Final preparations are ready for this weekend’s Bloodstock Open Air, kicking off today, the 10th of August through the 14th at Catton Park, Derbyshire. Sad news as Helloween has been forced out of the fest due to a last-minute illness. They are being replaced by KK’s Priest, led by former Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing. BOA ‘s2023 Ronnie James Dio Main Stage Headliners are Killswitch Engage, Meshuggah, and Megadeth. with the full band list below.
There’s gotta be a start to every trajectory of a soul-crushing sonic chronicle. The Liverpool-based post-sludge metal overlords Mairu had just started embarking on their subliminal journey through their debut LP entitled Sol Cultus (Trepanation Recordings).
As this year’s event gets ever nearer, Bloodstock is thrilled to announce that Sunday day tickets for 2023 are now SOLD OUT!! Standard weekend tickets remain available but are going quickly, plus a limited day allocation for Friday and Saturday. Read on for more band news, plus all the details on the RAM Gallery exhibitors, the return of the T-Shirt/CD Amnesty and Planet Rock Signing Tent, plus how to do a one-stop-shop for all your festival essentials.
Eclectic and Heavy, Portals Festival has announced a slew of new bands, joining the already impressive bill. Bossk has been added as a sub-headliner, along with AK/DK (replacing Elephant Tree), Hundred-Year-Old Man, Astrosaur, A Burial At Sea, and many more. These band join Mono, And So I Watch You From Afar, Jambinai, Maybeshewill, Nordic Giants, Aa Williams, Bo Ningen, Ef, Svalbard, ’68, Pupil Slicer among others. Taking place at Earth, London on May 27th & 28th, 2023. Tickets and full fest details can be found below.
Arctangent Festival is closing in on a sellout for their comeback festival later this month. The fest has now added new acts such as Scalping, Famyne, Outlander, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Cryptic Shift, Ogives Big Band, to the weekend. The fest already features headliners Opeth, Cult of Luna, and TesseracT as headliners, and has now added the updated festival map and clashfinder for fans to make use of!
Arctangent Festival already has one of THE line ups for 2022 festivals, and today they announce the very final new band additions for the event, as well as move TesseracT up to main stage headliner status. The fest already features headliners Opeth, Cult of Luna, and more. For the FULL list of newly added bands and artists being announced for ATG Festival today:
In the time since its 2005 inception Damnation Festival has grown to into a four-stage affair that has become a mainstay of the UK metal scene. 2021’s festival on 6th November was significant for a number of reasons. Firstly, it marked the event’s return after a year off due to COVID restrictions. Secondly, it sold out in record time; as soon as the UK government announced the end of all restrictions (back in March), all tickets were swept up within a matter of weeks. Thirdly, the lineup had to be dramatically changed, with many major international acts such as Wolves in the Throne Room and Pig Destroyer having to have their appearances cancelled due to then-ongoing uncertainty surrounding travel restrictions. Fourthly and finally, 2021’s Damnation marked the end of its 14-year tenure at Leeds University: 2022’s festival will return to Manchester (where it first took place for two years) at a larger arena venue.
Metal and Coffee’s Mini-Metal Mixtape, presented by Ghost Cult Magazine is back with another new episode! Time to get your weekly dose of an essential mix of the newest extreme music by essential bands! In the latest edition of Mini-Metal Mixtape, episode #26, curated by Ebonie Butler a.k.a, Metal & Coffee, killer tracks from Herod, Bossk, Our Place of Worship is Silence, And So I Watched You From Afar, Warforged can be heard. In her 12-year journey as an extreme metal DJ, Metal & Coffee has delved into the depths of the heavy music world to bring you a new mix each week. Metal & Coffee has been featured on Philadelphia’s most popular college radio station, WKDU 91.7 FM, and has also spent time as the resident New Releases DJ over on GIMME METAL. Stream the newest playlist right now!
Having shown resounding and unequivocal support for every single band so far, the Bloodstock faithful are still raring to go after four full days of partying. As battle commences one final time, highlights on the Sophie Stage include the hard hitting Midlands retro-fuzz of Wolf Jaw, Brighton doomsters Grave Lines, the angry sounding double punch of Vexed and Pist, a debut performance from symphonic death metallers Ghosts of Atlantis, and Manchester black metal mob Necronautical.
FRIDAY
With energy levels and festival excitement still high, quality acts such as Welsh black metallers Agrona, Norfolk thrashers Shrapnel, Liverpool doom/sludge merchants Conan, and a reinvigorated and retooled Evile invade the Sophie Lancaster Stage, decimating all before them. Birmingham grindcore legends Napalm Death complete the day’s entertainment with a reliably devastating set, the crowd gathered outside the tent almost as huge as the one inside.