18 & Life

From RagnarokRadio.co.uk.

If there’s one way to shake off a hangover (or possibly make it two thousand times worse), it’s the grooves and rumblings of some Finnish melodic death metal. Thankfully (or possibly unfortunately), we have Insomnium’s (3/5) thundering strides pulsating across the fields and through the skulls of the gathered metalheads already regretting last night’s celebratory drinks upon arriving at Bloodstock Open Air 2009. Everyone has just about recovered in time for Sodom (3/5), returning to British soil for the first time in twenty years to air the likes of ‘Napalm In The Morning’ to a fair few rows of pumping fists. Add ‘hundred’ to the end of that ‘fair few’ statement and you have a rough description of Saxon (5/5), who are, simply put, fucking awesome. The piledriving ‘Let Me Feel Your Power’ is delivered with the energy of a band several times younger than they are (Saxon could be the grandfathers of some of today’s metal upstarts) while the seminal ‘747 (Strangers In The Night)’ sees cheerful drunken moshpits erupting from stage left to stage right.

Those seeking a small break from the main stage action, or who don’t like Arch Enemy, are offered the choice of getting drunk as shit in the campsites or seeing rising symphonic metallers Pythia (4/5) on the Sophie Lancaster Stage. A sound suspiciously reminiscent of Nightwish is vindicated by the fact these guys can play, and that frontwoman Emily Ovenden’s haunting voice and stage presence seamlessly swell to fill this half empty (or maybe half full?) marquee where drunken hairy blokes will later be hollering along to Journey and Kansas in a late-night karaoke before the first night of metal madness comes to an end.

The death ‘n’ roll stylings of Entombed (3/5) kick off the next day’s proceedings in a suitably bowel-bothering fashion, before a rather tinny-sounding Candlemass (2/5) pretend to be Rainbow for a while. Speed metal heroes Kreator (4/5) then kick the action up a notch or ten and really get the heads banging through new (‘Hordes Of Chaos’) and old (‘Pleasure To Kill’) offerings alike.

Blind Guardian (5/5) provide the perfect soundtrack to a setting sun. From the moment opener ‘Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill)’ snakes through the P.A., the audience is captured in a world of sonic majesty, technical grandeur, soulful melodies, and hobbits. Vocalist Hansi Kürsch bellows ‘Nightfall’, shrieks ‘Fly’ and leads the fellowship in an extended, a cappella rendition of the inevitable ‘Valhalla’, remaining nothing less than charming all the while; he’s probably the only man who can pour such emotion into a song called ‘Lord Of The Rings’ and not look like a twat. Truly a highlight of the festival.

It’s a shame that one particular festival attendee does not see it appropriate that headliners Cradle Of Filth (4/5) should play for the duration of their stated set time this evening. After a run through of staples, including ‘Dusk And Her Embrace’ and ‘Nymphetamine’, as well as some new abominations and lovely surprises such as ‘Shat Out Of Hell’ and ‘Under Huntress Moon’, ‘missiles’ are thrown at the band, and injury forces them to retreat back into their coffins to slumber until next time. An unfortunate ending to a spectacular evening, all thanks to one selfish fucking arsehole.

Even working on a day of rest, small technical difficulties, an incompetent soundman and a smaller crowd than they deserve doesn’t stop Girlschool (5/5) from rocking out with their metaphorical (let’s hope) cocks out. Classic metal tunes come by the truckload, delivered with a speed and volume that would put the band’s male counterparts – Motörhead – to shame. Kim McAuliffe pours charisma, wit and attitude like Lemmy does Jack Daniel’s on his cereal, and raises laugh after laugh from the crowd – and they’re not pity ones either. ‘C’mon Let’s Go’, ‘Hit And Run’ and ‘Not For Sale’ get some heads nodding along, and by the time ‘Race With The Devil’ and ‘Emergency’ are aired, there’s air-guitaring, headbanging and dancing all over – both on-stage and off-. Doomy rockers Anathema’s (3/5) sleepy drawl couldn’t be better suited to a lazy Sunday afternoon drinking beer in the sunshine, and their appearance makes a welcome change of pace.

Right, that’s enough slow shit for this weekend – bring on Turisas (4/5). It’s the Finns’ last show of a two-and-a-half year tour, but, far be it from them to get it over with quickly, today’s performance is packed with the anthems and stage antics that have catapulted the Viking warriors into the big league since the release of 2007’s ‘The Varangian Way’. Yes, of course there’s a uniting ‘Battle Metal’. Yes, of course there’s a metal cover of Boney M.’s ‘Rasputin’ with each side of the audience trying to out-do each other in call-and-response throughout. Yes, of course they fire confetti everywhere at the end, only for the streamers to stick to the lighting rig and ruin Satyricon’s (5/5) dark, gothic set-up later in the night. It doesn’t matter though, because Satyricon are on fire tonight. Not literally, of course, although the Flames of Hades do burn in frontman Satyr’s eyes as he works the crowd into a moshing frenzy for ‘Fuel For Hatred’ and gets every fist in the air for ‘Now, Diabolical’. As the chilling refrains of ‘Mother North’ screech into the night air, a sense of wonderment – almost trepidation – spreads over the masses. Following all of this ferocity are the band who wrote ‘The Final Countdown’. What will happen when Joey Tempest and his merry men step out in front of this type of crowd?

The answer is: nothing out of the ordinary. Europe (3/5) fare well tonight, delivering a foolproof set of hard rock songs that get most people clapping along upon request. The problem is, however, that the band are so overlooked (especially by this clientele) that it just doesn’t really work. ‘Rock The Night’ and ‘Start From The Dark’ are powerful songs in the right setting, but in a field of pissed-up extreme metal fans who want crushing riffs, beer and laughs, the only track that gets a response is… well, you know which one it is. Leaving the main stage for the final time of the weekend, one wonders if a much more suitable band should have just laid waste to the last night of a great Bloodstock Festival. Either way, where’s the bar…