{"id":1971,"date":"2026-08-10T17:22:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T17:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/?p=1971"},"modified":"2026-08-31T17:24:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T17:24:49","slug":"bloodstock-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/08\/10\/bloodstock-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Bloodstock 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Catton Park, Derby, 6th-9th August 2026<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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I think Bloodstock has officially become my favourite festival.<\/p>

After going for the first time last year, I was already pretty sure of this, but this year’s weekend really cemented it. BOA somehow manages to sit in that extra sweet spot where there is enough of the ridiculousness that makes metal fun, while still taking the music seriously enough to put some of the biggest names in the genre on the same bill as some of the weirdest and heaviest bands you could possibly book. This year also happened to be absolutely bloody boiling… It was hot from the moment I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday I think most of us had already accepted that we were simply going to spend the rest of the weekend covered in a sticky concoction of suncream, sweat and dust. (yum!)<\/p>

Having a great group of pals to camp with made a massive difference, too. Festivals can be brilliant on their own, been there done that got the t-shirt, but there is something particularly splendid about having people around you who are just as happy sitting around camp for hours as they are running off to catch the next band. A lot of my weekend was spent doing exactly that: figuring out who we were going to see, deciding when we could be bothered to walk over to the arena and, inevitably, ending up at the same food stalls again. In my case, that meant returning to the Greek place for a halloumi gyros often enough that I probably should have asked for a loyalty card…<\/p>

The other thing I’ve come to really appreciate about Bloodstock is how easy it is to spend an entire day there without feeling like you’re just waiting for the next band. The vendor area is becoming a particular weakness of mine, especially because I’ve realised Bloodstock might be my favourite festival for buying patches. There are sellers from all over the country, so you get a really good mix of independent businesses and things that you don’t necessarily see at the usual gig merch stands. I went home with more patches than I needed, obviously, but that’s becoming something of a Bloodstock tradition.<\/p>

All of that and I’ve not even got started on the music yet! Let’s talk about some of the bands I saw, shall we…<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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Thursday<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Thursday’s highlight for me was Saxon, which feels like a very appropriate way to start a Bloodstock weekend.<\/p>

There is something really special about seeing one of the bands that helped define the NWOBHM playing to a festival audience like this. Bloodstock has always had a strong relationship with the old guards of metal, and seeing Saxon given a proper place on the bill rather than being treated as some sort of nostalgia act felt completely right. They were brilliant, and their set was a reminder of just how much of the music we now take for granted can be traced back to bands like Saxon.<\/p>

It’s one of the things I particularly like about Bloodstock: you can spend the weekend discovering something you’ve never heard before and then, a few hours later, be watching a band that has been doing this for longer than some of the audience have been alive…<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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Friday<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Friday was a bit more chaotic, and when the festival got started properly for me.<\/p>

I was particularly looking forward to Blood Countess, and despite the fact that I was expecting their set to be considerably busier, I really enjoyed it. The time slot probably didn’t help. There is something slightly masochistic about standing in a tent for black metal at 11am when the temperature outside is approaching 30 degrees, but apparently that is exactly the sort of thing I enjoy doing. If you had offered me the choice between sitting somewhere shaded with a cold drink and standing in an absolutely boiling tent watching black metal before lunchtime, I would probably have made the wrong decision every single time…<\/p>

Then, after a quick trip back to camp for a costume change, came Party Cannon, and this is where my weekend took a turn for the ridiculous. I watched them dressed as a banana – if you’re going to watch Party Cannon, you may as well commit to their bit after all. Their set was exactly the sort of stupid fun that makes festivals like Bloodstock so enjoyable. There is a particular kind of joy in watching a chuggingly heavy band while the person next to you is dressed as a piece of fruit, and I don’t think every festival can quite pull that off as well as Bloodstock.<\/p>

Wednesday 13 rounded off the night really nicely for me, bringing a completely different flavour to the line-up so far. His theatrical flair fits Bloodstock incredibly well, and after spending so much of the day getting progressively hotter, it was nice to hear something with a bit more of a gothy-shock-rocky vibe before heading off to bed.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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Saturday<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Saturday was a bit chilled for me band-wise, which was definitely nice after such a busy day previously. Froglord kicked the day off bright and early as the first act to take to the Sophie stage, and were probably one of the highlights of the weekend. If you’ve never encountered them before, the concept is fairly self-explanatory, but somehow seeing a frog-themed doom band complete with amphibian go-go girls at Bloodstock makes perfect sense. Their sound is swirling and sludgy, but there is enough absurdity surrounding it to make the whole thing incredibly entertaining.<\/p>

That combination is one of the reasons I love the Bloodstock line-up. It doesn’t feel like every band has been chosen to fit neatly into the same version of what a metal festival should look like. There is room for the legends, the genuinely filthy death metal bands and whatever the hell Froglord are doing, and somehow it all works!<\/p>

Sanguisugabogg took things considerably further into the depths. Their set was absolutely heaving, and I think they had one of the biggest crowds I saw all weekend. They were neck-breakingly heavy, the crowd was completely feral and it was exactly what I wanted from a death metal set. Between them and 200 Stab Wounds on Sunday, the heavier side of this year’s line-up ended up being one of the real highlights of the festival for me.<\/p>

