Bloodstock Festival 2024 – Sunday. The sun is at its height as Greek’s Septicflesh take the stage. Thirty-five years into their journey, few bands excite me as much after so much time.
Bloodstock Festival 2024
Catton Park, Derbyshire – Sunday 11 August 2024
Septicflesh
Their Symphonic Death Metal is compelling, albeit rather displaced in such bright sunlight. That seems to be the impact on Spiros ‘Seth’ Antoniou, the bassist and vocalist of the band, who at times seems to struggle with the sun right in his eyes.
This is a minor observation, though, for the Athenians do their best to blow the speakers with nine succulent songs that showcase their power. At times, Seth is a little irritating, continuously interrupting the flow of songs to shout, “Let’s go Bloodstock.”
Again, it’s a minor complaint, for it is rare that any frontman gets the crowd to sing the melody of a song, as Seth does for Anubis. The backing elements of the songs are too often lost in the mix, which on occasion means that SepticFlesh appearto be standing in silence.
Minor criticisms apart, this is a powerful demonstration of the band who are still threatening to get better with each album. If you were playing the SepticFlesh drinking game in such heat, I hope your headache has cleared, for you would have drunk several pints as Seth roared “destroy” and greeted “my friends”.
Let’s have them destroy the Sophie Tent in 2025, please, Bloodstock.
Night Flight Orchestra
Due to a SD card malfunction, I’ve lost my photos of the Night Flight Orchestra. This is disappointing as their cheesy AOR drew a huge crowd of fans ready for the palette cleanser after the serious work of Septicflesh.
Perhaps a guilty pleasure for some and a blatant middle finger to you by others, the band led by Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid have certainly come to party and do so for the next hour.
I admit I head to Lemmy’s Bar and watch from afar as the giant conga slowly forms and then wends its way around the arena. It’s a joyous affair, with backing singers Anna Brygård and Åsa Lundman resplendent in their flight stewardess outfits and a glass of fizz adds a bit of glamour.
Possibly the best-dressed band of the weekend, it’s Strid that takes most of the attention with his dashing white cape and beret. Musically, they aren’t my thing, but when you are watching a field of 10,000 party people, you wonder if it’s you who has missed the trick.
Songs including Midnight Flyer, Burn For Me and the climactic West Ruth Ave certainly have the hooks to get under the skin. A joyous experience for all who wanted it.
Bloodstock 2024 will be held over the long weekend of 8-11 August 2024. MetalTalk’s Paul Hutchings, Adrian Stonley, Paul Monkhouse and Keith Conlin will be reporting from Catton Park.
Take Part: Are you at Bloodstock this year? Who are you looking forward to seeing? Want to get in touch and tell us how it’s going? Email MetalTalk Editor Steve Ritchie to tell us how it’s going for you. Bloodstock@MetalTalk.net
#boa24. For more information, visit bloodstock.uk.com. You can view a map of Bloodstock at bloodstock.uk.com/bloodstock_map.jpg
MetalTalk Bloodstock 2024 coverage is at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/bloodstock-2024.
You can read all the MetalTalk Bloodstock 2023 coverage at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/bloodstock-2023.
You can read all the MetalTalk Bloodstock 2022 coverage at metaltalk.net/tag/bloodstock-2022.
Weekend early bird tickets (Thu-Sun) for Bloodstock 2025 are available to purchase at the box office on-site for £175. Child weekend early bird’s are £45 (ages 4 -11). Mini moshers under age four can come for free.
Wednesday early access is also available for those who want to max out their Bloodstock experience – an early bird adult Wed-Sun ticket costs £200. There is no additional cost for children under 4, or aged 4-11, to arrive with a parent on Wednesday.
Bloodstock 2025 tickets can be purchased online from the official Bloodstock website.
