As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 9th. Your chance to check them out and start planning which bands to get there early for!
Trust us when we tell you that this is bound to result in some frustrating clashes because, as ever, there are some great bands on these three stages.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Oracle – Hobgoblin New Blood Stage, Saturday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Us lads are based in Belfast (Northern Ireland) although myself (Jason) and Chief are from the fine valleys of Lurgan.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We’ve been together now for just over three years, although having went through a few drummers the line up that we have now came together about a year and a half ago.
Where does the name of the band come from?
The name of our band originates from Greek mythology. Oracles were visited by the rich and poor alike to seek advice, guidance and to predict the seekers future.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We fall under the groove metal category, although there are elements of hardcore, death, slam and thrash in there too. We write songs based on what is going on in the world, but from a mythological point of view. We try to speak our minds with our music and I think that helps people get involved.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We bring a lot of energy and ion to our live shows, we try to create an intense atmosphere that everyone can get on board with. We also bring plenty of crowd interaction and that’s why people should come see us.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
This will be my first year personally but it’s been on my bucket list ever since I got into the heavier side of music. Bloodstock always has such amazing line ups. Jake and Rhys have both been before and loved it, we can’t wait to get over and be apart of the experience!
Did you enter M2TM thinking you could win it? Which region did you win, or did you come through other channels?
We won the Belfast leg of M2tM. We definitely entered with the intention of doing everything we possibly could to win it, having said there are so many outstanding bands from Belfast that we knew it would be tough. I mean look at the final! You had us, Lock Horns, Thunderwolf, Ketos, Death of a Salesman and Cursed Sun in there. I would have hated to be Simon Hall making that decision.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
Heavy, fast paced and intense!
Which other bands do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
Personally, I don’t want to be playing anywhere near Gojira or DevilDriver, I’d also love to catch Alien Weaponry and Dead Label as well as Sinocence and This Place Hell of course!
What are you working on at the moment?
We are writing hard for our debut album which we are hoping to release early next year, we might have a single or two out before the end of the year as well but you didn’t hear that from me.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Most recently for me would be BLS in The Limelight, Zakk Wylde was down off the stage and on top of the bar doing a ten minute or so solo. That was fairly epic.
Jager, Hobgoblin Ale, Red Bull, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Has to be Hobgoblin with [Bulleit] Bourbon as a close second!
Header image by Blackstaff Pix
Oracle: facebook | instagram | youtube | spotify | bigcartel
