The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that London black/death metal outfit AKERCOCKE have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

Akercocke were formed in 1997 by vocalist/guitarist Jason Mendonca and drummer David Gray who completed the line-up with the addition of guitarist Paul Scanlan and bassist Peter Theobalds. Their debut album ‘Rape of the Bastard Nazarene’ emerged in 1999 on the band’s own Goat of Mendes label and its subsequent success secured a deal with legendary UK label Peaceville, who issued a follow-up ‘The Goat of Mendes’ in 2001. The band switched to Earache Records for their next album, 2003’s ‘Choronzon’, an adventurous release which saw them move further from their black metal roots into more progressive death metal territory. Having replaced Paul Scanlan with Matt Wilcock, formerly of Australian death metallers The Berzerker, Akercocke continued their musical development with the well-received ‘Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone’, which emerged in 2005. Peter Theobalds quit the band to be replaced by Peter Benjamin in early 2007, prior to the release of their most recent album ‘Antichrist’ which generated even more controversy than usual, with the band’s US label refusing to print the ‘satanic’ CD booklet and religious groups in Northern Ireland up in arms over Akercocke’s plans for live dates in the Province and an outspoken appearance on a local BBC television talk show.

The band are currently preparing for two UK live dates in early June before unleashing their ferocious aural assault on Bloodstock Open Air.

Click Here to view the AKERCOCKE Bloodstock Band Profile Page .


AKERCOCKE – Summoning the Antichrist – BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.

Yes it's true - the international phenomenon that is Guitar Hero 3 is coming to Birmingham.


www.scruffymurphys.co.uk - the award winning Newton street based Rock Bar has teamed up with Bloodstock Open Air Metal Festival to bring the ultimate in interactive music gaming experience this Friday 16 May 2008. With the prize for the Winner and Runner up of a place at the UK Final at Bloodstock - the UK's Premier Metal Festival - over the weekend of 15-17 August, this is a night not be missed.

Birmingham is the first in a UK series of Guitar Hero 3 heats with each venue contributing 2 representatives to the Final. There they will compete against others who have come through the heats and also participants at the 10,000 attended Festival itself. In addition to 3 runner up prizes, there's a grand prize of £500, Bloodstock and Guitar Hero 3 merchandise and above all - a certificate acknowledging the first winner of the annual Bloodstock Festival/ Guitar hero 3 Champion. You'll have the additional bragging rights that come with your being photographed and featured on the venue, Festival and industry websites.

The proceedings start at 7.30pm and all the action will be featured on state of the art Projectors, large screens and X Box Elite consoles. GH3 features several musicians including Tom Morello (of the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave and The Nightwatchman) and Slash (of the bands Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit, and Velvet Revolver) as in-game characters. For those of you not familiar with the concept, each player uses a guitar-shaped controller to play highlighted notes of varying genres of rock music as they scroll in-time with the music - a sort of karaoke for guitarists. And you don't even need to have picked up a guitar previously or know how to read music. It really is playing by numbers and as there are several levels each with their own points system, scoring is not a challenge. But...... obtaining a great score can be though and for anyone out there who thinks that they have just the right amount of axe wielding talent and considers themselves as the next Rock God legend just waiting to be discovered then this is the game for you.

Bloodstock will have personnel in attendance on the night and will offer opportunities to purchase tickets for the Festival with on the night GH3 spot prizes available. The evening also offers a revolutionary, electronic, convenient and green method to enter with a unique ticket reference number purchased via mobile phone. For full venue details, please contact

Scruffy Murphys
Newton Street
Dale End
Birmingham
B4 7 LN

Tel: 0121 2362035
Web : www.scruffymurphys.co.uk
E-mail : bookings@scruffymurphys.co.uk

So if you've got what it takes to come through this regional heat, earning your place at the final, taking place at the UK’s biggest Metal Festival and ultimately be the overall winner playing in front of a crowd of thousands with a real band behind you............... see you at Scruffy Murphy’s this Friday.

For all terms and conditions

www.bloodstock.uk.com

Jason 07891 399 672
webmaster@bloodstock.uk.com

Bloodstock Metal Festivals is proud to associate itself with Rock Matrix and their innovative Metal initiatives.

Adam Fillary has been instrumental in pioneering revolutionary multi band/ multi level Metal music experiences in and around Kent and the South East since April 2002. His most recent and possibly ambitious set of gigs hits a crescendo this Monday 5 May 2008 in Beautiful Bexleyheath. The Darbex Metal Final, starts at 12 Noon start and finishes after 12 full on hours at 12 Midnight. As part of Bloodstock's Metal 2 The Masses UK wide initiative, Adam has 12 bands performing and complete with a stand alone room featuring Metal DJs this promises to be a record breaker on loads of levels.

