Each headliner is a very different type of band within metal. What does that say about the UK scene and the fans, that three distinct acts can top the festival?
Nergal: “It means you have a very diverse crowd, and I love it. It shows that even though heavy metal is conventional and conservative on one hand, it’s also super-varied and very diverse on the other. Bloodstock combines ‘alternative’ metal like Devin Townsend with the classic of classics, Judas Priest, and this extreme band from Poland called Behemoth. Three completely different elements. Three different planets. And somehow it works.”
Richie: “It confirms the diversity of the music culture in the UK, and the range of different types of metal that British fans relish. Judas Priest have been around for 50 years playing classic metal, and Behemoth is a more extreme band. Back in the day, Priest were the extreme band! But Priest are still up there 50 years later, and everyone gets on in the same musical culture. Long may that continue. The way that music branches out and creates new subgenres and new musical landscapes is an incredibly healthy thing to be a part of.”
READ THIS: 11 American labels that made us fall in love with heavy metal
Do you feel any competitive spirit? When you play a show like Bloodstock, do you want to be the only band that people talk about afterwards?
Nergal: “Well, I mean, we’re artists, and an artist is an ego-driven creature (laughs). So, of course, I’m not going out onstage to be shy and reclusive. No – I’m there to fucking go out and outdo myself and grow as big as I can. It doesn’t matter if you give us 45 minutes or one hour or 75 minutes: we must outdo ourselves, and make our statement as artists. When I’m offstage I can be a lovable social creature. But onstage, we turn into the beast, and we want to make a statement with every show.”
Richie: “If you look back at some of the shows that Priest have done, they’ve always put a thousand per cent in. Looking to the Fuel For Life tour in 1986 or the Defenders Of The Faith tour when they had all the moving parts onstage, you look back and think, ‘How could they possibly top that?’ But they do. It comes from that mindset of ‘We’ve got to do something better. We’ve got to do something bigger.’ We always go in trying to top what was done before.”
Richie, Firepower has been Judas Priest’s highest-charting album in the States. What have you learned from touring the album?
Richie: “It’s always surprising – I’ve done two records with the band now, and you learn a bit more with every record you do. You never quite know how it’s going to be received. You put your heart and soul into something, and some of the worst-received albums in the world, ever, have been great ideas at the time. So you never know. But Firepower was really well-received all around the world.”
Similarly, it’s a little over a year since I Loved You At Your Darkest came out. Has this been Behemoth’s most successful album campaign so far?
Nergal: “Yeah, absolutely. The Satanist was a huge success, but it took a few years until it grew into what it was. With I Loved You At Your Darkest, it went way faster. This year has been very, very hectic for us and lots of work, but the size of the tours we’re doing are bigger, and it definitely makes an impact on people. I can’t complain on the sales, and touring with Slipknot is like the crowning achievement of our career as well.”
