IGHTS, CAMERA, CARNAGE! ‘STEEL DONKEYS’ FILMING STARTS AT BLOODSTOCK
NAME BLOODSTOCK’S COFFEE FOR PRIZES AND GLORY
The UK might have been gripped by a heatwave of late, but BLOODSTOCK has some news that’s even hotter, revealing a whopping seventeen more bands to take to the Timothy Taylor New Blood stage in just a few weeks time.
With the winners of the grass-roots-supporting Metal 2 The Masses finals ranging from Somerset to Poland, your new favourite band might be lurking right here, so do check out any names you aren’t already familiar with and get excited for what’s in store!
Without further ado, Friday welcomes Nottingham winners tealdeer, bending reality with their unpredictable alt-metal mash-up of SOAD, DGD, horror films, and carnival chaos - led by masked guitarist ODM (Ominous Deer Man). Joining them are Poland’s champs RASCAL, delivering lightning-fast twin lead speed metal soaked in classic heavy and thrash energy, and Kettering’s BACKSEAT JULIET, a glam-soaked rock ’n’ roll riot - loud, wild, and proudly over the top.
Saturday brings London deathcore bruisers SYMBYOTE, diving deep into darkness with crushing riffs. Plus, Welsh victors ADFEILION who conjure enchanted landscapes through atmospheric folk metal and Cheltenham’s top dogs PRODIGAL, who deliver soaring, emotional anthems that hit the heart. Joining them, Norway’s ZEBULON offer slow-burning doom riffs soaked in sulfur and fire; Birmingham’s MANTIS DEFEATS JAGUAR fuse hip hop, metal, and funk in riotous style; MECHROMORPH bring savage deathcore brutality (and pig squeals) all the way from Essex; HEAD DENT tear it up with no-BS punk chaos after winning in Stoke; and Kent’s UNNATURAL ORDER smashed first place slicing through the noise with their razor-sharp djent and metalcore aggression.
Sunday wraps up with Oxford’s OCEAN PLANET, a techy, progressive metalcore onslaught; Somerset’s RIZEN, pure rock ’n’ roll energy with no frills; and Hitchin’s HEADCOUNT, a hardcore groove juggernaut. Also for your headbangin’ pleasure, East Anglia’s KOBA build dark, immersive post-metal soundscapes; Newcastle’s RULED BY RAPTORS smash genre lines with punk-metal post-hardcore force (and did we mention Sunday is dinosaur day?); and last but not least for this reveal, North Wales’ BAD EARTH help finish the weekend with thunderous, no-nonsense “Rockcore” power. Being fans of Motorhead, Clutch, and Baroness, they’re sure to convert you too.
Catch all of these hotly-tipped, bright new stars - and even more still to be announced - at BLOODSTOCK this summer! Congratulations to all the winners of the Metal 2 The Masses finals so far and big shout out to the metalheads supporting at all the events as well.
Lights, Camera, Carnage! Steel Donkeys Filming Starts at BLOODSTOCK 2025!
Cult writer/director Richard Stanley (‘Hardware’, ‘Dust Devil’, etc.), whose work defined the cyberpunk era, is to helm ‘Steel Donkeys’ from his own script for Steel Mill Films, based out of Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing’s legendary rock venue in Wolverhampton.
The film follows three small-time crooks hired to steal a powerful artefact from a mysterious rock star at a massive festival. When their heist goes wrong, they unleash a malignant Afro-Caribbean entity trapped inside the artefact — a demon that parties its way through the festival crowd, threatening to end the world. As the chaos spirals, the teens must rally a ragtag band of heroes to stop the demon and restore cosmic balance.
Will you be on screen? Exterior scenes will shoot at BLOODSTOCK this summer with further production at K.K.’s Steel Mill starting October 1st. Legendary martial artist Cynthia Rothrock (‘China O’Brien’) joins a cast drawn from the world of rock and metal.
Bloodstock Director Adam Gregory says, "We are delighted to be working with Steel Mill Films and with Richard Stanley on this fantastic project which will showcase Bloodstock to an international audience on the big screen."
Director Richard Stanley adds, "The stars have aligned to conjure this dream into manifestation, a perfect storm of metal, martial arts and cosmic horror, precision calibrated to burn its way into the brains of a whole new generation of metal fans. It makes me hugely happy to be back in the UK and to be returning to my cultural roots with this supernaturally charged psychedelic hand grenade, freely inspired by a real-life misadventure from my younger years. Given the current state of the nation, I firmly believe 'Steel Donkeys' is exactly what Britain both needs and deserves..."
Name The Brew Of The Beast!