Rock Matrix is keeping true to their word to supply variety, quality AND quantity of bands - keeping it as metal as possible for bands and fans. A full house is expected so for all those who know what Rockl Matrix does will no doubt get in there quick style. Others...you've been warned - the bands that are on early have just as much right to be there and you may miss a gem just by turning up late. Please support Rock Matrix as they keep the dream alive and to ensure that for loads of the bands playing on Monday ...Darbex is the start to greater things. This is just one of a series of events that Bloodstock will be working with Adam on as we expand this already creative relationship.

With a slot at the UK's premier Metal Festival up for grabs, be ready to witness some of the best Metal around;
Bloodstock hopefuls The Inbreds and Sevenyearsdead, Plus 3 bands already into the MTTM website vote namely: Without Remorse, Silent Descent, Denounce and the bands playing for the last slot: Designs of Chaos, Zocalo, Arxis and Sizen, then day guests: Schizophrenia, Conquest, Violation Complex

With an entry fee of only £4 with flyer and £5 on the day and having the entire day being filmed and recorded - what are you waiting for?
This promises to be one of the, if not THE most amazing metal gigs, staged in the Kent area.

Venue address
2 Crook Log
Bexleyheath
Kent, DA6 8BW

Telephone: 020 8301 1111

Rock Matrix: www.eventmatrix.co.uk or visit www.eventmatrix.co.uk

Regards

Bloodstock Team

www.bloodstock.uk.com
webmaster@bloodstock.uk.com

The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that Swedish true metal trio GRAND MAGUS have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

Grand Magus were formed by vocalist Janne ‘JB’ Christoffersson and bassist Foxy who cut a couple of demos with drummer Fredrik ‘Trisse’ Liefvendahl before issuing a split 7" with Spiritual Beggars, who JB would later join. This secured them a deal with Rise Above who released their self-titled debut in 2001, follow-up ‘Monument’ in 2003 and most recently ‘Wolf’s Return’ in 2005. Trisse quit the band in 2006 and was replaced by Seb who will make his recording debut with the band on their as-yet-untitled fourth album which is due just in time for Bloodstock. Although the band’s sound has evolved over the years and they’ve often distanced themselves from the ‘stoner’ tag, the combination of influences on ‘Wolf’s Return’, taking in everything from Judas Priest to Candlemass, make them one of the best traditional metal acts to emerge in recent times. Get set for a bludgeoning comeback.

Click Here to view the GRAND MAGUS Bloodstock Band Profile Page

GRAND MAGUS – Mountains Of Power – BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.

For the 2nd year running, music giants HMV are set to sell tickets for Bloodstock Open Air with 34 stores around the country which have now received their ticket allocation.

HMV are selling Bloodstock Festival tickets two months earlier than last year, and with this years line-up looking so good with bands such as: Nightwish, Dimmu Borgir, Opeth, Helloween, At The Gates and so many more great metal bands to come.

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? – GET TO YOUR LOCAL HMV STORE NOW TO BUY THE BEST VALUE METAL TICKET OF 2008!!!

LIST OF STOCKISTS AS FOLLOWS:

Birmingham High St
Brighton Churchill Sq
Bristol Broadmead
Cardiff
Derby
Doncaster
Edinburgh Princes St
Gateshead
Glasgow Argyle
Hanley
Leeds Headrow
Leicester
Lincoln
Liverpool
Manchester 90 Mkt St
Mansfield
Merry Hill
Middlesbrough
Milton Keynes
Newcastle
Northampton
Norwich
Nottingham Listergate
Oxford
Oxford Circus
Portsmouth
Reading Oracle
Rotherham
Sheffield High St
Sheffield Meadowhall
Southampton
Wakefield
Wolverhampton
York

Due to be released in June, Guitar Hero fans everywhere will be able to rock once more with Activisions latest announcement of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The latest Guitar Hero instalment gives gamers the chance to play in the shoes of Whitford (guitar), Perry (guitar) and Hamilton (bass) beside drummer Kramer and frontman Tyler.

“Having a game built around Aerosmith has been a huge honour and really a great experience for us,” says Joe Perry. “We’ve put a lot of ideas into the game so that fans can have fun interacting with our music, getting inside our body of work and learning about the band’s history.”



