Another glorious weekend of metal in a field is done for the year! The annual August pilgrimage to Derbyshire is done! 

As always, Bloodstock pulled it out the bag with the line up this year! With Trivium, Machine Head and Gojira headlining the main stage across the weekend alongside incredible bands on the rest of the line up! 

Let's sum up some of the best bands of the weekend as well as chatting about the big 3 mainstage headliners! 

Friday was headlined by the heavyweight transatlantic powerhouse that is Trivium! 

Having just come off the Poisoned Ascendancy tour in May 2025, it was great to see them still on absolutely top form. 

Playing a set list of songs that not only spanned their career, they also did fantastic Black Sabbath and Metallica covers! Being joined by Robb Flynn of Machine head for their roaring rendition of "Symptom of the Universe" and then guest spots throughout their set from III from Sleep Token, Ihsan from Emperor and Josh from Malevolence! 

Finishing out their set with "The sin and the sentence", amongst a flurry of fireworks. They absolutely set the tone for the rest of the headline bands over the weekend! 

Having seen Trivium quite a few times in various settings over the years, I truly believe this is up there as one of their strongest performances and look forward to seeing them again in the future! 

My favourite non headline band of Friday who I highly recommend you check out is Compounds! Simon saw these guys going through the heats of metal to the masses this year, and was who got me onto them! 

They are an absolutely ferocious group who hail from down South, and are absolutely incredible live! 

If you don't know them yet, get to know them! 

My favourite song of theirs is "Survive or Die" and I highly recommend you check them out! 

Saturday rolled round and it was Machine Head day! 

I had been very excited for this headline slot but also for Static X! A band who had evaded me for years! Having had tickets for the tour that was cancelled when Wayne tragically passed away, I had been keen to see them back in the UK! 

Machine Head opened with one of my absolute favourite songs of all time - Imperium! 

A song from the album "Through the Ashes of Empires", which has always been special to me and a song that will always hold a substantial amount of nostalgia for me! 

First time I saw Machine Head was on this tour, and I have very fond memories of it being my first pit too! 

A polished set from these absolute metal legends, which included an incredibly touching tribute to their publicist Michelle, who tragically passed away and was a huge part of the family at Bloodstock. 

A fantastic set, with a personal favourite being the throwing of beer to Banana man! What a hero! 

My favourite non headline band of Saturday, this could've gone to quite a few bands if I'm honest! But I'm gonna stick to my roots here and say Creeper!

Suffice to say, I was surprised when they got announced on the line up and was excited to see what they would bring to the Bloodstock main stage! 

Creeper are absolute local heroes for me. Having played at small local venues like The Joiners in Southampton not that long ago, to now playing to huge crowds on the main stage at Bloodstock! It's great to see them getting the recognition they deserve, and the new album is out on Halloween! It's titled "Sanguivore II - Mistress of Death". 

Special mention absolutely has to go to Static X though! Headlining the Sophie Lancaster Tent and celebrating 25 years of the seminal album "Wisconsin Death Trip" made for an unbelievable show! 

These guys have been a band I've wanted to see for SO many years, and their music has been a soundtrack for my life since I was 15 years old! Suffice to say.... They did not disappoint! 

An electric show full of fun, headed up by Xer0, the show was full of energy and hit most of the songs that I have waited so long to hear! 

I am crossing everything that someday soon, they do a proper UK tour! Preferably the US tour that they're doing with Mudvayne! 

If you're reading this, we would LOVE to have that tour in the UK and Europe! Pretty please! 

Sunday rolled round way too fast as it always does festival weekends and it's Gojira headlining day! 

The Sunday of a festival is always a sad feeling, cause we know that the weekend of fun is nearly done for another year! 

But at least when we are at Bloodstock we know we have a great Sunday line up to look forward to! 

The festival was closed this year by French metal royalty Gojira! 

This is the band's second time headlining Bloodstock and as always, they have absolutely bought their all! Having previously headlined in 2018, they definitely bought the show they are very known for! 

A visual show of fire, Pyro and fun alongside their majestic songs and sense of humour shining through! 

A great performance from the French legends! 

Final special mention goes to a band who prior to Bloodstock on Sunday... I didn't know much about! But after catching their set by accident... I am absolutely obsessed! 

I am talking about the Folk Metal Germans known as Feuerschwanz! 

Hearing these guys was by pure accident on a mission across the field, and they quite literally stopped me in my tracks! 

Hailing from Bavaria in Germany, and having never played a UK show before. This was their first ever UK performance and they absolutely blew everyone away! Myself included! 

There was something very special about Medieval inspired German Metal! 

Overall, Bloodstock will always hold a very special place in my heart being the first festival I'd ever been to in the UK! 

Next year is already nearly sold out, so if you wanna get yourself to the field get your tickets ASAP!