Bloodstock 2022 Band Feature: Pupil Slicer

Bloodstock Open Air 2022 takes place from August 11th and August 14th with a line-up that might be one of the best the festival has ever put on. A wide array of rock and metal acts spread across four stages, it’s looking likely to be a weekend not to be missed. Pick up tickets here.

The Sophie Lancaster stage is arguably where it is at this year. A wealth of talent, a wealth of rock and metal brilliance, featuring a dazzling array of bands that are on the rise and continue to grow their fanbase. Bands that kept themselves busy during the pandemic period and came out the other side, stronger and hungrier than ever. This is a stage filled with bands that have built and are building impressive reputations. One such band is London’s Pupil Slicer who combine elements of mathcore and grindcore to deliver their own serrated metal sound that tears through flesh and bone.

A relatively new band on the scene, the three-piece that is Pupil Slicer hit the ground running and only slowed down to work on their debut album ‘Mirrors’. An album that was released in March of 2021 via Prosthetic Records to rave reviews around the entire world.

We reviewed it, giving it a 9.5 out of 10 and described it as such:

Mirrors is the sum of all Pupil Slicer’s brutality, like a chainsaw buzzing though flesh or the rampage of a starving beast as it finds a late-night campsite. The chaos is immense and immeasurable. Just know that rivers of blood will flow.

The combination of mathcore intensity with grindcore energy makes for a frenzied listen. One that sees these lunatics throwing their absolute all into something with pure savagery at its core. It’s almost impossible to keep up at times, such is the rampant speed and in your face attack.

Yet, one listen of Mirrors made it also clear that for all their intensity, Pupil Slicer have depth and a refinement that made them more than just a ferocious band. There are moments of peace and reflection that offset the chaos.

The rise of Pupil Slicer was in full flow and while their live output was limited because of the pandemic era we were all living in, when they did get out there, they were killing it on the stage. We know, we saw them play and you can read that review here.

Along the way, Pupil Slicer kept the momentum going with the release of the excellent standalone single ‘Thermal Runaway’. A track we described as:

Savage as always, Pupil Slicer combine their mathcore roots with groove and alt-metal influences to create a track that can certainly be called ‘noisy’. Considering just how wild it is, and it’s really wild, there’s a delightful amount of technicality throughout but it’s also hooky as hell. If this is the direction Pupil Slicer are heading in, going forward, things are about to get even more interesting in the metal world.

So, anticipation is high for Pupil Slicer’s debut at Bloodstock 2022. Playing the Sophie stage on the Saturday, it is going to be very special. Don’t miss it. We can’t wait and neither can the band. We asked them what it meant to be playing this year and what fans can expect from their show and they had this to say:

It is a huge honour to play such a prestigious UK metal festival and also a surprise as we would not consider ourselves a typical “Bloodstock band” – Growing up we would have considered Bloodstock to be for ‘Proper’ Metalheads and featuring bands akin to Saxon, Lamb of God or Amon Amarth only. Not only do we love Metal but we’re also looking forward to celebrating Bloodstock changing with the times and giving new bands a fantastic opportunity, hoping to win over the crowd with our own brand of Chaotic Metallic Hardcore.

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