Players will experience the legendary career of Aerosmith, from their first gig to them becoming rock royalty, whether it’s jamming at venues from historical moments in the bands career, to rocking to Aerosmith’s greatest hits like “Sweet Emotion” or - what was recently announced by Activision – playing songs from bands that had either performed with or inspired Aerosmith.

Mott the Hoople's “All the Young Dudes”, The Kinks' “All Day and All Night,” Joan Jett's “Hate Myself for Loving You” and Cheap Trick's "Dream Police." are the recent songs that have been announced for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, to be played alongside Aerosmith’s other greatest hits within the game.

“We are extremely excited that Aerosmith chose to team up with Guitar Hero, bringing one of the world’s all-time best-selling artists together with one of the biggest video game brands, to deliver a new and unique interactive way for our customers to connect with artists and their music,” said Dusty Welch, head of publishing for Activision/RedOctane.

Many Guitar Hero 3 fans will also be pleased to hear that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith spans across a wide range of console platforms once again: Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360, allowing fans that haven’t yet upgraded to a next generation console not to be left behind.

To celebrate Guitar Hero’s collaboration with Aerosmith, Guitar Hero 3: Rock Legend fans are now able to download Aerosmith’s “Dream on” for free – which is available at the Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360 and The Playstation Store for the PS3.

The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that Scottish folk/power metallers ALESTORM have been added to the bill for BOA 2008.

Alestorm were formed in Perth in 2004 as a two-piece under the name Battleheart playing self-styled ‘True Scottish Pirate Metal’. After releasing an eponymous EP in 2006, they expanded their line-up in order to play live and subsequently issued a second EP ‘Terror on the High Seas’ as a full band later the same year. Increased interest in the band led to a deal with Napalm Records in 2007 and a name change to Alestorm. Their debut album ‘Captain Morgan’s Revenge’ appeared in January this year and was supported by extensive touring including dates with Turisas and appearances at various European festivals.

Click Here to view the ALESTORM Bloodstock Band Profile Page .

ALESTORM – Wenches & Mead – BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.

NIGHTWISH CONFIRMED FOR BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008!

The Bloodstock team are delighted to announce that Finnish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH have been confirmed for BOA 2008. Along with fellow headliners Dimmu Borgir and Opeth, the addition of Nightwish is set to help make BOA 2008 the best Bloodstock yet.

From humble beginnings in 1996, Nightwish rapidly rose to prominence and were instrumental in driving the burgeoning popularity of symphonic and gothic metal. Their debut album ‘Angels Fall First’ was an instant success, and was soon followed by ‘Oceanborn’ in 1999 and ‘Wishmaster’ in 2000, which went straight to the top of the Finnish album charts. An EP ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’ – issued in 2001 – bridged the gap to the next album ‘Century Child’, which appeared in 2002 and went gold in Finland within two hours of its release. Extensive touring followed – including their first appearance in the UK at Bloodstock Indoor in 2003 – as the band continued to build their fanbase and rack up impressive sales.

Their increasing international profile led to tensions within the ranks and the recording of 2004’s landmark ‘Once’ album was mentally and physically draining. It was, however, a huge success, selling a million copies, and the ensuing world tour – including their debut trek around the USA - continued right through til the end of 2005. After the final show, singer Tarja Turunen was fired from the band and many feared that the Nightwish fairytale had come to an abrupt end. The rest of the band had other ideas and auditions to find a suitable replacement were carried out in late 2006. Finally, in May 2007, Swedish vocalist Anette Olzon was announced as the new singer for Nightwish, and the band released their latest album ‘Dark Passion Play’ in September.

Far from being the end of the line, the band’s troubled times have given them a new lease of life. ‘Dark Passion Play’ is a worldwide hit and the positive live reviews have already begun to pour in. Female-fronted symphonic metal may now be an entire genre in itself, but nothing beats the original.

Click Here to view the NIGHTWISH Bloodstock Band Profile Page

NIGHTWISH – Power And Passion – BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.

Bloodstock searches for a Guitar Hero 3 Star

The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that uk metal outfit CROWNING GLORY have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008 and will be opening the main stage on Sunday 17TH August .

Forged in the dank, dark taverns of London in April 2005; Crowning Glory deliver a punishing mix of tight riffs, rollercoaster guitar solos and soaring vocals which carve out a sound harking back to the glory days of metal; when Motorhead, Maiden and Priest ruled the world. But don't be deceived; whilst Crowning Glory do their fair share of hat-tipping to the giants of the past they are all too aware that they need to offer something new. And that is exactly what they deliver, after all this is a young band - some of whom were not even born when "Number of The Beast" topped the charts.

