Since its launch in 2001, Bloodstock has grown from a one-day indoor metal festival held at Derby’s Assembly Rooms to the mammoth four-day extravaganza it is today. This field of screams has played host to such heavyweight headliners as Judas Priest, Slayer, Ghost, Lamb Of God, King Diamond and numerous others, right up to this year’s unholy trinity of bill-toppers Machine Head, Trivium and Gojira.

All that alone makes it the UK’s greatest metal festival. But there’s another reason why we love Bloodstock so much: Bin Jousting.

For the uninitiated, Bin Jousting is one part extreme sport, one part medieval re-enactment and about 12 parts the kind of drunken twattery you and your mates get up to after you’ve been kicked out of the pub. This insanity involves two people sitting on top of separate industrial-sized wheelie bins which are then pushed towards each other. If someone falls off, they lose. If neither person falls off, they wrestle until one of them does.

“It’s surreal how big it is,” says Bloodstock co-founder Adam Gregory. “People are so passionate about it. It’s almost more important to some of them than watching the bands.”

The roots of Bin Jousting are shrouded in mystery, though the sport - and we’re most definitely calling it a sport here - stretches back to at least the mid-2010s. It was reportedly the brainchild of a mad genius named Top Hat. Hammer reached out to this enigmatic figure but didn’t receive a reply (when we say ‘reached out’, we mean ‘sent a couple of half-arsed emails’). For years it would take place under the cover of of darkness on the festival campsites, until security came to disperse the crowds.

Adam says it came on his radar six or seven years ago via an unusual avenue. “And that was only because the guy that supplied us with the bins was invoicing us for quite a lot of money for damage,” he explains. “We couldn’t work out why we were getting these bills. So we tracked it for a couple of years, and then we discovered that there was this thing happening that we weren’t aware of.”

He describes what followed as “a battle of wills” between the festival organisers and the growing number of Bin Jousters. “We asked them to stop it,” he says. “We took the wheels off the bins, we chained them to the fences, we tried different things. They just found more ingenious ways of freeing the bins.”

In their defence, the organisers’ concerns weren’t unfounded. There were health and safety regulations to contend with, not mention the very real prospect of injuries.

“One guy was doing this illegally a few years ago, and he broke his leg in two places and had to be taken to hospital,” says Adam. “I think he’d only been onsite for 20 minutes. He emailed us on Monday, saying ‘Best weekend!’”

The two sides found a solution a couple of years ago. The Bloodstock team began working with Top Hat to make things safer for anyone who wanted to do it without losing its lunatic spirit. Crash mats now line the runway, the bins themselves have crash bars, reinforced tops and safety handles, while participants need to wear protective headgear and neck braces.

“I know it’s not as dangerous as it used to be, but it was a choice of doing it that way or not at all,” says Adam. “We wanted to embrace it without sucking the fun out of it.”

These days, Bin Jousting is as much part of Bloodstock as beer, burgers and a bloke wandering through the crowd dressed as Jesus. Even the bands are getting in on the action. Adam says that a member of one of last year’s headliners was spotted doing it. “I can’t say who it is cos it’ll probably get them in trouble,” he says.

At the moment, Bin Jousting is unique to Bloodstock. “But then so was Viking Rowing,” says Adam of the mosh pit phenomenon that began during Amon Amarth’s set at the festival back in 2009. “That’s a global phenomenon now.”

Like skateboarding and BMXing before it, Bin Jousting has officially gone legit. The bins themselves are sponsored by Fat Frank’s, the festival camping shop. Last year’s bins were bright orange. This year they’ve been tricked out with flames. “We’ve had brand new bins built,” says Adam. “It’s not a small amount of money that‘s gone into this.”

So what’s next? With Bloodstock celebrating its 25th anniversary next year, should we mark the occasion by lobbying for Bin Jousting to become a sport at the next Olympics? It can’t be any less ridiculous than dressage.

“I mean, they have martial arts at the Olympics, don’t they?” says Adam. “Why not International Bin Jousting?”

Bloodstock takes place at Catton Hall, Derbyshire from Aug 7-10. Buy Friday day tickets here

Bloodstock Open Air has announced a Winter Gathering offshoot for December.

The Derbyshire-based festival will take over KK’s Steel Mill down the road in Wolverhampton for a one-day, two-stage event on December 6. Headliners Candlemass have been confirmed and tickets are on sale now.

Joining Candlemass on the lineup’s main stage will be Venom Inc. playing their 2018 album Ave in full, plus Raised By Owls, Hellripper, Tortured Demon and King Kraken. Acts confirmed for the second stage are Red Method, Thuum and Hellripper.

Also at the event will be signing sessions, DJs and more activities still to be announced.

Candlemass comment: “Candlemass are proud to be a part of the Bloodstock Winter Gathering! We have always felt welcome on British soil and we’re excited to be there once again and deliver our special brand of Swedish doom metal! See ya all soon… Love you!!!”

The Winter Gathering will follow the 2025 edition of Bloodstock Open Air, set to be held at Catton Hall from August 7 to 10. Headlining the four-day outdoor weekender will be Trivium, Machine Head and Gojira. Weekend tickets have already sold out, as have day tickets for the Sunday with Gojira. Day tickets for Friday (featuring Trivium) and Saturday (featuring Machine Head) are still available.

Rounding out the Bloodstock bill will be Emperor, Lacuna Coil, Lord Of The Lost, Mastodon, Ministry and many more.

Earlier this week, Machine Head announced details of their new album. Unatoned will be released on April 25 via Nuclear Blast and Imperium, and the singles These Scars Won’t Define Us and Unbound are currently streaming.

During an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer last year, Trivium frontman Matt Heafy revealed the band will play their 2005 breakthrough album Ascendancy in full during their Bloodstock slot. They are currently performing the record in its entirety on a European tour with Bullet For My Valentine.

“We’ve discussed adding in the special-edition original songs as well,” Heafy also told us, referencing Ascendancy’s bonus tracks Blinding Tears Will Break The Skies and Washing Away Me In The Tides.

Atlanta riff monsters Mastodon are the latest band to be added to the already stacked Bloodstock 2025 lineup, having been confirmed as special guests on the Ronnie James Dio stage for the Sunday. It means the four-piece will play right before Sunday night headliners Gojira, making for a pretty blockbuster end to the weekend. 

As well as Gojira and Mastodon, Bloodstock 2025 will feature Friday night headliner Trivium and Saturday night headliner Machine Head, not to mention the likes of Emperor, Ministry, Fear Factory, Lacuna Coil, Orange Goblin, Creeper, Heriot, Kublai Khan, the Black Dahlia Murder, Static-X, 3 Inches Of Blood, Obituary, Paleface Swiss, Warbringer, August Burns Red  and many, many more.

The festival has also revealed that additional weekend tickets are being made available following an initial sell-out, with a new camping area being secured and opened up for 2025's festival. The new batch of weekend tickets will go on sale via the official Bloodstock website at 9am on Tuesday November 5, with day tickets set to follow some time in the near future. Please head to the Bloodstock site for specific details on how the new weekend tickets will work, as it will involve specific wristbands, though the tickets themselves are priced the same as usual for this year's event.

Bloodstock Open Air 2025 takes place August 7-10 at the festival's historic home of Catton Hall in Derbyshire.

Pro-shot video of Green Lung’s full set at Bloodstock Open Air 2024 has been published online.

The Derbyshire festival published the footage last week, which shows the London doom metal beloveds levelling the weekender with a 45-minute, eight-song set. Watch it below.

Green Lung played Bloodstock as part of a stacked festival tour that saw them support such heroes as Opeth and Clutch. The band were playing to promote their latest album This Heathen Land, released in 2023 to rave reviews. Metal Hammer awarded the record four stars out of five and called it “a beguiling, surprisingly diverse concoction of killer riffs, bewitching folklore and knockout songs”.

