Bloodstock Festival 2018: 10 Things We Learnt
3. Nothing Is As Vicious As Watain
“Bloodstock! We are Watain. And we bring you the end,” roars Erik Danielsson during the early moments of the black metal titans’ frenetic display: what would ultimately be the final set of the festival’s 2018 instalment. And as a grand finale, you could not have asked for any better than the furious extremity of one of Sweden’s most infamous and controversial exports.
Things were extremely promising from the start, as Danielsson calmly took to the stage coated in face-paint and blood and holding out a flaming torch before him. Two gigantic tridents stood either side of the drumkit, which abruptly burst into undying fire as he approached them, before embracing his congregation with distorted shouts yelped wildly over dissonant guitar riffs and insane percussion.
These were the opening moments of eighty minutes of stage-burning and blood-drinking that proved that Watain are more than deserving of their terrifying reputation. During the thrashing “Nuclear Alchemy”, the band’s increasingly enigmatic leader held his hand directly over one of many large burning candles, dropping his wrist into the flame without so much as a flinch.
As a way to conclude Bloodstock, Watain were second to none, complimenting excellent black metal tracks with the disturbing visual display that the subgenre deservces.