Dimmu Borgir, Triptyknon and more at Catton Hall (2014)

Catton Hall (Walte on Trent, England)

Dimmu Borgir, Triptyknon, Decapitated, Primordial, Obituary, Children Of Bodom, Carcass, Prong, Hellyeah, Amon Amarth, Hatebreed, Down, Emperor, Megadeth

There are few festivals in the UK that completely cater to both mainstream Metal […]

By Danny Sanderson, Michael Coyle, Tomasz Wrobel, Charlotte Whittingham

• August 6, 2014

There are few festivals in the UK that completely cater to both mainstream Metal acts, as well as up and coming underground acts. The festival has built its reputation on showcasing some fantastic exclusive shows and bringing little known acts to public attention. This year follows suite from its predecessors, and proves to be one of the best Bloodstock's since the start of the festival.

Thursday

By late afternoon, the festival site is already heaving with all kinds of Metal heads, Thrashers, Rockers, as well as many other types of people who are inclined towards the darker side of music. Booze is already flowing in abundance, and everyone is checking out the arena area. Although the arena is, as usual, full of brilliant stalls selling every imaginable kind of Metal memorabilia and merch, the absence of the Earache tent is palpable, and it doesn't feel the same without it being there. Headlining the Sophie Lancaster Stage tonight is East Sussex' very own Medieval Metal mavericks, JALDABOATH. They play a really good and entertaining set, incorporating classic tunes such as "Bash the Bishop" and "Axe-Wielding Nuns", from their debut album, sitting alongside tracks from their recently released "The Further Adventures…". Watching a bunch of burly blokes gracing the stage in cleric garb and plates of armour is definitely something worth seeing. After the bands, Bloodstocks DJ tent kicks into gear, treating revellers to classic songs by the likes of MANOWAR, SLAYER and JUDAS PRIEST. As the night wears onward and the booze begins to take hold, people begin to walk (or at least drunkenly stumble) back to their tents in preparation of the first official days of the festival the next day.

Friday

The festival's first day begins with Bristol's BLOODSHOT DAWN opening the first day. Their Bloodstock history is a tale of a band who went from playing the New Blood Stage in their early days, through the Sophie Lancaster Stage in 2011, culminating with them finally playing the Ronnie James Dio Stage. They fly through a blistering and exhilarating set which sees plenty of surprises, including a new song, entitled "Smoke and Mirrors", from the new album, and a guest appearance from former drummer Doug Anderson to sing "The Quantum Apocalypse". Their set ends far too soon, but the bar has already been set high for the rest of the festival.

On the Sophie Stage, DE PROFUNDIS play a strong set, although they suffer from sound problems which makes their set sounds hollow, as if something is missing. Their virtuosity musically is impressive, and they have an incredible command of the stage and the audience, and so are able to transcend the sound problems they faced.

Next up on Dio Stage is Irelands PRIMORDIAL, who play a fantastic set, comprising mostly of songs off of "The Gathering Darkness", "To the Nameless Dead" and their latest album, "Redemption at the Puritan's Hand". The theatrics and soaring vocals of the legendary AA Nethemanga turn this set from a great set into a truly brilliant one. Luckily Nethemanga doesn't lose voice like he did in 2011, and delivers a rousing response with their stone cold classic, "The Coffin Ships", which is enough to send chills down the spine of all but those who aren't their to hear it.

Through the Friday I was able to catch one of the very best in Swedish Death metal, although the name has changed it doesn't change the fact that ENTOMBED A.D. are still bringing it hard and fast, the band fronted by original vocalist Lars Petrov show Bloodstock what it means to bring death unto an audience by playing classics such as the mighty Left Hand Path and as well new tracks from the recent release Back To The Front, even still I believe that this band has a goal to complete and have already proven that to every single person to whom viewed them, in my opinion it is fantastic to see Lars back on stage bringing it.

