Thirteen Bands You Need to See at… Bloodstock Open Air

This Thursday the gates of Catton Hall once again open up to the metal masses as Bloodstock Open Air returns for it’s 2024 event headlined by progressive metal giants Opeth, UK metalcore chart-botherers Architects, and Swedish heavy metal warriors Amon Amarth.

Alongside the three huge headliners, Bloodstock is pulling together the cream of the heavy music scene with an undercard that will see the likes of Hatebreed, Whitechapel, Mimi Barks, Infected Rain and Satyricon lead a cast of nearly a hundred bands ready to throwdown at Catton Hall.

In anticipation of one of the most exciting weekends in the UK metal calendar, we’ve picked thirteen acts that we think you’ll need to see at Bloodstock this weekend. Crank up our choices, let us know your own and we’ll see you in the pit later this week.

1. Nervosa

Originally hailing from Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Nervosa line-up has been a musical merry-go-round since forming in 2010, so much so that the current version of the band is completely unrecognisable from that original line-up. That being said, when they hit the Ronnie James Dio stage on the Friday lunchtime, Bloodstock Open Air will get one hell of a death/thrash wake-up call so make sure you loosen up those neck muscles and ready those devil horns in preparation for this Brazilian death/thrash powerhouse.

2. She Burns Red

Taking to the New Blood Stage on Friday, Scottish rockers She Burns Red bring with them songs of hope, trust and humanity. All this positivity comes wrapped up in some big anthem rock bangers, helped partly by working with some huge names on the UK rock scene including Toby Jepson. Heading to Bloodstock armed with their Out of Darkness album, the Scottish band is already making the right noises around the Scottish live scene so now it’s time for the rest of the UK to jump on board.

3. Goblinsmoker

Goblinsmoker hails from the North East and travels to Catton Hall to tell the tale of the Toad King. Starting out as a one-man project back in 2016 with the purpose of spreading the word of the discontented ruler of the Goblin Forest and smoker of sacrificial goblins, expect fuzzy riffs, and bleak black metal. It sounds completely bonkers but if you head over to the EMP Stage on Sunday, you might just find yourself unearthing one of the diamonds of the weekend.

4. Deicide

Looking at the current Deicide setlist, if Glen Benton and his henchmen bring anything like it to Bloodstock, satanic death metal fans are in for a real treat. Devoted fans of the band won’t need reminding that UK visits from the controversial death metallers are few and far between these days making their long-awaited Saturday appearance at Bloodstock on the Ronnie James Dio stage one that you won’t want to miss.

5. Combichrist

Last time these industrial veterans appeared at Bloodstock, they delivered one of the most talked about sets of the weekend. A full-throttle musical assault of pulsating industrial metal mixed with a live show that brought chaos to Catton Hall, Combichrist delivered something a little different to the party that weekend. This weekend they bring their mechanical mayhem to the Sophie Lancaster Stage on Saturday and you can bet your bottom dollar that the place won’t be the same ever again.

6. Architects

While you almost feel like the early Architects band would be perfectly suited to a festival like Bloodstock, the way the Brighton band have grown into a band who can now comfortably handle a Metallica audience or play second on the bill at Download shows how far they have come. A percentage of the “true metal” crowd turned their noses up at Parkway Drive appearing at Bloodstock only to have the Aussie band wipe the floor with them. When Sam Carter and Co arrive at Catton Hall this weekend, expect them to do the same.

7. Flogging Molly

Now, the Bloodstock team always like to throw in a curveball just to keep punters on their toes and this year that honour goes to the fantastic Flogging Molly. However, while the Los Angeles Celtic punk rock outfit might not be your typical Bloodstock fodder, you can rest assured that, after a few beers, their mid-afternoon slot on the Ronnie James Dio stage will see Hatebreed fans, Clutch fans and everyone in-between up on their feet for one big party Flogging Molly style.

8. Crypta

Linked in with the Nervosa journey, Brazilian quartet Crypta feature former members of their fellow Bloodstock main stage thrashers. Now signed to Napalm Records, the Brazilian band are here to wreck your necks with their brutal, straight from the underground death/thrash metal onslaught. The quartet take to the stage early afternoon on the Saturday by which time we’ll have just about shaken off our Friday night hangovers with Crypta providing the perfect Saturday afternoon metal pick-me-up.

9. Ludovico Technique

Hailing from New York City, Ludovico Technique is the brainchild of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ben V. A haunting, pulsating slice of goth rock, Ludovico Technique have already had the alternative media sitting up and taking note and, with 10,000,000 streams across Spotify, the New York band are bringing goth metal to the masses again. With those kind of figures being bandied about, Saturday afternoon on the Sophie Lancaster Stage is probably going to be one of the last chances you’ll get to see the American Goth rock crew in somewhere that intimate.

10. Asomvel

Right, the name sounds like some Norwegian black metal band doesn’t it? Well, prepare for a shock because the UK hard rock four-piece are about as far removed from that scene as they could be. A balls-to-the-wall hard rock extravaganza in the vein of AC/DC and Airbourne, Asomvel are coming to Catton Hall armed with a bunch of rifftastic, fist-pumping anthems and they’re come to ready to rock the shit out of the Sophie Lancaster Stage. We’ll see you at the front!

11. Enemies Everywhere

Travelling from Finland to bulldoze their way through the Sophie Lancaster Stage on Saturday afternoon comes Enemies Everywhere. They bring with them their own brand of Lorna Shore inspired brutality with plenty of saliva-drenched vocals, symphonic arrangements and black-souled breakdowns. The band will be arriving in support of their God Is Pain album heralded as one of the most exciting new metal bands from Finland. Expect epic savagery on the Sophie Lancaster stage when the Finns make their Bloodstock debut this weekend.

12. Dead Flesh

Scanning down the list so far, one of the things we haven’t had is a really good tech/death band but, fear not, crawling out of the London underground metal scene, Dead Flesh are steaming to Catton Hall to scratch that itch. A rumbling, lurching mix of deathcore and tech metal, the London outfit will be laying waste to the New Blood stage on Sunday so if Bloodstock hasn’t already left you battered and bruised by that point, Dead Flesh are ready to pick up the task and finish you off.

13. Straight For The Sun

Birmingham alternative metal crew Straight For The Sun dropped their full-throttle “Pulling Teeth” single and video ahead of arriving at Bloodstock Open Air. Their first new music in two years, the single is rollicking call-to-arms rock banger which indicates that the Midlands rockers are back with the fire in their creative bellies. Having sat and soaked up the big riffs and big hooks, we’re hoping for plenty more of the same when they come to kick the arse of the New Blood Stage on Sunday.

Bloodstock Open Air returns to Catton Hall from August 8th-11th, 2024 for more information and final ticket info, head over to the Official Bloodstock website.

Bloodstock Open Air 2024 Poster Artwork