Bloodstock 03

[Imp]

Bloodstock was great for the third year running
Good quality bands, SAXON was Brilliant ,Dragonforce,Biomechaincal did a great cover of creeping death by metallica, Thanks to the Drummer of this band that helped with the double bass pedal,
The only thing that spoilt the day was the swine that found my son's phone and didn't hand it in.

 

[\_/Storm\_/]

fuk yeah, it was stunning from Saxon to NightWish, enjoyed ever bit of it. However i didnt take my camera (kicks himself "again") so if any one is kind enough to send me some of there pic it would be much appreciated. i gotta say that i did stay alot in the main hall and only went to the darwin hall three times so i cant say what it was like in there, but by all accounts it was very good. this is my first bloodstock and if the next ones are going to be anything like that i can imagine im going to become a life long goer. however i do have one thing that im dissapionted with and that the Rock society. i joined after looking at the advantages:
10% discount .
let in early 30mins-hour.
get to see the sound checks.
reserved seating.
These were just a few of em. sounds good dont it.but i actually got sod all.
didnt get let in early
didnt see the sound checks
the people at the stands didnt know about the 10% discount
seats were a free for all.
and if it wasnt for the fact that the membership didnt cost much i would have been trying to hunt down vince.

ne way just like to say that bloodstock OWNED.

 

[Eagle]

however i do have one thing that im dissapionted with and that the Rock society. i joined after looking at the advantages:
10% discount .
let in early 30mins-hour.
get to see the sound checks.
reserved seating.
These were just a few of em. sounds good dont it.but i actually got sod all.
didnt get let in early
didnt see the sound checks
the people at the stands didnt know about the 10% discount
seats were a free for all.
and if it wasnt for the fact that the membership didnt cost much i would have been trying to hunt down vince.

ne way just like to say that bloodstock OWNED.

I too am in the Rock Soc and I actually thought we got treat pretty well. About 30 of us certainly got in early and Vince introduced himself and the guy who was in charge of the signing room. We then got to see Biomechanical shoot their video and do a couple of stunning versions of The Awakening. I thought a few more people would have come to see that.

I didn't get to see any of the soundchecks either but I didn't even try as I was too busy doing other things at that point so I can't comment on any problem.

I already had a Bloodstock 03 Promo T shirt so the only merchandise I bought was a program, but yeah the girls on the stand said that there was no discount but I only spent a fiver anyway so I only would have saved 50p.

The seats were a free for all but there was still plenty of room for everyone so I wasn't bothered about that.

The best thing for me though was the signing room. I got to meet and have cds signed by most of the bands that I wanted and I also got to have a decent chat with Masterplan so I was a very happy teddy bear!

 

[Lydian Lady]

The rock Society is all about supporting metal in the uk and, too be honest, isn't just about perks at festivals!

I love receiving the newsletters and the promo cd's of bands, signed and unsigned that are due to appear. I like the idea of belonging to a group of people that are passionate about their music and are prepared to put their money, and time, where their mouth is!!

The festival perks were excellent! The signing especially was really well done ( pat on the back to Lee! ) , the video shoot for biomechanical, although a bit surreal, was cool ( can't wait till the kids I teach see it on Kerrang!!).

Not getting in a bit early on Saturday was a bit of a disappointment, but to be honest, it was minor. As for the discount for bloodstock merchandise - I am more than happy to pay the full price considering what bloodstock gives me in return!

Full marks to Vince ( and all his crew) for making us mere mortals feel special and for giving us a festival that we can be a part off!!

 

[MIKESMATE]

what more can i say? was blown away by 99% of the bands there
still in shock
ears still ringing out every note from nightwish, edguy, dragonforce, blaze and power quest and many more totally awesome.

only Iron Maiden left to see this year :-(
suppose that will have to be enough eh mike?

cant wait to see who were having at BS04

 

[chazzyf]

Well, here's what I posted elsewhere.

