Bloodstock Open Air Metal Festival 2009

Official Artwork For UK's Bloodstock Open Air Metal Festival

Organizers of next year's Bloodstock Open Air 2009 - which will be held from August 14th-16th August 2009 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England - have issued the following update:

"For those of you who don’t know the history behind the artwork – Bloodstock was of course born in Derby, so Paul (Gregory
Director And Festival Organiser) had the great idea of using some of Derby’s folk law ‘The Derby Ram’ to represent the image of the festival. After the first Bloodstock ’indoor’ festival in 2001 we decided to hold a competition for you guys to come up with a suitable name for the Ram and so ... ‘S-tan’ was born. And to each year there after ‘S-tan’ has become an integral part of the Bloodstock family. We hope you like it .

The Bloodstock Open Air 2009 bill so far includes: KATATONIA, THE HAUNTED, SABATON, TURISAS and WINTERSUN.

For more info visit www.bloodstock.uk.com.

Bloodstock Open Air 2009 - CANDLEMASS Confirmed


Swedish doom legends CANDLEMASS have been confirmed for next year's Bloodstock Open Air 2009, which will be held from August 14th-16th August 2009 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England.

Acts on the bill now include: CANDLEMASS, KATATONIA, THE HAUNTED, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, SABATON, TURISAS and WINTERSUN.

For more info visit www.bloodstock.uk.com.

Candlemass' Lucifer Rising EP was released in October. It features two brand new tracks 'Lucifer Rising' and 'White God'. It also contains a re-recorded version of 'Demon's Gate' live in the studio.

As a bonus you will get most of the recordings from the band's gig in Athens last year: 'At The Gallows End', 'Solitude', 'Emperor Of The Void', 'Devil Seed', 'Under The Oak', 'Mirror Mirror', 'Of Stars And Smoke', 'Black Dwarf' and 'Samarithan'.

Says the group, "Yes, it is probably the worlds longest EP!!"

Bloodstock Open Air 2009 - SAXON Confirmed


British metal legends SAXON have been confirmed for next year's Bloodstock Open Air 2009, which will be held from August 14th-16th August 2009 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England.

Acts on the bill now include: SAXON, CANDLEMASS, KATATONIA, THE HAUNTED, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, SABATON, TURISAS and WINTERSUN.

For more info visit www.bloodstock.uk.com.

Bloodstock Open Air 2009 - APOCALYPTICA Confirmed

Famed Finnish cellists APOCALYPTICA will be performing their only 2009 show in the UK at next year's Bloodstock Open Air 2009, which will be held from August 14th-16th August 2009 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England.

Acts on the bill now include: AMON AMARTH, APOCALYPTICA, CANDLEMASS, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, THE HAUNTED, KATATONIA, SATYRICON, SAXON, SABATON, TURISAS and WINTERSUN.

For more info visit www.bloodstock.uk.com.

Bloodstock Open Air 2009 - Third Stage Renamed, BEHOLDER And PYTHIA Confirmed







Bloodstock Open Air 2009 will be held from August 14th-16th at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England.

Organizers check in with the following news:

"The Bloodstock Team are very proud to announce their 3rd Stage (previously known as the Lava Stage) will be renamed this year The Sophie Lancaster Stage.

They felt this would be a fitting tribute to a young girl who was brutally attacked along with her boyfriend in 2007 while walking through her local park in Bacup, Lancashire. Sophie and her boyfriend were singled out not for anything they had said or done, but because they looked and dressed differently. Unfortunately Sophie later died in hospital following the injuries from this vicious and unprovoked attack.

Bloodstock organiser Paul Gregory said, “It is our hope that renaming the stage will help to keep Sophie’s memory alive and raise awareness to our society that this kind of brutal behaviour will not be tolerated”.

Sophie’s family have set up The Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Through the Foundation they hope to provide training to professionals in order to raise awareness of the prejudice and violence faced by people from alternative subcultures. The foundation will develop and deliver workshops tackling the issues and challenging pre-conceptions. They will work towards offering advice and information to whoever may need it. This foundation will continue the campaigning in the same dignified manner adhered to since the attack on Sophie and her boyfriend Rob though the S.O.P.H.I.E. Campaign.

Sophie's brother, Adam Lancaster said, “What happened horrified more people then we could ever know, not just the attack but the pointlessness of it all. We thank you for your thoughts and wishes and look forward to being involved with Bloodstock in 2009."

Two acts that will perform on the stage include female fronted Goth / Metal band PYTHIA who were brought together by a love of gothic literature and metal. Pythia are a group of classical and metal inspired musicians who believe that music is a lifestyle that should be lived only by the brave and true of heart.

Bloodstock also welcome back crowd favourites BEHOLDER, who on their latest release Unleash The Hell, have written and recorded a track dedicated to the memory of Sophie entitled ‘You’ll Never Take Us Down’. With Beholder's wild antics, powerful material and their strong support of the Sophie Campaign, it promises to be a fitting tribute.

If you wish to make a donation to The Sophie Lancaster Foundation you can find out how to do this by visiting www.myspace.com/inmemoryofsophie."

As previously reported, acts on the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2009 include: AMON AMARTH, APOCALYPTICA, CANDLEMASS, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, THE HAUNTED, KATATONIA, SATYRICON, SAXON, SABATON, TURISAS and WINTERSUN.

For more info visit www.bloodstock.uk.com.