S.O.S indeed
State of Serenity go something like this: Generic widdly riff. All crash in with the singer screaming, and then go into a fast beat. Singer then starts monotone screaming, backed up with screaming vocals by random members of the band. All slow down for some staccato riffing or some stabs. Speed back up with some more screaming, jump around a lot, throw in some more stabs and slow chugs, then finish. Repeat the above for every song.
The sparsely attended 2nd stage saw State of Serenity churn out some Killswitch Engage style dross without any of the clever melodies, or grace or the popular metal core act. This may have been down to the appearance of the awesome Ensiferum on the main stage, but my own theory is that, after people had heard a couple of bars of S.O.S they decided to give the beer tent a very wide birth.
Another bunch of Scuzz children, S.O.S try very hard, and put a lot of energy into some very average and unimaginative music. Music that seems to be without structure or melody. Music that is made by kids for the kids, and perhaps not wanted at a true metal festival such as Bloodstock.
I can't get away from the fact that S.O.S had a killer sound, perhaps the most powerful of all the bands that appeared on the Saturday. It was loud, brash and mixed perfectly. But it was a great shame that they used it to fill the room with 'flavour of the month' drivel. Some of the crowd were responsive however. A few drunks threw themselves at each other, but I got the impression that those at the back and around the side weren't really that impressed. But I try to be fair and asked my friend, who had witnessed the whole set, for a second opinion. He described S.O.S as "A bunch of lads jumping around like idiots," which sums it up perfectly.