As the day goes on, it is time for Tom G Warrior's TRIPTYKON to take the stage, for a powerful, eerie and dark performance that pretty much solidifies their status as the heaviest band on the whole bill. Their songs, both new and old, blend together and slide seamlessly from one to the other. Tom has brought back for there second time a stunning display of blackened doom enveloped in a stunning performance made by the efforts of every member showing that when they hit the UK they hit it harder every time they land. They get better and more imposing with each performance they do, and this is one of their best yet.

As the Swiss legends exit the stage, many people begin to rush for the Sophie Lancaster Stage for an aural spectacle from Manchester's own Black Metal titans, WINTERFYLLETH. As soon as their set starts, a great rain cloud descends on Catton Hall, drenching the fields and setting the scene for the grimness that is to come. WINTERFYLETH, as per usual, are absolutely immense, and tear the Sophie Stage apart; (Quite literally. Early into their set, the tents fabric begins to tear at the seams under the weight of the pool of rain water, to let a small torrent of water drench a few of the crowd standing below the whole).

DIMMU BORGIR keep the Black Metal coming, although they suffer from plenty of problems which affect their set. They come on twenty-five minutes late due to issues with the drum sound, and have to keep stopping in order to sort the problem out. Moreover, of the eight songs they play, half of them are off of "Death Cult Armageddon", one of the bands weaker albums. Although they are more often than not great live, today is not their day, although the fault is not their own.

ROTTING CHRIST make up for the blunders in DIMMU's set by whipping the Sophie Tent up into a frenzy with their Extreme Metal tunes. The Grim Greeks blast through their classics, and throw in a cover of THOU ART LORD's "Societas Satanas" for good measure. They play with energy, and have the perfect atmosphere surrounding them onstage. They lave the stage to roars from the packed tent.

Saturday

It's Saturday morning, so that can mean only one thing; EVIL SCARECROW! They take to the stage and treat the audience to one of the best and most entertaining shows of the whole weekend. No one can get a great crowd response quite like these guys, and they manage to get everyone, from the front right to the back, involved in the show. They premier a new track, "Space Dementia", which is accompanied with onstage robots and aliens. Apart from the headliners EMPEROR, and maybe CARCASS, they get the biggest crowd of the day and the best response.

Later, on the Sophie Stage, OLD CORPSE ROAD play a great set of cold and progressive sounding Black Metal. However, they could do far more to create a stage presence than just standing on the spot and head-banging. This is one of the downfalls of Black Metal shows; it is incredibly hard to create the right atmosphere and onstage presence to do the epic and intense music on offer justice.

Back on the Main Stage, I found myself before the tech death metal titans that are DECAPITATED, as before whenever I have seen this incredible band perform they never disappoint, bring the same measure of speed and skill that makes them one of the best of their area, what made this show important for me was the fact that this would have been Decapitated first ever appearance at the Bloodstock festival, which you would think meant rare tracks and other treats, that and more is what I found through this power house of a set as well as a massive response to their most well known songs Spheres of madness, all in all seeing them take the stage as their own makes me even more anxious for their return to the UK. Sludge lords CROWBAR put on a great show, their thick, chunky riffs inducing the crowd to slowly sway along in time to their music. It's a triumphant return Kirk Windstein and co.

LACUNA COIL get a semi-enthusiastic response, but they don't play the best set. They seem to just be going through the motions and getting through what needs to be done rather than throwing themselves into their performance. Nonetheless, their setlist is made up of plenty of crowd pleasers, which stops them from straying into mediocrity.

"You're a better looking audience than Sonisphere…and you've probably got a better taste in music as well!" states CARCASS' vocalist/bassist Jeff Walker as the final notes of "Incarnated Solvent Abuse" die down. And by all means, they play a better set than they did at Knebworth, and get a better response from the crowd; for example, Metal Temple's own Mike Coyle isn't the only one down the front head-banging this time around. the mighty Carcass a band that never needs an introduction, as always the band brought the energy that they are so well known for as well as bringing the gore and decay that comes with the price of a Carcass show of course, playing tracks both old and new the band brought what I can only describe as the perfect atmosphere for the day. The crowd give CARCASS everything they've got; mosh-pits, crowd surfers and furious head-banging. There set is a great balance of songs from "Surgical Steel" and their classic back catalogue, which is bound to please both old and new fans alike. Walker's onstage banter goes down incredibly well too. It's clear that now, even twenty-nine years into their career, they are still on top of their game, and are a juggernaut to be contended with in the Death Metal scene.

