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!
Bangover – Jägermeister Stage, Saturday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Well, the band originated in London and that’s where most of us still reside. Fionn, our vocalist is currently at Bristol Uni and we have played quite a few shows there. Our drummer Hugo is from , and as a result, he is French.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We first got together in 2011. We started off as a four-piece, went to three and then we’ve slowly added to become the five-piece we are today.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Well a Bangover is a hangover for your neck, caused by too much head banging. I’d like to say we invented that but the credit goes to Municipal Waste who have a song of the same name.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
I always find this bit difficult as we don’t like to write songs to sound like we belong to a specific genre or style, so maybe that’s what makes us unique! I find the best metal bands are those that don’t confine themselves. Think of Lamb of God or Gojira for example, they aren’t really death or thrash or black etc. They just write good music. Having said this we are definitely closest to thrash.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
My idea of a bad show is people just bobbing their heads at the back of a room listening to songs that aren’t at all engaging. We are very high energy and we like to project this onto our audience. We also enjoy a lot of stupid shit. Party poppers, Christmas crackers, toothpaste costumes and guest triangle solos. I like to think that even if you don’t like our music you will still smile if you come see us (even if that’s not metal).
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
I have been to Bloodstock nine years running and for me it is my spiritual home. It’s the highlight of my year every year and playing it is genuinely a dream come true for me. The memories I have made and the people I have met there will stay with me forever. There is no other festival like it.
You gained your spot on the Jager stage after playing the Metal 2 the Masses final in London. When you entered the competition, how confident were you that you would win a place at Bloodstock 2017?
This was our fourth time entering the competition. The closest we came to winning was in Bristol in 2015 when we got to the final and we just lost out. In all honesty we thought our chances weren’t great – the quality of bands in London is outrageously high and it’s so much tougher than any other region. The we received however was just amazing and it almost reduced me to tears at the final. It’s such an honour for us to be named in the top two of around fifty bands that entered.
What sort of set list can we expect?
We have a lot planned. Costumes, confetti cannons, 200 tubes of toothpaste, inflatables, party poppers. We are going to do everything we can to make this as memorable as possible.
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
The Saturday is full of thrash and it would be devastating to clash with any of the big bands like Municipal Waste, Annihilator and Havok. That would really harm our turnout!
What are you working on at the moment?
We are about to release our long awaited EP Shovel Butcher. We have already released the single “Floss or Die” and have almost wrapped up the other tracks. It will be available on our website, our big cartel shop and our Bandcamp by the end of summer.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Way too many things here. Personally I suppose dressing as a tube of toothpaste is pretty wild. My ‘most metal’ moment however was when I saw Slayer last year. A guy crowd surfing caught me on the top of the head with his massive boots. Blood started gushing down my face and the security tried to escort me out but I fought them off – there was still 45 mins of Slayer left! When “Reign in Blood” came on I was literally covered in my own blood which was a great moment. Having my head glued together at 7am in A&E the next day wasn’t, however.
Jäger, Hobgoblin Ale, Kraken, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Kraken!
Bangover: facebook | twitter | youtube | bandcamp