Next year, Green Lung will headline a tour across Europe from February to March. The run will include their biggest-ever UK shows, held at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town and Manchester’s O2 Ritz. Support will come from Unto Others and Satan’s Satyrs. See below for dates and details.

Formed in 2017, Green Lung have become one of the UK’s most loved rising bands. Their music was inspired by such 70s hard rock pioneers as Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, while their lyrics take from folk horror stories and the pagan folklore of their birthplaces in Norfolk and Devon.

Guitarist Scott Black told Prog last year: “We very specifically wanted to make This Heathen Land a love letter to albums produced by Martin Birch in the mid-1970s, like Deep Purple’s Stormbringer and all the Rainbow albums. It was a time when metal hadn’t calcified into what it became. It was pre-New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, with weird synths and a lot of prog influence everywhere. There were a lot of eccentric musical choices that we wanted to evoke on this record.”

Of their folkloric influences, vocalist Tom Templar added: “When I was moving from my parents’ house [in Norfolk], I found a bunch of old lyrics that weren’t that far from Green Lung, even then. It sat with me. A lot of that British folklore stuff, it’s done in a twee, silly way. I’m not saying that Green Lung isn’t sometimes silly, but I needed to land it in this place where it felt mysterious, exciting and interesting; not the Morris-dancey, ‘hey-nonny-no’ end of folklore.”

Bloodstock festival will return to Catton Park, Derbyshire, in August 2025, headlined by Trivium, Machine Head and Gojira. The event added 13 new acts to next year’s bill on Tuesday (October 15). Weekend tickets are already sold-out.

Green Lung 2025 European tour dates:

Feb 06: Gothenburg Pustervik, Sweden
Feb 07:  Oslo John Dee, Norway
Feb 08: Stockholm - Debaser Strand, Sweden
Feb 10: Tampere Olympia-Kortteli, Finland
Feb 11: Helsinki Korjaamo, Finland
Feb 13: Copenhagen Amager Bio, Denmark
Feb 14: Hamburg Gruenspan, Germany
Feb 15: Antwerp Zappa, Belgium
Feb 17: Bristol Marble Factory, UK
Feb 18: Dublin The Academy, Ireland
Feb 20: Glasgow The Garage, UK
Feb 21: Manchester O2 Ritz, UK
Feb 22: London O2 Forum Kentish Town, UK
Feb 23: Utrecht Tivoli Vredenburg-Pandora, Netherlands
Feb 24: Esch-Sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
Feb 25: Paris Trabendo, France
Feb 26: Toulouse Rex, France
Feb 28: Lisboa LAV Lisboa ao Vivo, Portugal
Mar 01: Madrid Sala Copernico, Spain
Mar 02: Barcelona Razzmatazz 2, Spain
Mar 04: Milan Legend Club Milano, Italy
Mar 05: Vienna Flex, Austria
Mar 06: Munich Backstage, Germany
Mar 07: Berlin LIDO, Germany
Mar 08 : Bochum Matrix, Germany

Bloodstock Open Air has announced another 13 bands for its 2025 line-up - and revealed that adult weekend tickets have officially sold out.

Set to be headlined by Trivium, Machine Head and Gojira, the festival had already revealed 19 bands for its 2025 edition ahead of Opeth's headline set on Friday August 9. Now, a glut of new acts are joining the line-up, including 80s thrashers Flotsam & Jetsam, rising British metal stars Heriot, deathcore group Paleface Swiss, progressive extreme metallers Rivers Of Nihil and hardcore brutes Cage Fight.

Industrial metal legends Ministry are set to sub to Machine Head on the Saturday night, while earlier that same day Fear Factory will perform 1995's Demanufacture in full.

New additions also include 2000s thrash metal revivalists Warbringer, Texan stoner metal upstars Spirit Adrift, Swedish "pissedcore" champs Thrown, New York death metallers Undeath and doom metal newcomers High Parasite, the new group featuring My Dying Bride vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe.

Bloodstock will also play host to an ultra-rare performance from Nailbomb, Max Cavalera's recently-resurrected project formed in 1993 with Fudge Tunnel's Alex Newport. The group only performed a select few times in their original incarnation and their last performance was at Dynamo Festival in 1995, though Max recently revealed plans for a special celebratory performance on November 9 at Tempe, Arizona’s Marquee Theatre.

Although weekend tickets have officially sold out, festival organisers have suggested to those who missed out that they sign up with Tixel, Bloodstock's official re-sale platform.

Bloodstock Open Air 2025 will take place from August 7 - 10 at Catton Park in Derbyshire. For more information and for the full line-up, visit the official Bloodstock website.

Next year will mark 20 years since Bloodstock first opened out into the fields of Derbyshire, officially becoming "Bloodstock Open Air" and giving metalheads a dedicated mecca each summer for the best and brightest from across the world of metal. The festival might have evolved and grown in that time - its trad metal roots still strong even if the likes of Killswitch Engage, Parkway Drive and Lamb Of God have helped modernise the festival's image in recent years - but Bloodstock is still a vital part of the UK metal ecosystem.

But while Architects headlining their first UK festival feels like big news, they certainly weren't the only band making waves at Catton Park this year. That in mind, we've assembled a definitive list of the 10 bands who best defined Bloodstock 2024, from black metal mayhem in the Sophie Lancaster tent on Thursday to triumphant, career-best performances from the likes of Malevolence and Hatebreed. See you in the field again next year for Bloodstock's massive 2025 line-up!

Hellripper

Aberdeen black-speed metal king Hellripper has in recent years become one of the most popular underground acts in the world and one of the most widely represented t-shirts on site, so it’s little surprise than when the band took to the Sophie Lancaster stage on Thursday night, it was booming to the degree that it easily seems they could headline it. 

An unrelenting volley of hyperkinetic thrash shredders set the tent non-stop spinning, from opening calling card All Hail the Goat to the ultra stupid and so much fun Nunfucking Armageddon 666, bringing fresh hellraising abandon to a strand of heavy metal that never seems to die. PH

Green Lung

"We're Green Lung and we play Old English, black magic, goat-bothering, heavy fucking metal!" The sun might be at its apex on Friday, but so too were London stoner/doom champions Green Lung, the band's transformation from beloved occult sensation to straight-up metal heroes all-but assured. 

Latest album This Heathen Land dominated the set, but with good reason; that album's mixture of mythology, folklore and undeniably brilliant metal tunes has helped turn Green Lung into a serious force and there's no fucking about with the enormity of songs like Maxine (Witch Queen). It doesn't hurt the band pull an utterly enormous crowd for their main stage debut, a sea of arms waving for Song Of The Stones showing even their folksy ballads have mass appeal. Talk about a midsommar dream. RH

Hatebreed

It was a special occasion for Hatebreed as they prepared to set foot on the Ronnie James Dio Stage once again; their 30th birthday celebrations. Prior to their arrival, a video of a bunch of heavy metal royalty, from members of Anthrax and Slayer to Ice-T, all wax lyrical about the band, but once Jamey Jasta and his merry men stroll on, there’s no cake cutting or a rendition of Happy Birthday, it’s all business. 

We do get the bumps though; theirs is a classic, all action set, complete with circle pits, pyro and even a gigantic inflatable "Ball Of Death" from one of hardcore’s most reliable live bands. The only thing different from your usual Hatebreed set is a cover of Slayer’s Ghost Of War and Jasta’s rather fetching new beard and long hair combo. As a monstrous I Will Be Heard closed their set, the old “if it ain’t broke...” mantra has never seemed more apt. SH

Eternal Champion

Modern masters of swords and sorcery Eternal Champion are exactly the kind of band destined for a hero’s welcome at Bloodstock, and so their debut appearance on the second stage is met by already dedicated lovers of the epic and curious punters surely discovering their new favourite band.

