CackBlabbath's Bloodstock Preview

The festival has been and gone, please check out our review of this splendid event...

BOA 2010 Friday

BOA 2010 Saturday

BOA 2010 Sunday

One of the undisputed high points of the UK Metal calendar is the amazing Bloodstock Open Air, which brings together some of the biggest and best names in the world of Heavy Metal for three days of incredible music and good times in one of the friendliest and most laid back atmospheres of any outdoor festival. Bloodstock is dedicated to hard rock and heavy metal. The organisers are music fans and it shows. There is much less of a 'commercial' feel to Bloodstock compared to it's bigger, but not necessarily better, competitors.

Bloodstock is famous for bringing in some of the biggest names in the world of Metal. This years headliners are all giants in their respective genres, Opeth, Children of Bodom and the incomparable Twisted Sister, who along with a diverse array of bands including Fear Factory, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth and Gwar will be lighting up the main stage over the three days of the festival.

Here at CackBlabbath, however, we know that there is always more to thee festivals than the headline acts, and at Download 2010 apart from AC/DC (where there was no choice) we didn't see much of the big names on the main stage. We were too busy rocking out to the likes of Godsized, Mike Monroe, The More I See and Ginger on some of the 'lesser' stages.

One of the nicest things about Bloodstock is the way that it allows comparatively small and unsigned bands their shot in the limelight. It is to the third, unsigned, stage that we will be turning our attention. This is where you get a first look at the future headline acts, and when they make it you can say 'I saw them before they were big'...

One of the biggest unsigned bands in the UK scene at the moment is the amazing Furyon. Their debut album 'Gravitas' has been receiving Rave Reviews, and if there is any justice in the world their Bloodstock appearance will propel them to the next level. We caught up with the band to find out how they secured their place on the bill, and what their thoughts were on the festival.

Furyon's manager Dave explained how it all came about. "We got in touch with the organisers a while ago, then it all went quiet"...

And then the nervous wait...

And then the news the band and their fans had been waiting for. "A few weeks ago they came back to us, and told us we were on the bill, but more than that, we are closing the (unsigned) stage on the Sunday".

So Furyon are a very happy band. Vocalist Matt was delighted "We are proud to be playing Bloodstock, and chuffed to be asked", and not just because they get to play but also because they get to see some other great bands. We asked Matt who he wanted to check out. "I'm really looking forward to Messhuggah and Opeth" he told us, "And it would be good to see Black Spiders and the mighty Twisted Sister".

Other bands had a different route to Bloodstock. For up and coming rock band Mordecai it was all about having their music in the right place at the right time. They were noticed by the organisers when one of their tracks was used on a promotional video. Main man Dan is clearly very happy, he told us "We’re really looking forwards to playing Bloodstock 2010, the line-ups get better and better each year and the festival still maintains that grass roots feel! We’re so proud that our track “Without You” from our Always & Forever EP has been used as the theme tune for this year’s Bloodstock promo video and can’t wait to play live on the SOPHIE stage on the Saturday…it’s a real honour for the Mordecai boys!"

Bloodstock 2010 is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet. But if you do go please don't spend your whole time in front of the main stage. Go and check out some of the bands playing the other stages over the weekend. You never know, you may just find something a bit special.

It's a special event for the fans, and It's a special event for the bands. Furyon's Matt summed up the feelings of all of the bands who have been invited to take participate in the festival "We're just looking forward to being a part of it".

The festival has been and gone, please check out our review of this splendid event...