Having survived a semi-serious day (see Thursday review), we are down to the proper Metal today at Bloodstock FEstival 2026. The sun is still shining, the bins and toilets are already overflowing, though not necessarily in that order, and we have three stages of bone-crunching Metal to tantalise and titillate today.
Bloodstock Open Air Festival
Catton Park, Derbyshire – Thursday 6 August 2026
Words: Adrian Stonley, Matty Hunter
Photography: Adrian Stonley, Keith Conlin
Void Below
Kicking off Friday’s action on the New Blood Stage, Cumbria’s Void Below quickly made an impression on their Bloodstock debut. The quartet from Whitehaven delivered their killer sound, which is a blend of Lovecraftian Death and Doom Metal, to a crowd that was already a healthy number despite the early start.
Frontman James Maxwell had a commanding presence, and he refused to let the audience stand still, as he incited a circle pit which injected more energy into their lively, crushing performance.
Void Below even debuted a fresh track live for the first time, which slotted seamlessly alongside material from the rest of their catalogue, suggesting that this outfit are continuing to evolve and grow their reputation from the underground. Closing their set with the banger Pillars Of Pestilence, Void Below ensured their first appearance here at Bloodstock ended on a high.
Battlesnake
A few minutes later on the main Ronnie James Dio stage, proceedings were opened by Aussie metalheads Battlesnake with an interesting take on alternative Metal.
With religious vestment outfits, they certainly were a distracting presence, yet they pulled a good crowd for 10:40 in the morning. The early risers clearly appreciated their efforts. With songs like I Am The Vomit and I Killed Satan, they may have disappointed a few people in the audience with that latter statement.
They certainly were happy to ham it up for the audience and received the appropriate responses. They clearly were here to have a good time, and it was clear that they were going to make a moment of every second they were on stage.
Shepherd Hunter provided a spadeful of old skool Thrash, before lead singer Sam Frank launched himself into the Metal masses for the first crowd surf of the day.
Admittedly, at this time of the morning it was a rather disturbing sight seeing Sam and keytar player Billy O’Key running around stage in their underpants. That was perhaps a step too far. We now need a few beers to make that acceptable, no matter how early it is.
Hammer
Stepping over to the Sophie Lancaster Stage, we encounter Scottish Extreme Groove Metal outfit Hammer as they continue their rise at Bloodstock with an impressive performance.
Having earned their place through winning the Scottish Metal 2 The Masses, the five-piece delivered a crushing set that immediately drew the attention of the growing crowd. Having followed the band since first discovering them two years ago, finally seeing them live was well worth the wait.
Their live sound was a relentless barrage of groove-laden riffs, thunderous drumming and ferocious vocals. James Andrews commanded the stage with confidence, while the twin guitar attack of Dave Farrell and Adam Poustie ensured there was no shortage of crushing, memorable riffs.
The band’s blackened energy was infectious, and the audience responded with constant headbanging and an enthusiasm that grew with every song.
Hammer’s chemistry shone throughout the set, making it easy to see their appeal from the underground. Their Bloodstock appearance felt like another major step forward, and judging by the crowd’s reaction, they left with plenty of new fans eager to see what comes next.
Party Cannon
Returning to Bloodstock for the first time since 2022, the Scottish party slam pioneers Party Cannon proved beyond doubt that they are far more than a novelty act.
Promoted to the Ronnie James Dio Main Stage, the chaotic group justified every bit of that billing, drawing thousands into the blazing late morning sun for one of the most entertaining and chaotic sets of the entire weekend. Having now seen the band three times, this was easily their biggest and most ambitious performance I had experienced yet.
This was no ordinary festival appearance either. Just over two weeks before the festival, Party Cannon announced plans to break four Guinness World Records during their set, including the loudest gang chant, the largest banana costume circle pit, the most inflatable crowd surfers and the biggest push-up pit.
As start time approached, the field steadily filled with fans dressed as bananas and a multitude of other costumes, while a Guinness World Records’ adjudicator’ took to the stage to oversee the proceedings.
Opening with Weird, But Not Illegal, the band immediately unleashed absolute carnage. Hundreds of inflatables bounced across the crowd as surfers flew over the barrier almost nonstop. A particular comedic moment came when vocalist Daryl ‘Frogman’ Boyce theatrically struck the adjudicator with a chair in full ECW fashion after another failed record attempt, before being dragged away by mascot Vominic Stonebones.