Frontman Jason Tarpey pounded his feet over the stage in chainmail, and the lurching Skullseeker and galloping Ravening Iron strike a perfect anvil spot between fancifully escapist and just plain tough courtesy of riffs from John Powers and producer extraordinare Arthur Rizk, not to mention dedicating the set to recently passed bassist Brad Raub. PH

Clutch

"Nice to finally meet ya!" Considering just how often Clutch play the UK - we'd bank on an average of at least once a year, COVID-years notwithstanding - it's amazing that this is Clutch's first time at Catton Hall. They didn't squander their chance to make a great first impression, though; opening on X-Ray Visions and Firebirds!, they go for broke with good ol' fashioned rock'n'roll right out the gates. 

From there, the set becomes an eclectic showcase of songs from across their careers; there's the weaponised funk of In Walks Barbarella and The Mob Goes Wild, bluesy grooves of A Quick Death In Texas and Mercury and even some sludgy, cosmic stoner in rare, early cuts Spacegrass, El Jefe Speaks and Binge And Purge. Sure, there are plenty of anthems the band could have trotted out, but that's not Clutch - such puerile pandering is beneath them and they'll always find ways to excite and surprise, whether it's your first show or 50th. RH

Crypta

Crypta are newer on the scene having split off from Brazilian thrashers Nervosa who also played earlier over the weekend, but they delve heavier, dishing out death metal informed by the legends of Death and Hypocrisy that clearly made them one of the surprise discoveries of the weekend for many. 

The four women on stage just look straight cool as fuck, frontwoman Fernanda Lira the spitting image of Morbid Angel iconoclast David Vincent in her power stance and old school evil theatrics putting on a show for the camera every time one’s near and conveying maximum death metal aura. PH

Mimi Barks

Mimi Barks looks like an absolute star. Combining the style and attitude of alt.culture with trap metal, she grew up in Berlin’s club scene, moved to London, and now finds herself in… a field in Derbyshire. Yet for half an hour on Saturday afternoon, the Sophie tent is turned into something that feels darker and more underground. 

Mimi stalks the stage as she sang and spat, a DJ bringing the beats while a long-haired, corpse-painted pal provided live drums. Banshee’s semi-industrial chorus creeps and crawls, while Suicide is a vibe. The pit heats up and, by the end, Mimi herself is in it. EG

Unleash The Archers

In one of the most blazing hot slots of the Saturday, Unleash the Archers took to the stage with a mixture of unflappable leather-clad heavy metal composure and affable “we’re not used to this heat, we’re from Vancouver” Canadian energy that makes them so darn likeable. 

They might not be built for this temperature, but their songs represent the cutting edge in mixing swashbuckling power metal with the brawn and screw-face seven-string riffing power of contemporary sounds. It’s prime Bloodstock music, and frontwoman Brittney Slayes just plain rules, putting her whole chest into sky-high choruses on total bangers like The Matriarch. PH

Whitechapel

Sandwiching Whitechapel between the classic death metal of Deicide and the more contemporary stomp of Malevolence feels like the perfect bridge between styles. The Tennessee deathcore legends have a foot in both camps, and on Saturday they brilliantly showcased each of their many eras. 

The groovy, more nuanced material from their superb The Valley album is the perfect accompaniment to when they dish out some truly revolting old school deathcore like I, Dementia from their debut album. Watching frontman Phil Bozeman nonchalantly stalk the stage, barking his guts up is truly a sight to behold, and both the death metal purists and hardcore kids seemed to be loving it. Whitechapel, bringing people together since 2006. SH

Malevolence

Malevolence have built this place into their back garden. From a main stage slot in 2021, to a second stage headline the very next year, and now all the way up to  subheadlining Architects, the Sheffield rabble-rousers have put in the graft to turn Bloodstock's crowd into their own, down to their beer branding everywhere on site. The rewards reaped on Saturday are barmy; the main stage’s most voracious reaction all weekend is coloured by a sense of local heroes come good, surely the only band in this prestigious a slot who could get a “Yorkshire!” chant going. 

When they asked for a circle pit going all the way around the sound tower, it seems the geography won’t physically accommodate it, and yet through force of will they made it happen, netting the biggest in Bloodstock history in the process. Keep Your Distance and On Broken Glass are merely a couple years old, yet by the sound of this field, they are your new BOA anthems. PH

Tickets for Bloodstock Open Air 2025 are on sale now. The first 19 bands - including headliners Trivium, Machine Head and Gojira have already been announced.

This is the third time that Malevolence have played Derbyshire’s Bloodstock festival: an early main-stage performance, a legendary set on the Sophie stage, and now this. In the words of frontman Alex Taylor, today’s is the “big boy” slot, subbing Saturday headliners Architects.

To say that Sheffield’s bruisers-in-chief seem excited at their elevation would be an understatement. There’s probably no band you’ll see all summer who are as visibly fired up as Malevolence are today. Alex might be a hulk of a man, with a roar reminiscent of a grizzly bear stubbing its toe on an anvil, but he spends the entirety of this set grinning like a toddler at Christmas. 

Part of this might be delight at playing such a prestigious slot, but the rest of it must come from the insane reaction to his band’s crushing, sludge-tinged hardcore. Because there are circle pits… and then there are Malevolence circle pits. From the minute this lot step onstage, the crowd opens up back to the sound desk and the good people of Bloodstock try and kill each other. The fact that Hatebreed played here 24 hours earlier and the chaos didn’t come close to that of Malevolence says it all.

“I didn’t fly 3,000 miles [from a current US tour with Mastodon and Lamb Of God] to see you standing here!” barks Alex. “Let’s make Bloodstock history!” Everyone does just that: the weekender’s crowd surfer record is broken, with an astonishing 901 bodies (plus a wheelie bin) flying over the barricade. Never in 23 years has the festival seen a moshpit as big as today’s, either.

Excitement and rabble-rousing behaviour help make a set memorable, but music legend is built by top-notch songs. And Malevolence have some unbelievable bangers. The suffocating but melodic likes of Karma, Serpent’s Chokehold and On Broken Glass sound like perfect metal festival fodder. One more album filled with songs of this quality and we could be looking at future Bloodstock headliners. In the live environment, Malevolence are unquestionably ready for the big time.

Malevolence setlist: Bloodstock Open Air, Derbyshire, UK – August 10, 2024

Malicious Intent
Life Sentence
Still Waters Run Deep
Waste of Myself
Remain Unbeaten
Slave To Satisfaction
Serpent’s Chokehold
Self Supremacy
Higher Place
Karma
Keep Your Distance
On Broken Glass

Opeth walked so Gojira could run. Progressive death metal titans at the turn of the millennium, the Swedish band's ascension to festival headliner - this is their third time taking top billing at Bloodstock - and into venues as illustrious as Wembley Arena helped elevate extreme metal beyond its underground roots and into the kind of mainstream, crossover sphere where such bands can play events like the Olympics whilst still getting booked as Bloodstock headliners. 

So an Opeth headline set based on a fan vote, drawing almost entirely on old school classics must surely be a slam dunk, right? Well, sort of. 

"What's up, you limey fucks!" Opening with a magnificent one-two of The Grand Conjuration and Demon Of The Fall, Opeth storm the gates with an imperious show of progressive death metal brilliance. They might not have the pyro of Amon Amarth or the crowd-baiting choruses of Architects, but Opeth's repertoire of inventive, immersive tunes makes them every bit as headline worthy as the other bands topping the bill at Bloodstock 2024. 

There's so much more to the band than mere heaviness, however. For all the bluster and thunder of their death metal roots, its the gorgeous melodies of songs like The Drapery Falls and Ghost Of Perdition where the band were able to flex their songwriting skills most impressively, while the inclusion of "clean" songs like In My Time Of Need and Sorceress show Mikael Åkerfeldt needn't roar like a vengeful god to command total attention. 

"I guess you guys voted for this setlist, which is why it's all old songs," he muses. "We haven't done anything decent in... 15 years. Message received." 

