Bloodstock 2017: Final day feat. Megadeth, Possessed, Obituary and more

Possessed

If Possessed had not come kicking and screaming out of the Bay Area in the mid-80s, it is just possible that death metal – at least as we know it today – may never have happened.

To see these true genre pioneers at Bloodstock was a treat indeed, and the quartet did not disappoint with a blistering set takes predominantly from the band’s seminal albums’ Beyond The Gates and Seven Churches.

Singer and sole original member Jeff Becerra, in a wheelchair after he was shot and paralysed in a robbery in 1989, is in fine form, headbanging around the stage and raising horns to the crowd as he screamed along with complete abandon.

We get all the old classics, with personal favourite Tribulation and Holy Hell going down particularly well with the Bloodstock crowd.

They also play a new song, the heavy-as-a-brick Shadow Cult which bodes well for the upcoming album on Nuclear Blast – the band’s first in more than 30 years.

Fallen Angel surges by before it’s time for the immortal closer Death Metal, capping a set that cherished Possessed’s past glories while also promising a bright new era ahead.

Obituary

Following the legendary Possessed onto the Bloodstock stage in mid-afternoon is no easy task, but this is Obituary we are talking about.

If Possessed initiated the rise of death metal, Obituary were one of a select few bands that defined the style in the late 80s and early 90s.

The Florida quintet have gone on to build a legacy by releasing albums that are of a consistently high quality, with last year’s self-titled release arguably the best record they have done in decades.

Today we get the full works from them, as John Tardy and the boys deliver a punishing set filled with savage riffs that takes from pretty much every album they have ever put out.

One minute they are fast and furious, the next they slow down to a snail’s pace that is almost suffocating in its heaviness.

Chopped In Half and Turned Inside Out, both from the stone cold classic Cause Of Death rattle by, as does Slowly We Rot’s Till Death which features a great groove part that sends the ever growing circle pit into stomp mode.

While the oldies are undoubtedly great, Obituary’s newer material sounds fantastic in the live setting, particularly the incendiary 10,000 Ways To Die from their latest record.

As the final chords of the title track from Slowly We Rot ring out across Catton Park, the Bloodstock faithful know that once again Obituary have delivered on the main stage.

Megadeth

Megadeth were the chosen ones to close out Bloodstock for the second time, and there was an added air of expectation due to the fact that guitarist Kiko Lourerio and recently recruited drummer Dirk Verbeuren were making their UK debuts.

Judging by the huge crowd that gathers in front of the main stage it appears that very few people have decided to make a quick getaway, the idea of Megadeth blasting out a slew of timeless thrash classics being the perfect way to end the festival.

Legendary frontman Dave Mustaine marches onto the stage and the band launches straight into Hangar 18 against a backdrop of an impressive computer generated film that depicts the song’s alien conspiracy theory.

Next up it’s The Threat Is Real from last year’s majestic Dystopia album, followed by Wake Up Dead from the debut album and So Far So Goods’ In MY Darkest Hour.

We’re a good 50 minutes into the set before Mustaine addresses the crowd. “I don’t want to waste your time by fu*king talking tonight,” he says, to loud cheers.

That makes a change, Dave.

The setlist was drawn from Megadeth’s entire back catalogue, with some of the older songs given a little tweak here and there.

Sweating Bullets prompted a frenzied mosh pit down the front, drawing impressive nods of approval from Loureiro, who looked a natural fit for Megadeth and dealt with his solos with consummate ease all night.

Everything slows down for the brooding A Tout Le Monde from Youthenasia, before a quite breathtaking double blast from Dystopia – the instrumental Conquer Or Die! setting things up nicely for the album’s title track.

The only downside is Mustaine’s voice, which appears to be on the point of giving out towards the end of the set.

But truth be told his vocals have never been the band’s strongest point, and the version of Megadeth we see tonight seems pretty tight overall – although who knows how long they will last given Mustaine’s revolving door policy.

There’s still time for a few fan favourites, and Symphony Of Destruction and the obligatory Peace Sells… send the crowd the crowd home chanting Megadeth into the Bloodstock sky.

It is a fitting end to what many believe was the best Bloodstock yet.

Honourable mentions

If I ever meet the collective members of Bossk I will feel obliged to offer them an apology.

Having first seen them years ago I thought they were decent but nothing special, and as a result allowed them to slip off the radar. My mistake.

Tonight the Kent six-piece, who appear to have split around 2009 and then reformed in 2012, put on one of the most mesmerising performances of this year’s Bloodstock.

It’s heavy, hypnotic and completely absorbing, and the large crowd gathered at the Sophie Lancaster stage lap it up.

Tracks from last year’s Audio Noir album show just how much damage a three guitar attack can do.

Chilean thrashers Criminal deserve a much bigger crowd than the one that greets them on the same stage in the late afternoon.

The quartet are eight albums into a career spanning three decades, but have never got the attention they deserve outside their home continent.

They get some love at Catton Park, with a small but incredibly enthusiastic circle pit in situ for the majority of their set and a group of their countrymen stage front waving a Chile flag.

Songs like opener Paranoia, Root Of All Evil and Rise And Fall from 2005’s Sicario album are strong enough to put Criminal up there with some of the greats of the genre.

Everest Queen from Stevenage put on a mightily impressive display on the Jagermeister stage, drawing cheers of appreciation from the decent sized crowd that gathered there.

Genre obsessives would probably term their sound progressive sludge, but the bottom line is that it is as catchy as hell.

I expect there will be great things to come from Everest Queen, who have just dropped a new EP Grave Dweller.