Review: Emily Castles

The world is mourning the Prince of Darkness. Two weeks ago, the world lost the legendary Ozzy Osbourne, just five weeks after his farewell Back to the Beginning charity event at Villa Park. As the sun rises over Catton Park on this warm Friday morning, the air is thick with sadness and celebration. You can’t go two minutes without seeing someone wearing a Back to the Beginning t-shirt, and a 17-meter tribute wall looms over the main stage, encouraging fans to leave their messages of condolence. Ozzy truly reigns over this year’s festival.

Friday

We kick off Bloodstock 2025 with Norwich’s Shrapnel on the Ronnie James Dio stage. Last year the thrash band released their latest full-length album In Gravity, and after 16 years on the scene, continue to be a powerful unit.

Over on the Sophie Lancaster stage, Cheshire-based blackened deathcore Turin tear up a storm – combining hard, fast riffs with melodic interludes.

Back on the main stage, Copenhagen’s answer to the Witches of Macbeth, Konvent, takes over with ghostly frontwoman Rikke Emilie List delivering guttural growls over slow, deep-cut riffs.

They are followed by Orange Goblin who, after an impressive 30 year career, recently announced that this would be their last festival appearance in the UK before their final shows later in the year. London’s stoners deliver a high-energy set which is heart-felt.

Also following on the main stage are the almighty black metal legends, Emperor. Wearing his trademark all-black, dark sunglasses combo – Ihsahn is the ever powerful and captivating frontman. Emperor’s high-intensity and technically-complex live performances are what cements the Norwegians as one of the founding fathers of the genre.

The evening concludes with heavy metal favourites, Trivium. Just days before, the Americans released the single ‘Bury Me With My Screams’, part of an upcoming new EP, Struck Dead. With guest appearances by Machine Head’s Robb Flynn and Sleep Token’s III, plus a few others, this was a momentous closing Friday night set.

Saturday

Taking an early slot over on the Sophie Lancaster stage this glorious Saturday are Sheffield’s Ba’al. Hypnotic and depressive, their blackened doom sound bounces off the walls of the blue tent with slow riffs and harrowing vocals.

Picking up the pace over on the Ronnie James Dio are Warbringer, who bring out a dedicated crowd of moshers early on. The Californian thrash band delivers a ferocious performance.

An unexpected turn occurs when an Andrew Eldritch lookalike takes to the main stage in the form of Will Gould (aka. William von Ghould) of Southampton’s Creeper. There’s a lot of black leather, dark sunglasses and vocals so deep only orcas can hear. Whilst there’s elements of The Sisters of Mercy, the set grows more theatrical and edges into Phantom of the Opera territory.

Another unusual choice this year was Kublai Khan TX, also taking on the Ronnie James Dio stage. There’s not many frontmen at Bloodstock with a moustache, white vest and grey suit pants. However, their set is a complete knockout and the crowd are sent into a frenzy. These are the fast, heavy riffs and dirty breakdowns of a savage hardcore band.

Old school metallers Fear Factory follow, also smashing onto the main stage this warm Saturday. The industrial powerhouse have been going for over 35 years, and following the departure of Burton C. Bell in 2020 – guitarist Dino Cazares is the only member remaining from their 1989 formation (well, almost – he had a break somewhere there in the middle). Despite the many different line-ups and new albums – the crowd today feels eager to get to the 90s hits.

Following the LA outfit, Chicago’s Ministry gives Creeper a run for their money with some interesting styling. Al Jourgensen wears a furry hat in the scorching sun, as he mimes passionately over the sound of news reports on war, religion and various other topics. This is a man on a mission to share his message (although his words are often nonsensical – ‘Ding dang a dong bong bing bong’ features). The music is often completely bonkers but also catchy – a mash up on synth-pop and industrial metal. It’s definitely something to behold.

The evening concludes with Machine Head, who surely welcome the biggest wall of death of the entire weekend. Having recently released their eleventh studio album, Unatoned, the American heavy metal maestros show no signs of slowing down – and their reliable, fast and heavy riffs are met with a tremendous ovation.

Sunday

As the sun rises on the final day of this very special festival, metalcore veterans August Burns Red take on the Ronnie James Dio stage after a year spent celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album Thrill Seeker. They kick off with a cover of System of a Down’s ‘Chop Suey’ (a brave decision – but one this band have become known for), before delivering a high-energy set for the morning.

Over on the Sophie Lancaster stage, there’s a real change in energy with a bunch of satanic nuns charging out in catholic habits with thigh-high slits. Dogma are visually exciting and reminiscent of early Ghost, however the set today often feels a little more Eurovision than satanic – kind of like a Kiss meets Abba, but with corpse paint.

The vibe changes once again as Middle Eastern metal band Lowen take over the blue tent. Singer Nina Saeidi, in a traditional red dress and with flowing hair, has a hauntingly powerful voice which echoes around the tent. Exploring themes of displaced identity and using traditional Iranian Tahrir vocals – this proves one of the most memorable performances of the weekend.

It was an emotional return for the Black Dahlia Murder over on the main stage, marking the band’s return to the festival after the death of their frontman Trevor Strnad, with guitarist Brian Eschbach now stepping up to the mic, to deliver a confident and emotive set.

Back over in the Sophie Lancaster tent, blackened death-doom outfit Siglos take over, led by Sin Quirin of Misery. With ancient chants and brutal gutturals, despite only delivering their debut performance two years ago – Siglos are captivating, and demonstrate the brilliance of the mind of Quirin.

As we near the end of this year’s Bloodstock – with a 25th anniversary set for next next year – Mastodon take a leading spot on the main stage. Following the recent departure of founding member Brent Hinds, Nick Johnston takes up the guitarist spot today and fits in seamlessly.

The night concludes with another band which is no stranger to Bloodstock – France’s Gojira. After the band recently consolidating its place in history by being the first metal band to perform at the Olympic Games during the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, Gojira have become huge players in the game as one of the few metal bands that have been able to edge into the mainstream. Although there were no beheaded Marie Antoinette’s this evening, the artistic and often spiritual set is a brilliant way to end another tremendous BOA.

• For all the very latest news on Bloodstock 2026, including ticket updates, click here.