I’m going to quickly go over the Ronnie James Dio stage acts as they’re the hooks, starting with the headliners and really all three of these bands deserve your attention, Trivium at the best they’ve ever been in terms of live performance Machine Head will bust out their best of for all the Millennials and Gojira are the band of moment after their Olympic recognition. Elsewhere though you should be catching some bonafide legends, Emperor (who pretty much only play festivals now) along with Ministry fill this slot brilliantly, it’s not going to be a Rod Stewart at Glasonbury that’s for sure as both bands are capable of taking your breath away.
Speaking of legends August marks the last time the might Orange Fucking Goblin will grace a Bloodstock stage, they might Brit riff machine call it a day at the end of the year so go wild in a field with them one more time. Some of the main stage bands of note are Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil who are a much heavier prospect now than they’ve ever been. The doom duo of Konvent and Famyne who will be beginning the day with plenty of heavy and misery was The Spirit and The Black Dahlia Murder will be looking to get the movement going with their more extreme sounds. Cage Fight will be making sure you’re pitting and injuring those necks nice and early. Finally there’s Creeper, who have been gaining new fans wherever they go and could be the breakthrough mainstage band of the weekend, make sure you check out their spook.
Over to the Sophie Lancaster Stage and there’s plenty on offer. Long time readers of this publication will know that it’s on the smaller stages that we really get excited and this year would be no exception. Firstly you MUST and I cannot stress this enough, you MUST go and see Ofnus, with a freshly minted second album in the bag and plenty of live refinement this is their biggest gig to date and they’re going to take the opportunity with both hands! Prepare for plenty of complex riffs and emotions as I’m sure the tent will be filled with ugly crying! Equally you must also check out atmospheric sludge act Ba’al who have transcended their genre tags with their new album and will take your breath away as will the always majestic Lowen who replace Spirit Adrift in the tent and will be filling it with their cinematic offerings, while Barabrian Hermit and Wall will be bringing plenty of meaty riffs for you to fest on
More goodness in the Sophie Tent comes from the likes of doom/death veterans such as Kataklysm, Obituary and Shade Empire, there’s High Parasite for the goths, Breed 77 for the survivors of nu-metal and for the prog/power fans Neonfly. However the big ones that stand out for me are the return of 3 Inches Of Blood to Bloodstock’s hallowed grounds, one of the early bands associated with the festival this will be a triumphant return after a while away, though perhaps the appearance of Max Cavalera’s most brutal project Nailbomb will overshadow that a little as this promises to be and absolutely incredible and ferocious set of political industrial thrash.
My most beloved stage is the EMP, formerly the Jagermeister Stage, some of my favourite bands and best friends have played here over the years and 2025 shows no sign of changing that. The main bulk of the Welsh representation is on this stage with thrashers Helldown and classic metal act Rites To Ruin, both M2TM alumni and incredibly worthy of gaining a spot at Bloodstock, they will be looking to show a wider audience what we already know, that their two of the finest examples of Welsh metal talent. Also from Wales but not quite metal is the curveball prog fusion of Z Machine, who get rid of vocals and embrace the sax, this is proper left field choice for BOA but their skill level is high enough to get you grooving between the main stage acts.
Rounding off our picks for this stage are the melodic metalcore of Shrike who’s recent record impressed the hell out of me. Then there’s more friends as all-female death crew Maatkare prepare to debut at Bloodstock and will be peeling off faces from their first moments, empowering, aggressive death metal with passion for feminism and ancient Egypt, they’re a must watch. As are Scottish fun-time proggers Tiberius who know doubt will be stalking the audience, causing goblin pits and getting Bloodstock to boogie and shout along with them.
Finally it’s the New Blood Stage, the future of the festival is here, the reason why grassroots venues are still kicking is here so I would encourage you to try to watch as many of these acts as possible. Nearly all are winners of the various Metal To The Masses campaigns from around the UK and the globe so, they’ve all worked hard to be the flagbearers of their respective regions, they all deserve your time, your eyes and your ears, with particular notes about proggers Hekz and powerhouse power metal from Fortune Teller but from our perspective you need to be down the front for Adfeilion, the Post Folk Metal band who wowed our independent judging panel at Day Of Wreckoning with the Celtic storytelling and secured their place at Bloodstock. Take a trip through time into the mystical lands of Albion with this unique act and I’m damn sure you’ll see just how potent and alive the South Wales scene is!
That’s it from me, many other publications will have their own picks so go and check them out too, but these are personally the bands I would be watching at Bloodstock this year. I hope everyone has a great time as per usual and hopefully we will see you in the field sometime soon!
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