Official Bloodstock Open Air festival 2008 Threads

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BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008 TICKETS ON SALE NOW !!!

Bloodstock have officially launched the 2008 Bloodstock Open Air tickets for sale, as of this week and are offering fans for a limited time period the opportunity to make a HUGE saving on next years tickets if you buy early !

The tickets this year come with the biggest saving incentive any festival has offered, and we know this will be a big pre Christmas seller ! We will be selling next years tickets at this years price of just £ 60 right up until 15th December 2007, tickets purchased after this date will be priced at £ 85, this is saving early bird ticket buyers a massive £ 25 ! !!

We have a very loyal , dedicated and growing fan base, and we are always striving to offer our fans as much as possible, bringing them in return a TRUE Metal Festival with some of the biggest names in the industry and many bands that have never before or rarely played the UK.

The tickets will also make great Christmas presents for loved ones, friends or family so take advantage of getting next years ultimate 3 day UK Metal Festival for just £ 60 !!!

THIS OFFER WILL END 15TH DECEMBER 2007

What are you Waiting for get your Bloodstock Open Air Festival Tickets Today !!

Bloodstock Team

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Bloodstock are very pleased to confirm the FIRST band to announced for next years BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR, finnish Metallers MOONSORROW !

Moonsorrow have been a band continually requested by the fans and the band are very excited about their ONLY UK festival appearance of 2008 !

Formed in 1995 Moonsorrow's sound has always drawn influences from different styles such as folk and progressive music. This mixed with extreme metal with the lyrics in their native tongue Finnish and the band's ability to have every instrument to serve the arrangements is exceptional. Besides their records their live performance has got great commendation.

The music's heroic atmosphere with historical citations is in the first class of metal genre. The debut album "Suden Uni" ("A Wolf's Dream"), released in 2000 convinced people and the Helsinki-based quintet got signed to the leading metal label in Finland, Spinefarm Records. The next couple of albums "Voimasta ja Kunniasta" ("Of Strength and Honour") 2001 and "Kivenkantaja" ("Stonebearer") 2003 have sold copies internationally over ten thousands each. Because of huge demand the debut "Suden Uni" was re-released in 2004 with bonus track, bonus DVD and new cover artwork.
"Verisäkeet" ("Blood Verses") released in 2005 collected a great number of good reviews from all over the world with its longer songs and more down-to-earth sound. Moonsorrow promoted the album heavily besides in their home country, on many European metal festivals and they did a tour in Russia.

In 2006 Moonsorrow toured in Europe together with Ireland's Primordial.
"Heathen Crusade" named tour first started in Minneapolis USA where Moonsorrow headlined with Primordial and Thyrfing. On the same trip Moonsorrow visited Montreal in Canada and headlined a show there and the doors opened for them in Northern America. In 2008 they will make a very demanded UK appearance at the BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR METAL FESTIVAL that will be held on 15th, 16th & 17th August 2008.

Bloodstock will be confirming bands for 2008 in the coming weeks, we are negotiating as we speak with some incredible bands for next year and we will ensure we bring bands to the UK that rarely play as well as bands that are highly requested by the metal masses !



Keep watching the news section & forums for more announcements soon !!

Bloodstock team

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Bloodstock are very pleased to announce Finnish Death metallers SWALLOW THE SUN have been confirmed as the second band for the 2008 BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR UK METAL FESTIVAL !!!!

The bands latest album has had huge acclaim In Europe and the band are planning to bring their fantastic show to UK shores in 2008 at Bloodstock.

The most luminous death/doom-metal act of Finland, Swallow the Sun, got started in the turn of the millennium when the guitarist Juha Raivio collected a group of friends around him.

The first recording was well prepared during few years and now a rare collectors item, "Out of This Gloomy Light" was recorded in January 2003. This demo brought the first record deal with Firebox Records. Debut album, "The Morning Never Came" was released in November 2003 and brought Swallow the Sun to the knowledge of metal world. Inferno-magazine chose the band as the newcomer of the year and Kerrang! gave full 5 K's to the album and quoted it as "One of the doom metals finest moments to date!".

