Fox Reviews Rock

Bloodstock Open Air 2026 is really starting to get HOT! With the first wave of Metal 2 The Masses finalists having confirmed their slots on the Stowford Press New Blood Stage.

Following the regional finals a really diverse selection of metal talent across subgenres have found themselves on the line up!

Friday’s New Blood Stage Winners

Regicide

East Anglia’s answer to aggressive thrash and grove metal, Regicide blend hardcore influences into their ferocious sound!

Microtonal

Death Metallers Microtonal from Belfast bring relentless energy and technical precision.

Atarka

Bringing Death Metal with a melodic twist is Birmingham based band Atarkia.

Bailed Out

Bailed Out produce a high energy sound from Leeds. The Hardcore band are known for their explosive live performances.

Saturday’s Confirmed Winners

Descendancy

From Sheffield Descendancy won the Metalcore category and will bring their modern sound to Bloodstock’s crowds for the first time.

Dead Bait

Judges were impressed by the cathartic approach of Northampton based Dead Bait.

Sunday’s Diverse Selection of New Talent

Chekhov’s Gun

Scottish champs Chekhov’s Gun combine their amazing live performances with a unique musical identity. It helps that they are fronted by a ballroom dancer!

Technologist

Prog Metal band Technologist fail from Manchester and bring their technical edge and ambitious song writing to the New Blood Stage.

Sunk

South Coast natives Sunk secured top spot with their Doom infused sound.

Joakem

Based in Cyprus Joakem emerged as winners and will make their way over to the UK to perform.

Ka’aper

Ka’ aper have a reputation for showing off their powerful Death Metal. But also at the same time showing the unifying nature of heavy music with members from Russia and Ukraine.

Of Mice & Men Withdraw from Bloodstock 2026

Unfortunately Of Mice & Men have had to drop out of this years event due to circumstances outside of their control.

Due to circumstances beyond our control we sadly won’t be able to make it out to Europe this summer as planned. Thanks to all the fans, festivals & promoters we were looking forward to playing for.

Sanguisugabogg Join the Festival Line-Up As Replacements

Filling in the Of Mice & Men gap are Ohio based Death Metal Titans Sanguisugabogg. With a crushing sound and sense of humour the band will appear directly before Leprous on the Sophie Lancaster stage on Saturday.

Win Bloodstock 2027 Tickets with the S.O.P.H.I.E. Treasure Hunt

Festival organisers have also unveiled a fun on-site challenge for attendees looking to add a little adventure to their Bloodstock experience.

This years event has a fun on-site challenge for attendees to take part in! An enhancement surely brighten anyone’s festival.

How to Enter

By collecting an entry form from the Sophie Lancaster Foundation charity stand (Next to the main stage) festival goers can embark on a festival wide treasure hunt!

The aim is to find 10 special S.O.P.H.I.E signs that have been sneakily hidden across the site.

Prize Details

The one lucky winner will get a pair of Bloodstock 2027 Weekend Tickets!

The competition will close at 4pm on the Sunday and a suggested £2 donation to support the Sophie Lancaster Foundation is welcomed.

This site claims no rights over any of the music used in this article. All rights to the songs are maintained by the recording artists. This article was created using a press release from Cosa Nostra. All images were from that press release.