It’s that time of year again, when in the run-up to Bloodstock we endeavour to interview every band gracing the Sophie Lancaster, New Blood and Jägermeister stages from 8th – 11th August 2019. This means you’ve got a chance to read up on all your favourite bands set to play over the weekend and decide which new ones you’ll want to check out.
As ever, we’re predicting some horrible clashes because, true to form, there are some great bands across all three stages so you should start planning who you want to see.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Fractions – New Blood Stage, Sunday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re all from a small town called Hinckley, just outside Leicester.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
With the current line-up it’s just coming up for 4 years.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Our previous singer Adam (from Internal Conflict) brought it to the room one night.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We try to never pigeon-hole ourselves and say that our music “for fans of X,Y,Z” – if something sounds cool we’ll build a song around it and it’ll be a Fractions track. We naturally seem to write tracks with lots of riff and rhythm changes which should keep folks watching us on their toes! Our inspirations come from such different places within the band that there will be something for everyone in our sound.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Well we’re not the kinda guys that chuck our guitars around on stage and kick the drum kit over, but we bring a lot of energy to our performances on stage. We also try to make our set as immersive as possible so it feels like an experience.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Yeah we’ve all been to Bloodstock a few times – I’m not sure Steve (our drummer) has ever missed one! It’s such an incredible festival from all aspects. It has a real family vibe and you feel instantly at home there. Musically amazing also – a festival where you can discover crazy good new bands, your friends bands that may have won M2tM, all the way through to your favourites that you listen to on repeat all day, brilliant!
Which M2tM region did you win, or did you come through other channels?
We entered M2tM twice. The first time we pulled out as some of us were not available for future rounds and didn’t think it was fair on other bands that could have progressed in our stead. The second time we were pipped at the post by our boys in Blood Oath. It’s a wonderful competition. In our region Mr Yarwood (Resin) has brought the metal scene back to life by taking on the Leicester branch of things, so a big thank you to Simon. But we managed it on our own merits this year, which we feel is a great achievement.
Can you put into 10 words or fewer how it felt when you realised you were heading to Bloodstock?
Ruddy bloody buggering brilliant, actually. Jurassic Park. Cashback.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
A lot to get through in a short time, so a lot of energy, and it would be great to get that energy back from the audience as a wake up for the last day of the festival.
Which other bands do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
Tesseract, Dimmu Borgir, Scorpions…too many to mention them all really! The line-ups that Bloodstock put on every year are great, so we’ve been spoiled…again!
What are you working on at the moment?
We are currently working on our next EP/album, which we’re hoping to release this year! You can listen to “Soundness Of Mind” now which will feature on it. As well as that we’re deep in pre-show rehearsal for Bloodstock to make sure we’re on it for the show.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Our mate Tom being bench pressed by Matt from Conflict at one of our M2tM shows at Firebug was definitely a spectacle. It is a shame Tom wouldn’t let us fire him out of a cannon for the final, then we may have beaten the Blood Oath boys a few years back!
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
Oh nothing too exciting, it’ll be a mix of green teas, maybe a Red Bull or a beer! We like to be sharp when we’re playing. A couple of whiskeys after never did us any harm though.
