Bloodstock Outdoor Heavy Metal festival - UK's largest Independent Heavy Metal Festival

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WITCHSORROW, DRIPBACK & BATTALION FOR BLOODSTOCK’S SOPHIE STAGE
BLOODSTOCK has announced a further three acts for the SOPHIE stage at this years festival. Returning to CATTON HALL, WITCHSORROW threaten the British summer time with downtuned doom and gloom that echoes metal greats such as St Vitus, Candlemass and Trouble. Says mainman Necro Skull: "We are truly honoured to be returning to cast a shadow over Bloodstock once more. We promise you total doom annihilation, a celebration for the damned as the end of the world looms at the end of this wretched annum. To be in the company of such excellent bands as Watain, Alice Cooper, Orange Goblin, Grand Magus and Winterfylleth is a grand thing indeed. God curse us, every one!" Returning for the second year in a row, London loud-louts DRIPBACK take a break from the studio to come back to the SOPHIE stage with their seething mix of hardcore and death metal. “For us it’s all about being intense in tents, so this really is the perfect festival slot for Dripback. We’re all so buzzing about playing with CROWBAR, HATEBREED, TESTAMENT and all the other awesome bands, this really is the best festival. Finally, Swiss thrashers BATTALION make their UK debut at BLOODSTOCK. The Thrash Maniacs check in to say: “It's the first time for us to play in England! What a fucking start! We're looking forward to kick some ass there!!! See ya Bloodstock!!! Cheers from Zurich, the Battalion-Bastards”

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MOONSORROW AND FREEDOM CALL EXCLUSIVE UK SHOWS IN 2012
Finnish Pagan outfit MOONSORROW and German metallers FREEDOM CALL have just announced they will both make exclusive UK performances on the main stage of this years BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR. Moonsorrow who describe their sound as ‘Epic Heathen Metal’ are extremely excited to be a part of this years line up. With the band residing in Helsinki Finland, their lyrics draw inspirations from Finnish mythology, legends and poetry. Drummer Marko Tarvonen expresses his delight for being added to this years line up; "We are truly excited to take part in Bloodstock Festival 2012. It's been way too long since we played on the British soil in 2008 and we know that lately there has been a huge demand for Moonsorrow to play in the UK. So, all our loyal fans in the UK, we want to see a massive crowd of insane berserks during our set. Don't let us down because we promise we don't let you down, cheers!" Freedom Call hailing from Nürnberg, Germany are ready to bring their mix of melodic power metal to the Bloodstock masses this year. Bloodstock founder Paul Raymond Gregory also designed album artwork for the band including ‘Stairway To Fairyland’ and ‘Crystal Empire’. Their latest album ‘Land Of The Crimson Dawn’ was released in February and was described as “..full of attraction, fascination and illusions.” By Vocalist Chris Bay, who also expresses his anticipation to play at this years festival; "The Bloodstock Festival is the pulsating heart of Heavy Metal...a great audience, which knows exactly to revel."

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BLOODSTOCK CLUB NIGHTS
Fancy winning tickets to this years Bloodstock festival, whilst having a good night out? Head down to one of these clubs on the dates below to attend an official Bloodstock Club night. They will be spinning tunes from some of the AWESOME acts on this years line up as well as giving away a pair of weekend camping tickets to one lucky winner. EDDIES ROCK CLUB, Birmingham - 30th June / 28th July UPRAWR – The Asylum, Birmingham - 26th May / 23rd June REEDEMER@ Sound Circus - Bournemouth – 6th July ABANDONED @ Belushis Below, Brighton - 11th May/15th June/13th July R.O.C.K @ Agincourt, Camberley - 12th May BOGIEZ@ Cardiff - 26th May / 23rd June / 28th July TOXIC FRIDAYS @ The Cellar Door, Exeter - 25th May/29th June/27th July CLASSIC GRAND - Glasgow - 18th May / 1st June RECKLESS @ Liquid – Ipswich – 28th May/25th June/30th July REDEEMER @ LEICESTER SQUARE - Leicester – 26th May THE KRAZYHOUSE - Liverpool – 12th May UPRAWR @ Dingwalls, London - 3rd May / 31st May / 21st June SIN CITY @ Electric Ballroom – London 15th June FACEDOWN @ The Scala, London - 6th July VOODOO @ Electrowerkz, London - 25th May / 29th June / 27th July REDEEMER @ Babylon Live Lounge – Maidstone - 18th May UPRISING @ The Zoo – Manchester – 16th June SUMO @ The Empire, Middlesborough - 18th May / 15th June EMBARGO – Northampton – 16th June MELTDOWN @The Waterfront, Norwich 21st April/19th May/16th June/21st July ASSAULT@Spanky Von Dykes - Nottingham– 18th May THE ROCKSHOW @ C103 – Plymouth 1st June R.O.C.K @ Sakura, Reading - 14th May HARDSIDE @ Corporation, Sheffield - 5th May / 2nd June SUMO @ Independent, Sunderland - 18th May / 15th June RAGE @ the Furnace – Swindon – 1st June THE PLANET – Wolverhampton – 16th June BLACKOUT@The Duchess, York - 4th May / 1st June / 6th July FRANTIC @ The Artful Dodger, York - 15th May / 19th June / 10th July REDEEMER @ The Mansion - York – 8th June

