It’s rather surprising how many utter lunatics descended to the main stage at 10:45am to see crossover thrash/hardcore beatdown merchants Cage Fight. Even more surprising is just how up for violence they are this early in the morning, with crowd surfers, slam dancers and dust tornado spawning mosh pits greeting the band as they tear through opening tracks ‘Oxygen’ and ‘Guillotine’. Despite not playing live too often, then band are on stellar form, giving it their all as if its the headline slot in a dive bar weekender, daring the crowd to go harder. It’s a violent, jaw shattering way to start your day, especially with set bleak closer ‘Hope Castrated’ setting the tone of brutality for the day.
Over in the Sophie tent, there is a completely different vibe slowly crawling out of the tent walls and alluring copious punters into the shade courtesy of Vnder A Crvmbling Moon. Using the big stage screens for visuals of dead trees and similar winter bleakness, the blackened doom/post-metal outfit feels a lot more gentle with low tempo walls of sound and grooves despite their chest rumbling bass and black metal howls. The newer material on display moves away from the band’s Pallbearer lean into more abrasive territory, but sticking with the ambient explorations alongside bleak riffs and atmospherics. Its a strong set with the band both playing and sounding great, staking their claim within the UK post-metal scene as a band to watch closely.
Black metal before noon almost seems like a sin and unfortunately a lot of the audience agrees as (in the most polite way) the main stage crowd is thin for German black metal outfit The Spirit. Samples of howling winds proceed the band with just their logo adorned on the screen behind them for some enjoyable (if a touch formulaic) modern meat and potatoes black metal. There are a few minor PA issues which don’t help much, but the band are professional, powering through the forty minute set. Before their final song the vocalist notes “This is the earliest gig we ever had, thank you for coming to see us”, clearly still happy that anyone at all showed up that early in the day. Maybe a later slot in a tent would have done them well, or maybe black metal isn’t as popular with the Bloodstock audience as it once was.
The new blood stage is once again packed to the gills for the old-school death metal throwback vibes of Exorcism. They waste little time, packing in as many low-end chugs, ferocious blast beats, face-melting guitar solo’s and guttural roars as they can into their thirty minute showcase set. The opening track has a little ode to ‘I Cum Blood’ by Cannibal Corpse, which gets an appreciative cheer from the packed crowd. The energy is night and day from The Spirit, with the band giving the crowd every ounce of energy they can muster. The crowd are just as receptive, even getting a few crowd surfers alongside the lunatic pits swelling in the centre of the tent. It’s a very impressive demonstration of how Exorcism won their Metal 2 The Masses heat as that set felt untouchable.
Back in the Sophie tent for more experimental noises, this time courtesy of Sheffield blackened post-metal brood Ba’al. The crowd are looking a lot more alive now, whilst not rammed, there are far more folks about to witness the dreary melodic post-metal gloom. Strong affects of emotionality run throughout the core of the songs, leaning on the melodic senses to snag audiences into the hypnotic atmospheres and gut punches of the more abrasive blackened elements. It’s no surprise their newest release The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here is garnering so much attention, as live the tracks are unbelievable. It’s almost a shame they’re on so early in the day, as between themselves and Vnder A Crvmbling Moon they showcase the quality of the UK’s post-metal scene.
Clearly the opening night party didn’t beat too many punters down as British doom metal mainstays Famyne have a respectable, crowd down to see them early in the morning. With a drawn out folk tinted acoustic intro building the tension, the band aptly start with ‘Sledgehammer’, smashing the hangovers away with one fell swoop. The wind is throwing the sound a touch, but for the most part the pensive doom slowly emanates from the main stage and envelopes the arena in a fog of gut rumbling riffs, moving through the likes of ‘Long Lost Winter’, ‘Solid Earth’ and ‘Dreamweaver’. It’s easy to see why Famyne are well respected in the British underground when they pull off early morning sets like this with ease and close with the powerful ‘For My Sins’.
Over in the New Blood tent, strange things are happening as crowds start to pile in. Coming as a double edged sword, Tealdeer lose ten minutes at the start of their set, but it allows for more inquisitive punters to make their way in as the excitement reaches a fever pitch when the band take the stage. They put on a great set, full of energy and making the most of the opportunity despite the tech issues and some audio wobbles at the start. The vocalist is down the front on the barrier giving the crowd his all and the deer masked guitarist adds a level of intrigue as a driving force behind the bands lore leanings. Despite delving into post-hardcore and mainstream metal core territory, the crowd are absolutely eating it up and the band have no doubt gained scores of new fans.
The main stage crowd is still looking a little thin by the time Konvent’s intro track starts to stir. Industrial rumblings bubble underneath eerie samples of a children’s choir as the Danish death doom four piece take their places and vent pure fury in the form of ‘In the Soot’. The set is a nice mix of pulls from their two releases so far, putting on a showcase set for their third uk show. There were some minor tech gripes, the vocals in particular get a little crispy, but if anything that compliments the band’s sound. For a four piece, they sound monumental booming from the main stage PA and are playing superb. Its vicious and unrelenting, hopefully this leads to more UK opportunities for Konvent in the future as they show off their unstoppable force.