===

Well it was a great two day show this year and if it didn't sell out completely, then it was damn close - and so it should have been - especially with the lineup in the main hall for the Saturday night.

Cool to hook up with the Powerplay folks (albeit briefly) and other friends and aquaintances from various message boards, bands etc.

Friday:
Arrived late (What's new), so I missed my mates in Powerquest produce an excellent show which got great reviews from friends & colleagues - seems that the crowd loved 'em too.

Saw 10 mins or so of Blaze's show - he puts a lot of energy into it, but his music isn't my thing.

Ditto with Saxon - they played all the hits, they got the crowd singing along and so ended the first evening.

Saturday:
the first band was on at 11:30, but BUMSNOGGER didn't interest me much and so I rolled up at 1PM just in time to catch

Mercury Rain: Femme-fronted Gothic power metal from the UK. Promising sound, but personally the female vocals were not either strong enough or varied enough to match the music. One to watch, but for the momemt 2nd division stuff.

DragonForce: Once again twarted by equipment problems (keys packed up 2 mins before they went on stage. Usual set of old favourites delivered with plenty of energy and enthusiasm. The crowd loved 'em and it was probably the best show I've seen them play for a while.

Saracen: Don't know too much about this 80's reformation, but they played a storming set. They had the best sound of the day for some reason and all the instruments could be heard really clearly. Vocals were excellent, if rather high-pitched, and the music was a sort of proggy hard rock. Tunes (old and new) were excellent and I will have to give this band's new disk a serious listen. Beforehand I had thought 'Oh No! another Now and Then band', but there's much more to them than that - good show.

Masterplan: Well they were the first band to screw up the timings, spending an extra 15 mins soundchecking - and even then things weren't fine. Roland's guitar sound disappeared during 'Enlighten Me' (Arrrgggghhh), but returned for the next tune. They played all the good tunes from their debut disk and a medley of Jorn tunes (which apart from 'Sunset Station' I didn't know). Oh, and it was Roland's birthday, so we had to sing 'Hapy Birthday' to him. Disappointing. I know that they can do better than this.

Edguy: As per Progpower in Atlanta last year, we got a storming set (almost exactly the same), with Tobi commanding the audience and explaining his desire to play a proper tour of the UK ... 'So, please everyone, go out and buy 25 copies of our new album <Burning Down The Opera>' LOL The guys were as friendly as ever and went straight out after the show 'to get shit-faced' with the fans. Top show! As I expected.

Paradise Lost: Nothing changes. Nick Holmes is a miserable git but the band perform excellently (as they have all year on this tour). A slightly shortened set, including a good mix of old and new, but after 5 mins or so, the old fans walked out [many went to watch Biomechanical - on the 2nd stage]. I stayed and enjoyed the whole set. I know they aint everybody's thing - but I like 'em as they are.

Nightwish: Wow! The crowd was really up for this and despite the late hour, the main hall was packed and the balcony seating was almost completly full as well. The setlist was not too different from what I saw them play last year, but the crowd went crazy for them [I hope that someone from Universal UK was there to see this], they sang along, waved their arms, chanted - so all in all, very animated indeded for a UK audience. The focal point as ever was Tarja - wearing white and not leather this time. She looked as if she was thoroughly enjoying herself as she headbanged and presided over events like a Master of Ceremonies - she had the audience in the palm of her hand from the first song. A complete and utter success. Universal should get a full tour organised ASAP!

Setlist:
Intro
Bless the Child
End of all Hope
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Come Cover Me
Kinslayer
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Dead to the World
Deep Silent within
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Sleeping Sun
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Ozzy (Crazy Train)
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Pharoah Sails to Orion
She is my Sin
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Slaying the Dreamer
Wishmaster
----- (encores)
Walking in the Air
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Over the Hills


Band of the Festival: Nightwish
best band for crowd interaction: Edguy
Biggest surprise Saracen
Biggest Disappointment Masterplan. They were OK, but I had such hugh expectations of them