk with Me in Hell,” “512,” and of course, an absolutely savage “Redneck” to close. If you’ve seen Lamb of God before, then you know exactly what type of carnage to expect. And if you haven’t, what the fuck have you been doing?

For those not completely exhausted from the last ninety minutes or so, it’s party time in the Sophie tent as Wednesday 13 delivers a whirlwind of zombies and B-movies. On top of his own material like “Look What the Bats Dragged In,” “Good Day to Be a Bad Guy,” and “I Walked with a Zombie,” there’s also time for Murderdolls/Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 covers of “Summertime Suicide,” “Nowhere,” “197666,” and “I Love to Say Fuck.” Not only that, but we get drummer Mike Dupke thrashing his kit to excerpts from movies like Army of Darkness, Halloween, Poltergeist, and Frankenstein. It’s not often you can say you’ve witnessed a genuinely entertaining drum solo. Bloodstock really is a magical place.