Bloodstock Festival is, at this point, like a holy pilgrimage for metalheads across the UK. Touting itself to be ‘by the fans, for the fans,’ the four-day event prides itself on its rowdy crowds and fan-favourite lineups that bring the entire community together. On the festival’s opening day, some light showers and grey skies could do little to dampen anyone’s spirits, as performances from headliners Opeth, Architects and Amon Amarth— and hundreds more bands besides— were tantalisingly close. Thursday may have had a more stripped back lineup, sporting a mere handful of bands playing the secondary Sophie Lancaster stage, but the good times came thick and fast, making this an excellent start to the weekend.

Having gotten caught up in merchandise queues, the first band we managed to catch was the UK’s own Tailgunner. Having been picked to support KK’s Priest later this month, the band are surely on an upwards trajectory, infusing that hopeful energy into their live performance. Tailgunner are like if Iron Maiden covered Metallica, combining the former’s harmonised guitar leads and soaring vocals with thrashy riffs and wickedly technical solos. Frontman Craig Cairns was electric, galloping around the stage while hitting increasingly impressive high notes: throughout the set, he could be seen playing around with a union jack, a prop pistol and a sign calling for ‘revolution,’ proving himself to be as theatrical as the zombie-adorned banner behind him might suggest.

The rest of the band were no less enthusiastic, with drummer Sam Caldwell having the time of his life behind the kit. Guitarists Zach Salvani and Rhea Thompson also had their chance to shine, adding a number of shred-filled solos to each track: towards the end of the show, they launched into a full-blown guitar duel, trading off increasingly daring displays of talent. The highlight, however, was undoubtedly their cover of Judas Priest’s ‘Painkiller’ that closed out the set: the venue erupted into circle pits and screams, making this a fitting end to a fun show. Not every track was necessarily that memorable— Tailgunner are hardly the most original band in the world— but the band were certainly an engaging way to kick off the fest.

Next up on the Sophie stage was South Of Salem, who’s coffin-adorned staging had us thinking we were in for some black metal: the truth could not have been further away, as a pair of cheerleaders in the opening track soon let us know. Playing a set full of pop-influenced alt. rock, the group certainly brought a goth edge to the fest. Vocalist Joey Draper had a fantastic stage presence, marching around the stage with bravado, and he seemed genuinely humbled by the crowd’s enthusiasm, which was lovely to see— his vocals fit each track very well, even if he himself was not the most impressive singer on the bill.

South Of Salem’s greatest asset is surely their suite of catchy choruses, with tracks like ‘Vultures’ getting a wonderful response. Standout closer ‘Cold Day in Hell’ had even first-time fans singing along, with the group's synchronised dancing injecting a great dose of fun into the show. Though the band were unlikely to be anyone’s favourite of the festival, a hefty dose of fun guitar solos, campy aesthetics and upbeat hooks is never anything to complain about, and Draper himself left a wonderful impression but chatting with many audience members afterward.

Hellripper came blazing onto the Sophie stage soon after, bringing a much heavier and more overwhelming sound with them. James McBain’s music is thrash, super and simple, and the set gave you just that in spades: tracks with such lovely names as ‘Goat Vomit Nightmare’ or ‘Bastard of Hades’ were nothing less than an overpowering display of frenetic drumming, blistering guitar work and guttural vocals, whipping up the crowd into a frenzy every time. Mostly impressive of all was the lead guitar work, which was surprisingly melodic and memorable for how fast and technical is had to be. McBain was continually unimpressed with the various circle pits throughout, confessing that he is ‘tough to please,’ though even he seemed happy with the massive mosh pits by the show’s end.

For the set’s grand finale, the frontman himself crowd-surfed around the arena, playing yet another disgustingly relentless riff all the while. The crowd seemed to be loving every second, winding themselves up into an exhausting display of energy and excitement. Musically, however, the set was exhausting in a monotonous fashion. McBain began almost every track promising that ‘this is a fast one,’ as if the rest of the songs had not been similarly lively— truthfully, it was near impossible to distinguish one track from another, leaving much of the set unfortunately unmemorable and indistinct as a result. Even still, most Bloodstock attendees hardly seemed to care, taking every opportunity to ‘Hail the Goat.’ Relentless guitar riffs are what the festival is all about, and McBain and company certainly brought a fair few with them.

Throughout the day, a rumour had been spreading that Thursday’s Sophie stage headliner Evergrey had missed a flight, and that their performance was cancelled as a result. It was a delight, then, to see them take the stage that evening, launching into new hit single ‘Falling From The Sun’ after a suitably tense and sci-fi themed opening sequence. The song is insanely catchy, though it doesn’t skip out on the progressive guitar grooves and shockingly well-executed solos that the Swedish metalheads are known for: instead, the song is made even heavier in this live version, with the band dialling in a purposefully full and well-rounded guitar and bass tone. The drums, keys and vocals all fit in around this extremely well, leaving Evergrey with one of the best live mixes of the entire festival.

After the opener, frontman Tom Englund had a well-deserved rant about the group ‘awful day,’ explaining that due to flight complications, the group had taken 13 hours to make it to England, rather than the usual 1.5! The band were using borrowed gear as a result, though you would surely never have known it: every song was crisp, clear and impossibly well-performed, and the rest of the group’s show was nothing less than spectacular. From modern hits like the anthemic ‘Misfortune’ or ‘Say’ to the group’s more classic list of tracks, every song was positively jumping off the speakers. The crowd was loving it, singing along and cheering all the while, though a more somber band like Evergrey were never going to achieve the mosh pits and crowd-surfing of a heavier group. It was a suitably climactic, conclusive end to Bloodstock’s first day, and the band should be incredibly proud of what they achieved— even more so given the constraints and challenges they’d overcome.