Bloodstock Festival 2023 – Wolfbastard – Wytch Hazel. You could be forgiven for thinking that Wolfbastard are a comedy band. Such is the deprecated humour they display towards the crowd and each other.
Wolfbastard
It’s head-on filth that gets the circle pits racing as the trio throw their dirty D-Beat blackened thrash into the mix.
Songs about drinking Buckfast in a graveyard, that’s Buckfast Blasphemies, Sick In The Bath and Drink Fucking Beer, Hail Fucking Satan rip through the tent.
It’s heady fun, and despite the ferocity of their delivery, this is just the band you want. Finishing with Graveyard Slag, there are smiles all round.
If Wolfbastard was available on prescription, I’d be an addict.
Wytch Hazel
It would be a travesty to dismiss Wytch Hazel on the basis of their Pentecostal Christianity. The four-piece certainly blows any preconceptions away as they rock the main stage with a sweet set drawn from across their discography.
Dressed all in white, crucifixes proudly around their necks, it’s the music that does the talking. The band’s defiant ’70s vibe sweeps across the arena in majestic style.
It’s melodic with a hard edge, perfectly played. The penultimate song is Wytch Hazel, their anthem, which receives a huge and deserved round of applause.
Playing Sunday would have been the only thing that could have made this better.
Bloodstock Festival 2023 is held over the weekend of 10-13 August 2023. MetalTalk’s Paul Hutchings and Adrian Stonley report from Catton Park.
All Photography: John Inglis and Paul Hutchings
All MetalTalk Bloodstock Festival 2023 coverage can be found at MetalTalk.net/tag/bloodstock-2023.
Weekend early bird tickets for Bloodstock 2024 will be available to purchase at the box office on-site for £165. This is the cheapest way to buy a 2024 ticket, minus any online booking or admin fees.
Bloodstock 2022 can be relived at