"We just wanted to write balls out, straight-up classic metal; the kind of thing that would make us go off if we were in the crowd ourselves"
enthuses guitarist Tom Draper, "we don't let up, we don't do ballads, we play the kind of music that makes you want to bang your head and raise your fists!"

Crowning Glory's pedigree is evident with both vocalist Robert Alexander and bassist Nick Smith hailing from the birthplace of metal itself - Birmingham.
A city of bleak structure, and stark down to earth reality, Brum' contains all the ingredients necessary to create the ultimate Metal recipe. When you consider that Robert was born within 3 miles of Robert Plant and Ozzy it's easy to see why more than a little of their presence and unpredictability has rubbed off on him, but whether his Halford-esque range can be put down simply to geographical location is another matter.

In the short time the band have been together they have released a self-financed EP, "Path To Glory", released a 7" single on Rise Above Records, played live on BBC Radio 2, headlined a tour of UK and Ireland as well as sharing the stage with the likes of Orange Goblin, Skindred, Firewind, Grand Magus, Primordial and many others. Having received glowing reviews in all facets of the major UK metal press (including a 4K review in Kerrang), the band are enjoying their new-found status as "rising stars" (Terrorizer, March 2008) and cannot wait to hit the main stage at Bloodstock!


Click Here to view the CROWNING GLORY Bloodstock Band Profile Page .

Regards

Bloodstock Team

www.bloodstock.uk.com
webmaster@bloodstock.uk.com

AS I LAY DYING CONFIRMED FOR BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008!

The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that US metalcore outfit AS I LAY DYING have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

Formed in 2001, As I Lay Dying are key players in the metalcore scene which fused the sound of melodic death metal bands such as In Flames, Soilwork and At the Gates with the aggression of hardcore, and which has gone on to become one of the most talked-about developments in metal since the early 2000s. After a well-received debut album ‘Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes’ for Pluto Records in 2001 and a split album with American Tragedy the following year, As I Lay Dying came to the attention of Metal Blade Records who issued their second full-length album ‘Frail Words Collapse’ in 2003. The album went on to be a label best-seller, shifting in excess of 210,000 units. The follow up ‘Shadows Are Security’ arrived in 2005, topping the US independent chart and breaking into the Billboard top 200 at no. 35. Tours with Slipknot and Unearth, amongst others, plus an appearance on the Ozzfest bill increased their popularity substantially and by the time their most recent album ‘An Ocean Between Us’ dropped in 2007, the band were big enough for the release to debut at no.8 on the Billboard top 200, selling 39,000 copies in its first week. The album heralds a re-focussing and refining of the core AILD sound and sees them beginning to transcend the genre that they did so much to define.


Click Here to view the AS I LAY DYING Bloodstock Band Profile page .

AS I LAY DYING – Blood And Belief - BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.

The Bloodstock team are delighted to announce that US metal titans ICED EARTH have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

Formed in the early ‘80s as Purgatory by rhythm guitarist and songwriter Jon Schaffer, the band eventually became Iced Earth following Schaffer’s relocation from Indiana to Florida. Combining traditional heavy metal with elements of thrash and power metal, their first demo ‘Enter The Realm’ secured a deal with Century Media Records who issued the band’s self-titled debut album in 1991. Vocalist Gene Adam was replaced by John Greely for the follow-up ‘Night Of The Stormrider’ which emerged the following year, although Greely himself would soon make way for long-time frontman Matt Barlow who began his tenure with 1995’s ‘Burnt Offerings’, an album which saw Iced Earth take a huge leap forward and solidified their characteristic sound. The subsequent albums ‘The Dark Saga’ and breakthrough effort ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ established the band at the forefront of the scene just as metal began to assert its presence once more in the wake of the grunge boom. A live album ‘Alive In Athens’ heralded Barlow’s departure to be replaced by former Judas Priest vocalist Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens who had himself left Priest to make way for the return of Rob Halford. Owens debuted on 2004’s ‘The Glorious Burden’, laying down some of the best work of his career and also appeared on last year’s ‘Framing Armageddon’, a continuation of themes first explored on ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’.

Never one to fight shy of controversy, in December 2007 Schaffer announced the return of Matt Barlow, a move which proved popular with many fans who had never fully embraced the undeniably talented Owens. The band are currently working on a new album tentatively titled ‘Revelation Abomination’ and preparing for their first live shows of 2008.