Swallow the Sun took hold of the live scene by touring clubs and festivals in Finland and abroad. Even though they spent many hours on the road, the work for next album was already on its way and the recordings for "Ghosts of Loss" started in February 2005. First single of the album, "Forgive Her...", went to Finnish Official Album Charts, positioning on fourth place and stayed there for six weeks. And more success came in following August when the album climbed to position eight and stayed weeks on the charts. Both these rare occasions in Finnish metal scene made the ground even firmer under Swallow the Sun's rocketing success, in the rain of overwhelming reviews.

Once again, after touring Finland and other countries, the band closed itself in September 2006 to an island next to Helsinki to record their coming album "Hope". "Atmosphere on the island truly gave change to focus deeply on the work and of course a nice place to host our guests", says Juha Raivio. Swallow the Sun had the privilege to have Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) and Tomi Joutsen (Amorphis) to appear as guest vocal on the album. The album has received high praises in all medias around the world and on 7th of February 2007 "Hope" was released and it jumped directly to position 3 on official Finnish album charts. In year 2007 Swallow the sun plays about 100 shows, including appearances on major metal festivals, three European tours and one in USA. The band have now been confirmed for to play the Uks No 1 Metal Festival BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR in 2008 and are pleased to now be playing to their ever strong & growing UK fanbase, another UK coup for Bloodstock !!



Regards

Bloodstock Team

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The Bloodstock team are proud to announce that the legendary AT THE GATES will be devastating the main stage at BOA 2008 in their only UK show. The Swedish death metal veterans are reforming for a series of exclusive live dates and BOA are stoked to be hosting what promises to be a truly historic one-off reunion.

Since their break-up back in 1996, the band have become more acclaimed than ever with their massive influence extending far beyond death metal and into the current metalcore explosion. Dozens of bands including the likes of Darkest Hour, The Black Dahlia Murder, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Unearth and All That Remains owe a huge debt to the sound first pioneered by At The Gates.

At The Gates formed in 1990 and soon released their debut EP ‘Gardens Of Grief’ on the Dolores label. The band then came to the attention of the UK’s own Peaceville Records who issued their first album ‘The Red In The Sky Is Ours’ in ‘92. Follow up effort ‘With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness’ saw the band develop their sound further and through regular touring – including in the UK - they began to become known beyond the underground.

In 1994, they finally honed their aggressive and dynamic melodic death metal sound with ‘Terminal Spirit Disease’, which was hailed as a breakthrough. The success of ‘Terminal Spirit Disease’ led to a deal with the UK’s premier extreme metal label, Earache, and the release of their magnum opus ‘Slaughter Of The Soul’ in 1995. Not only the peak of what later became known as the Gothenburg Sound, ‘Slaughter Of The Soul’ was a masterclass in taught, brutal and yet deceptively-melodic death metal. Further success followed, including a US tour and heavy MTV rotation of the video clip for the track ‘Blinded By Fear’. Following the departure of guitarist Anders Björler and bassist Jonas Björler in 1996, the band split up, with drummer Adrian Erlandsson joining the Björler brothers in The Haunted. Vocalist Tomas Lindberg went on to work with many bands including Disfear, The Crown, Lock Up, Nightrage and The Great Deceiver. Erlandsson later left The Haunted to join Cradle Of Filth.

With their legend and influence bigger than ever, this is one show you can’t afford to miss.

AT THE GATES – Only UK Show – BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2008.

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The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that Germany’s true metal powerhouse PRIMAL FEAR have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

The metal commandos are all fired up on their stunning new album 'New Religion' which has already taken its place in the band’s outstanding catalogue of metal masterpieces and is their highest charting release since ‘Black Sun’ in 2002. Primal Fear have a long history with Bloodstock, having helped launch the festival with a bristling performance back in 2001, before returning in 2004 and again in 2006 for the indoor event. Each time they’ve played Bloodstock, Primal Fear have given 110% in the name of metal and Bloodstock Open Air 2008 will be no exception.