As the final weeks to BLOODSTOCK draw near, something dark and powerful is brewing. BLOODSTOCK has teamed up with Coffee Central Roasting Co. and Gregory Catering Ltd to create the first-ever official BLOODSTOCK coffee blend—and it needs a name as bold as the brew itself.
This isn’t just coffee. It’s an anthem in a cup. Riffs in the roaster. Crafted with precision by Coffee Central, this brutal blend combines a specialty-grade Robusta from Clarke Farm in Uganda—bold, smooth, and loaded with caffeine—with a naturally processed Central American Arabica, rich with dark fruit and chocolate. The result? A massive, high-octane brew built to fuel the faithful all festival long and all the long days that follow 'til you reunite with your BLOODSTOCK brethren.
But now the power is yours! BLOODSTOCK needs you! From June 27th - July 11th, submit your name ideas and vote for your favourite across BLOODSTOCK’s official social platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube. Festival management is watching them all, and the chosen name will become part of BLOODSTOCK history.
The creator of the winning name will earn eternal bragging rights, a pair of weekend tickets to BLOODSTOCK 2026, and a hefty 1kg bag of the exclusive blend. Two runners-up will each receive a 250g bag to taste the fury at its finest.
You’ll find the blend exclusively at Gregory Catering Ltd outlets across the festival, including VIP, Niflheim, and Ironwood. A limited run of 500 retail boxes will also be available via Coffee Central’s webshop - just look out for the QR code on site! VIP ticket holders will get an exclusive gift pack in their official goodie bags!
BLOODSTOCK's battle cry in liquid form. The energy of the pit. The brew of the beast. Summon a name that will echo through the ages…
Got your ticket and making plans already? BLOODSTOCK’s dedicated one-stop-shop with Preo is now up and running, featuring an array of festival goodies from nice-to-have to downright essential! From cold beers (and 4 pinters of mango cider) to merch, plus airbeds, chargers, and more, you can secure your items in advance from one online shop. And then just collect on your arrival at BLOODSTOCK! For more info and to explore the online shop, visit the Bloodstock Festival Preo store.
Stay tuned for more news on BLOODSTOCK 2025 soon!
If you already have a weekend ticket, a limited number of Wednesday early access passes are available for an add-on cost of £25 for those who want to max out their BLOODSTOCK experience, staying in any of the standard campsites (including Kyrr if you have a Kyrr-specific ticket) or the campervan field. This option is not available for the VIP or accessible campsites.
Head to the ticket store to see all currently available options including pre-bookable car parking. Snap up the last of the Friday day tickets!
If you’ve missed out on your preferred ticket type, sign up to official resale partner Tixel. Simply set an alert for notification if your tickets of choice become available, or pre-authorise your card in advance, so no need for constant checking back. Tixel also allows you to safely re-sell tickets to a new home if plans have changed. You can sell ALL ticket types, including instalment plan purchases, plus any tickets sold via Ticketmaster or other third party ticket outlets. Click through to https://tixel.com/uk/bloodstock-tickets for more information on how it works.
If you're thinking about travel options, consider Big Green Coach, for the closest drop off on site. Check out routes here.
Get more festival information over at bloodstock.uk.com. Watch a trailer here.
BLOODSTOCK will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 7th-10th August 2025.
BLOODSTOCK’s 2025 Ronnie James Dio stage headliners are TRIVIUM, MACHINE HEAD, and GOJIRA. Headlining the Sophie Lancaster stage will be ME AND THAT MAN, KATAKLYSM, STATIC-X, and OBITUARY. You'll also be able to see MASTODON, NAILBOMB, MINISTRY, EMPEROR, FEAR FACTORY, LACUNA COIL, HERIOT, ORANGE GOBLIN, CREEPER, KUBLAI KHAN TX, CAGE FIGHT, RIVERS OF NIHIL, FLOTSAM & JETSAM, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, FEUERSCHWANZ, LORD OF THE LOST, PALEFACE SWISS, AUGUST BURNS RED, WARBRINGER, UNDEATH, SPIRIT ADRIFT, THROWN, ALL FOR METAL, BREED 77, HIGH PARASITE, and 3 INCHES OF BLOOD. Joining them are SHRAPNEL, FAMYNE, KONVENT, THE SPIRIT, GHOSTS OF ATLANTIS, ONE MACHINE, MY DILIGENCE, SHADE EMPIRE, EIHWAR, WATERLINES, PHOENIX LAKE, NEONFLY, WALL, DOGMA, SIGLOS, DEADFLESH, FOURWAYKILL, GNOME, TURIN, LOCK HORNS, OFNUS, ROUGH JUSTICE, IREOSIS, BA’AL, FRAYLE, PENGSHUI, VNDER A CRVMBLING MOON, APATHY UK, BARBARIAN HERMIT and more! Visit the website to see the full line-up.