There's also an eagerness to hear new material. Opeth's return to extremity after 16 years has generated some serious excitement amongst fans and when Åkerfeldt brings up the subject of a new album, there are eager calls to hear new single §1. "We don't know those songs yet," he responds.

Tongue-in-cheek and dryer than a midday trek through the Sahara, Åkerfeldt's comments also highlight a love for the band's turn-of-the-millennium output that clearly dominates the set. There's no variance from what the band have been playing at their other festivals in 2024 - Wacken, Rockstadt, Tons Of Rock - but as much as we'd like the band to really dig deep and pick out some beloved live rarities, their command over each song is flawless. 

The set is also a reminder of just how much Opeth galvanised the metal scene in the early 2000s, not just clawing their way to top billing at metal festivals, but pushing extreme metal to become more inventive and expansive in the decades since. While the setlist feels more limited than their massive 30th anniversary tour in 2022, Opeth remain a benchmark for how inventiveness, innovation and craft can elevate even the most extreme music to whole new dimensions - something surely always worth celebrating. 

Opeth's new album The Last Will And Testament is out October 11. The band tour the UK with Grand Magus from February 25 2025.

Opeth Bloodstock Open Air Setlist August 9 2024

The Grand Conjuration
Demon Of The Fall
The Drapery Falls
In My Time Of Need
Heir Apparent
Ghost Of Perdition
Sorceress
Deliverance

A bust of late Motorhead frontman Lemmy containing some of his ashes was unveiled on stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival in England today.

Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell was joined by festival staff on the Main Stage to reveal the unique tribute as part of a ceremony called Lemmy Forever.

After the unveiling, the bust was moved to the festival's Rock & Metal Gallery – which includes Lemmy's dressing room. The dressing room includes a selection of Lemmy's personal items such as his iconic hat, boots, bass guitar and hand-drawn pictures.

Also on display are handwritten lyrics, dressing room paraphernalia, and previously unseen personal photos.

Once the festival wraps up, the bust will be housed at the Rock City venue in nearby Nottingham.

Footage of the tribute and of the dressing room exhibits can be viewed below.

Explaining the Lemmy Forever idea, Motorhead manager Todd Singerman said: "Bloodstock has always been a special place for Motorhead and for Lemmy. The people and the energy matched Lemmy's values perfectly.

"This is definitely a fitting honour in the continuing series of enshrinements of Lemmy's ashes in his most loved places."

Lemmy’s ashes have also been scattered at the German metal festival Wacken Open Air. Motorhead tour manager Eddie Rocha and production assistant Emma Cederblad both have tattoos that contain some of the ashes, and more of his ashes were sent to friends in bullets with Lemmy’s name on them.

Earlier this year, plans to erect a giant statue of Lemmy in the Staffordshire town where he was born were approved.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council gave the green light for the 2.2metre statue to be erected in Burslem's Market Place.

Lemmy died on December 28, 2015, four days after his 70th birthday and two after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Derbyshire metal festival Bloodstock Open Air has announced the first bands for its 2025 lineup.

All headliners have been named for the weekender, which will take place from August 7 to 10 at Catton Hall. Melodic metal greats Trivium top the Friday, groove metal pioneers Machine Head will play the Saturday and extreme metal stars Gojira are capping off the Sunday.

16 bands have also been announced for the undercard across the weekend. They include black metal behemoths Emperor, goth metal maestros Lacuna Coil, goth-punks Creeper, stoner rockers Orange Goblin and death metal stalwarts Obituary.

See the poster with the full list of revealed bands below.

Trivium singer/guitarist Matthew Heafy comments: “We’ve always said that the UK is a second home to Trivium. It’s where our band really took root way back in 2005 and our relationship with it has only grown deeper over time.

“Our headline set will span our entire 20-year history and we’ll also celebrate [beloved second album] Ascendancy by bringing both the music and art to life.

“Bloodstock is the home of heavy metal in the UK and we’re thrilled to once again be called upon to headline it along with two long time friends. We promise you this will be the biggest and best Trivium set you have ever seen!”

Machine Head founder, singer and guitarist Robb Flynn says: “We honestly couldn’t be more stoked about hitting the stage at one of our favourite festivals to play.

“Bloodstock will forever hold a special place in our blackened hearts after our, now legendary, not-so-secret-secret-show on the Sophie Lancaster Stage back in 2022. That show, which marked our return to the live arena post-pandemic, was one of the hottest, wildest and most intense shows we’ve ever played on UK shores and we now want to recreate that magic again, and take it even higher in August 2025.

“Bloodstock, get ready because Machine Fuckin’ Head is coming to town and we want to see all you Head Cases lose it! BEERS UP!”

Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier adds: “We are psyched to play Bloodstock again next year! Hold onto your socks, it’s gonna be brutal!!!”

Trivium will tour the UK with co-headliners Bullet For My Valentine in early 2025. The bands will be celebrating the 20th anniversaries of their respective 2005 fan-favourite albums, Ascendancy and The Poison.

Machine Head will headline the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival in Worcester, Massachusetts, on September 21. Alongside Gojira, they will perform at German metal festival Wacken Open Air in August 2025.

Gojira recently made international headlines with a revolutionary-themed performance during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.

The 2024 incarnation of Bloodstock Open Air is currently underway. Opeth will headline this evening (August 9), followed by Architects tomorrow and Amon Amarth on Sunday.

Attendees at Bloodstock 2024 can get discounted early-bird tickets for next year’s edition on site now, priced at £175 with no booking fee. Weekend early-bird tickets for children aged four to 11 are £45.

Early-bird tickets with a booking fee will be made available online on Wednesday (August 14) at 9am UK time. Once they sell out, adult weekend tickets for 2025 will rise to £199 plus booking fees. Child weekend tickets will be £59 plus booking fees.

VIP and campervan tickets will also be released on Wednesday at 9am UK time.

Derbyshire metal festival Bloodstock Open Air has announced that it will display a monument dedicated to late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister every year, which will include some of the musician’s ashes.

The “Lemmy Forever” memorial will debut at the festival’s 2024 incarnation this August, which will be headlined by Opeth, Architects and Amon Amarth.

The installation will be viewable in the Catton Park weekender’s “RAM Gallery”, and will include a bust of Lemmy as well as an urn containing some of his remains.

When not on site at Bloodstock, the memorial and the ashes will live at the Rock City venue in nearby Nottingham.

Motörhead’s manager, Todd Singerman, comments on the news: “Bloodstock has always been a special place for Motörhead and for Lemmy. The people and the energy matched Lemmy’s values perfectly.

“Alan [Hungerford, festival organiser] and Vicky [Hungerford, owner, director and band booker] were also great friends, and basically family of Lemmy, as he was the reason that they originally got together.

“This is definitely a fitting honour in the continuing series of enshrinements of Lemmy’s ashes in his most loved places.”

Lemmy’s ashes have also been scattered at the German metal festival Wacken Open Air. Singerman commented last year: “Wacken was one of Lemmy’s dearest homes and we’re delighted he has a place here forever.

“He was a man of the people, and as such, he ‘lived’ in many places worldwide. It’s our aim to allow him to rest permanently in all his ‘homes’ globally and allow his fans worldwide to have a place close to them where they can both pay respects and celebrate his enormous continuing legacy and influence.”

Motörhead tour manager Eddie Rocha and production assistant Emma Cederblad both have tattoos that contain some of the bassist/vocalist’s ashes, and more of his ashes were sent to friends in bullets with Lemmy’s name on them.

Lemmy died on December 28, 2015, four days after his 70th birthday and two after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Bloodstock Open Air has announced 18 new bands for its 2024 lineup.

The annual heavy metal weekender – which this year takes place from August 8 to 11 in Catton Park, Derbyshire – has previously announced the 2024 edition will be headlined by Opeth (performing a fan-voted set), Architects and Amon Amarth.

