Ah metal festivals, the perfect escape from the nine to five and the monotonous, mundane slog of everyday living. Good music, community spirit, and a shared interest in letting go of common decency in lieu of batshit buffoonery. What could be better?
This weekend, Bloodstock Festival graced the heat-scorched grounds of Catton Park in Derbyshire once again, bringing the faithful performances from Mercyful Fate, Testament, Lamb Of God, Jinjer, Killing Joke, and even a secret set from Machine Head.
And of course, the fun didn’t end when the headline acts finished their sets, for that’s when the silent discos and DJs tents kicked in. Alternatively, some festival-goers made their own fun, as demonstrated in this TikTok video (posted by @mallimetalheadmalpass) which sees a crowd urging on two blokes who are trying their very best to revive the mobile tradition of jousting with the aid of two huge wheelie bins.
If you’re not familiar with the mediaeval pastime, jousting is when two knights charge at each other on horseback while wielding big sticks called lances in hope of hitting each other as hard as possible.
In the footage, enthusiastic onlookers assemble as two men try to balance on the bins before smashing into each other and, of course, falling off. It’s no easy feat to get a non-motorised wheelie bin to move however, so to get some momentum, plenty of pals are present to boost them along with vigorous speed. Wonderful. What are friends for, eh?
Bin jousting at Bloodstock has become something of a tradition over the years, and in the video, it’s dubbed the “strictly unofficial sporting event” of the festival.
One user writes: “Bloodstock wouldn’t be the same if there wasn’t bin jousting! A few times I thought it was thunder haha”, while another remarks: “I remember this from 2011. I had a man in a banana suit and a pirate flyover my tent”.
Check out the video below:
@mallimetalheadmalpass ♬ original sound - 𝞛ᵅ▌▌讠 "𝞛ǝߙᵅ▌ₕǝᵅď" 𝞛ᵅ▌𝔭ᵅ𝐬s
Next year’s Bloodstock will feature Megadeth and Killswitch Engage as headliners. Other bands set to appear on the main stage next summer include Devildriver, Fit For An Autopsy, Knocked Loose, and Gatecreeper. Also newly announced for 2023, Zeal & Ardor will headline the Sophie Lancaster Stage on a date tbc, with King 810 and Unto Others also confirmed.