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BENEDICTION AND I AM I FOR BLOODSTOCK 2012
BRUTAL BRUMMIE LEGENDS AND ZT THEART's NEW BAND CONFIRM BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR APPEARANCES. BLOODSTOCK can reveal another two names for the main RONNIE JAMES DIO stage at this summer's festival that encapsulates the range of talent on offer, from legendary acts to the hottest new stars of the future. Marking their third appearance at BLOODSTOCK, Birmingham Death Metallers BENEDICTION return to CATTON HALL, bringing with them a British Extreme Metal Institution. Over 23 years and nine albums, the ferocious five piece have been flying the flag high for UK death metal across the world, but seemingly there's no place like home. Says the band: 'To be invited back to play Bloodstock for the third time is truly an honour for Benediction. Bloodstock was the first festival to give us (and our genre of music) any exposure on the big stage in the UK and gained Benediction a lot of new supporters because of their faith in us. We are really looking forward to playing our racket for the Bloodstock crowd who have been very loud and supportive of us each time we have played .The best UK festival, the best crowd, the best atmosphere. See you all at the bar after the carnage !' Since parting ways with Dragonforce, former frontman ZP THEART has been quiet – until now. Last week the first new track from I AM I went online, and this week BLOODSTOCK is proud to reveal that they will host ZP's festival comeback with new band I AM I, giving UK festivalgoers their first chance to see the new project. 'We are delighted to be appearing at this year's Bloodstock, the UK's premier Metal festival and we can't wait to see you all there. It's going to be a very special show and we are completely stoked for it. Bring it on!' Boasting exclusive headline sets from ALICE COOPER, BEHEMOTH and one more very special set to be announced at 6pm on 6th June, even more exclusive appearances from the likes of TESTAMENT, DIMMU BORGIR, HATEBREED, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, NILE, CROWBAR and countless others, BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR is an essential date in any self-respecting metalheads calendar.

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SIGHT OF EMPTINESS Completes Recording New Album
Costa Rica-based melodic metal band SIGHT OF EMPTINESS have finished recording their third and it's as-yet-untitled new album, to be released later this year. The CD was recorded at SoloHits Studios in San José, Costa Rica by Swedish Producer Thomas "Plec" Johansson ( Scar Symmetry, Watain, Eskimo Callboy, Solution .45, Miseration ), who traveled all the way to Costa Rica to work with the band closely for about 22 days. The mixing and mastering duties are being handled by Thomas Johansson at Panic Room Studios in Skara, Sweden. The album will feature guest appearances by the following top musicians: Glen Drover ( King Diamond & Megadeth ), Christian Älvestam ( Scar Symmetry, Miseration, Solution .45 ), Whitfield Crane ( Ugly Kid Joe, Another Animal ), Ralph Santolla ( Deicide, Iced Earth, Obituary ), Ole Halvard Sveen ( Extol, Mantric, Lengsel ) and last but not least, one that comes as a shocking but pleasant surprise, no other than the Minister of Culture of Costa Rica ; Manuel Obregón who plays the Marimba and the acoustic piano. Commented Producer Thomas "Plec" Johansson: Coming to Costa Rica to work with Sight of Emptiness has been a great experience. Such dedication and love for music as these guys show is a rare commodity to come across these days and that's probably why we got along so well and managed to dish out some kick ass tracks. The new album will be something to look forward to, creating a blend of dark, heavy, energetic and melodic atmospheres that are ready to take the stage. Commented SIGHT OF EMPTINESS singer Eduardo Chacón: What a journey "familia", the last 15 months have been a roller coaster for us, filled with so many good moments, experiences and the pre-production of our new baby. A few days ago, we finished recording our third and best album to date. Let me tell you something, this time around we had the opportunity and pleasure to work for the first time with a producer and WOW, it really makes a huge difference. "Plec" is a monster, he really knows how to get the best out of you, the best and perfect team for this project, no doubt about it. He also brought new ideas and arrangements in order to take the songs to a new level, I still can't believe how good every song sounds even if they're not mixed & mastered yet. Commented SIGHT OF EMPTINESS guitarist Rafael Castro: It is quite a bold attempt to be known outside our country, and after listening to the kind of work "Plec" is used to do, we´re pretty sure we won´t let anybody down. While composing the album,we were so meticulous! Every note had to be on the right spot and performance had to be as precise as possible. Nobody wanted to be a weak link in this process, so we were very focused. Also, having these kind of guests on board is just amazing. They've been heroes of ours for such a long time, and now they want to be part of this! I can´t believe it... It w a s humbling to receive excellent feed back on our new album and how they love it. It is just unreal! Can´t wait to go out there and play it live! We´re ready!

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