Now, joining those bands across the weekend will be UK death metal up-and-comers Burner, thrash veterans Xentrix, Swedish progressive metal quintet Soen, rising alt-metal outfit Unpeople, comedy grindcore troupe Raised By Owls, rock trio Haxan, ‘samurai metal’ band Ryujin and more.

The new names join a bill also featuring Clutch, Carcass, Malevolence, Crypta, Enslaved, Hatebreed, Rotting Christ, Evergrey, Igorrr, Satyricon, Sylosis and Septicflesh, among many others.

The updated poster, featuring every name confirmed for the festival, is available below.

When Opeth were announced as headliners of the Friday at Bloodstock 2024 in September, band leader Mikael Åkerfeldt commented: “So… back to Bloodstock 2024 for us, it appears. I don’t remember how many times we've played the festival, but we do have fond memories from there.

“‘Filling in’ for Heaven And Hell when RJD [Ronnie James Dio] had passed is one. Fuck! Can’t remember a more emotional event on stage for us, to be honest. Anyhoooo, we’ll be there ‘rocking’ and ‘rolling’ in our own way, playing songs that you’ve chosen (apparently). Please be gentle.”

Satyricon singer Sigurd “Satyr” Wongraven said when his band joined the bill in December: “The way Satyricon’s attitude has resonated with English fans throughout our journey as a band, has made us feel that playing there isn’t so much a visit, but rather a homecoming.

“Having decided to do only a few select shows, we can’t go everywhere, but fortunately there are a few places our hearts seem to take us, one way or the other. Like England.”

Weekend and day tickets to Bloodstock Open Air 2024 are available now on the festival website.

K.K.’s Priest, the new heavy metal supergroup of ex-Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing, have released footage of their full, 70-minute performance at Bloodstock festival in August.

The band, also featuring former Judas Priest vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens, played a 13-song set that includes originals from their two albums as well as a number of covers. The full setlist is available below.

Downing was Judas Priest’s guitarist from 1970 to 2011, before leaving the band due to what he described as “an ongoing breakdown in working relationships between myself, elements of the band and management for some time”. He founded K.K.’s Priest in 2020 and has released two albums with the band: 2021’s Sermons Of The Sinner and 2023’s The Sinner Rides Again.

Downing spoke about the differences between K.K.’s Priest and Judas Priest in a 2023 Metal Hammer interview.

“I can call the shots! Ha ha!” the guitarist said.

“I’m not looking to do anything particularly different because with my heritage, my legacy and everything that I am, a leopard can’t change his spots. I just want to continue doing what I’ve always done. We got the Judas Priest brand up to a place where it can never be overthrown – it’s etched in stone. So yeah, I’ve got a mountain to climb, but as long as I enjoy it, and the music and performances are strong, there’s no reason why the two bands can’t coexist happily, like an old married couple!” 

Hammer journalist Chris Chantler gave The Sinner Rides Again a four-star review in September.

“This hungry septuagenarian shows the whippersnappers how it’s done, his fingers setting fire to the frets of his Flying V,” Chantler wrote, later concluding: “K.K.’s not trying to reinvent the steel, but he’s certainly ramping up the challenge for his estranged ex-bandmates.”

K.K.’s Priest Bloodstock festival 2023 setlist

Hellfire Thunderbolt
One More Shot At Glory
The Ripper (Judas Priest cover)
Reap The Whirlwind
Night Crawler (Judas Priest cover)
Sermons Of The Sinner
Burn In Hell (Judas Priest cover)
Beyond The Realms Of Death (Judas Priest cover)
Hell Patrol (Judas Priest cover)
Brothers Of The Road
The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Breaking The Law (Judas Priest cover)
Victim Of Changes (Judas Priest cover)

Pro-shot video footage of Killswitch Engage’s full set at Bloodstock Open Air 2023 has been uploaded to YouTube.

The Massachusetts metalcore favourites headlined the festival for the first time ever on August 11, playing a greatest-hits set of 21 songs. The complete setlist is available below.

Bloodstock commented on YouTube: “Killswitch Engage’s headline performance at Bloodstock Open Air 2023 was not just a concert; it was a celebration of metal music’s enduring spirit. The band’s connection with their fans was palpable, making it a night to remember. Their performance reaffirmed why they are revered as titans in the metal world and left an indelible mark on the festival’s legacy.

“This event was a testament to the unifying power of music and the vibrant spirit of the metal community. It was a night where legends were made, and memories were forged, under the starlit sky of Catton Park.”

Metal Hammer attended Killswitch’s set at Bloodstock 2023, with writer Merlin Alderslade giving it a perfect five stars.

Alderslade wrote: “Given how important they are to their generation of heavy metal, it seems ludicrous that it took this long for Killswitch Engage to headline a proper, three-day festival over here. Luckily, it was more than worth the wait.”

Bloodstock Open Air will return to Catton Park, Derbyshire, in 2024, from August 8 to 11. Headlining the festival will be Architects, Amon Amarth and Opeth, playing a setlist voted by the band’s fans.

Opeth singer/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt has commented: “So… back to Bloodstock 2024 for us, it appears. I don’t remember how many times we've played the festival, but we do have fond memories from there. ‘Filling in’ for Heaven And Hell when RJD [Ronnie James Dio] had passed is one. Fuck! Can’t remember a more emotional event on stage for us, to be honest. Anyhoooo, we’ll be there ‘rocking’ and ‘rolling’ in our own way, playing songs that you’ve chosen (apparently). Please be gentle.”

Tickets to Bloodstock 2024 are available now.

Killswitch Engage setlist – Bloodstock Open Air 2023

1. My Curse
2. Rise Inside
3. This Fire
4. Reckoning
5. The Arms Of Sorrow
6. In Due Time
7. Beyond The Flames
8. The Signal Fire
9. Unleashed
10. Hate By Design
11. The Crownless King
12. Rose Of Sharyn
13. Reject Yourself
14. Fixation On The Darkness
15. Strength Of The Mind
16. The Element Of One
17. A Bid Farewell
18. This Is Absolution
19. The End Of Heartache
20. My Last Serenade
21. Holy Diver

Bloodstock Open Air has announced 11 more bands for its 2024 edition in August.

Joining a bill headlined by Opeth, Architects and Amon Amarth at the Derbyshire metal festival will be Sylosis, Carcass, Satyricon, Cultura Tres, Red Rum, Ludovico Technique, Sadus, Ankor, Evergrey, Tailgunner and South Of Salem.

Satyricon singer Sigurd “Satyr” Wongraven comments: “The way Satyricon’s attitude has resonated with English fans throughout our journey as a band, has made us feel that playing there isn’t so much a visit, but rather a homecoming. Having decided to do only a few select shows, we can’t go everywhere, but fortunately there are a few places our hearts seem to take us, one way or the other. Like England.”

Sylosis add: “We can’t wait to be back at Bloodstock! We’ve had some amazing shows over the years, but it feels like next year is going to be really special!”

Also appearing across the weekend will be Malevolence, Clutch, Flogging Molly, Hatebreed, Whitechapel, Grand Magus, Green Lung, Crypta and more. The poster featuring the full lineup is available below.

Bloodstock Open Air 2024 will take place at Catton Hall, Derbyshire, England, from August 8 to 11. Tickets are available now.

Opeth’s headline set on the Friday will feature a setlist selected by fan votes.

Frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt commented when the progressive metal band were added to the bill in September: “So… back to Bloodstock 2024 for us, it appears. I don’t remember how many times we've played the festival, but we do have fond memories from there. ‘Filling in’ for Heaven And Hell when RJD [Ronnie James Dio] had passed is one. Fuck! Can’t remember a more emotional event on stage for us, to be honest. Anyhoooo, we’ll be there ‘rocking’ and ‘rolling’ in our own way, playing songs that you’ve chosen (apparently). Please be gentle.”

Pro-shot footage of Meshuggah's entire headlining performance at this year's Bloodstock Open Air festival can be watched below.