Often considered an underrated prospect from back in the day, thrash metal veterans Flotsam & Jetsam make their return to Bloodstock after eleven years. Clearly thrash was enough to stir a lot of folk from their pits as the arena becomes noticeably busier. That being said, its as classic thrash as classic thrash gets, they’ve got the classic sound, the classic look sticking to the old school thrash garms (with the singer donning an iron helm at one point). It does what it says on the tin, just some old fellas ripping high speed metal fury for forty minutes to an appreciative audience who just want to run in circles and sweat out their hangovers.
The excitement for Paleface Swiss’ first ever UK festival slot is so palpable that the pits start to open before the band have even played their first note. The rising deathcore stars have been making one hell of a name for themselves on the European live circuit and even by the end of opening track ‘Hatred’ it is apparent the hype is very real. The entire set is a constant blur of crowdsurfers and mosh pits, the vocalist spitting deathcore bars or bellowing disgusting growls across the field, the whole band oozing energy and crowd eating it up with every passing moment. They seemed like complete professionals, nailing their first uk festival set and handling the massive messy crowd with ease. They do not hold back and give the crowd everything they’ve got and there is no doubt that it won’t be long before they move on to bigger and better things.
Jumping on the bill on short notice to replace British prog act Haken, And So I Watch You From Afar already had big shoes to fill before they took the stage at The Great Hall. Already taking the top spot in the UK’s niche post-rock scene headlining Arctangent, Portals, Strangeforms and Core Festivals and selling out venues around the UK alongside Delta Sleep and Maybeshewill, ASIWYFA show that instrumental rock can still win over an audience.
While many post-rock acts have earned the genre a reputation as stuffy and slow, ASIWYFA bring a healthy dose of energy to their live show with dramatic dual guitar riffs and urgent rock percussion. Keeping things fresh without losing any steam, the Belfast quartet shred through hits from their latest album Megafauna as well as fan favourites such as ‘Set Guitars To Kill’ and set closer ‘Big Thinks Do Remarkable’, delivering a rowdy show while barely saying a word.
While Cardiff locals may recognise Teethin frontman James Minas from his noisy and highly acclaimed hip-hop project MINAS, the 5 piece band bring together clashing elements from across the South Wales underground including Abergavenny dream pop artist Em Koko and Welsh producer Dontheprod into a mini supergroup of eclectic talent. Like a Welsh Death Grips, Teethin bring together punk attitude, noise rock chaos and hip-hop grooves into a brilliantly varied and wonderfully unhinged live experience.
Already an established presence, Minas oozes natural frontman charisma, allowing the other members to build up layers of intense noise. With tracks such as ‘My Generation’ from their recently released debut EP Greed Between The Lines jumping from R&B to shoegaze to noise rock, Teethin cement themselves as one of Cardiff’s premier genre-defying acts.
Opening the night, Leeds metalcore champions Killing Me Softly have the unenviable task of playing to a room that is barely a third full. For a band with such an immediate and confrontational sound, their set starts out feeling fairly understated—clean vocals in the mix, a low-key stage presence, and calls to the crowd that take a while to land. About ten minutes in, things begin to pick up as their trademark intensity draws the nodding heads forward and they pay homage to headliners Poison the Well, who are acknowledged as a formative influence on the band. The set showcases four of the six tracks from their excellent new EP To Forever Fall Through God’s Safety Net as well as set staple ‘Piano Wire Smile’ and it’s hard to deny the ferocity and intent of the writing. Still, the ending is abrupt: no sign-off, just a stealthy exit after 23 minutes of what was billed as a 30-minute slot. Whipping up the energy of a room as sizeable as Electric is no small task, but it felt like an opportunity not fully grasped by a band on the rise.
As the lights drop and applause ripples through Kentish Town Forum, three impossibly young figures shuffle onto the stage. This San Francisco trio, clad in gloriously slouchy ’90s fashion (baggy jeans, oversized flannel etc) bring and iconic grunge energy to this North London venue. Bathed in stark white light, Midrift launch into their set with all eyes glued to the floor, instruments hanging almost as long as their arms. There’s no time for small talk, no dramatic openers. Just lush, reverb-soaked guitar tones and drums that bring it all together. By the second song, the energy detonates. The beat shifts into a hardcore tinged territory with light two-stepping breaking out near the front. It’s unexpected, but it works. As they play, The Forum fills up fast, as the young band impress the newcomers. Most bands would crumble under the weight of this crowd, especially with the headliner’s drum kit looming behind them like a challenge. But Midrift don’t flinch and what they play is the sound of 2025’s alt scene: nostalgic, sulky, fuzzed-out and completely locked in.
“This is a dream come true. Basement are our favourite band,” murmurs frontman Gus Merkan between tracks, barely louder than the audiences cheers. Drummer Kai Neukermans explodes into a full-throttle solo toward the end of the set, shaking the Forum’s rafters and sending the crowd into a frenzy. Cheers and screams echo as he quickens the pace before they begin their last song. The only real critique? Confidence and stage presence. Yes, shoegaze thrives in introversion, but a little movement, a glance at the crowd, a spark of charisma, these things could take Midrift from “band to watch” to headliner in their own right. Brooding, nostalgic, and emotional. Midrift are a fantastic opener.
