Bloodstock Festival Countdown : 30 Bands Not To Miss

4. Mastodon - Ronnie James Dio Stage, Sunday mid-evening

Bloodstock have rather pulled off a coup by crowning their majestic 2025 line-up with arguably the two most interesting bands in modern metal. We will pontificate about Gojira in due course, but for now let us lyrically gesticulate on the wonder that is Mastodon. They take the brutal simplicity of metal and augment it with the cerebral intellect of prog. With concept albums based on Moby Dick and the life of the mad monk Rasputin, it is not communal garden, meat and two veg metal. Within Mastodon's multifarious yet simultaneously sludgy sound, you will find jazz, country, and a myriad other pilfered off-kilter influences. The point is Mastodon are intricate, complex music for simple people. It may on initial listening sound rough and ready, but there are fathomless depths to both their vision and their musical virtues. There is no one like Mastodon. Enjoy.