"Corn beef balls! Corn beef box! Corn beef balls! Corn beef box!" Bloodstock Open Air has seen all manner of things take place on its main stage over the past twenty years, but a chant dedicated solely to people's sweaty genitals might just be a first. That'll be Adam Dutkiewicz for you, though; the ever-hilarious Killswitch Engage guitarist is on top form, and so is the rest of his band. Tonight, incredibly, marks Killswitch's first ever outdoor UK festival headline set, and they are clearly relishing every second of it.
"This festival isn't just about the music," remarks frontman Jesse Leach earlier in the set. "This is a way of life." Killswitch, responsible for the metalcore boom of the 2000s, might be somewhat removed from the kinds of artists that headlined Bloodstock during its earliest years, but to question their place atop the UK's most metal fest would be plainly absurd. They're lifers; as much a part of metal's evolution over the past few decades as Pantera, Korn and Machine Head, and an opportunity to finally headline an event like this is long, long overdue on these shores.
