Bloodstock 2023 Band Feature: Dakesis

Bloodstock 2023 takes place from August 10th to August 13th. Across 4 stages, the festival boasts an incredible line-up that includes headliners Killswitch Engage, Meshuggah, and Megadeth. As always, we will be featuring some of the bands that will be playing this year’s festival. Giving you a rundown of who they are, what they’ve released, and what you can expect come August.

Pick up your Bloodstock 2023 tickets here!

Returning to Bloodstock after being away far too long, it’s the progressive powerhouse metal band, Dakesis. One of the UK’s most beloved bands in the underground scene.

Dakesis have been around since 2008 and have built up a strong name as a band who always delivers on record and on stage. An EP/Demo came in 2010, but it was the release of their debut full-length ‘Trial by Fire’ that really turned heads. It catapulted the band upwards, allowing them to capitalise by touring extensively and appearing at many festivals around the country.

How many Bloodstock attendees remember that they played an exclusive acoustic set for Bloodstock’s 2012 Jägermeister Stage?

After a five-year wait, fans were then treated to their second full-length album, the cherished and highly rated ‘The New Dawn’ in 2016. If the first album launched Dakesis into the atmosphere, this album is what launched them into the stratosphere. A concept album that blew everyone who heard it, away, and it pretty much guaranteed they would be back at the festival. Which turned out to be the case in 2017 when Dakesis played the New Blood stage.

It was a fantastic performance that proved Dakesis was here to stay, and nothing could derail their momentum. Which led to 2020’s Fractures, the band’s third full-length, and another exceptional slice of progressive metal.

Unfortunately, like many other bands, Dakesis’ momentum stalled here because of COVID. Any touring plans the band had around Fractures was halted, but it was still hailed as a great release and given a ton of love by those who had been with the band from the start, as well as those who were just discovering them for the first time.

We loved it, summing it up as a release that:

Should go down in history as the moment Dakesis rose up to become giants of the scene.

Since then, Dakesis has picked up where they left off and the train is well and truly rolling now. Treating fans to blistering and epic live shows and announcing their return to Bloodstock.

We know how good they are live, having seen them perform recently at AoniaFest V. Where they left this impression:

Dakesis are up next and they are one of the best bands in the UK scene, full-stop. Hurt (like so many) by COVID which stunted what they could do with their excellent album ‘Fractures’, there is a strong sense that the Dakesis train is picking up speed again. We should all be very excited as their progressive metal sound is immense and they have one of the most talented vocalists in their ranks. Their reputation for being consistently great is deserved and they, once again, bring their A-game to AoniaFest. They have bundles of talent, stage presence that is mesmerising, songs to make you move, and a positive attitude to leave you feeling all warm inside. A brilliant band.

Not to be missed at Bloodstock 2023, Dakesis will play the Sophie Lancaster stage on the Saturday of the festival. It is going to be incredible. Don’t take out word for it though, we spoke to them about what it means to play the festival, what Bloodstock means to them, and what attendees can expect from their show. They had this to say:

Bloodstock has been a significant part of our musical journey for a really long time. Some of us have been attending as fans since the very first indoor festival back in 2001 and it’s been a hub for us to expand our metal community, both with our personal lives but also as Dakesis. We’ve also had some really special moments performing, from the early days on the Jager stage in 2012 where we rushed to throw together an acoustic set with 2 weeks and 2017 as special headliners for the New Blood stage, (also that WomenOwar side tangent project we dip into now and then).

The story behind our music has always been about coming together, fighting for your rights (and other peoples), comradery and finding the strength to get through dark times so we are truly honoured to be able to play and sing about all of these topics on the Sophie Lancaster stage.

As for what fans can expect, well in good old fashioned Dakesis style, we’ll be bring our pompous, tongue in cheek, Disney laden epic choruses alongside a healthy dose of dark orchestration, prog and maybe a small existential crisis/awakening through the medium of space and time signatures.