Beholder bring everything brutal to Bloodstock on Friday night

Bloodstock Open Air 2013 review

By Will Tudor | Published: Tue 20th Aug 2013

Bloodstock Open Air 2013

Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th August 2013
Catton Hall, Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, DE12 8LN, England MAP
£125 weekend incl camping

Daily capacity: 12,000

One of the top modern Thrash metal bands carrying the British flag is Beholder. This band rocks it in every way imaginable. From brutal riffs, epic shredding and perfectly harmonised vocals, Beholder bring everything brutal and British to the table.

I've not been so excited about a band of late as I have Beholder. I first got to see the Derbyshire quintet in London last December. I was blown away by the power of frontman Simon Hall's vocals. As well as being a well respected leader in the UK's metal community, and an all round top bloke, Simon Hall has a unique vocal style unmatched in the music genre. There's a blend of power and quality that blends seamlessly with riffs and speed solo's that make Beholder stand out from the crowd.

There's been a feeling this weekend that the old-school bands are showing the new bands how it's done. While Beholder are a relatively new band, they're not new to the music scene and you can tell they love every second of it. The excitement they exude both on and off the stage is contagious. Like an instant cure, Beholder took a gathering of hung-over metallers to a ravenous music hungry mob in less than an hour.

I've seen bigger bands get worse receptions at bigger festivals on a Sunday morning, and to their credit Beholder shook off the early morning drizzle and kick started a day which could easily contend for one of the greatest festival performance days I've seen in years.

If you ever needed the perfect remedy for a Friday night, this band is it.

review by: Will Tudor

photos by: Robert McGlade