BLOODSTOCK 04
For me Bloodstock began at St Pancras because it was here that I first encountered other fans in Metal t-shirts. Naturally the train to Derby had a strong Metalhead contingent too.
I had booked my hotel several months ago and even then came perilously close to leaving it too late. Apparently Derby is busy most weekends anyway and the influx of 2,500 extra bodies (plus bands and crew) had added to the strain. Thankfully my hotel was within easy walking distance of railway station and venue (Especially important when staggering back at midnight.)
Having got myself unpacked, bathed and changed I then broke out my trusty Derby street map and tried to remember the way to the Assembly rooms.
I stopped off en route to poke around Derby city centre, being pleasantly surprised, and managed to track down a couple of likely sounding shops discovered via the net.
It was at this point that I began to notice the large numbers of black t-shirts roaming Derby. So did some of the residents. While getting a quick pint I ended up trying to explain to an amiable granny why all these strange folk had suddenly descended upon her city and what Heavy Metal actually was anyway.
(As an aside, perhaps I was lucky but all the locals I spoke to were very pleasant. Even the homeless guys asking for change were friendly)
The square outside the Assembly rooms had effectively been colonised by Metalheads. They were lounging on the grass, moving to and from the various bars and, most noticeably, stretched across the entire square in a great black line. Metalheads like black and there was a lot of it about over the next two days. One patch of colour was provided by the group midway up the queue who had donned plastic Viking helmets and armed themselves with toy swords. It seemed to make sense somehow.
Once inside I took a quick swing round the market area, picking up a Bloodstock program and t-shirt before venturing into the Darwin suite to check out my first band of the day.
A new feature this year was the Femme Fatale theme gathering together four unsigned female-fronted bands. The first of these was Super Massive Object.
They were a little more modern sounding than I usually care for but put on an energetic performance, leading me to pick up the CD later on. Also, the guitarist wore the first of many kilts on display this weekend.
I missed the first band on the main stage completely but arrived mid way through Illuminatus, a young British band. Not familiar with their material at all but they seemed to go down well with the crowd and I was quite impressed. After playing a storming cover of ‘For whom the bell tolls”’ they then started their final song only to discover that they were out of time.
The next act to take the stage was…the roadie for Sinergy who may have been nonplussed at the size of the crowd watching him set up. A chant of “Roadie, Roadie” broke out for a while.
I had an album by Sinergy for a while and couldn’t really get into it so was interested in seeing if they worked better live.
Sort of.
Kimberley Goss and her Finnish sidekicks-including husband and current Children Of Bodom guitarist Alexi Laiho-were certainly enthusiastic enough and knew what they were doing musically but I felt they didn’t really have the songs to match. Still, not bad and the crowd seemed to enjoy them. And there were a couple of entertaining moments, notably Kimberley and Alexi taking turns to wear the Viking helmet that arrived on stage and Alexi introducing one song by stepping up to the mike…and then projecting an enormous gobbet of phlegm across the stage.
I think it was around this point that I decided to investigate Invey in the Darwin suite. Fought my way through the crowd to get in. Listened for a minute or so. Fought my way through the crowd to get back out.
Thankfully the next band turned out to be the highlight-for me-of the day.
Threshold are that rarity , a British prog-metal band and although I’d heard great things of them my acquaintance with their music was only slight. I was expecting a slightly heavier Marillion. Boy was I wrong.
I took a seat up in the balcony, trading a closer view for the chance to rest my aching feet –a problem throughout the weekend - and so I was a little nonplussed when someone in a blouse and skirt marched onstage to take up the mike. Had their singer decided to perform in drag?
Nope. Yet another kilt, a big one.
Any doubts I had were erased by a dynamic performance. Special mention must be made of the drummer, who put on a virtuoso performance of stick twirling. And although the lead singer’s name escapes me for the moment he prowled the stage ceaselessly, delivering his lines with power and precision.
Not surprisingly, Threshold went to the top of my list of bands to check out. At least until Saturday night, but more of that later.
Sticking with a proggy theme Season’s End were the headliners in the Darwin Suite and judging by the press of bodies, eagerly awaited. (This may have had something to do with their blonde, buxom lead singer). I wandered in after their set had already started which was a shame as they sounded pretty good in a Lacuna Coil gone prog kinda way. Promising.
Gamma Ray. Yet another band I knew mainly from the odd compilation track. Still, I’d paid to see them so I was damn well going to get my money’s worth.
Couldn’t say I was massively impressed. OK I suppose but their material didn’t really do it for me, and their performance dipped into the Zone Of Cheese a few times. And I’m sure there was some sort of gay thing going on between the lead singer and the bass player.
Once we’d been ejected onto the streets of Derby I decided to investigate a pub I’d seen flyers for. Now if you post a flyer at a Metal festival you would naturally expect to find a Metal-friendly pub at the end of the journey wouldn’t you?
After asking directions of a couple of friendly bouncers I finally found it (No, I can’t remember what the bloody place was called). I paid my £2 and strolled in. To be confronted by a pub full of guys in shirts and Indie-kids. Oh bugger. I hurriedly doffed my denim waistcoat and deciding to make the most of a bad job, got a pint. The pint was fairly horrible and the DJ was playing the Stone Roses so after a brief circuit I departed. Still, at least I know not to go there next year.
Arriving back at the hotel, increasingly footsore and weary, I had a bath to sooth my various aches and crash out. Judging by the noise out in the carpark an awful lot of people were unwilling to end the night so early (1am ish)
And someone was trying to kick in one of the doors further down the corridor.
Saturday started with a groan. Mine. I am not good in the mornings and especially not today. A nice hot shower made life a little more pleasant, followed by a nice unhealthy breakfast in the shopping centre café. How can you start a day of Metal mayhem on a bowl of muesli and a glass of orange juice. Can’t be done. Grease and strong tea my friend.
