This Year’s Bloodstock offers a cracking line up! So picking our top ten bands to see this year has been incredibly difficult. So we’re giving ourselves some restrictions so that we can suggest some, perhaps, lesser known bands. This list won’t include the awesome headline acts. Emperor However, it is hard not to mention one of the biggest names in Black Metal. Least of all because their live shows are few and far between, making them a rare find to catch. Their back catalogue of extreme metal strength has given this band the unique ability to keep powering through without any new material since 2001. Truly a sight to behold this Bloodstock and one we’re excited to see. Bloodbath This supergroup are another band that rarely take to the stage. Bloodbath’s recalling of some of the classic sounds of Death Metal have given them a surprising amount of success within the extreme metal community. Heavy riffs and carving lyrics have ensured that songs like ‘Eaten’ and ‘Cry My Name’ frequent many Death Metal anthem lists. They’re memorable, powerful and a force to be reckoned with live and sincerely worth checking out. De Profundis Appearing Friday on the Sophie Lancaster stage, De Profundis, are a name that enters into many of underground Black Metal circles. Their extreme Metal bleak and fierce, they have none the less kept a consistent and powerful discography. The deep growls push forth from amazing riffs making their music noteworthy within Metal. It’s actually been a surprise not to see them cover more ground but, with this festival appearance, we may see more from such English Metallers. Orden Ogan Orden Ogan’s most recent, Gunmen, has remained consistently strong throughout. With songs that has kept with us since its release last year. This has made Orden Ogan into one of the bands that shine out as they’ve truly been on good form recently. Touring on such a strength shows a band in a good place to really tear things up. Bands like this tend to only get bigger, if they can muster up a just as powerful live show to match their music. Septic Flesh There aren’t many Death Metal acts that combine their guttural music with the epic and chilling sounds found in classical music to make a symphony of terror. Septic Flesh have mastered this and will make for an immense presence live. One that, through mud and blood, fans will mosh to. The potential for this band to really cut a deep hole into the festival with gut wrenching stab is really quite high. Also on a high note with Codex Omega and looks at their career defining music with their recent string of compilation albums; they seem just as confident in their music as we are.