Just to say well done on a class day out. Gamma Ray stole the show for me but I enjoyed every band I saw. Now to start paying back all the money I spent on CDs and t-shirts
Roll on Bloodstock 2003!
Just to say well done on a class day out. Gamma Ray stole the show for me but I enjoyed every band I saw. Now to start paying back all the money I spent on CDs and t-shirts
Roll on Bloodstock 2003!
I too wish to thank all the organisers for a truly excellent day out. I agree with Astermain, GammaRay did it for me but all the bands I saw were superb. I was particularly impressed with Elvenking's performance, it was great of them to put together that set with Martin at the last minute and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Congratulations and I look forward to next years event.
dragonmaiden
Lady of the Vale Forlorn
I agree...a throughly excellent day!! Gamma Ray were certainly my faves too. They totally blew me away. Awesome!!Blind Guardian were also excellent as were Freedom Call.
Made my day meeting them all too and getting some stuff signed. My photos of Gamma Ray will be treasured. Great memories of a great day.
Thought the stalls were good and the prices were good too! My only moan was the surly security staff. I didn't have a problem with them personally but I was stood at the front for all the above set and they way they dealt with the photographers looked pretty off...I know they had a job to do but they could have been a little more pleasant about it!!
Can't wait for next year....let's hope it's Iced Earth!!
A security guard in a red shirt (with glasses) barged through me as if i wasnt there when i was walking through where he wanted to go. Didnt say sorry either. Behaviour like that i dont have time for personally.
Other than that, a briliant day. Gamma Ray stole the show, but Diamond Head were amazing. As were Balance of Power, even if they did have problems, they were good enough for me to buy their cds (got them signed too!). Blind Guardian were awesome during Vallhalla and Welcome To Dying, but they arent really my thing. Also their lead guitarist had an awful 'generic digital guitar' sound, no tone at all, he was superb though!
Cant wait til next year!
I didnt have a clue you couldnt take pictures unless you were a rock society member! I mean fair enough they shud be able to get good angles and positions.. but shouldnt the rest of us be able to take pictures from amoungst the crowd?
I had a fantastic time too, as a member of one of the bands and an audience member.
Bloodstock is everything a festival should be; the merch and food stalls were excellent, without the extortionate prices normally found at these events and all of the bands I saw were superb. For me Sabbat and Threshold were the standout bands but Gamma ray were awesome too. BG were good but seemed to lack the energy of the Rays on the night.
I only saw one bit of trouble the whole day. Two guys almost came to blows outside the Darwin suite doors and guess what? They were BOTH security. It took another security guy to part them. Weird...
What Dragonmaiden failed to mention was that while we were waiting for Blind Guardian she was actually struck on the lower forearm by a missile hurled from the back the room. This was witnessed by a member of the Security team. He examined the missile (Half a polo mint) and proceeded to the barriers, climbed up and stared menacingly into the crowd for 10 mins in an attempt to identify the perpetrator. However unfortunately the guilty culprit's hide was saved when the presence of Guardian foiled the security guard in his attempts to ascertain the phantom mint thrower.
I'm sure you'll all be pleased to know that DragonMaiden suffered no permanent harm by the immature action of the mint throwing individual and we'd both like to personally thank the security guard for protecting us from the forces of evil.
What photographers are you on about? The ones that were between the barrier and the stage were official photographers and would have need a photo pass to get there. The Rock Society members weren't given any special treatment regarding this either.......they would have been in the crowd taking the pictures same as you were...........well those of you who got their cameras in past the security anyway!!!!
dragonmaiden
Lady of the Vale Forlorn
This tale of my injury is true!...However, as I am not a mint lover can I please ask that next year any projectiles aimed in my direction are of the chocolate variety!!
Threshold and Gamma Ray were the highlights for me as I was right down the front on the barrier for both, they blew away Blind Guardian and Freedom Call (two amazing performances though). The security guards were @#%$ dicks though. This kid, maybe 18 with short black hair kept giving me dirty looks throughout the Threshold set. @#%$ moron.