The set was filmed on August 12, 2023, at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, in England, with the Swedish prog metal heroes playing 14 tracks.

Meshuggah released their ninth album, Immutable, in 2022. Metal Hammer described it as "running rings around every other metal band on the planet."

They are on tour through the rest of 2023 and into 2024. See the dates below.

Meshuggah Bloodstock 2023 Setlist

Broken Cog
Light The Shortening Fuse
Rational Gaze
Pravus
The Hurt That Finds You First
Ligature Marks
Born In Dissonance
Mind's Mirrors
In Death - Is Life
In Death - Is Death
The Abysmal Eye
Straws Pulled At Random
Demiurge
Future Breed Machine

Meshuggah Tour Dates 2023

Nov 21: Soma, San Diego, CA, USA
Nov 22: Hard Rock Live, Sacramento, CA, USA
Nov 24: Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA, USA
Nov 25: Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Nov 27: Midway, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Nov 28: Grey Eagle Event Centre, Calgary, AB, Canada
Nov 30: Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Dec 01: Fillmore Minneapolis, MN, USA
Dec 02: The Sylvee, Madison, WI, US
Dec 03: GLC Live at 20 Monroe, Grand Rapids, MI, US
Dec 05: Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana, Gary, IN, US
Dec 06: Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, OH, US
Dec 08: The Paramount, Huntington, NY, US
Dec 09: MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MA, US
Dec 10: Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, US
Dec 12: Toyota Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, CT, US
Dec 14: The Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, US
Dec 15: History, Toronto, ON, Canada
Dec 16: Place Bell, Laval, QC, Canada

Meshuggah Tour Dates 2024

Mar 07: Barba Negra Red Stage, Budapest, Hungary
Mar 08: Forum Karlín, Prague, Czech Republic
Mar 09: Klokgebouw, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Mar 11: Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, Germany
Mar 12: Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg, Germany
Mar 15: Stodola, Warsaw, Poland
Mar 16: Columbiahalle, Berlin, Germany
Mar 17: Klub Studio, Krakow, Poland
Mar 19: Tonhalle, Munich, Germany
Mar 20: Alcatraz, Milan, Italy
Mar 21: Salle Métropole, Lausanne, Switzerland
Mar 23: Santana 27, Bilbao, Spain
Mar 24: La Riviera, Madrid, Spain
Mar 25: Sala Razzmatazz, Barcelona, Spain
Mar 28: Palladium, Cologne, Germany

Swedish prog metallers Opeth have been announced as the final headline act for next year's Bloodstock Festival, which takes place at Catton Park, Derbyshire from August 8-11. It will be the band's only UK live appearance for 2024, and the set will be chosen by Opeth fans via voting.

Norwegian prog metallers Enslaved have also been added to the bill, playing the Ronnie James Dio main stage on Sunday. Metallica hardcore heroes Hatebreed, Brazillian thrashers Nervosa, death metallers Crypta, power metal favourites Beast In Black and Bay Area thrash veterans Forbidden have all also been announced for next year's event.

"So… back to Bloodstock 2024 for us, it appears," says Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt. "I don’t remember how many times we’ve played the festival, but we do have fond memories from there. 'Filling in' for Heaven and Hell when RJD had passed is one. Fuck! Can’t remember a more emotional event on stage for us, to be honest.  Anyhoooo, we’ll be there ‘rocking’ and ‘rolling’ in our own way, playing songs that you’ve chosen (apparently).

"Please be gentle," he continues. "Right now I feel pretty far from being a rocker, as I’m writing this sat in my (favourite) greasy sweatpants, and my hair is greasier than ever.  I’m working, you see...  But I promise I’ll have a look in the mirror before we hit the stage. The band will be tight (that’s also a promise). I’ll sing OK (semi-promise). You’ll recognise the songs (I really have no idea, but you picked them!) and, we’ll be IN. THE. ZONE!  All in all, providing the weather’s nice and the beer is cold, the possibilities for a magical night are rather decent.  Wouldn’t you say?  Hope to see (and hear) you there.” 

Previously announced headliners are Viking metallers Amon Amarth and British metalcore mainstays Architects, and the bill also features the likes of Green Lung, Night Flight Orchestra, Igorrr, Septic Flesh, Korpiklaani and more.

There are less than 10% remaining of the standard Early Bird weekend tickets, priced at £165 (+ bkg fee).  Once the discounted Early Bird allocation has gone, standard weekend tickets will increase in price to £185.

Get tickets.

Before Megadeth seize the stage to headline Bloodstock 2023, the US thrashers’ video backdrops play a compilation of Vic Rattleheads gone by. The skeletal mascot’s appearances on a host of artworks fade in and out, covering everything from signature single Holy Wars…The Punishment Due to last year’s The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! album. It’s the perfect introduction for a set that, over the next 90 minutes, will blast out classic tracks from every era of this band’s four-decade history.

Opener Hangar 18 does plenty to explain how Megadeth have endured this long. The 1990 Rust In Peace favourite is emblematic of the band’s early golden age, imbuing finger-shredding technicality with genuine hooks and melody. First you’re moshing to those rallying chords and crying out that hook of “Hangar 18! I know too much!”, then you’re spending the next three minutes asking how Mustaine and co-guitarist Kiko Loureiro aren’t soloing their calluses off.

Megadeth’s more straightforward mid-’90s arena-metal days also enjoy pride of place in the setlist. Sweating Bullets – which sees Mustaine interrupt his own ranting verses with just three chords – rocks up early to unite the crowd in singalong. An evocative À Tout Le Monde and bouncing Symphony Of Destruction achieve similar interactivity, especially when the latter gets everyone chanting “Megadeth!” in time with its easy-as-pie riff.

Sadly, although the selection of songs is iron-clad, Megadeth aren’t bulletproof performers. They’re technically spotless; Loureiro’s all smiles, and drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo are both high-energy, but Mustaine’s vocals never match the savagery of his riffs. It’s an issue that’s been well documented lately, further exacerbated by the low mix on his microphone, turning tonight more into heavy metal karaoke than a statement of continuing intensity.

MegaDave seems in high spirits, though. Despite one bizarre diatribe about a blow-up unicorn in the crowd (“I’m sorry you spent the whole afternoon blowing that thing up – and that you probably enjoyed it”), Megadeth’s architect of aggression seems genuinely humbled by the occasion. He even states that the sole new song in the set, 2022’s We’ll Be Back, is hardly “the national anthem” – a rare self-deprecating statement given its slicing guitars and breakneck pace encapsulate many of this band’s best aspects.

The usual series of thrash metal oldies finish the set, with Peace Sells marching into Mechanix and a climactic Holy Wars…. The escalating speed and proficiency of the trio build the evening to an apex of excitement. Even if much of this crowd is better at singing these songs than Mustaine is, it doesn’t damper the joy shared by these 20,000 onlookers as they filter out into the Midlands.

Megadeth Bloodstock Open Air 2023 setlist

Hangar 18
Dread And The Fugitive Mind
Angry Again
Sweating Bullets
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
We’ll Be Back
Conquer Or Die
Dystopia
Trust
À Tout Le Monde
Tornado Of Souls
Symphony Of Destruction
Peace Sells
Mechanix
Holy Wars...The Punishment Due

"Corn beef balls! Corn beef box! Corn beef balls! Corn beef box!" Bloodstock Open Air has seen all manner of things take place on its main stage over the past twenty years, but a chant dedicated solely to people's sweaty genitals might just be a first. That'll be Adam Dutkiewicz for you, though; the ever-hilarious Killswitch Engage guitarist is on top form, and so is the rest of his band. Tonight, incredibly, marks Killswitch's first ever outdoor UK festival headline set, and they are clearly relishing every second of it.

