Continuing our run of letting you know a little more about as many of the bands on at Bloodstock 2025 as we possibly can before you get a chance to see them, we have Phoenix Lake. This bunch play on the Sophie Stage on the Saturday.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Myself (Lana), Ash and Zak are from Nottingham, Joe is from West Yorkshire.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
The band was originally formed in 2015, but we’ve gone through various lineup changes over the years. We’ve been performing with our current lineup since February 2023.
Where does the name of the band come from?
When the band decided to change its name, each member put forward suggestions, and the final choice came down to a vote. Ash remembers favouring the word ‘Phoenix’ because of his love for mythology and the powerful symbolism it holds.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We don’t really fit into a specific genre—we love experimenting with styles and draw inspiration from a wide range of bands. Synths play a big role in our sound, and we’re very focused on melody.
Our upcoming album showcases how versatile we are as a band. It features heavy, driving tracks with riffs reminiscent of bands like Bullet for My Valentine and Parkway Drive, alongside songs that could be compared to Within Temptation and Evanescence.
We create music that we genuinely enjoy, without limiting ourselves to fit into a single genre—and we think that’s what makes us unique.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We give it our all live! We love playing shows and thrive off the crowd’s energy—you can definitely tell if you’ve ever seen us on stage.
We’ve got a stage show planned for this year, and we’re beyond excited about it. As a band, we’re pretty theatrical and passionate about all aspects of art, so we jumped at the chance to create a visual performance to complement our explosive sound.
We might not be as heavy as some of the other bands on the line-up, so in a way, we’re a bit of a palette cleanser! We’re here for lovers of melodic and symphonic metal.
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
Have you played Bloodstock before? If so, when?
Yes, we have—which still feels crazy to say! We opened the Sophie Lancaster Stage on the Sunday in 2023 after winning Planet Rock’s competition. We’re so happy to be back!
How/when did you find out that you’d be playing the SOPHIE stage?
After playing Bloodstock Festival for the first time in 2023, we were eager to come back and kept pestering our manager to help us secure a slot. We were offered the opportunity to play the Sophie stage in September 2024, and it all feels just as surreal as it did before!
What sort of setlist can we expect?
You can expect a mix of heavy, driving tracks and more melodic ones—hopefully something for everyone. We’ll also be playing some new songs from our upcoming debut album, which we can’t wait to share with everyone!
Stage times haven’t been announced yet, so which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
Luckily, we know we’re not clashing with most of the bands we want to see—except possibly Creeper. We’re hoping our set doesn’t overlap with theirs, because we’d love to catch their performance!
What are you working on at the moment?
We’re releasing our debut album this summer, so we’ve been working hard to make sure everything is ready for the launch. We’re also planning our album release show and looking into a potential tour next year.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
One thing that’s always stuck with us was watching a punk band at a show we were playing. The singer smashed her own head with the microphone —it was very punk, but it must have hurt!
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
It varies! The guys usually go for a beer, and I (Lana) tend to stick with pineapple juice before a show—but I’ll go for something like Fireball if I’m in the mood for something stronger!
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Phoenix Lake: facebook | instagram | tiktok | spotify | youtube