The chaos never relented. Fans dressed as bananas, a pizza, Michael Myers, Elmo and countless other characters poured over the barrier, while the inflatable crowd-surfing challenge saw yet more bodies floating towards the front.
The iconic track, Duct Taped To A Flag Pole, proved to be one of the standout moments with an atmosphere at the front that had everyone looking in every direction for flailing bodies coming towards them.
Standing front and centre on the barrier was not for the faint-hearted, with barely an inch of space to move and bodies everywhere. But it perfectly summed up the wonderfully anarchic experience that Party Cannon create.
The theatrics reached another memorable high when Frogman dramatically ripped open the adjudicator’s shirt to reveal an explosion of confetti, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the band’s Partied In Half EP. Whether the records counted or not almost became irrelevant, as the crowd had fully embraced the spectacle from start to finish.
Despite all the humour, inflatables and absurdity, Party Cannon never lost sight of what matters most, delivering crushing Slam Death Metal with infectious grooves and flawless crowd engagement. Their performance was relentless, hilarious and brilliantly executed, making this not only the strongest of the three times I have seen them, but one of the standout sets of Bloodstock 2026 for me.
Meeting the band again later in the day only reinforced why they have earned such a loyal fan base. Beneath the chaos is a genuinely humble group of musicians who continue to push the boundaries of what a death metal show can be, and it was appreciated that they all remembered us from our last meeting.
SKYND
The atmosphere certainly changed following Party Cannon as Australian Art Rocker SKYND took to the stage. These are definitely a listening band as opposed to a party rock band. With their form of Industrial Metal crunching out into the early afternoon, this three-piece certainly turned the atmosphere on its head.
They are a disturbing proposition. Although not the first time at Bloodstock, they headlined the Sophie Stage back in 2023; this was their first main stage appearance, and Skynd made the most of it. Although having a very stripped-down set, SKYND still pack a powerful punch.
With songs based on true crime and murder, it is a dark and oppressive set, which is also quite thought-provoking. There is no glorifying the subject matter. It is hard-hitting, and there is a dynamism about the approach to the songs which brings them to life (forgive the pun).
With multi-instrumentalist Father backing her, he creates all manner of interesting musical pieces to accentuate the songs. SKYND are certainly unafraid to raise difficult subjects or individuals around the music, with many of the pieces named after either criminals, murderers or victims.
Who said the dark side cannot be fun?
Life Of Agony
Early afternoon sees the arrival of New York Alt Metal Titans and ’90s legends Life Of Agony. If ever there was a band that puts on an energetic set, it is Keith Caputo and his band. Almost providing a support set to fellow New Yorkers Biohazard, this is the perfect afternoon for those that love their Metal hard, heavy, intense and with an edge.
With a set pulled from across their thirty-five-plus-year career, they produced a set providing for mosh pit perfection. Life Of Agony are a band who remain close to intact since their inception, with the exception of drummer Veronica Bellino, who joined in 2018.
But the nucleus of the band, Keith on vocals, Alan Robert on bass and Joey Z they provide a tight working environment and the years of experience shine through as they draw every drop of sweat out of the audience.
As the weather starts to warm up again, so does the atmosphere in front of the Ronnie James Dio stage, which by the end of the show is close to a dustbowl.
Saving classics like Underground and Other Side Of The River towards the end of the set, Life Of Agony produce an intense show experience.
Bloodstock 2026 will be held over the long weekend of 6-9 August 2026. MetalTalk’s Matty Hunter, Adrian Stonley and Keith Conlin will report from Catton Park.
Take Part: Were you at Bloodstock this year? Who did you enjoy seeing the most? Email MetalTalk Editor Steve Ritchie to share your experience at Bloodstock@MetalTalk.net.
#boa26. For more information, visit bloodstock.uk.com. You can view a map of Bloodstock HERE.
You can find all MetalTalk Bloodstock 2026 coverage at https://www.metaltalk.net/bloodstock.
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Bloodstock 2027 will be held over August 5th – 8th. Early bird standard weekend tickets will be available at the main entrance box office throughout the festival, priced £210.00 with no booking fee. Tickets can be purchased online from Monday 10th August at 9 am at the official Bloodstock website.
