Truly awful
I truly drew the short straw for this one. Sheffield's very own Bal Sagoth appeared at Bloodstock Open Air in support of the climactic culmination of the epic Bal-Sagoth hexalogy, "THE CHTHONIC CHRONICLES." However, only a pocket full of people in the crowd really gave a damn. The rest of us stood and watched in wonder at how on earth did these guys get higher on the bill than Ensiferum.
To be fair, the sound wasn't great, but then again this could have just been the band and their style of music. Either way, nothing of their set was discernable except when vocalist Byron Roberts' put on deep laugh, which probably meant more to him than to the rest of us. His black metal screaming and narration were chalk and cheese over a wall of mush and din. Bass player Mark Greenwell and guitarist Chris Maudling were playing some intricate music. Their fingers were all over the fret board like a demented spider, but you couldn't make top nor tail of any of it. Keyboardist Jonny Maudling added some lavish soundscapes that just seemed to be at odds with the brutal mush the rest of the band were producing.
The band chocked through Atlantis Ascendant and The Obsidian Crown Unbound to a clueless and largely baffled crowd (Myself included). There was little interaction with the audience from Byron, and I think it came as something of a relief when he announced that they would be cutting the set short due to time restraints. However I always try and give every band a chance, surely an act that have been releasing records for thirteen years can't be all that bad. Perhaps a quick visit to My Space will educate me a little more.