Bloodstock 2025 Band Feature: Dead Flesh

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s Bloodstock time and 2025 is looking to be one of the best events the festival has ever put on, if we’re judging it by bands… which we are, of course.

Taking place at Catton Park, Derbyshire from August 7th to August 10th, Bloodstock Festival 2025 has not only sold out all its weekend tickets, but it also sold out day tickets for the Saturday and the Sunday and it seems likely that Friday will follow suit before the festival actually starts. Boasting a lineup that includes the likes of Emperor, Lacuna Coil, Ministry, Mastodon, Fear Factory, Static-X, Nailbomb, Kataklysm, Obituary, and headliners, Trivium, Machine Head, Gojira, and so much more spread across four stages, it’s going to be one hell of a weekend.

Dead Flesh

Given the immense honour and opportunity to open the festival completely, the five-piece deathcore band, Dead Flesh, have come a very long way in a very short amount of time.

If you’re thinking… didn’t they just play Bloodstock? Well, you are correct! They played last year (2024) on the New Blood stage and impressed Bloodstock so much that they’re back this year opening the festival as the first band on the Sophie Lancaster stage on Thursday.

Specialising in blast beats, breakdowns, a high intensity live show and audience engagement. Dead Flesh have an ambition to bring their unique punishing sound, hellish lyrics and breakneck energy to a wide audience across the UK and beyond. Working with Justin Paul Hill (SikTh) they released their debut EP Dehumanise; at the start of 2024. Showcasing their unforgiving sound, it features songs of anger, depression and a general hatred at the state of the world and collapse of society.

The future of deathcore is looking so much brighter when you realise bands like Dead Flesh are around. A band that is aiming to make one hell of an impact with this EP and do so emphatically. Dehumanise is really f**king good.

Check out the full review here.

It doesn’t stop there though; the shows keep on coming and more music is the works. Not only did they release the single ‘D.N.R’ earlier in the year, but they might have a new track ready to debut at the festival.

Dead Flesh have high ambitions and it’s not just Bloodstock that believes in them. We asked them what it means to be asked to come back and play on a bigger stage, what they learned from playing Bloodstock last time, how much of a boost it was to play the festival, and what attendees can expect from their set this time around. This is what they had to say:

It’s an incredible feeling to be asked back. Playing the New Blood stage last year was unforgettable and the turnout blew us away! We’ve watched countless bands play the New Blood stage over the years, but it hits differently when you’re the one up there.

The Sophie stage, though, is another level. It’s such a core part of the Bloodstock experience, not just because of its history with the S.O.P.H.I.E. Foundation, but also because of the calibre and diversity of bands it hosts. Some of us were there in 2022 when Machine Head played that surprise set, not only was it an amazing show but it was probably the sweatiest gig we’ve been to, and that’s saying something. To go from punters at a show like that to now playing the same stage, it’s unreal.

We learned that it goes by in a flash. Even though the set time was no different to a regular gig, it somehow felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. You spend months preparing, hyping yourself up, and then you’re suddenly walking off stage wondering if it actually happened. It taught us to be fully present in the moment, to soak in the crowd, the energy, the sound, because it really is a one-of-a-kind experience.

Playing Bloodstock gave us a massive boost. It’s such a unique opportunity to get in front of a big crowd of metalheads who are genuinely open to discovering new music. The sense of community at Bloodstock is real, and that openness made it easier to connect with new fans.

We’ve released a new single this year, which you can definitely expect to hear in the set, and there might even be another track in the works that sneaks its way in too. Since we’ve got the honour of being the very first band to play Bloodstock this year, we’re throwing absolutely everything we’ve got into it. Expect cheeky blast beats, full energy, and us feeding off every bit of life you give us, we don’t take anyone’s time for granted.

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