Yep we are not going away till we have drunk all your beer and unapologetically overhyped the bands we are really excited about at this years Bloodstock Festival.
Four stages of the best metal on the planet, what isn’t there to get unhealthily excited about? And here we go with another recommendation – No 15 incoming….
Read MoreAnother rotation of the sun and another entry into are indomitable run down of the bands that you need to leave the Lemmy bar for. These are the ones you need to set an alarm on your smart watch for, these are the ones you will feel pretty stupid if you find yourself missing. And of course look out for your ROCKFLESH boys as well. Our Stewart on the access platform beating his stick like Yoda ...
Read MoreAh there you are. What took you? We have another entry in our astonishingly diverse list of the bands you need to be boring your campsite mates about as you struggle to put up your tent. This time around we've got you a Doozer. A UK debut by a legendary act. By unpopular demand Vicki has finally managed to get this bunch of German retrobates over the border into our lives. So we give you.
Read MoreAnother 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.
Read MoreIt's now so near that you can smell it. After this weekend you have only two more to get through before it is our beloved Bloodstock. So our unconventional conventionalists, it is time to regale you with another of ROCKFLESH’s bands you need to see. If anyone now deserves the slot at this year's festival it is this lot.
Read MoreHere we go. Our third bloodstock one to watch. This one continues Bloodstock’s heartfelt tradition of presenting us with bands we never thought we would ever see live again.
Read MoreSadly the weather gods have been less kind as we emerge bleary-eyed from our pits on Sunday morning. There is a distinct threat of a light drizzle as we head into the arena for yet another day of musical madness. However, in typical English summer fashion the moment we put our raincoats on and gather our battle brollies the sun comes out again. This leaves numerous punters standing around feeling uncomfortably sweaty and slightly foolish until a break in the action allows us to shed our waterproof outer layers.
Read MoreSaturday is glorious weatherwise, with the heat of the sun tempered by a gentle breeze. It’s all calm and lovely and summery – well it is until the music starts. With tonight’s headliners being the grandfathers of British thrash Onslaught, the lineup has been curated to match. With just a few exceptions, today’s lineup is brutal, showing that Call of the Wild can do heavy.
Read MoreThere’s no better feeling than checking the weather forecast and the traffic conditions for a UK festival and finding that both are looking pretty good. As we all know from communal experience a failure of either of those things can spoil what would otherwise be an excellent weekend, so it was with a song in our hearts and the aircon turned up to 11 that the good ship rockflesh.com sails forth to Lincoln in order to put another Call Of The Wild (or COTW to its nan) experience under our belts.
Read MoreYes, you read that right. Due to missing a year during Covid, 2025 sees Rockwich celebrating its 10th birthday in style. Year on year this humble little gathering has expanded, outgrowing several previous venues and selling out pretty much every year. To mark this auspicious occasion the previously indoor-only event has managed to secure the use of a marquee just outside the main doors of the club that it calls home.
Read MoreSunday morning also starts with Jack's Jam, with Jack J Hutchinson inviting festival-goers and the odd musician (Hi again Matt from Ransom!) onto his little stage. This time there’s a definite slant towards the music of Ozzy Osbourne, and a rollicking good time is had by all again. This is helped along by the fact that the festival management were obviously taking feedback on board and although the bar in the barn remained resolutely shut due to licencing restrictions, the bar by the main stage was very much open for business. Niggle put to bed in under 24 hours, kudos Firevolt!
Read MoreSaturday starts with Jack J Hutchinson in the barn having a bit of a jam session. He’s not on the proper stage so it’s semi-acoustic and although he starts with his own band doing his usual bluesy stuff he soon gets people up from the crowd to strut through some well-known covers. Names have been picked beforehand and there’s a couple of ringers (looking at you Matt from Ransom!) and it turned out to be a happy, hum-along session.
Read MoreFriday starts with negotiating the token system for the bars – essentially they come in a couple of colours and you buy a handful from the helpful staff and then proffer them hopefully when ordering a drink! It doesn’t take long to get the hang of it though, so attention turns to opening band Rare Breed.
Read MoreIn these days of smaller, independent festivals going to the wall due to lack of interest and advance sales, it’s heartening to meet Firevolt and see how well they are doing.
Since its inception in 2022 it has grown like a virus, attracting bands and punters alike and building itself a solid reputation year-on-year. As the date clashes with that bastion of All Things Metal that is Bloodstock, 2025 is the first year that Rockflesh have been able to attend and what we found was truly delightful.
Read MoreAnd we reach numero uno. Our final must-watch. This one is special. This one is different. This one is personal. For the first time ever we have got real skin in the game. Yes, we have had bands that ROCKFLESH have championed play Bloodstock before, but this is the first time we have had a band we are intrinsically connected with play the festival and we cannot contain our excitement.
Read MoreSo “that man” is none other than Behemoth’s enigmatic leader Nergal. This is his Nick Cave obsessed side project that keeps him busy when he is not singing odes to old nick and annoying the hell out of the Polish state church. This is country and blues via the fevered imagination of a metal icon.
Read MoreMachine “fuckin” head. The real frikin deal. A reliable constant that reminds us the metal is a rallying cry for the indisposed and unfranchised. Machine Head are the people’s champion. They are so entwined with modern metal that you can align the genre’s development over the last three decades with the evolution of Robb Flynn’s crew.
Read MoreTrivia fans, Ghosts of Atlantis played their first ever gig here at Bloodstock in 2021. They were promoted from the New Blood stage to Sophie Lancaster stage because of Covid casualties and they won an awful lot of friends with their anthemic Death Metal that is rich in melody and storytelling.
Read MoreBloodstock promotes from within. It looks after its own, and it believes that it has a central role to play in invigorating the scene that it relies upon. Famyne are band that has grown with Bloodstock. They appeared in the new Blood stage in 2016 as winners of the legendary Metal to Masses competition. They returned on the Sophie Lancaster in 2021 as part of the elongated post-covid offer and now they have made it onto the main stage.
Read MoreDo you want to know the true reason as to why the tickets for this year's Bloodstock have flown out like hot cakes laced with LSD? Most will reason it is the unholy trinity of Trivium, Machine Head, and Gojira, but here at ROCKFLESH Towers we have another theory. You see we think it is the undercard that has caught the public’s imagination and most importantly the inclusion of Paleface Swiss and Kublai Khan. Metal is changing, contorting and evolving. These are its new champions.
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