AlbanyRanch: I missed some of your set, but the part I caught was very good. You gonna be touring Wales in the future?
i have to say what generally was a great day out. did not help that we were held up on the m25 with a 10 car shunt. nothing major got cleared quickly but meant didn't get there until freedom call. what a great way for my day to start. have to say most of my day was spent beween the signing room (what fantastic paintings) and the main stage so sorry to the bands on the second stage. quite enjoyed balance of power and threshold and pleased to get my cd's signed. was really delighted to meet diamond head. they really are true legends and such an atmospheric show. sean posed for a photo and personally sigend my cd's. what a comedian. and thanks to the chaps from oxford that took my photos. i was one of the many that was disappointed about not getting to meet gamma ray particularly after seeing them live for the first time. absoloutely brilliant. i guess there are blind guardian fans that did not get to meet them but i was near the front so got my cd signed. i will probably not see blind guardian again. they were not badbut i thought gamma ray, freedom call and diamond head blew them away. so thanks for the memories and a great day. look forward to nextyear.
oh my only other gripe was the merchandising. the programme last year was really good quality with lots of info. this looked like a computeer generated rush job. shame considering the line up was known for months. what happened to the xxl t shirts like last year. i was one of many big lads going round for the day in last years shirt. the only xxl thing i saw was a long sleeve shirt at £20. i liked them but not that much. can anyone explain what happened. and for those of you on the opposite size of the scale i know some of the gear was to big. spoke to dino and sparx from the blaze bb and they had the reverse probs. it would be nice for the merch guys to know we are not all large or xl. some of us are med and some of us are xxl. same with the special diamond head shirts. they looked great. but again i ended up with loads more cd's and not much merchandising from a great day out.
So... pray tell, where can you get XXL band shirts? I'm very intrigued, as the XL large ones are suddenly seeming exceptionally tight across the shoulders.
Full marks to Martin and Elvenking for a blinding set! (like the ORIGINAL Skyclad, on steroids) I'll definately be checking out Elvenkings own stuff now..
R2TS's set was the best I have ever seen them and Bal-Sagoth were amazing as always. Here's to next year!
And here's to the promised R2TS/Bal-Sagoth tour! I can't wait!!
Next years line up: Cathedral, Electric Wizard, Akercocke, Opeth, C.o.B., Sloth, R2TS, Entombed, Finntroll.
Hey, I can dream...
Hails to Bloodstock's organisers!
Absolutely fantastic to see 1500+ true metallers packed into the venue, no nu-metal kiddies to @#%$ things up!
My highlights were definitely Primordial, Freedom Call & Return to the Sabbat.
Biggest disappointment was Bal Sagoth, not only did Byron come on stage with a puffy jacket & baseball cap (we want SWORDS!!!!) but the rest of the band utterly drowned his vocals out.
I for one shall definitely be returning next year, although I shall be buying MUCH more vinyl than I did this time.
Definatly Return to the Sabbat stole the show for me! Amazing! Unreal! Really amazing Metal!
A close second were Bal Sagoth! I thought they were @#%$ amazing. True the vocals were drowned out a wee bit here and there but it didnt take away from an awsome show. Brilliant!
Other bands well worth a mention that I really enjoyed were Primordial and Elvenking. Brilliant.
Well done to the organizers! And thanks to Derby Train station for the bed for the night!
well the girl on the merch stand said there was a @#%$ up with the order but there MIGHT be some available from the site in a few weeks. dont know about you though i like to get my stuff at the venue at the time as a momento not an after thought.
Dervish - thanks for the comments - it's always good to get a positive reaction and I thought we went down really well with the crowd that was there.
As for touring, well it's unlikely we'll be doing a full-blown tour unless we get some sort of backing. we will, obviously, be playing gigs around the country as and when we can get them so keep an eye on our website for new dates.
Where are you based? Our next gig is at Abracadabra's in Burton on trent on Sept 13th if you can make it. We'll be playing a longer set, too.
About the photo thing.. some of the security did offer members the chance to go in the front when they had seen their member cards, this may not be true with all security people but i saw it happen a few times. Some may have been professionals but i know some offered the chance to go up front were not
Very well organized festival, I could see clearly how the people in A Must 4 Music enjoy the metal!
My favs were Threshold and Sabbat, amazing performances and the revelation of the fetival: biomechanical (I bought their cd), really well done to these guys.
Gonzalo Mora
www.portalmetalico.es.vg
My favs were Threshold and Sabbat, amazing performances and the revelation of the fetival: biomechanical (I bought their cd), really well done to these guys.
Gonzalo Mora
www.portalmetalico.es.vg