Click Here to View the ICED EARTH Bloodstock bands profile page .


ICED EARTH – Burning Times - BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.

Regards

Bloodstock Team

The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that German melodic metallers MOB RULES have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

Formed in 1994 by vocalist Klaus Dirks, guitarist Matthias Mineur, bassist Thorsten Plorin and drummer Arved Manott, Mob Rules issued their first demo in 1996 with the addition of second guitarist Oliver Fuhlhage and after a series of well-received gigs, secured a deal with Limb Music for the release of their 1999 debut album ‘Savage Land’. After an appearance at the prestigious Wacken Open Air festival in 2000 and dates with the Scorpions and Overkill, the band released follow-up album ‘Temple Of Two Suns’ which was backed-up by extensive touring. A return to Wacken in 2002 preceded third album ‘Hollowed Be Thy Name’ which saw them tour with both Helloween and Rage. ‘Among The Gods’ emerged in 2004 through SPV before the band took a short break from recording and released a live DVD ‘Signs Of The Time’ in 2005. This period also saw the departure of Plorin and Fuhlhage who were replaced by Markus Brinkmann and Sven Lüdke respectively. A new studio album ‘Ethnolution A.D.’ appeared in late 2006, after which the band hit the road with UFO. Numerous gigs and festival appearances later, the band are currently working on their sixth full-length album which is expected just in time for their debut Bloodstock appearance.

Click Here to View the MOB RULES Bloodstock Profile Page .

MOB RULES – Fuel To The Fire - BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.

The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that Scandinavian melodic metallers SAINT DEAMON have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

The band were formed in 2006 by ex-Dionysus drummer Ronny Milianowicz who subsequently recruited fellow Dionysus member Nobby Noberg on bass, guitarist Toya Johansson and former Highland Glory/Wild Willy’s Gang frontman Jan Thore Grefstad on vocals. With the line-up complete, the band began work on their debut album ‘In Shadows Lost From The Brave’ which was produced by Jens Bogren (Symphony X, HammerFall) and has just been released on Frontiers Records.

Although new to the scene, members of the band have a host of song writing credits to their name including Ronny who has co-written with both Primal Fear and Cans, and Toya who’s worked with Sinner and Ride The Sky. Their wealth of experience has been put to good use on ‘In Shadows Lost From The Brave’ which combines classy melodic hard rock with touches of power metal and is already receiving great reviews.

Click Here to View the SAINT DEAMON Bloodstock Profile Page .

SAINT DEAMON – Out Of The Shadows - BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.

OVERKILL CONFIRMED FOR BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008!

The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that New York thrash veterans OVERKILL have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

Overkill rose to prominence during the 1980s’ thrash boom alongside contemporaries such as Testament, Exodus and the so-called ‘big four’ – Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. After releasing a self-financed EP in 1984, the band – then consisting of vocalist Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth, bassist D.D. Verni, guitarist Bobby Gustafson and drummer Rat Skates - signed to the legendary Megaforce label, releasing their storming debut ‘Feel The Fire’ in 1985. By 1987’s crushing and anthemic ‘Taking Over’ the band had bagged a prestigious deal with Atlantic Records which would last a further seven years. Sid Falck replaced Rat Skates for 1988’s ‘Under The Influence’ and ‘89’s ‘The Years Of Decay’ and this period saw the band enjoy immense success including exposure on MTV.

1991’s ‘Horrorscope’ saw Gustafson replaced by two guitarists, Rob Cannevino and Merritt Gant as the band faced the challenges of the new decade. 1993’s ‘I Hear Black’ and ‘W.F.O.’ from ’94 brought the Atlantic days to a close but as many old-school outfits went to ground or simply gave up during the difficult mid-to-late ‘90s, Overkill persevered, issuing no less than five albums between 1996-’99. Come the new millennium, they took advantage of the nascent metal resurgence and continued their dogged work ethic with regular tours and releases including ‘Bloodletting’, ‘Killbox 13’, ‘ReliXIV’ and finally in 2007 ‘Immortalis’, which saw them sign with Bodog Music and reunite with Jonny and Marsha Zazula, previously owners of Megaforce.

By staying true to their roots for over twenty years and no less than fourteen albums, Overkill have deservedly earned the most difficult prize of all – respect. They’re ready to thrash the old guard and show the new kids how it's done…

Click Here to View the OVERKILL Bloodstock Profile Page .


OVERKILL – Wrecking Your Neck - BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.