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Pest Control, Rotting Christ and more announced for Bloodstock Winter Gathering
Bloodstock’s metal Christmas party is once again hitting Wolverhampton in December!
- Words:
- Nick Ruskell
- Photo:
- Paul Harries
Bloodstock's Winter Gathering fest will return to KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton on December 5, with another stacked line-up of pre-Crimbo heaviness.
Greek black metal legends Rotting Christ will be marking the birth of Jesus, with a special headlining set celebrating "35 years of evil existence". Also on the bill are Leeds thrashers Pest Control, Scottish death metallers Party Cannon, war-tastic Ukrainian metallers 1914, Nottingham pirate crew Red Rum, doom puritans Witchsorrow and Manchester rockers Square Wild.
Thrashers Shrapnel will headline the second stage, joined by The Crawling, Moon Reaper and Head Dent. There's also live Q&As, S'tanta's Grotto, signings, giveaways, and the fest's already legendary snow machine.
The indoor set-up harks back to Bloodstock's earliest days at Derby Assembly Rooms, before it went outside and took up residency at Catton Hall.
“Last year’s Winter Gathering was honestly such a blast – it reminded us exactly why Bloodstock began as an indoor event in the first place,” says festival director Vicky Hungerford. “The atmosphere was so intimate and felt just like those early days. We’ve got loads of fun things planned for 2026 and we’d love to see as many of you there as possible. It’s basically our Bloodstock Christmas party!”
Don't forget, before all that, there's Bloodstock Open Air in August, featuring Lamb Of God, Slaughter To Prevail, Judas Priest, Saxon and a whole weekend's worth of heavy metal mania.
