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.
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.
Rock Supergroup Better Lovers featuring Jordan Buckley, Clayton “Goose” Holyoak, Stephen Micciche, Greg Puciato, and Will Putney, have released God Made Me An Animal, a four-song EP, via SharpTone Records. Stream the EP now! You can also purchase limited physical formats at the link below.
I waited 18 years to see Killswitch Engage live. Tonight was definitely a show for the books.
Massachusetts metalcore leaders Killswitch Engage decided that Hampton Beach needed some love and did a one-off show last week at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom alongside deathcore titans Fit For An Autopsy, Death Ray Vision, and Paradise Slaves.
Supergroup Better Lovers, a newly formed band featuring Greg Puciato, Jordan Buckley, Clayton “Goose” Holyoak, Stephen Micciche, and Will Putney, members of iconic bands like Every Time I Die, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fit For An Autopsy, have released their debut single: “30 Under 13” via SharpTone Records. The blistering, four-minute track, and accompanying Eric Richter-directed video serves as the perfect introduction to Better Lovers, a band whose music is as uncompromising, unapologetic, and undeniable as anything they’ve done individually.
Metal is allowed to be fun, especially when three heavyweights collide in a tri-split that not only features original songs from each, but unlikely cover tracks which allow for displays of versatility.
Catton Park, United kingdom, 13 Aug 2022, Lorna Shore performing on the Ronnie James Dio Stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival Credit: Rich Price/Ghost Cult Magazine
Bloodstock Open Air 2023 will be here before you know it! The festival continues to inspire by dropping content. Head over to their YouTube channel to watch full video performances from bands, including a new one from Lorna Shore. The fest also dropped more merch, including Download Mascot plushies on pre-order, and a reminder that their deposit scheme for 2023 closes soon.
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Bloodstock Open Air 2023 (BOA) has announced a slew of new bands, filling out the Ronnie James Dio Main Stage, and Sophie Lancaster stage. Now on the bill are Candlemass (replacing Whitechapel who have dropped out), Tribulation, Royal Republic, Employed To Serve, Witchsorrow, Wytch Hazel, Skin Failure, Bloodyard, Wolfbastard, Tribe Black Coast, Russkaja, Gaerea, and Striker. Watch the new Bloodstock trailer here. Continue reading
The Acacia Strain have shared their first new music in a year and a half, since the release of their epic 2020 album, Slow Decay! Their new standalone single “Untended Graves.” The band also shared a visualizer you can watch below. The band will be hitting the road next spring on an extensive tour with Fit For an Autopsy, Full of Hell, and Primitive Man. Full dates can be seen below!
Bloodstock Open Air has added two new bands for 2023, including an all-important third headliner! to the already impressive lineup! Meshuggah is now the day two headline band, along with the addition of Power metal kings Helloween. Full details are below. Also, the fest has announced the full Metal To The Masses competition details and their popular Deposit Scheme announcement. Check out our review of the 2022 fest here. Bloodstock will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 10th-13th August 2023.