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!
Sinocence – Jägermeister Stage, Saturday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Hi, everyone. We are based in Belfast. Three of us come from Lurgan though.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
17 years now. Hard to believe sometimes.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Our guitarist and founder member saw it on the net way back then and liked it.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
The band’s style is dynamic, energetic, hook-laden, powerful and melodic metal. Mostly clean vocals but can turn up the aggression when necessary. Unique is a strong word. From what I can see at the local level anyway there is a lot of shouty vocals in metal bands at the minute. We would do more singing for the most part which I don’t see a lot of.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Our live show is set to make a marked change so we are looking forward to seeing this new dynamic play out. After 17 years without having a dedicated front man we decided to change things up at bit we now have a new vocalist. A live wire so I’d expect the energy to be high. We’ve only done one track live with him and it felt very good. Our songs have been getting a little more technical so we introduced a new singer into the mix to free up the guitar. More room for manoeuvre now so yeah, something new for us. We will be an unknown quantity over there so hoping once we get on the stage we’ll hook them in. We believe the songs and the delivery will hold people’s attention.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Yeah, we actually played the festival 10 years ago. Really enjoyed it…great vibe and some killer bands. Got to watch Testament and In Flames from the side of the stage. Very cool. And our buddies Honey for Christ played the day after which was great to see. Looking forward to seeing how much it’s grown.
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
We found out a few months back but had to keep it under wraps. We’ve made the final of the Metal to the Masses the previous 2 years running and with the introduction of our new vocalist Simon has kindly gave us this slot to give the new line-up and album a kick start. Much appreciated to be on the bill.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
With a short 30min set we’ll be keeping the energy high. Straight for the throat. To be honest with you the band is looking forward to seeing how the dynamic will play out with Duane. The one song we did play with him at our last gig to make the announcement was pretty pumping and the crowd went for it so all systems go.
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
Oracle, This Place Hell and Dead Label. Gotta the Irish over at Bloodstock. Oracle are young and full of beans so really looking forward to seeing them up there. I saw This Place Hell a few weeks ago in Belfast, such a great show, looking forward to seeing them again. Dead Label I can’t believe I haven’t actually seen them before so that’s going to be cool.
What are you working on at the moment?
We’ll be releasing our latest EP No Gods, No Masters Vol 3 for worldwide digital distribution so we’ll be working on that and getting out to promote the new album. We have a management type deal we are working on but will announce that as soon as everything is in place.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We played and ended up headlining one of the stages at the Bulldog Bash in the UK. No police allowed near the event so that was weird. Status Quo headlined the main tent and we were expecting a timid affair but after they left it was strippers, sex shows, people offering us all kinds of drugs, meth… Eh, no, you’re ok, we’ll stick with the beer. Got a bit mental. When we got home we heard some biker was shot on the motorway leaving the festival. A bit of a mad one.
Jäger, Hobgoblin Ale, Red Bull, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Has to be Jäger, all the way.
Sinocence: facebook
