Bloodstock 2018 – Band Feature/Interview: Obzidian

This year’s Bloodstock Festival is shaping up to be one of the best ever with a line-up that spans all genres of rock and metal. If you haven’t picked up your tickets yet, what are you waiting for!? Check out our five reasons why you should go there.

British Thrash Metal from the Home of Metal since 2001….

Obzidian were established in 2001 with founding members Baz, Paul and Jeffsy meeting in school and then vocalist Matty J joining the band in 2005. In March 2007 the band signed with Casket Records and went on to release their self-titled debut plus the follow up “Damned Eternal” in 2012. They played extensively in support of these two releases building a solid reputation across the UK, sharing the stage with the likes of Sepultura, Crowbar, Il Nino and Arch Enemy.

In 2014 they unleashed their third album “Concrete Psychosis” which was released on 8th September on Rocksector Records. 2015 & 2016 saw the band go from strength to strength and continue to build a solid fanbase. In 2017 the band signed with FATangel Management and released their fourth album “Obliteration Process”, which was self-produced and released in November 2016. Since then the band have had support slots with Grand Magus, Whispered and more plus they have played to huge crowds at Uprising, HRH Metal & Hammerfest as well as touring the UK extensively.

Obzidian are now working on their fifth album, 2018 looks to be their biggest year yet! They hit the New Blood Stage on the Sunday of the festival!

Check out Obzidian over on their website, Facebook Page, via Twitter, Instagram and check out their music on Soundcloud and their videos on YouTube.

Interview

1. Tell us about your journey to Bloodstock 2018.

We usually take the A51 past Rugeley and then head to Bloodstock via Lichfield, but it depends on traffic.

…Seriously though, it’s been a long road but we have just carried on writing, playing and enjoying what we do for many years until the call came through with the opportunity of a lifetime, that we will be eternally grateful for.

Formed in 2001, our first contact with Bloodstock was in 2005/06 and we have dreamed of playing the festival that we love ever since.

2. How important of a platform is the New Blood Stage for yourselves?

It’s a massive springboard to other positions within the festival and opens up a lot more opportunities within the tour circuit. But more than that, it is a perfect platform for connecting with the people who matter, the fans. Bloodstock has a loyal and honest fanbase and more than any other festival we know of, the fans really love to discover their next favourite band or upcoming artist.

We have long been advocates of the Metal to the Masses model and have supported in anyway we can, even appearing as the guest band for a few finals and semi-finals throughout the years.

3. What are your thoughts on playing the festival? Have you ever been there before?

We are excited and cannot wait to play the festival! It has been our favourite festival and a part of most of our lives for many years, Paul our Drummer for example will be making his 11th visit to Bloodstock in 13 years! We are honoured to be included amongst so many amazing bands of all levels and can’t wait to see what the M2TM finals have produced again this year!

4. Are you going to be around the festival all weekend? If so who are you excited to see?

We will be there from the first minute as always, and we look forward to so many bands it’s hard to name all of them. The highlights for us are going to be: Judas Priest, Devildriver, Act of Defiance, At the Gates, Cannibal Corpse (Hawaiian shirt prepped), Gojira, Bloodbath, Monument and so many more!

5. What’s next for Obzidian?

We are working on our 5th release, due to be done for 2019. Hopefully the first single from that album will be released in the Summer or Autumn and we can’t wait for you all to hear what we have in store. On top of writing and recording, we have several short tours planned with some of our management label buddies (shout out to FatAngel Management) and hopefully we can build on our recent run of festival slots with some more high profile shows.

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