Satanic blackened deathcore crew Blood Church secured their golden ticket to Bloodstock 2021 when winning the Wolverhampton leg of Metal to the Masses. Now looking forward to playing the New Blood Stage on the Saturday, the Telford-based four-piece tell Emily Castles what the Catton Park faithful can expect.
MR: Many congratulations on winning Metal 2 the Masses in Wolverhampton – how do you feel now about playing Bloodstock in a few weeks?
This has been a dream of ours for a while now, ever since we reached the final back in 2019. Now we finally have the opportunity to grasp that dream with both hands. We can’t wait to unleash our brutal music upon the Bloodstock masses.
MR: Due to Covid-19, the Wolverhampton M2TM winner was decided without live shows. How did the band feel about this – were you still confident?
When we were told that we had won the Wolverhampton Metal 2 the Masses to play Bloodstock we were in a state of shock and awe. It was something we didn’t really expect to happen, which is a testament to the calibre of all the amazing bands that we were up against, honestly.
MR: How has the band spent the past 18 months in and out of lockdown?
As a band, not being able to play shows for live crowds, or any crowd for that matter, has been tough and was made tougher when our previous guitarist stepped down from the band during the first lockdown. That left us with a lot of soul-searching as to what direction we wanted to go in as a band. We decided to look for a new guitarist and went straight into auditions once the practice rooms reopened.
MR: Your tour with Burning the Padre was recently cancelled for obvious reasons. Have you got any further tours or gigs planned (other than Bloodstock!)?
The tour being cancelled was a massive blow as it would have been our first set of gigs back, and our new guitarist’s first outing as part of Blood Church. As of now, Bloodstock will be our first show of the year and hopefully the first of many more to come in the future.
MR: You’ve recently acquired a brand-new guitarist, James Welch. How’s he settling in and what can we expect from him?
We have known James since college, and he has settled in very well. He is a very talented guitarist and has opened a few more doors music wise for us to travel through. His playing style compliments that of Liam’s (Liam Simpson – guitar & backing vocals) and he has a knack for writing brutal breakdowns of which we hope you will all get to hear in the future.
MR: There was a great selection of bands in the Wolverhampton M2TM final. Did you guys have a favourite?
It’s hard to pick just one – especially as we’re friends with a few of them, but overall, we thought Recall the Remains or Burning the Padre were the biggest contenders for winning it, for sure.
MR: Do you see Bloodstock as a platform to take Blood Church up the ladder a notch or two?
Absolutely, this is an opportunity that we as a band need to capitalise on and will bear untold amounts of experience for us. It is another building block that we can use after all the hard work we have put into get to this stage.
MR: Not long before the pandemic began, you released your EP, God Complex. Have you been pleased with the response?
As a metal band that seemingly came out of nowhere and the response to the EP has been better than anything we thought would happen.
MR: Finally, what can fans expect who may be seeing you at Bloodstock for the very first time?
Blood curdling screams and gutturals, heavy guitars, and brutal breakdowns.
