Thursday
Party time! Thursday is the day for setting up your tent, getting a few drinks and heading over to the Sophie Tent you'll get a good slab of various metal genres as you'll get classic metal from Tailgunner, some spooky modern anthems from South Of Salem and worship the goat with Hellripper which will cause a lot of madness in the pit. To close out the first day of Bloodstock are the Swedish prog metal titans Evergrey, they'll be showcasing their new album and will be inevitably playing some of the huge hits from their catalogue.
Friday
With bleary eyes and maybe a few sore heads it's time to delve into Friday's entertainment and for us it's probably the busiest day of the festival.
EMP Stage
On BOA's smallest stage there's a showcase of some great talent, on Friday Welsh monsters King Kraken who will sink the stage into the briny deep.
Sophie Lancaster Stage
Beginning with Welsh rockers Haxan it'll be a loud opening to the day as the heaviness increases with hardcore from Burner and OSDM from DeathCollector.
Then later in the day Swedish classic metal act Wolf return to BOA while Darkest Era will weave magic over the tent.
Coming near the climax of the day though are a band over been waiting years to see, Eternal Champion, the epic/traditional metal band have been on my bucket list for years now so to finally be able to see them and raise my broadsword to the air (not a euphemism) will be a real treat.
At the end of the day there couldn't be two more different bands as Icelandic hard rock trio The Vintage Caravan will kick out the jams before Igorrr brings the bonkers mix of dubstep, classical and extreme metal.
Ronnie James Dio Stage
On the main stage it's busier still with the always incredible Desert Storm getting the grooves in early. As Nervosa will have a thrash attack.
A trio of choice cuts come from the occult pagan brilliance of Green Lung, the macho heavy metal of Grand Magus and Greek black metal legends Rotting Christ
I'd also add Enslaved to the must watch list, but if you're looking for a good time then Clutch have you covered, letting you get all of your movement out of your body before you become enraptured with a fan request set from the mighty Opeth who will close out Friday with what will be majestic!
Saturday
EMP Stage
On Saturday the EMP Stage will get a glut of heavy as there's more Welsh representation from Lurcher and Flamebearer will ignite things with chest beating riffage.
Sophie Lancaster Stage
There's lots to watch on Saturday which is a bit more eclectic so I'm sure you'll find something better it industrial metal such as Ludovico Technique, pirate metal from Red Rum or Folk metal drinking from Korpiklaani. For me though the Sophie Stage picks are rip snorting rockers Asomvel and technical thrashers Sylosis
Ronnie James Dio Stage
The main stage dials up the with heavy with, Crypta, Deicide, Whitechapel, Malevolence and headliners Architects but again for me it's bands like Ignea, thrash legends Forbidden and the prog/power excellence of Unleash The Archers who excite the most.
Sunday
EMP Stage
Sundays EMP Stage features both Goblinsmoker's conceptual stoner doom and riffs for the riff god from Warpstormer
Sophie Lancaster Stage
Opening the Sophie stage on Sunday are Welsh gothic alt rock stars Black Lakes as Bristol based doomsters Moon Reaper will bring a mood. Grove Street, Sadus and Xentrix will add the thrashing but it's all about the UK Exclusive from Satyricon who will finish off the weekend in triumphal style.
Ronnie James Dio Stage
With the main stage dare to be stupid with Raised By Owls who will provide some much needed laughs after three days of partying. Unfortunately Soen will probably make you cry uncontrollably which is a good thing before Septicflesh will batter you with an industrial assault.
Thankfully The Night Flight Orchestra are there to make it all better again with some top notch AOR, as the weekend draws to a close with British death metal royalty Carcass and the Viking metal heroes Amon Amarth
So that's three of the stages covered, my personal picks of what to see and where to see them but there is another stage at Bloodstock.
A really important stage called the Hopical Storm New Blood Stage. This is where bands who have won their regions Metal To The Masses campaign get to play Bloodstock Festival, alongside some hand chosen acts.
It's over here that you'll be seeing some of the bands that are the future of the festival and may grow into potential headliners, so I want to draw your attention to:
Root Zero - M2TM South Wales
Kensei - M2TM Birmingham
Froglord - M2TM Bristol
Judgement - M2TM North Wales
But there are lots more from all over the UK so get out and support these bands as much as you can as many will be playing stages this size for the first time. Also try to make some time to see Final Coil, Praetorian, Running With Knives, Straight For The Sun and She Burns Red who have been invited to play Bloodstock this year.
So there you have it! Musipedia Of Metal's picks for Bloodstock 2024!
See you all at Catton Hall!
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