Mad About Rock

  With only a little over 3 weeks to go until it’s time to make your annual pilgrimage to Catton Park for BLOODSTOCK, let’s reveal the final bands performing this year… and a few more details on other cool on site entertainments too! With this last wave of Metal 2 The Masses winners now locked in, 2025’s BLOODSTOCK lineup is complete — and it’s packed with underground heroes! From thrash to tech-death to ambient metalcore, these new additions to the Timothy Taylor New Blood Stage prove once again that the future of heavy music is in very safe and very loud hands. Friday welcomes Merseyside champions OGUN , pioneers of “Pyar Scouse Metal” and masters of melodic thrash chaos. Reformed in 2022, the Liverpool wrecking crew have gone from strength to strength, recently dropping their debut album World Of Hate — and they’re ready to tear up the stage. Joining them, Brighton’s victors DEVILHUSK channel disillusionment, self-doubt, and existential fury into a genre-smashing metalcore as...

  There’s just 9 weekends ‘til your heavy metal brethren thunder their way onto Catton Park’s (un)holy lands for BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2025! So it’s about time to reveal the first batch of winners from this year’s hotly contested Metal 2 The Masses finals that have been taking place across the country, earning spots on the Timothy Taylor New Blood stage! These bands have battled their way through their local scenes to claim a coveted slot this August. Friday will see Belfast victors If It Bleeds , a five-piece delivering hardcore-infused metal in spades, make their mark on the New Blood Stage. Joining them are Sheffield champions ThunarWülf , fusing folk melodies, myths, and thunderous riffing; Manchester’s Vmbra , offering a fresh progressive rock/metal hybrid; Compounds , who won over the Southampton final with their punked up, melodic hardcore edge; and Baelfýr , the top dogs in Leicester, bringing a blackened death metal assault with accessible bite. Saturday welcomes Edinburgh’s...

  With 4 months still to go before you can shout BLOODSTOCK is next week, festival HQ has got all the details of some raucous nights out to help you pass the time and get a sneak peek at some of the freshest talent to perform at BLOODSTOCK this August, in rock clubs around the country and at the Metal 2 The Masses tour dates which kick off imminently! Plus, even if you can’t make any of those events, read on for the low down on 8 hellacious acts who’ve already seen off all the challengers to claim spots on the Timothy Taylor New Blood stage, so you can discover your new favourite band right now. Have you been following the earlier events of BLOODSTOCK’s phenomenally successful Metal 2 The Masses (M2TM) scheme? If not, now’s the time! The final 31 tour dates are locked and loaded! With a different line-up every show, one band from each night will be selected to join the line up on the Timothy Taylor New Blood Stage this August. With 31 regions taking part, across the UK, Poland, Nor...

  BLOODSTOCK wants to find the hottest new metal talent to appear across festival weekend next August! With weekend tickets for BLOODSTOCK 2025 now sold out, festival HQ is getting cracking on this year's instalment of the phenomenally successful Metal 2 The Masses (M2TM) scheme, to fill out the bands who'll be appearing on the New Blood Stage, in conjunction with sponsor Timothy Taylor. No other festival does more to support grass roots metal and local venues in the UK. BLOODSTOCK was honoured to be recognised for this at the Heavy Music Awards earlier this summer, taking home top accolade The H Award, for exceptional positive contribution to the heavy music scene by way of the M2TM initiative. There are 31 regions already confirmed to take part this year, ensuring regional heats the length and breadth of the country (plus Cyprus and Poland for good measure), making this the biggest Metal 2 The Masses scheme yet! The list of participating regions this year include: LONDON | C...

  The Metal 2 The Masses tour returns in 2024! BLOODSTOCK’s initiative to give emerging bands a step up and also support grassroots venues, kicks off on 10th May, with 30 regions and 6 countries participating. The fun begins in Belfast and rolls down through Dublin and back to England, Scotland, and Wales, taking in Norway and Poland along the way. The tour wraps up in Coventry on 15th July, with all the regional winners from the finals being revealed in due course. Check out the local events below and get along to your nearest event to support the headliners of tomorrow! BLOODSTOCK is also thrilled to announce a collaboration with Timothy Taylor’s Hopical Storm as the official Metal 2 The Masses sponsor for 2024. Expect to see them on site and lend their name to the Hopical Storm New Blood Stage! To celebrate the new partnership, BLOODSTOCK’s very own S’tan popped by their brewery to greet the team… watch here . Today also marks the first batch of bands selected to showcase their ...