Intense were the first band in the main hall. Quite respectable but nothing really sticks in the mind as I write this. Next I checked out SevenYears Dead in the Darwin suite. Now the way it usually seems to work is that the bands in the small room tend to be heavier/thrashier/blacker than those in the main room. At least from what I gather, as this lot were the only Darwin band I managed to catch today.
Like Super Massive Object yesterday, this lot were a lot more Kerrang friendly than I usually bother with but they did put on a good show. Special mention must be made of the lead singer, throwing shapes like a seasoned pro and possessed of a fearsome throat. I was trying to work out who he reminded me of until I decided he bore a vague resemblance to Chris Jericho. For the final song he demanded a mosh pit and two young fans duly obliged, finding a clear spot at the back of the room and challenging all comers. Suddenly guys were charging in from all directions and there was a widening circle forming with a maelstrom of flailing limbs at its heart.
Then all of a sudden it was over and I wandered off in search of a pint and something meaty in a bun.
Metalheads like their pint so it was no surprise to find the pub I chose full of fellow rockers, with a handful of regulars looking bemused. To my delight I discovered the jukebox was one of the new ones connected to the net and promptly put Judas Priest’s “Painkiller” on. Even at £1 a song it was worth it. After all, how often do you get the chance to hear “Temples Of Syrinx” in public? I also got the chance to chat to someone who’s seen Nightwish on their recent tour. Jammy sod.
Suitably refreshed I trotted back to the Assembly Rooms in time for Edenbridge who have been described as Nightwish-wannabes. This is not massively far of the mark as they played a set of melodic power metal with high, clear female vocals.
Can I just mention that one of the more pleasant trends in recent years has been a resurgence in female vocalists that actually sing as opposed to the anguished screeching hitherto favoured; by the Americans especially. Sermon over.
Again, quite respectable, if needing a little more stagecraft. The lead singer seemed a little awkward, especially when talking to the crowd. The stuff off the next album sounds promising mind you.
I had originally planned to find a seat in the balcony for the next band. Unfortunately Evergrey were making their debut in the UK and a lot of people wanted to check them out. Not only was there a dense crowd in front of the stage but the balcony was full to the extent that people were having to lean on the wall behind the seats.
This was the first of tonight’s pleasant surprises. The black-clad Scandinavians opened with one of the few songs I knew (Blinded) and proceeded to kick ass.
The vocals could have been a little clearer in the mix but they rolled over such petty problems with aplomb. Put it this way, I have every intention of picking up some Evergrey next payday.
The crowd thinned out noticeably for Balance Of Power, another homegrown outfit and possibly the band I was most familiar with and also the only band I’d seen before. This may explain why they didn’t really do it for me this time round. Not that the band did anything wrong and lead singer John K gave it everything he had.
The next band also found their way onto my list to investigate. Nobody told Primal Fear they were only third down the bill as they powered through their set with all the assurance of headliners, even taking time out to introduce the band.
As muscle-monster lead singer Ralf Scheepers put it “We have five albums, 60 minutes, we’re in a good mood and we have you.”
This was another set I caught from the balcony, almost doing myself a mischief scrambling over the wall to claim a vacant seat. They promised to come back in 2006 and I plan to get down the front for that one.
Finland has been producing some good Metal lately and the final two bands both hailed from the land of lakes and forests. Sonata Arctica had the misfortune to be afflicted by sound problems, leading to the singer disappearing off stage at regular intervals to remonstrate with the sound man. To their credit they still delivered a good set of turbocharged Power Metal and I enjoyed them immensely.
Apparently afterwards the band were somewhat distraught at the thought they had let down the fans but all the postings on the forum were supportive.
At the close of the set the band took a bow and held up a fan’s customised flag: a Union Jack with ‘Sonata Arctica,` emblazoned across it.
The casual observer, upon strolling through the Assembly Rooms during the day, might ask why there were people walking around clutching plastic scythes.
Then he might walk into the main hall prior to Children Of Bodom taking the stage and all would become clear as he beheld their backdrop, complete with Grim Reaper mascot. And indeed throughout their set scythes a-plenty stood proud over the heads of the crowd, nodding in time to the music. Occasionally one would be hurled over the flailing hair and bodies, hopefully without removing any ears.
Children of Bodom play a fast , thrashy hybrid of Power Metal and Gothenburg-style Death metal marrying growled vocals and high speed melodic guitar and keyboard runs. They also have a lot of energy, especially madcap vocalist/guitarist Alexi ‘Wildchild’ Laiho who is actually a pretty nifty guitarist. This was amply demonstrated during the mid-set shredding duel between Laiho and keyboardist Janne Warmen.
On the subject of Warmen, an unusual feature of the stage set up was to have the keyboard rig up on a riser and tilted forward so the crowd could see ever twinkling fingers.
I could have done without the drum solo and I would hate to be the poor devil who cleaned up after Laiho’s copious projecting of saliva but these are petty quibbles.
I enjoyed myself immensely, despite my aching feet. A crowd that are up for it plus a band that are up for it equals a great night out and is everything that Metal is supposed to be.
After the inevitable encore we filed out, tired and happy, carefully easing past the guy asleep by the doorway, oblivious to the mayhem around him.
I found out the next morning that Children of Bodom and Sonata Arctica had been staying at my hotel and, by all accounts, drinking heavily and stealing potted palms.
I wish I had been there for that. Maybe next year because I have every intention of going back.
And after a year of anticipation my life is now grey and empty.
And yes, I did go back and 2005 and 2006. I'm fairly certain I wrote something up for 2006 so I'll try and find it and maybe put it up at some point.
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