By this point, I was also becoming increasingly aware that I, a notoriously sun-sensitive redhead,\u00a0 had spent an unreasonable amount of the weekend either watching bands in sweaty tents or standing in the beaming rays. My body was most definitely
beginning to question my choices… I chose to ignore it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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Sunday<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sunday was probably the biggest day for me, musically. Kittie were one of the acts I had been most excited to see, and they absolutely lived up to the anticipation. It was great to see a female-fronted act getting such a strong slot on the bill, particularly a band with the history Kittie have. They’ve been around since the late ’90s and carved out their own place in a scene that was, and still is, overwhelmingly male, so seeing them on the Bloodstock main stage stage felt pretty significant. Their set was one of those festival performances where you suddenly forget how hot, tired and generally disgusting you feel because you’re too busy enjoying yourself all one your ones.\u00a0<\/p>

Then there was Body Count, who were a bit of an unexpected surprise. I hadn’t actually planned to sit and watch their entire set. I was going to catch a bit of it and then move on, but apparently time really does fly when you’re having fun because I ended up staying for the whole thing. I’m glad I did, because they were fantastic live and completely won me over. Since seeing them I’ve also realised just how many Body Count vinyls there are floating around record stores and fairs – perhaps they’ll be the next band to worm their way into my physical media collection…<\/p>

200 Stab Wounds were another Sunday highlight, bringing exactly the sort of nasty death metal that I’d been hoping to get out of the weekend. There was no shortage of heavier music across this year’s line-up, and, like I previously mentioned, I really enjoyed having those bands sitting alongside the more established names.<\/p>

Which brings us on to Judas Priest.<\/p>

They were utterly fantastic, and there was something rather magical about watching them see out the weekend. Much like Saxon on Thursday, it felt like a proper celebration of British heavy metal rather than simply booking a legendary band because their name looks good at the top of a poster. Bloodstock understands what these bands mean to the genre, and the crowd clearly does too. Put simply, seeing Judas Priest headline a festival full of people wearing battle jackets covered in decades’ worth of patches felt exactly right, and I can’t think of a better place to have seen them (except maybe Birmingham, of course!).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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Looking back at the weekend, I think what has really made Bloodstock become my favourite festival is that it feels like a very concentrated version of everything I like about metal. There is space for the history of the genre, but there is also room for bands doing utterly crazy nonsense. You can spend Thursday watching Saxon, Friday watching Party Cannon while dressed as a banana, Saturday watching Froglord and Sanguisugabogg and then finish the weekend with Kittie, Body Count, 200 Stab Wounds and Judas Priest… That is a pretty solid four days, it has to be said.<\/p>

The heat certainly made things interesting for me this year. There were times when I genuinely wondered whether I was going to make it through the weekend without melting into a fleshy puddle, and I have never been so grateful for the existence of an ice-cold redbull and a nice, shady gazebo. But alas! Even that has become part of the memory now. So has the Greek food. So has wandering around the vendors and finding yet another patch I apparently needed. So has sitting around camp with a group of people who made the whole weekend considerably better.<\/p>

I came home exhausted, a little bit sunburnt and carrying several things I absolutely did not need. Naturally, I’m already looking forward to doing it all again.<\/p>

Bloodstock 2027, I’ll see you there.<\/p>

\u2605 \u2605 \u2605 \u2605 \u2605<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKeep Reading...\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t <\/div>\n\n
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Bloodstock 2026<\/a><\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tAugust 10, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>Gigs<\/a>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCatton Park, Derby, 6th-9th August 2026 I think Bloodstock has officially become my favourite...\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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The Business of Darkness: What Halloween Horror Nights Teaches Us About Metal Music Marketing<\/a><\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tAugust 4, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>Research<\/a>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAn analysis of how heavy metal\u2019s visual identity, mythology and symbolism create value across theme...\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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10 Bands I Can’t Wait To See At Bloodstock 2026<\/a><\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tJuly 29, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>Blog<\/a>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBefore we descend on Catton Park once again, here are the ten bands I\u2019m most looking forward to...\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\tRead More<\/a>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catton Park, Derby, 6th-9th August 2026 I think Bloodstock has officially become my favourite festival. After going for the first time last year, I was already pretty sure of this, but this year’s weekend really cemented it. BOA somehow manages to sit in that extra sweet spot where there is enough of the ridiculousness that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[22],"class_list":["post-1971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gigs","tag-festivals"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-5-1.png",1912,2400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-5-1.png",1912,2400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-5-1.png",1912,2400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-5-1-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-5-1-239x300.png",239,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-5-1-816x1024.png",800,1004,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-5-1-1224x1536.png",1224,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-5-1-1632x2048.png",1632,2048,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Izzy Grady","author_link":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/izzytheadmin_6534540\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Gigs<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Catton Park, Derby, 6th-9th August 2026 I think Bloodstock has officially become my favourite festival. After going for the first time last year, I was already pretty sure of this, but this year’s weekend really cemented it. BOA somehow manages to sit in that extra sweet spot where there is enough of the ridiculousness that…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1971"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1991,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971\/revisions\/1991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}