As the countdown to Catton Park continues, we are keeping our eyes firmly on the exceptional talent rising up through the underground. Today, we catch up with death/thrash metal beasts Flayed Disciple (for the second time after we talked to them in… 2014!) to discuss saintly martyrdom, thrash for breakfast, and their upcoming appearance on the Sophie Lancaster Stage – you can catch them on the Sunday.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re spread across the Southwest; Somerset, Bristol and South Wales.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Long enough that we’ve stopped counting. Our first EP, Drawn Viscera, came out in 2008, and we’d already been knocking ideas around and sorting the line-up before then. We still rehearse every week and probably will until one of us kicks the bucket.
Where does the name of the band come from?
We went through a few names before landing on Flayed Disciple. The name comes from a brutal painting by Jusepe de Ribera, ‘The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew’. We ended up using the painting as the cover for Drawn Viscera. Look it up, it’s great.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We’re pretty stripped back compared to others. We don’t use backing tracks, keyboards, click tracks. Just simple thrashing death metal.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We don’t spend much time thinking about why people should watch us instead of someone else. We turn up, play as tightly as we can, and let the songs do the work.
Have you played Bloodstock before? If so, when?
This’ll be our third time at Catton Hall. We came through one of the early Metal 2 The Masses competitions in 2010, then returned in 2012 to play the Sophie Lancaster Stage. We’ve been up a few times since to enjoy the festival since then, so it’s good to be back on the stage.
It’s Bloodstock’s 25th anniversary. If you’re old enough, what were you listening to 25 years ago?
We’re plenty old enough. Probably the same music we’re listening to today to be honest. There’s not a lot of new music out there that we’re drawn to, so the old classics win out.
How/when did you find out you’d be playing the Sophie Stage?
When the email came through from the Bloodstock team. We were just about to release our latest EP, Blistering Autolysis, so it was a nice surprise, especially given how selectively we play live these days.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We’ve dragged a few tracks from Death Hammer back into rehearsals. We don’t play them very often, but a lot of people have asked over the years, so there’ll be a few older songs alongside the newer material.
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?
We’re on early enough that it shouldn’t be a problem. That’s one advantage of having thrash for breakfast.
What are you working on at the moment?
Writing, as always. Once Bloodstock is done we’ll disappear again and get on with the next record. We choose to play live only rarely, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We’re not exactly known for being wild during our live shows. We leave the theatrics to the other bands.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
It’s an early slot, so we’ll probably still be finishing off our cornflakes.
The veteran death/thrash outfit were initially locked into the Sunday schedule when Bloodstock added Black Label Society, Fit For An Autopsy and more for 2026.
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Flayed Disciple: facebook | instagram | spotify | bandcamp | youtube