"This festival isn't just about the music," remarks frontman Jesse Leach earlier in the set. "This is a way of life." Killswitch, responsible for the metalcore boom of the 2000s, might be somewhat removed from the kinds of artists that headlined Bloodstock during its earliest years, but to question their place atop the UK's most metal fest would be plainly absurd. They're lifers; as much a part of metal's evolution over the past few decades as Pantera, Korn and Machine Head, and an opportunity to finally headline an event like this is long, long overdue on these shores.

Fortunately, Massachusetts' finest are more than up to the occasion; following a rousing opening missive of My Curse that instantly draws the biggest singalongs of the weekend so far, they put on a scintillating two-hour show that only gets better and better as it goes on. It's a set bolstered by bursts of pyro - a rarity for a Killswitch show and a welcome addition that adds to the 'Big Game' feel - but, really, it's the energy and enthusiasm of the band themselves that make tonight such a triumph. Over the eleven years since he returned to the fold, Leach has perfected his dynamic with Dutkiewicz, the guitarist's unflappable daftness complementing the singer's passion and sincerity rather than undermining it. 

Joel Stroetzel (rhythm guitar), Mike D'Antonio (bass) and Justin Foley (drums), meanwhile, remain as tight and propulsive a unit as ever, rattling through anthems like The Arms Of Sorrow, In Due Time and Rose Of Sharyn with ease. A longer set also allows for some welcome returns and deeper cuts: Fixation On The Darkness sounds savagely heavy, while The Element Of One remains an underrated, emotionally-charged gem. 

The band's decision to leave the majority of their most famous hits until the final quarter of the set could be seen as a slight misstep given that festival crowds tend to feature more casual onlookers, but it means that the last half-hour or so is particularly epic. A Bid Farewell, This Is Absolution, The End Of Heartache and My Last Serenade all drop one after the other; fist-pulls, air-punches and arm-in-arm beltalongs rise exponentially throughout an increasingly delighted crowd. 

The only way to kick things up one final notch? Killswitch's classic cover of Dio's Holy Diver, of course, particularly well suited to Bloodstock's status, as Leach and Dutkiewicz both happily point out. Given how important they are to their generation of heavy metal, it seems ludicrous that it took this long for Killswitch Engage to headline a proper, three-day festival over here. Luckily, it was more than worth the wait.

Killswitch Engage Bloodstock Open Air 2023 setlist

1. My Curse
2. Rise Inside
3. This Fire
4. Reckoning
5. The Arms Of Sorrow
6. In Due Time
7. Beyond The Flames
8. The Signal Fire
9. Unleashed
10. Hate By Design
11. The Crownless King
12. Rose Of Sharyn
13. Reject Yourself
14. Fixation On The Darkness
15. Strength Of The Mind
16. The Element Of One
17. A Bid Farewell
18. This Is Absolution
19. The End Of Heartache
20. My Last Serenade
21. Holy Diver

2022 was an incredible year for Lorna Shore. As well as releasing their absolutely monolithic album 'Pain Remains', they played SO many huge shows. From Lollapalooza to Brutal Assault, everywhere that they stepped foot, they carved out a moment for themselves. Another milestone was their appearance at Bloodstock, where they took to the main stage and made it their own.

That performance has now been uploaded in full by Bloodstock, and it is a sight to behold. From the opening build of opener To The Hellfire through to the bludgeoning otherworldliness of the closing crescendo Into The Earth, it is a masterclass in bringing brutality to the big stage. Every guitar solo executed to perfection, every drum fill rattling by like machine gun fire, and every breakdown punishing enough to bring tears to your eyes. And then there is Will Ramos, conjuring hellish howls and guttural grunts like it's second nature, never missing a beat.

From Sun//Eater to Of The Abyss, Cursed To Die to And I Return To Nothingness, it is a stunning display from a band at the height of their power. And with them becoming more and more of a phenomenon with each passing day, it's moments like this that help to cement why every ounce of success is justified. Deathcore's most exciting asset? You bet.

So sit back, relax and enjoy 36 minutes of pure brilliance:

Will didn't just let his vocals run free during his own band's set at Bloodstock. He also popped up at Malevolence's set too, joining them for Karma. That looked a lot like this:

Bloodstock will be returning to Catton Park, Derbyshire, later this year, with headliners Meshuggah, Killswitch Engage and Megadeth.

Other acts already confirmed for the four-day event next August include In Flames, Sepultura, Whitechapel, Knocked Loose, the reformed Biohazard - headlining Sunday night, on the Sophie Lancaster stage, with their original line up - Sacred Reich, Zeal & Ardor and Crowbar.

Full information on the event can be found on the Bloodstock website.

According to a statement put out by Bloodstock Festival, Director Vicky Hungerford has taken a “step back” from her role as talent booker in the wake of an incendiary post published on Thursday October 14 that mocked the usage of pronouns in emails.

First posted on Twitter and reposted on various platforms, she stated, “If you’re going to start putting pro nouns [sic] on your email so I can refer to you as he/him she or her I’m binning your emails …”.

The post, referring to those identifying as non-binary, and those offering solidarity by stating their own, gendered pronouns, immediately drew condemnation across the metal community. Hungerford responded with a series of tweets, firstly saying “Well that escalated quickly !!!”, before making a conditional apology: “So it appears my last tweet offended people and that was NOT my intention, I deleted my tweet as some people were upset and I was NEVER intending to upset anyone! If you were offended by my tweet then I do apologise!”

She later followed up with a fuller apology, stating: “I fully support everyone in the LGBTQI+ community and am always happy to learn more about how to be a better ally; I am genuinely upset I have caused upset to these very people today… I only wish I could take back my ill thought-out comment.”

Many have refused to accept the apology, pointing to previous posts, not least an Instagram post from 2018 where she attacked “gender neutral bullshit”, stating, “If this post offends you, please note I DO NOT GIVE A FUCK #snowflakes”.

Such comments clearly contradict Bloodstock ideals of inclusiveness, symbolised by the festival’s second S.O.P.H.I.E. stage (Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere), sponsored by the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Chief Executive of the Foundation, and mother of Sophie, Dr Sylvia Lancaster OBE, was amongst those who commented, putting out a statement saying, “Having lost my daughter to hate and intolerance I do not take Vicky’s comments lightly… We will be meeting with Bloodstock to talk about our future relationship.”

In the wake of the initial comment, Bloodstock’s Twitch channel has paused its stream at the request of its own team, and entertainment manager Paul Watling has announced his departure on Facebook.

The statement put out by Bloodstock festival can also be read in full below.

On the new episode of the Metal Hammer Podcast El, Jonathan and Steve answer your questions!

We discuss whether metal personalities will ever get on mainstream TV again after the return of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, why metal from Latin America doesn’t get the attention it deserves, and the evolution of Download and Bloodstock festivals.

We also cover some of the most important issues of 2021: which breeds of dog are most metal, and what’s the most metal condiment?

Buy our Joey Jordison tribute issue, out now.

Visit our sponsors over at KILLSTAR

Listen now via Spotify, Apple, Podbean and more.

Bloodstock Festival has added 11 more bands to this year’s line-up.

The Wildhearts, Raging Speedhorn and Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons join headliners Judas Priest, Devin Townsend and Kreator at Catton Park, Derbyshire from August 11-15, 2021

The Wildhearts will appear on the Main Stage on the Friday, while Raging Speedhorn will play the Sophie Lancaster Stage on the same day. Former Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell headlines the Sophie Lancaster Stage on Saturday.

Also newly added to the bill are Hacktivist, Thunderous Jones, Ashen Crown, Luna’s Call, Urne, Forlorn World, Seething Akira and King Witch.

Other bands set play include Dimmu Borgir, Skindred, Saxon, Paradise Lost, Dark Tranquility, The Night Flight Orchestra, Bloodywood and Orange Goblin, 

This year’s Bloodstock will take place across five days rather than the usual four, after 2020’s festival was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bloodstock Open Air has added six more bands to the line-up of the 2020 festival.