Finally, after a full day of waiting, it is time for the Black Metal legends EMPEROR to take to the stage. They storm onto the stage after a short delay, and begin to decimate everyone assembled. This is truly a celebration of their old school material for old school fans, playing "In the Nightside Eclipse" in its entirety, as well as two tracks from their first demos, "Wrath of the Tyrant" and "The Ancient Queen". The song which closes the set, a cover of BATHORY's "A Fine Day to Die", goes down extremely well with everyone and is a great way to close their set and the second full day of the festival.

Sunday

After a couple of days of nearly unbroken sunshine, the rain has finally arrived with a vengeance. Many people have retreated to their tents for shelter, and as a result, not a lot of people are down to watch ABORTED. They play ferociously, like they'll never set foot on a stage again.

After sheltering from the rain for a while, it's time to make the way to the Sophie Tent to watch STAHLSARG. This band play Black Metal as it should be; fast, grim, cold and fucking unrelenting. Singer Metzger holds a powerful hold over the audience and leads this hellish sermon through to its conclusion. It's a shame that they didn't have a larger audience or a longer set, as they are very good.

Next comes the almighty OBITUARY. They ascend onto the main stage in all their Old school Death, hairy glory and proceed to tear Bloodstock apart in style. They launch into their many classic tracks, including tracks off of their seminal "Slowly We Rot" album, and even treat their fans to two new songs, "Visions in my Head" and "Violence", which will be found on their upcoming ninth studio album. They play spectacularly, and stand as one of the highlights of Bloodstock 2014.

The festival's penultimate act, AMON AMARTH, are without a shadow of a doubt the best band of the weekend, or at the very least the Sunday. The coming storm clouds illustrate that Thor is watching over the proceedings. This is no mean feat, considering some of the great sets that have preceded it. Their set includes new and old fan favourites from their extensive back catalogue; "Father of the Wolf", "Deceiver of the Gods", "War of the Gods" and "Pursuit of the Vikings" being some of the stand out songs from their set. The crowd excel in their response as well. Only at an AMON AMARTH gig can you see dozens of Metal-heads rowing a makeshift long ship in the middle of a mosh pit. Their stage set up is pretty ace too, with two dragon heads spewing smoke into the crowd, and enough pyrotechnics to start a small forest fire. They finish their set to cheers so thunderous they could have been induced by the great hammer Mjolnir itself.

Sadly, the end is in sight, and it's time for headliners MEGADETH to take to the stage. They play quite well, but they are definitely not on top of their game tonight, despite having a set filled with crowd pleasers from across all their albums. "A Toute Le Monde" in particular turns into a sing along. Nonetheless, they are a good way to close this overall brilliant festival.

Of all the years that BLOODSTOCK has been going, this is by far one of the better ones. The line up mixed various types of bands to cater to all tastes, and the atmosphere was, as always, very good. This year in particular seemed to be a celebration of the history of the festival, with exhibits of Paul Gregory's artwork, as well as BLOODSHIT DAWN's rise from playing the New Blood Stage to opening the Dio Stage, this is very much a look back at some of the bands and figures that have made this festival what it is. We'll definitely be making our pilgrimage back to Catton Hall next August.

Words: Danny Sanderson and Michael Coyle

Photographs: Tomasz Wrobel
https://www.facebook.com/Tzwphotography

Top 5 Bands of the weekend

Charlotte

1. EVIL SCARECROW
2. ROTTING CHRIST
3. ORPHANED LAND
4. METAPRISM
5. KING GOAT

Danny

1. AMON AMARTH
2. PRIMORDIAL
3. EVIL SCARECROW
4. OBITUARY
5. STAHLSARG

Tomasz

1. ABHORRENT DECIMATION
2. OBITUARY
3. HELLYEAH
4. AMON AMARTH
5. ROTTING CHRIST

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