Super Mega Big Review : Bloodstock Festival on August 7th 2025

The unprecedented and extraordinary early sell-out left Bloodstock 2025 with a rather interesting quandary. How does it accommodate thousands of new punters whilst simultaneously preserving the unique communal feel that has been its backbone for the last two decades? In the main the festival manages to pull it off. There are some hiccups: chairgate rumbles on and queuing to get in and out of the arena seemed habitual, but despite all that Bloodstock ’25 remains quintessentially the Bloodstock we know and love. Just with a lot more people. From ROCKFLESH’s perspective, the number of bands playing that have transcended from Metal to the masses, the astonishing selection of beers available on site (including a bar catering to our specific love of dark ales) and the inclusion of a dinosaur only mosh pit on Sunday in the EMP stage proves that the sold out signs haven’t irreparably effected that Bloodstock spirit.

The other dilemma for the organisers to counter landed on their lap just weeks before the event. How does Bloodstock mark the death of Ozzy Osbourne, a figure that looms large at the heart of the very community the festival serves? As the gates swing open to Catton Park the metal world is still one firmly in a state of mourning, and it is to the credit of Bloodstock’s hierarchy that it is dealt with so sensitively and evocatively. There is no throw-away hollow renaming gestures (as festival co-owner Vicki explains to us when we speak to her Saturday morning, Ozzy never attended or played the event so affixing his moniker to a stage would frankly be inappropriate). Instead, the main stage screens on Thursday are adorned with his face and Black Sabbath pumps out all night for those wanting to spend the barmy summer's evening sitting on the grass contemplating his legacy.

For those however, ready to remember the Prince of Darkness by throwing shapes to the music that he was the foundation stone for, the Sophie Lancaster stage provides a smorgasbord of delights. Stevenage’s Dead Flesh are one of those aforementioned bands that have risen up through Bloodstock’s own readymade talent incubator, Metal for the Masses. They won the Hertfordshire edition in 2024 after a number of attempts. After burning up the New Blood stage last year, this is their ascension to the main arenas. Their brand of deathcore is ritualistically brittle. It is full of brutal blastbeats and feels cohesively corrosive. It is feral and noisy, but their biggest achievement is giving structure and consistency to that anarchistic spirit. Self-titled disgusting music presented in a surprisingly unified manner.

FourWayKill are also Bloodstock alumni. They played the initial indoor variant of the event in 2002 and 2004 and then opened the inaugural outdoor festival in 2005. Life then sadly got in the way with the band imploding pretty soon after that momentous occasion. But metal is full of second acts and redemption stories, and a slot at the 2025 edition provides the perfect setting for a one-off reunion. There is something wonderfully evocative about watching four middle-aged men recapture their lost youth. The sound is rather befuddled, but what can't be denied is that their strand of groove-laden thrash sounds as formidable now as it did two decades ago. A chunk of frenzied fan boys and girls up front revel in the unexpected but welcome resurrection, and Chris Neighbour chomps his way through the set like they have never been away. A shout-out to fallen comrades builds the emotion as they crash into their signature tune ‘24 Hours to Die’. A blistering return that proves once again that Bloodstock takes care of its own.

As well as celebrating its own legacy and heritage, Bloodstock has set a precedent in being to predict the future and provide a platform for the heroes of tomorrow. Gnome have built up a huge amount of interest via social medium and the Sophie Lancaster stage is suitably heaving with curious heads adorned with Phrygian caps. Three jolly and fairly innocuous Belgians wander on stage but then unleash some of the most amazing and gargantuan riffs that will be heard this weekend. The riffage rate, velocity and consistency are all equally astonishing. It is pristine monolithic guitar line after pristine monolithic guitar line. They look so innocent and unassuming, but these guys manage to capture the weight of the universe in their compositions. Their visuals are equally entrancing as the word “Gnome” spirals around in a kaleidoscope of multicoloured splendour. An astonishing and unexpected pleasure that equally delights and energises. 

The keyboard warriors of the online world have had a field day pointing out Bloodstock seeming rejection of its power metal past. Whilst no one is trying to justify that it is still a pure power metal affair anymore, it is unfair to claim that it has completely abandoned the genre. Metal’s most cheesy sub-genre will always form an important part of the festival's DNA and the inclusion of the ludicrously wonderful All For Metal, proves this point. What power metal does fabulously well is unashamedly and unrepentantly entertain and we get that in bucketloads from these Teutonic-Italian crossovers. They are a shunt job of metal cliches, but somehow it all melds together to become a coherent whole of sing-along tunes and self-aware set pieces. Contrary to popular opinion, they are very aware of the whole silliness of the set-up and the presentation but they lean into that blatant bizarreness, putting on a show that is blinding in its brilliance. Metal wearing its own self-deprecation on its sleeve.

Tonight’s headliner is an interesting proposition in that they are a metal superstar not playing metal. Nergal of Polish Blackened Overlords Behemoth now dines at Metal’s top table. Me and That man is his creative outlet. It is less a side project and more a parallel outfit that allows him to explore a completely different musical palette. This is Nick Cave style deep, dark blues, Johnny Cash if he discovered Satanism as opposed to alcoholism. Rockabilly with a heart of darkness. It goes down gloriously well and Nergal beautifully courts the seething masses, eulogising about how much he loves Bloodstock. This type of confessional blues is raw and unfiltered. It is not particularly heavy, but the DNA it shares with metal is its delicious level of deviance. Even in another creative form Nergal continues to taunt his catholic nemesis, declaring that his church is black and encouraging the burning of those very institutions. 

Like every performer over this weekend, there are kind words uttered about the passing of Ozzy and ‘Paranoid’ is played, not quite in its entirety but in enough girth for one custodian of darkness to pay homage to another. He also manages to praise another of Rock’s great innovators with a rather groovy cover of Roky Erickson’s ‘White Faces’. What is extraordinary is how the atmosphere and ambience is built. Country Blues may sound placid and vanilla, but this version is forged within a black heart and is brim-full of venom and gasoline. As we career into the final furlong of ‘Love and Death’ and ‘Blues and Cocaine’ the place is in uproar and  Negral has the audience in the palm of his hand. A wonderful performance and a superb reception that proved metalheads are much more open-minded than they are given credit for.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Me and That Man + All For Metal + Gnome + FourWayKill + Dead Flesh