The final day of Bloodstock 2022 was just as hot as the rest, but was that… a cloud? It could’ve been a mirage, but I think we saw upwards of four clouds today! Unheard of.

The first band we saw today was Vended. This is a band who try to distance themselves from Slipknot (Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan’s sons are in the band) and claim that they’ve forged an audience of their own. It would’ve been

slightly more believable if theydidn’t sound exactly like an Iowa era Slipknot. That’s not a bad thing, by the way – they were energetic and aggressive, and most importantly, made me want to listen to their music – but just lean into it,you know? They’re essentially a Slipknot spin-off, and that’s fine.

Butcher Babies bring the fun, but not the tunes, and then Vio-lence bring the monotony. Over on the New Blood stage, however, Devastator bring a massive crowd for their black-thrash, and in the Jäger tent, Lore Of The Woodman bring a level of musical mastery that trumps many of the weekend’s most technical bands. Their instrumental math rock is mostly tapped on low-action guitars and basses, and completely hypnotises the crowd lucky enough to witness it. You could tell from the guitarist’s consistent ear-to-ear grin that they’d never had a response like it before.


Cattle Decapitation were the highlight of the entire weekend for me. After apparently years of being asked to grace Catton Hall with their presence, they’re finally here. The extreme heaviness of ‘The Geocide’ opens a pit that doesn’t close for forty-five straight minutes. The amount of dust in my lungs after sprinting around the circle pit was unholy, but it didn’t stop me attempting to scream along to deathgrind classics like ‘Forced Gender Reassignment’ and ‘Plagueborn’. I didn’t even notice the heat until the agonisingly dehydrated few minutes thatcame straight after their set.

Dark Funeral are a little too generic to keep the energy going after Cattle Decapitation, and as such, we enter the now expected afternoon lull. The crowds thinned out as people took refuge from the sun, and it was Strigoi who felt the repercussions of this the most. Their slot was originally earmarked for Tool-alikes Soen, but they ended up with a crowd who would’ve barely filled the Jäger tent. Killing Joke were today’s big classic rock offering, but their gothic post-punk is very much a one trick pony, and only a few really cared.

Belpehgor are on hand to bring the energy back to Bloodstock with a fire-filled set of brutal blackened death metal on the Sophie stage. Giving a slot like this to such an aggressive band is an inspired move, and they fill the hour with technical wizardry and serious stage presence. But it was clear that Lamb Of God were the biggest draw of the weekend even before their set began.

The crowds flooded back from their tents for the final moments of the weekend, and Randy Blythe and his unstoppable bandmates absolutely delivered. They play a perfectly constructed setlist that spans twenty years of their career, with ‘11th Hour’ from 2003’s As Palaces Burn leading seamlessly into the title track of their upcoming new album, Omens. No matter the track, the crowd’s energy didn’t dip.

People were sprinting from  food stalls into the mosh pit for tunes like ‘Hourglass’ and ‘Omerta’, and singing every word to ‘Now You’ve Got Something To Die For’. It was seriously energetic. Randy prowls the stage like an angry, dreadlocked Ben Stiller throughout their set, delivering vocals that are exactly as good as they were when first laid down on albums like Ashes Of The Wake and Redneck. And it was the big hitters from these two albums that ended their set. The

rhythmic complexity of ‘Laid To Rest’ and singalong growls of ‘Redneck’ are the last thing the Ronnie James Dio stage heard this year, and it was perfect.

The final band of the weekend were The Night Flight Orchestra, a Swedish Soilwork spinoff who write cheesy homages to the classic rock and metal of yesteryear. It’s far from good music, but it’s certainly entertaining. They have a talent for writing a chorus, and a true gift for keeping a crowd on-side. The Sophie tent screamed along to the likes of ‘Gemini’ and ‘White Jeans’ for more than an hour, and still had the energy for the biggest conga line I’ve ever seen. It really was the perfect end to the festival.


While Bloodstock 2022 suffered some late-afternoon quality droughts at the same time as an actual drought, it was still another fantastic weekend. 2023 is gearing up to be a good one. But less sun (‘I’ll see what I can do’ says Lemmy aka GOD). Please.

Standout Performance: Cattle Decapitation

Hidden Gem: Lore Of The Woodman

Track Of The Day: Lamb Of God – Laid To Rest

Bloodstock 2022 – Friday 12th August – Review is HERE

Bloodstock 2022 – Saturday 13th August Review is HERE