Saturday morning saw no let-up in the heat. However, everyone seems acclimatised to the sub-tropical heat, and as veterans of many rainy Bloodstock festivals, we sure prefer it this way round. Out on the field, a new trend has been set for melting corpse paint and smudged and sliding glitter tattoos.
Early risers were rewarded by a last-minute addition to the bill. Sister Shotgun, who more than earned their place opening the Sophie Stage on Saturday morning, the Midlanders bringing grace and power in equal measure. With a sense of melody and Chloe Ozwell’s soaring vocals at their core, the band provide modern Metal that is destined to bring them a much wider audience. Opening with the helter-skelter rush of No Hope, its gleaming, remorseless riffs and driving rhythm a sugar hit to the senses that woke the crowd up like no double espresso could.
Fin Du Monde and Sacred Heart were instant earworms, the staccato fretwork of Niall Willis and Benji Tatlock a blend of lacerating power and finesse, Ozwell prowling the stage between them as she bewitched the audience, a siren luring her prey to their lair. With the closing grace of Silhouettes, the band gained a legion of new converts, and it’s only a matter of time before Sister Shotgun climb into the big leagues.
There’s plenty of anticipation for the bands later – we managed to catch a few minutes with Adam, Nick and Joe from Bile Caster, the blackened Leicester trio who are here to try to darken the skies with their crushing doom-laden sludge on the Jagermeister stage later.
They are making quite the name for themselves around Leicester, providing an alternative to the thriving hardcore and punk scene. They are also fresh from a prestigious slot at Uprising, appearing on the bill with Diamond Head and Orange Goblin.
Adam and Joe are regulars here as punters and are experiencing the festival at another level now and loving every minute of it. “I usually camp in Midgard,” says Joe. “But now I can have several showers a day – very Rock’n’Roll!” They go off to prepare for their set. Nick says we can expect “two old songs, two new songs. Really heavy, really loud and miserable”. Catch Bile Caster around the Midlands, including Nottingham, Worcester and Birmingham, later this year.
The main RJD stage has seen plenty of action today with Lost Society, Spirit World and Baest opening proceedings.
Spirit World especially impressed, bringing a unique blend of Death Western, rawhide and parched dust plains, injected with a vibrant shot of colour. Metalcore tinged with outlaw country, cuts from their latest album Pagan Rhythms impressed and left many wanting more.
Lorna Shore may sound like the name of a Laurel Canyon singer/songwriter but are a New Jersey deathcore band who brought grim, complex forces to the party with a well-received set with no gimmicks.
Meanwhile, Cage Fight, originally formed as a side project of TesseracT’s James Monteith, brought a brutal assault, no punches pulled attack on the Sophie stage, with the twin growled vocals of Rachel Aspe and Jon Reid with vicious velocity, capturing a collective societal mood.
Time to check out the ice cream van now…
Bloodstock 2022 will be held over the long weekend of 11-14 August 2022. MetalTalk’s Liz Medhurst, John Inglis and Paul Monkhouse will be reporting from Catton Park.
VIP and campervan tickets are sold out. Standard weekend camping tickets (just £145 + fees for 4 days of Heavy Metal glory) plus day and child tickets are also available. Children under 4 can come for free.
#boa22. For more information visit bloodstock.uk.com You can view a map of Bloodstock at bloodstock.uk.com/bloodstock_map.jpg
You can read all the MetalTalk Bloodstock coverage at metaltalk.net/tag/bloodstock-2022