The band were formed in 1997 by former Gamma Ray vocalist Ralf Scheepers and bassist/vocalist Mat Sinner and soon signed to Nuclear Blast Records, who issued their self-titled debut in 1998 to widespread critical acclaim. After touring with Running Wild and HammerFall, they released ‘Jaws Of Death’ which continued their rise through the ranks of the metal elite. Third album ‘Nuclear Fire’ was a major step up in terms of song writing, production and performance and saw the band mount a highly-successful co-headline tour with Children Of Bodom, visit the USA for the first time and release their first live DVD. By the time ‘Black Sun’ and later ‘Devil’s Ground’ emerged, Primal Fear had become one of the most popular concert draws on the European scene and the ensuing world tours consolidated their incredible achievements and swelling fan base. 2005’s ‘Seven Seals’ re-booted the band’s signature sound, adding bombastic orchestration and a fresh approach to their craft which earned them album of the year in Metal Hammer Germany and a huge European tour with Helloween.

At the peak of their career, the band signed a new deal with Frontiers Records for the release of ‘New Religion’ which builds on the adventurous sound of ‘Seven Seals’ and includes a cameo from Epica vocalist Simone Simons on the track ‘Everytime It Rains’. The band are already on tour in support of ‘New Religion’ and will trek throughout the USA, Europe, Japan and South America before finally mounting their assault on the Bloodstock faithful.

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The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that rising British thrashers EVILE have been added to the bill for BOA 2008.

Hailing from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, Evile are at the forefront of a grassroots thrash metal revival currently sweeping the UK underground. Influenced by the likes of Metallica, Slayer, Sepultura, Exodus and Annihilator amongst others, Evile are taking the sound of classic thrash to a new generation. No politics, no post-modernism, just good old-fashioned neck-snapping riffs.

Despite their tender years, the band have already issued two self-financed EPs, gigged extensively around the UK and beyond, and in October 2006 signed with Earache Records for the release of their debut album ‘Enter The Grave’. Produced by Flemming Rasmussen - the man behind the recording of Metallica’s ‘Ride The Lightning’ and ‘Master Of Puppets’ albums - ‘Enter The Grave’ has earned a string of rave reviews including glowing praise from Terrorizer, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and Rocksound. The band have also picked up support slots with major names such as Exodus and Machine Head and have a hectic live schedule lined up for the immediate future.

Despite being un-signed at the time, Evile were hand-picked to headline the second stage of BOA 2006 and their return to the festival promises to be a thrash attack to remember.

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The Bloodstock team are delighted to announce that Swedish progressive death metal maestros OPETH have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008.

Lead by vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt, Opeth have become synonymous with fearless experimentation, memorable song writing and stellar musicianship which has seen them rise from the Scandinavian underground to become one of the most unique rock/metal bands of the last decade.

Opeth were formed in Stockholm in 1990 and spent several years developing their sound and solidifying a line-up before releasing their debut album ‘Orchid’ on Candlelight Records in 1995. ‘Morningrise’ followed in ’96 along with their first major tour supporting Cradle Of Filth. 1998's concept album ‘My Arms, Your Hearse’ featured slightly more compact songs and a darker tone, but it was with 1999’s ‘Still Life’ for their new label Peaceville that they began making waves with the mainstream metal media. Moving to Music For Nations in 2001 for the release of ‘Blackwater Park’ finally signalled their critical and commercial breakthrough and the album is still regarded by many observers as a landmark in their career.

Never a band to rest on their laurels, Opeth recorded their next two albums simultaneously. ‘Deliverance’ – released in 2002 – cracked the Billboard Top 100 album chart and further extended the band’s exploration of and experimentation with their signature progressive death metal sound. ‘Damnation’ – released in 2003 – abandoned death metal in favour of a traditional 1970’s progressive rock feel.

Their most recent album, 2005’s ‘Ghost Reveries’, saw the band combine elements from many of their previous works and again met with widespread critical acclaim.

The band have just issued a live album entitled ‘The Roundhouse Tapes’ and have been announced as support for Dream Theater on their 2008 North American tour.

Opeth’s performance at Bloodstock Open Air Metal Festival promises to be an unforgettable highlight of the weekend.