Bloodstock will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire, on August 6-9, with Judas Priest, Behemoth and Devin Townsend previously announced as the main stage headline acts, while artists including Saxon, Orange Goblin, Conjurer, Hatebreed, Bury Tomorrow and Unleash The Archers also set to perform.

They’ll be joined by Italian blackened-death heroes Blasphemer, QOTSA-inspired rockers Liberty Lies, doomsters Black Tongue and underground metalliers Pist who all play the Sophie Lancaster Stage.

Kentucky trad-metallers Savage Master also open the main Ronnie James Dio Stage on Saturday.

Festival organisers have also announced that this year’s charity partner will be mental health charity Mind, who provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem, and campaign to improve services and raise awareness.

Michael Lacey, founder of fundraising project Patch Amnesty and regular Bloodstock attendee, will have a stall to raise funds onsite. Patch Amnesty looks to collect patch donations then sell them at festivals and events, with proceeds going to Mind. Lacey has rasied over £5000 since launching Patch Amnesty in 2019.

Says Maria Khosla, Community Fundraising Manager for Mind: “We are grateful to the organisers of Bloodstock Festival and to Michael Lacy from Patch Amnesty for choosing to support Mind at this year’s event. One in four of us will experience a mental health problem every year so their support in raising funds and awareness means we can continue to make sure that no one has to face a mental health problem alone.”

Tickets for Bloodstock 2020 are on sale now, while the festival has once again teamed up with Big Green Coach to get people to the festival site. Transport will leave from 33 different locations across the country, with further details available through the official website.

Bloodstock’s official YouTube channel has also just hit the 100,000 subscribers mark. Check it out for interviews, live footage and more.

This weekend Amon Amarth will be making history by headlining a UK festival for the first time, and what better place for this monumental moment than at Bloodstock? Veterans of the Catton Park metalfest, the Viking heavyweights will be topping the bill on Friday, flanked by Blind Guardian and Kreator earlier in the day – it really doesn’t get much more metal than that!

But how is Amon Amarth’s fearless leader Johan Hegg feeling about their biggest UK headline show of all time? We gave him a call to find out.

What does Bloodstock mean to you?

“It’s a festival that we’ve played a couple of times and this year is the first time we’ve headlined, but it’s a really really good, genuine metal festival. It’s one of those festivals that I would probably enjoy going to; it’s only metal, and I really like that. It’s always good fun to play there, the crowd is always amazing. Even though the weather sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, it’s always a good atmosphere.”

What is it about Amon Amarth that connects so well with the Bloodstock crowd?

“Ha ha, I don’t know. We’ve always had a good crowd there, and it’s the birthplace of Epic Viking Rowing. That’s become a thing now, which is absolutely insane. I guess the Bloodstock crowd, as much as ourselves, just want to have a good time and party a bit ha ha!”

What did you think the first time you saw Epic Viking Rowing?

“I didn’t really see it at Bloodstock the first time because people were sitting in a line doing the rowing, but the first time I saw it happening on a massive scale it was insane. Hundreds of people just sat down and started rowing! It’s such a fun experience, it means a lot when people do it because it shows that people are having a good time and they like our stuff.”

How does it feel to be headlining your first UK festival?

“It feels great! We always wanted to get to the point in the UK where we could play bigger shows with big production, and now we’re finally there and have that capability. We worked really hard for it, so it feels really rewarding to be able to do so. Even though the fanbase has grown rapidly in the past couple of years, we’ve always had a good time in the UK and the fans have always been very supportive and amazing. We knew it was just a matter of time for us, but we also knew we had to put in the hard work.”

• Eat your hearts out Amon Amarth – check out this Viking row
• Amon Amarth's Johan Hegg goes more Viking than he's ever gone before
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Was getting big in the UK always a plan for Amon Amarth?

“I don’t think that we focussed on any territory, we just wanted to go out and play in the beginning. But once you start growing, you want to be able to go everywhere and do the same thing. A couple of years ago we said we can play London now, which is fine, but we wanted to go further into the UK and make the effort to play more UK shows in smaller cities and really reach out to new fans. We did that and were very successful in doing show. It’s been a really good couple of years for us in the UK.”

Have you got any special production lined up for Bloodstock?

“We’ve got a couple of surprises up our sleeves, but I won’t give anything away. We have some ideas of what we want to do. It’s going to be a fun show.”

Who do you recommend people should check out at Bloodstock?

“Ghost are playing, and I’m sure I don’t have to tell people go see them. I’m not a super-duper fan, but I enjoy their stuff and I think that they’re bringing pretty interesting production. It’s going to be a good show.”

It’s quite a theatrical weekend with you headlining the Friday and Ghost headlining the Saturday!

“I think it will be and that’s what I like – I like bands that pull out untraditional production instead of just LCD screens and all that stuff.”

Bloodstock takes place at Catton Park, Derbyshire, on August 11-13, with Amon Amarth headlining the Friday. Weekend tickets are now sold out but day tickets are available.

What have Arch Enemy got in store for Bloodstock 2017?

How do Ghost feel about headlining Bloodstock 2017?

Bloodstock is just over a week away and it’s already looking like one of the best yet – in fact, weekend tickets have recently sold out, which is mega! And it’s not surprising when you look at the line-up. Amon Amarth, Ghost, Megadeth, Testament, Decapitated, Skindred and King 810 are just some of the bands hitting up the main stage, but it’s safe to say that Arch Enemy will be one of Sunday’s highlights. With their new album Will To Power due for release next month, we had a quick chat with guitarist Michael Amott and vocalist Alissa White-Gluz about their pending Bloodstock performance.

How much are you looking forward to playing Bloodstock?

Michael: “It’s kind of rare for us to play a festival in the UK, it’s not as common as playing a festival in Germany, that’s for sure. I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Alissa, it’s your first time on stage at Bloodstock!

Alissa: “For months now I’ve been seeing people getting excited, having their tickets to Bloodstock to see us on the Sunday. That’s still a [while] away but there’s a lot of hype for that – I checked out the line-up and the line-up is great. I’m hoping we get there with time to watch some other bands. We’re really excited to play some new songs at Bloodstock.”

Michael: “For the first time, we’ll be playing some songs from our new album at Bloodstock. In a way it’s the kick-off of the Will To Power tour.”

And it’s a great place to start it, at Bloodstock.

Michael: “I think it’s great. England has a lot of great festivals but Bloodstock is a pure metal festival, it’s focussed on the hard rock and metal genre. It’s important to have that and we’re very excited to play.”

Bloodstock takes place at Catton Park, Derbyshire, on August 10-12, with Arch Enemy playing the main stage on Sunday. Weekend tickets are now sold out but day tickets are available.

How do Ghost feel about headlining Bloodstock 2017?

Arch Enemy go into orbit in video for The World Is Yours

Bloodstock organisers have announced that Ghost will be headlining Saturday night at this year’s festival, joining Amon Amarth and Megadeth at the top of the Ronnie James Dio stage bill.

The Swedes will be joining a line-up that already includes Arch Enemy, Kreator, Blind Guardian, Hatebreed, Testament, Obituary, King 810, Brujeria, Whitechapel, Skindred, Possessed, Annihilator, Municipal Waste, Hell, Decapitated, Soilwork, Chelsea Grin, Macabre, Inquisition, King Parrot, Scarab, Wintersun, Oni, Dendera, Kroh, Abhorrent Decimation, Courtesans, Wretched Soul, Bossk and Winterfylleth.

“We are absolutely chuffed to finally be playing at classic Bloodstock,” intoned A Nameless Ghoul. “Over the years we have heard so many great things about it and now, to be able to headline one of the nights, is a great honour and we are very much looking forward to it. Thank you all, and see you there!”

Bloodstock will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on August 10-13 2017. Tickets are on sale now.

In February, the band revealed that the follow-up to 2015’s Meliora would be “a little bit more apocalyptic, a little bit more back to the medieval times, which, obviously, is associated with darkness.”

Ghost will introduce 'horrible deity' on upcoming 4th album