Opeth, Hatebreed and Five More Confirmed for Bloodstock Open Air 2024

Following the first band announcement at Bloodstock 2023 which saw Architects and Amon Amarth confirmed as the first headliners for Bloodstock 2024, along with a slew of other acts including Clutch, Infected Rain and Hellripper, organisers have now announced seven new acts including the final headliner.

Closing out the Ronnie James Dio stage on Friday night will be Swedish progressive legends Opeth who will be performing their only UK show in 2024 and will be playing a “fan-chosen set.”

Frontman Mikael Akerfeldt extols, “So… back to BLOODSTOCK 2024 for us, it appears! I don’t remember how many times we’ve played the festival, but we do have fond memories from there. “Filling in” for Heaven and Hell when RJD had passed is one. Fuck! Can’t remember a more emotional event on stage for us, to be honest. Anyhoooo, we’ll be there ‘rocking’ and ‘rolling’ in our own way, playing songs that you’ve chosen (apparently). Please be gentle. Right now I feel pretty far from being a ROCKER, as I’m writing this sat in my (favourite) greasy sweatpants, and my hair is greasier than ever. I’m working, you see. But I promise I’ll have a look in the mirror before we hit the stage. The band will be tight (that’s also a promise). I’ll sing OK (semi-promise). You’ll recognise the songs (I really have no idea, but you picked them!) and, we’ll be IN. THE. ZONE! All in all, providing the weather’s nice and the beer is cold, the possibilities for a magical night are rather decent. Wouldn’t you say? Hope to see (and hear) you there.”

Six other acts have been confirmed to be joining Opeth over the weekend, including the mighty Hatebreed who are bringing their 30th Anniversary set to Friday’s main stage bill. Avant garde prog extremists Enslaved will be playing the Ronnie James Dio main stage on Sunday. Brazilian thrash outfit Nervosa land themselves a main stage slot on Friday while Brazilian death squad Crypta bringing their brutal noise to the main stage on Saturday and feature former Nervosa bassist Fernanda Lira and drummer Luana Dametto who formed the band after departing Nervosa back in 2019.

Rounding out the announcement, Finnish power metal gang Beast In Black join the Main Stage line-up on Sunday while Bay Area thrash veterans Forbidden grab a slot on the Saturday.

Moving away from the band announcements, Bloodstock’s founder Paul Gregory has had both his career and life story told in a new documentary, ‘Heavy Metal Painter’. The movie, put together by Toronto-based film-making collective, The Art of Heavy Metal, is set to premiere on the BLOODSTOCK YouTube channel on 10th October so check out the trailer here.

Tickets for Bloodstock 2024 are onsale now and going fast, with less than 10% remaining of the standard Early Bird weekend tickets, priced at £165 (+ bkg fee). Once the discounted Early Bird allocation has gone, standard weekend tickets will increase in price to £185 (+ bkg fee) so head over to the 2024 ticket store now. If you still need a reason to buy a ticket, check out our extensive coverage of Bloodstock 2023 here.

Bloodstock Open Air 2024 Poster Artwork