Emperor (Bloodstock Open Air – Saturday) @ Catton Hall (Derbyshire, England) on August 9, 2014 [Show Review]

Pulling in the biggest crowd for an opening band that Bloodstock has ever seen, UK metallers Evil Scarecrow pulled out all the stops for their legion of fans. Put it simply, if you weren’t there then you missed a set that will go down in Bloodstock history. Jazz-extremists Shining have a tough job following the alien-inspired antics of Evil Scarecrow but, while their progressive, complex sound may be devoid of robot aliens, it’s classy enough to win a place in the hearts of that portion of the Bloodstock crowd who like their extreme music to really push the boundaries.

Bloodstock organisers have been trying to get Polish death metal titans Decapitated on the bill for a number of years and, having finally managed it, the Euro death metal outfit do not disappoint with a ferocious, sledgehammer to the face heavy set. Blending together technical riffs with outright face-pummelling blast beats, the Poles make the most of their short time on stage. Equally as heavy are New Orleans sludge masters Crowbar who stride out into the mid afternoon sun and deliver one of the heaviest sets of the day. Rumbling, sludgy riffs are the order of the day as the New Orleans bruisers dish out a set so heavy, the Bloodstock stage is groaning under the weight of it all.

Italian favourites, Lacuna Coil, are one of those bands who can appeal to both the more mainstream Download crowd as much as they can to a Bloodstock crowd who most definitely know their onions when it comes to quality heavy music. As classy as ever, the Italian rockers may have gone through a fairly hefty line-up change recently but the ever present front pair of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro hold the Bloodstock crowd in the palms of their hands for the duration of their set.

“We’re the Children Of Bodom from motherfucking Finland…” screams Bodom frontman Alex Laiho as the Finnish metallers race through a breathtaking set of Finnish melodic death metal. Okay, so Bodom may not be the massive draw they once were but the main stage crowd respond enthusiastically to the likes of “Hate Crew Deathroll”. Returning Liverpool grinders Carcass are also no stranger to the Bloodstock stage. “Good evening Sonisphere… oops wrong one.” jokes Carcass frontman Jeff Walker who proves himself to be an entertaining host as security deal with an injured fan in the pit. Still, even with the delay, nothing seems to knock the Scouse shredders off their stride as the likes of “Reek Of Putrefaction” and “Heartwork” hit the mark ahead of tonight’s controversial headliners.

With the heavy metal thud of Hellyeah bringing the Sophie Lancaster stage to a close, it was up to black metal titans Emperor to bring the curtain down on the main stage on Saturday night. A controversial choice of headliner despite being a huge draw, the Norwegian black metal outfit blasted through their epic In The Nightside Eclipse classic album in its entirety even throwing in a Bathory cover to send the corpse-painted masses home with some of them even managing to muster up a smile after witnessing the full hateful force of their black metal heroes.

Check out Emperor at Bloodstock 2014