Though many festival-goers woke up rather sore and tired, Saturday at Bloodstock promised another helping of heavy riffs, circle pits and knockout shows. Many younger fans camped out at the main stage to see Architects headlining that evening, though the rest of the lineup was far from unimpressive, with many bands keen to make their mark on this historic event.

Opening the main stage for the day were black metal band Deitus, and what an entrance they made! Walked out smeared in fake blood, the group were keen to make a bold impression, with each member often acting possessed onstage— this did very little to distract from their performances, however, which were consistently intense, technical and yet surprisingly melodic, leaving many attendees with a riff or two stuck in their head. From the brutal opener ‘Incursion’ to a particularly anthemic cover of GG Allin’s ‘Bite It You Scum,’ in which the group’s vocalist came into the crowd, Deitus embodied both the satanic imagery of their banners as well as the spirit of black metal, making this a wonderfully punchy opening to the day.

Ignea would keep the energy high, launching into their melodeath show with confidence. Singer Helle Bohdanova was simply wondrous, transitioning between soaring cleans and thrilling harsh vocals on a whim: her speech about the state of Ukraine was particularly inspiring, putting great weight behind the performance. Similarly impressive was keytar player Yevhenii Zhytniuk, who’s solos were consistently fluid, expressive and out-of-the-box. Ending things out on the anthemic ‘Leviathan,’ a song that had many attendees doing the Macarena in the pit, ensured many viewers left very impressed with Ignea.

After Nervosa’s set went down well with many festival goers the day before, it was wonderful to see past members of the band rock the Dio stage as part of Crypta. Bringing a heavier, more death metal-oriented sound to the fest, the four-piece, all-female act made quite an entrance, with vocalist Fernanda Lira screaming into a dagger-adorned microphone. The whole band were completely locked in, with both guitarists nailing a number of ridiculous solos, and the cries for ‘one more song’ were deafening as the band left after a job well done.

Forbidden, having reformed for the second time last year, made a late entrance to the Dio stage, but did so with confidence. Each member looked to be having the time of their lives as part of the band again, with vocalist Norman Skinner dancing around as he hit some truly impressive high notes. The group’s classic thrash sound was full of excitement and good ol’ fun, blazing through much of the band’s catalogue. It was a shame, then, to see them have to end the show abruptly for time, casting a shadow over an otherwise enjoyable romp of a set.

Taking a break from the main stage, we caught Hellbearer’s set of the New Blood Stage. The up-and-coming thrash band launched into a series of explosive cuts, letting the punishing riffs of ‘Thrash Without Boundaries’ or ‘Manager Of Violence’ do all the talking. The group had attracted a surprisingly large crowd for the more tucked away stage, being rewarded with a number of circle pits, a wall of death, and a new record for most crowd surfers on the New Blood Stage! Well deserved, as thrash at Bloodstock didn’t get much more raw than this.

Legendary death metal band Deicide played soon after to an, at this point, scorched crowd— it was a very hot weekend. The group’s groaning guitars and bruising drum parts certainly had many headbanging, with Glen Benton’s mix of classic growls and shrill pig squeals only adding to the chaos. The band’s performance probably did little to win death metal any new fans, as the sound was particularly monotonous and one note— as one attendee put it, “I loved their set, but have no desire to listen to them again.” Instead, this was one for the fans, and they surely had little to complain about.

That extreme heaviness would continue on into Whitechapel’s performance, as the group blasted into ‘Let Me Burn’ with a shockingly throaty, in-your-face sound. Between the furious guitar tone and Phil Bozeman’s disgusting, guttural vocals, the now-legendary deathcore band put on one of the more overwhelming sets of the fest, with tracks such as ‘Black Bear’ or ‘We Are One’ featuring a number of absolutely crushing breakdowns. It must be said, however, that the show did somewhat drag in the middle due to the repetitive nature of the group’s older material.

Most festivals have at least one band that really surprise you, and Combichrist were a welcome highlight of the day. Combining Rammstein-esque industrial metal with thumping techno, the group had one of the most unique and distinctive sounds of the entire weekend, turning the Sophie stage into half a metal concert and half a rave. The band steered clear of most of their classic hits, to the disappointment of some, though the crowd were having just as much fun with newer cuts such as ‘Children Of Violence,’ cementing this as one of the standout performances of this year’s Bloodstock.

Josh Middleton’s guitar cut out in the opening song of Sylosis’ set on the Sophie stage, leading to a 20-minute break in the show: it was a disastrous situation for such an exciting live act, leaving a bad taste in many attendees’ mouths. After soldiering on with only one guitar for a few tracks before the tech issues were resolved, the band were left with only 20 minutes to rock Bloodstock. And rock Bloodstock they did. Blitzing through a tonne of newer hits, Sylosis performed with an intensity few bands could hope to replicate, with their desire to please the crowd coming through in Josh’s harsh vocals. It was a short but sweet set, and the band should be very proud of themselves for splitting the entire crowd for a giant wall of death.

Despite the protestations of many veteran fans of the festival, Architects’ headliner set at Bloodstock was a success. Sam Carter’s anthemic clean vocals were shockingly well realised for the live setting, selling the gigantic choruses of many of their biggest hits, and the pits for songs like ‘Doomsday’ were a sight to see. The group had managed to convey the sheer enormity of their studio albums extremely well here, with the guitars sounding more full and bright than ever. Rounding things out with a dazzling light show and eruptions of streamers, Architects were a surprising but ultimately validated choice for headliner, putting an enjoyable capstone on the day.

Rounding things out were the always-fun Korpiklaani on the Sophie stage, who’s joyous drinking songs and folk instrumentation were exactly the ticket to exhaust many festival-goers. The band’s sound is, admittedly, rather monotonous, with little distinction between any particular pair of songs, but the crowd hardly seemed to care, dancing the night out to ‘Man With A Plan’ or ‘Pidot.’ If you still had the energy after such a tiring day of metal, Korpiklaani were a fun and lighthearted way to bring things to a close.