BLOODSTOCK’S HALLOWEEN TREATS
31st October 2023Happy Halloween! Trick or treat?! BLOODSTOCK loves the spooky season and has only fiendishly good news to share! Are you ready? Get set to howl the house down when you see which nine bands are being announced today! There’s also news of everyone’s brilliant fund-raising efforts with details of just how much was raised for two worthy charities from BLOODSTOCK 2023, the ticket deposit scheme launch date, & more. Without further ado…
Swedish metal legends GRAND MAGUS land a Friday slot on the Ronnie James Dio main stage. It’s already been 4 long years since the doom-infused three-piece dropped album ‘Wolf God’ with Nuclear Blast, but the band themselves have already made mention of their tenth album coming in 2024! Get excited! Last seen at BLOODSTOCK in 2019, refresh your memory of that epic set here.
Metal Blade mob WHITECHAPEL serve up a hefty slab of deathcore on Saturday’s main stage. After regretfully pulling out of 2023’s event, you’ve had an extra year to anticipate just how ferocious that pit is gonna be. Watch the video for latest single ‘Without You/Without Us’ or deep dive into the entirety of current album ‘Kin’ here.
Florida death metal icons DEICIDE also jet in for a main stage Saturday spot in a UK festival exclusive. It’s all go in the Deicide camp of late, signing a new record deal with Reigning Phoenix Music and putting the finishing touches on their upcoming, 13th full-length album, ‘Banished By Sin’, featuring new guitarist Taylor Nordberg. The first new album since 2018, just give us the release date already! While you’re waiting patiently, check out some classic Deicide via the video for ‘Scars Of The Crucifix.’
Oxford-based riff beasts DESERT STORM roll in to wake you up on Friday morning, opening the main stage. Their latest masterpiece ‘Death Battle’ dropped via APF this March, an intoxicating mix of stoner doom and prog metal. If you’re a fan of Clutch and Orange Goblin, you won’t want to miss them. Wrap your ears round their latest track ‘Salt Of The Earth’ here.
Over on the Sophie Lancaster stage, five more treats have been locked in.
Icelandic psych rock squad THE VINTAGE CARAVAN secure a position on Friday’s bill. The Led Zep fans are currently cranking out their classic rock/prog-infused sounds across mainland Europe, promoting latest release ‘The Monuments Tour (Live)’, unveiled 2 weeks ago via Napalm Records. Watch the live video for ‘Can’t Get You Off My Mind’ here.
Londoners EXIST IMMORTAL also bring their metal maelstrom to the Friday line-up. Their self-titled current album, released by Seek & Strike, is available now. Appraise yourself of their sound via their latest single, ‘Emerge’.
Joining them on Friday, are the epic metal ETERNAL CHAMPION from Texas, who marked their tenth anniversary this year. Released by No Remorse Records in 2020, you can listen to their latest LP ‘Ravening Iron’ in full here.
One of alt. music’s hottest rising stars, MIMI BARKS is added to Saturday’s Sophie bill. If you’re looking for something just a little bit different to add flavor to your BLOODSTOCK weekend, perhaps a little doom-trap will be just the ticket. The current release, ‘DEADGIRL’, claimed the full 5Ks from Kerrang. Watch ‘Saw’ from that release now.
GROVE STREET rampage onto Sunday’s roster. The band has been causing a massive stir in hardcore circles and last month released a new album, ‘The Path To Righteousness’. Check out the title track here and see what all the fuss is about.
BLOODSTOCK is also excited to announce that Timothy Taylor and their Hopical Storm ale have partnered with the 2024 METAL 2 THE MASSES programme. The 2024 M2TM season is now underway, with bands around the country competing to win a slot on the newly named Hopical Storm New Blood Stage. If you’re in an unsigned or developing band and would like to throw your hat in the ring, click over to the M2TM page on the BLOODSTOCK site to see information about participating venues/cities.
