Ghost, Fallujah and more at Catton Park (2017)

Catton Park (Derbyshire, UK)

Ghost, Fallujah, Winterfylleth, King 810, Raised By Owls, Abhorrent Decimation, Municipal Waste, Hatebreed, Ohhms

We have now hit the halfway point of the festival, with many people […]

By Emily Coulter & Barney Wain

• August 12, 2017

We have now hit the halfway point of the festival, with many people still hung-over in their tents from the AMON AMARTH's Viking set of the night before. Tonight the unholy group of GHOST take over the main stage and are expected to put on a show the likes of which Bloodstock has never seen before. Below are some of Saturday's highlights.

FALLUJAH – Ronnie James Dio Stage
If there were ever a Saturday morning wake-up call, FALLUJAH are it. Delivering a masterclass in technical proficiency, the crowd are torn between looking on in awe at the precision of guitarists Scott Carstairs and Brian James and banging their heads to their crushing sounds and the band's new vocalist. A finale of "The Void Alone" fills the arena, letting any late-risers know that they've already missed out on a blinding Saturday performance. With a short but technically excellent set, FALLUJAH definitely set the bar high for the rest of the day's bands.

Barney Wain

WINTERFYLLETH – Ronnie James Dio Stage

Sunshine is always a curse for Black Metal bands at Bloodstock, but WINTERFYLLETH aren't going to let the sun ruin their set as they pull out all the stops. The Black Metallers of the festival were certainly awakened, even if they did play only a small part of their discography.

Emily Coulter

KING 810 – Ronnie James Dio Stage

Despite their guitarist not being able to enter the UK due to a weapons charge, KING 810 bolted on stage to a crowd of hardcore fans and people who wished to see what the hype was about. Vocalist David Gunn ran around the stage, crouching to speak to the crowd and showing why he is perfect front-man material for the band as the fans shouting the lyrics back. KING 810 have certainly split in the audience in terms of who thought the set was good or bad, but it was obvious that there was something missing from the set that could've made it better than it was.

Emily Coulter

RAISED BY OWLS – New Blood Stage

If there's one thing every festival needs, it's Ainsley Harriot-inspired Grindcore, and delivering your healthy dose for this weekend is none other than RAISED BY OWLS. Hailing from the mean streets of the United States of Derbyshire, RAISED BY OWLS stride onto the stage to the tune of none other than the Murder She Wrote theme, and are welcomed by a packed out New Blood tent. With circle pits holding strong throughout the entire set, whether it be to the Chuckle Vision theme song or "Scary Spice has a Gangrenous Arm" it is clear why RAISED BY OWLS' blend of Death Metal and Party Grind is one of the weekend's main attractions. Displaying a perfect mix of humour and adrenaline throughout, the band close their set with a Death Metal inspired hymn about their lord and saviour Ainsley Harriot, and cement themselves as the most talked about New Blood band of the weekend.

Barney Wain

Abhorrent Decimation – Sophie Lancaster Stage

After graduating from the New Blood Stage to the Sophie stage, Death Metallers ABHORRENT DECIMATION were ready to put on a show. As the opening riffs radiate throughout the tent, the audience seems to grow within an instant, and rightfully so. Playing exclusively material from their latest release "The Pardoner", ABHORRENT DECIMATION's early afternoon set rejuvenates anyone still feeling fragile from the night before, with a barrage of bludgeoning yet groove-filled Death Metal that you can't help but bang your head to. With a pummelling performance of "The Scythe In the Dark" and title track "The Pardoner", ABHORRENT DECIMATION finish their set and establish a new high standard for up and coming Death Metal acts.

Barney Wain

MUNICIPAL WASTE - Ronnie James Dio Stage

With a sea of 'Wasted' snapbacks and Donald Trump Suicide T-Shirts, it was already clear throughout the day that the turn out for MUNICIPAL WASTE would be huge. Opening with "Mind Eraser", the band kicks things off in top gear right from the start, blasting through a beer-fuelled "thrashtacular" fourteen-song set. Breaking the Bloodstock crowd surfing record with an impressive 711 crowd surfers during their 45 minute set and regaining their title back from GOJIRA, both the crowd and the band prove they were indeed "Born to Party". After the circle pits cease, with every crowd member's two feet back on the ground, it's obvious that MUNICIPAL WASTE have achieved what they always set out to do –and that's F*CK YOU UP.

Barney Wain

HATEBREED – Ronnie James Dio Stage

On a day absolutely packed with Thrash Metal, what better way to relax than with the non-stop crushing Hardcore of HATEBREED. Opening with "A.D" and "Looking Down the Barrel of Today" - two tracks off their latest album "A Contrete Confessional" - HATEBREED establish exactly what the next hour is going to entail - an all-out assault. And if HATEBREED's songs aren't enough to motivate this audience to give it their all, vocalist Jamey Jasta's command of the crowd certainly is. With Jasta reaching out to every corner of the audience, leaving no audience member standing still, the ground shakes to the sound of HATEBREED's final song of the evening "Destroy Everything".

Barney Wain

OHHMS – Sophie Lancaster Stage

"To anyone that bought be a beer, thank you! I forgot my wallet…" proclaims OHHMS vocalist Paul Waller, in true Sludge Metal fashion. They say the best things in life are free, and Waller's free beers seem to be fuelling the best Sludge/Doom performance of the weekend, as OHHMS let rip a steadily paced, but by no means soft, assignment of Metal.

However, what is really not to be missed here is buried within the drunken yet impressive sludgy sounds emitted from the SOPHIE tent this Saturday, and those are the sobering, thought provoking lyrics coming from the mouth of Paul Waller. Touching on real subject matter not typical of Sludge and Doom Metal, OHHMS prove that music can be simultaneously catchy, heavy and intellectually intriguing. No matter what you're looking for from music, OHHMS delivered it this Saturday in the Sophie tent.

Barney Wain

GHOST – Ronnie James Dio Stage

Despite the long, cold wait tonight's headliners GHOST finally appear on stage. The headline slot is always a challenging one but GHOST have delivered a truly unholy stage show of spectacles. Opening with ''Square Hammer'' to get the excited crowd singing along, vocalist Papa Emeritus knows how to get the congregation rocking. Tonight's setlist was one to please the oldest of fans and those who have never heard the band before. As the collective played songs like "Cirice", "Year Zero" and "Ritual", it was hard to leave the show un-impressed.

The Nameless Ghouls were more energetic than ever, sliding and jumping all over the stage. GHOST knew they had to pull out all the stops for this special set, bringing out Sisters of Sin to please the audience members and bringing out members of Belper Junior Musical Theatre for a very special rendition of "Monstrance Clock" to close the main stage.

Emily Coulter