As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 10th. Your chance to check them out and start planning which bands to get there early for!
Trust us when we tell you that this is bound to result in some frustrating clashes because, as ever, there are some great bands on these three stages.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Atragon – Jägermeister Stage, Sunday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We formed in Edinburgh but since then our guitarist has moved to Canterbury to study and our singer is now in living in Glasgow.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We’ve been going since 2012. We’ve had a few personnel changes in that time but the current lineup has been stable for a few years now and feels very “right”.
Where does the name of the band come from?
This one was our guitarist’s choice. It comes from a Japanese B-movie about a submarine that fights Godzilla. I don’t think anyone else in the band has ever seen the film. There’s a good chance it is rubbish.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Slow and heavy with an underlying bluesy groove. We are huge Electric Wizard, Church of Misery, Saint Vitus fans and love that crushing end-of-the-world vibe they all pull off but we all grew up listening to Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple etc. The producer for I, Necromancer sat us down on day one of recording and told us we were just a B-tuned classic rock band with fuzz pedals and he was right. A good riff is a good riff, regardless of the tuning and effects. If folk aren’t dancing, you probably suck. We’ll make you dance. That’s a guarantee. We just might throw up on your shoes before the end of the set but those shoes will have had a great time.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Chaotic is probably the word most people use. We’d be the first to concede that we aren’t the tightest or soberest band on the planet. You can play nihilistic, depressing doom and still have a party. Our frontman, Jan, is definitely a frontman. He’s usually seen disappearing into the crowd at some point during the first song and we pick him up from lost property later in the evening. You’ll likely see him flying past you during our set. Say hi from us if you do. We’ll have fun. You’ll have fun. Everyone will have a lot of fun.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Yeah, we’ve been a few times. Last time was 2011, I think. We’ve always had an amazing time. The vibe is great, the weather is shite and most of the unreliable pissheads we call mates are to be found ed out in various corners of the arena so it is always a laugh.
How did you react when you found out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
Delighted. We’ve been fairly inactive for the last year or so in the build up to releasing the album so this is a great start to gigging again!
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We’ll probably stick to the album seeing as we’ve just released it. We’ve got about half the new album written so we might play one or two of them but our songs aren’t exactly short. We’ll probably reign in the GG Allin and Reverend Bizarre covers but we’ll also be smashed so who knows!
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
We are good mates with the guys in Blind Haze so we’d very much like to get down the front and heckle them brutally. That and Obituary for me. Last time I saw them was BOA 2010 and I can’t wait to scream “CHOPPED IN HALF” until I can’t talk again.
What are you working on at the moment?
A half ounce of weed and semi.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?
Is this a sting operation? We wouldn’t ever it to anything illegal in the press. Many a noble pair of pants have given their lives in service of the Atragon and there was a situation involving a pill fished out of a U-bend, crushed up and dissolved in a pint of Ribena for breakfast once that some of a certain band whose name start with A may have been involved in but I wouldn’t know anything about that…
Jäger, Hobgoblin Ale, Kraken, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
All of the above with a heavy substance chaser. If you see us at Bloodstock, ply us with all the booze you can!
Atragon: official | facebook | bigcartel
