As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 9th. 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!
Sellsword – Hobgoblin New Blood Stage, Sunday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re mostly from the walled city of York, our drummer is from Sheffield.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
The band has been together for around 4 years, however this line up has been together for about a year.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Sellsword started as joke side project of Tom (Bassist) and our old drummer Alex. One night Tom saw Stu singing in a pub acoustic night and said “Dude, you’d be great in a power metal band, and we’re calling it Sellsword!” The name just stuck as a cool medieval sounding band name that no one else had thought of.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We play power metal, but our own version of it. Yes, we have a lot of synth and twinned guitar melodies but we also focus on heavy riffs and highlighting Stu’s unique voice. We don’t tend to sing about dragons and elves, not there’s anything wrong with that! Our lyrics focus on medieval times and characters, such as the prominent Norse leader Harald Hardrada.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We bring a high energy show to every gig! There are swords in stones, banners, jigs to dance and cheers to call! Oh, and did we mention we’re bringing a trebuchet to Bloodstock?
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Most of the band has been to Bloodstock several times and we love the festival. The atmosphere is awesome, the metalheads are all great people and the bands are top notch!
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We will be playing many songs from our debut album ...And Now We Ride and a song from our future album to be released soon, …Unto The Breach. You can expect a lot of twinned guitars, soaring vocals and did we mention we have a trebuchet?
Which other bands do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
We are playing on Sunday, so of course there are many bands we want to see live; Nightwish and Watain are two bands we are really looking forward to seeing, so hopefully we are not playing any time close to them!
What are you working on at the moment?
We have around half an album written for our next instalment …Unto the Breach, so we are constantly working on more epic songs about laying siege, mighty battles and swords being distrusted by strange ladies in lakes to establish a system of government.
Jäger, Hobgoblin Ale, Red Bull, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Out of the list provided the band chooses Hobgoblin ale! The only ale for such fine mercenary metal bands as Sellword!
Sellsword: official | facebook | twitter | youtube
Sellsword is a rocking band
[…] Formed in 2013, Sellsword have shared the stage with bands such as Unleash the Archers, Blaze Bayley, Moonsorrow, and Nanowar of Steel and have undertaken UK tours with Dakesis, Heidevolk, Battle Born and Fellowship. They have played major festivals such as Power Metal Quest Fest, HRH Vikings, Breaking Bands and Bloodstock Open Air. […]