Bloodstock Festival Countdown : 24 Bands Not To Miss

Another day and another entry into our countdown of the bands that those of you lucky enough to be a Bloodstock need to see. As I'm sure you're all aware we, here at ROCKFLESH Towers are as much fans as we are media (un) professionals. So this list isn't some PR approved love in, its genuinely the bands we are really excited about seeing. Let’s have another one.

18. Castle Rat – Ronnie James Dio Stage. Sunday – probably around quarter to one.

Metal has always been about escapism. Right from the off it has purloined from the world of fantasy (Lord of the Rings references are all over Led Zeppelin’s early works). It is at its best when it embraces high performance art and goes to town with the theatrics. Castle rat are embracing the bombastic operatic nature of our music by giving us "medieval fantasy doom metal”. Heavy on the costumes, heavy on the am-dram set pieces and heavy on the iconic imagery, this is an X-rated episode of She-Ra meets Black Sabbath. However, what we have learnt over the years is that props and back story can only take you so far and a good proportion of Castle Rat appeal is just how good their accessible take on doom actually is. Fuelled by melody and lavish strong structures, they have managed to sculpt a brace of brilliant pop metal classics. Distinctive and genuinely highly enjoyable, we will guarantee now they will be one of the most talked about bands of the weekend.