In other festival news, BLOODSTOCK would like to thank everyone who contributed to this year’s event’s charity fundraising efforts. A grand total of £13,903 was raised in donations from BLOODSTOCKers for the festival’s two official charities for 2023: The Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA) (£5492) and The Sophie Lancaster Foundation (£8411). This comprised:
- Guest & media donations amassing £10,984, which was split equally between The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and DRLAA
- Bar staff generously donating all tips to The Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Alan, the bar’s head honcho, also doubled this donation, making a total of £838.
- The Rock Society raised £200 via a raffle for The Sophie Lancaster Foundation.
- The T-Shirt / CD Amnesty raised £1881 for The Sophie Lancaster Foundation.
The Sophie Lancaster Foundation’s Chief Executive, Alison Vincent said: “We are so grateful to BLOODSTOCK and their amazing staff and supporters for their incredible donation of £8,411. This is a huge amount of money for us and will be used to fund more work to support the alternative community and also deliver more sessions in schools about tolerance and respect for others. Thanks to BLOODSTOCK for making us so welcome and for doing all they could to make BLOODSTOCK 2023 the best ever!”
Commenting on behalf of the Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Rutland Air Ambulance charity, Tracey Jones, Community Fundraising Executive for Derbyshire said, “We would like to say a big thank you to everyone at BLOODSTOCK Open Air who donated funds to support our lifesaving missions. A special thank you goes to Rachael and Adam for choosing us as one of two charities to support at their festival this year. We rely on generous fundraising and funding to remain operational, and without the support of the local community just like this, the lifesaving missions in Derbyshire and further afield wouldn’t be possible.”
For more information on the important work these charities do, or to donate, please visit https://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com/ and https://www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk.
Want to do a bit more for The Sophie Lancaster Foundation?
Did you catch the amazing set by SKYND headlining the Sophie stage on Thursday at BLOODSTOCK this summer? Perhaps you spotted Skynd’s special pink jacket on stage during her performance or her wearing it earlier in the day?
Skynd has donated this one-off jacket and The Sophie Lancaster Foundation are auctioning it on eBay! Skynd has also signed the protective bag it will come in. The auction is already underway, so go sling in a bid and perhaps you’ll be the lucky winner. The auction ends on November 5th!
Bid here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314914024832
Skynd says, “A foundation like the Sophie Lancaster Foundation is important today as well as tomorrow because it does not let us forget what and especially WHY happened to Sophie, but also that prejudice and intolerance have no place. I am grateful and emotionally touched by a foundation like this, where the people involved are committed and have their hearts in it and contribute a part to the fact that prejudice, hate, and intolerance have no place anywhere. To be different, to live as you want should not be a reason for hate or violence. I support this foundation and will continue to do so. Say her name: SOPHIE!”
If you’ve already snapped up your early bird ticket and want to square away your travel arrangements for BLOODSTOCK 2024, Big Green Coach offers a great solution, taking you directly on to the festival site with all your camping gear, from a town near you. They’ve just announced 35 pick-up locations for next summer, including two new cities, Coventry and Nottingham. The full list includes Birkenhead, Bournemouth, Bradford, Bridgend, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chester, Coventry, Crewe, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Gloucester, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newport, Nottingham, Norwich, Oxford, Plymouth, Preston, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Swansea, Taunton, Worcester and York. If you’ve not yet booked your festival ticket, you can also opt for a bundle that includes one. Get full details here.
Standard weekend tickets to BLOODSTOCK, priced at £185 (+ bkg fee) are available now in the 2024 ticket store. Early Bird, VIP, and campervan tickets are already sold out. The very popular Deposit Scheme will also be available to sign up for from 9 a.m. on Tuesday 21st November.
BLOODSTOCK’s 2024 Ronnie James Dio main stage headliners are AMON AMARTH, OPETH, and ARCHITECTS. Across the weekend you can also expect to see CLUTCH, HATEBREED, ENSLAVED, MALEVOLENCE, ROTTING CHRIST, CRYPTA, FORBIDDEN, NERVOSA, BEAST IN BLACK, KORPIKLAANI, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS, FLOGGING MOLLY, SEPTIC FLESH, IGORRR, NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, HELLRIPPER, GREEN LUNG and INFECTED RAIN, with many more yet to be announced.
Get full festival information over at bloodstock.uk.com.
BLOODSTOCK will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 8th-11th August 2024.
