You put a Spellblast on me.
Spellblast win the weekend's crap name competition (There should be a prize). However they certainly didn't come bottom of the pile as they entertained an attentive crowd at lunchtime on the second day of the Bloodstock Festival 2006. It was the Italian six-piece's first appearance in England and by the look of it, they were pleasantly surprised at the adoration and response they received from the English crowd.
Another banal intro tape of sweeping sounds and atmosphere led to Spellblast...erm blasting in with their own style of sword and sorcery, keyboard heavy power metal. They didn't sport the battle armour of majesty but they tried to enter the spirit of battle metal by painting a few black streaks across their faces. It was all a little lame, and even more so after witnessing Mael Mordha in the Darwin suite later on in the day. The horns of plenty the two guitarists had hanging from their belts suggested their hearts were in battle metal even if they couldn't go the whole hog.
The band did come across as polished with vocalist Jonathan holding his own amongst a relatively good and powerful mix. There was some quality axe work on offer from Luca, I would argue there is room for more of this in Spellblast's music, but that's just personal taste. The crowd warmed to great cuts such as 'Lost in the Forest' and 'Knight of Darkness', but compared to Brainstorm later in the afternoon, they were a couple of pegs lower in professionalism, experience and song-writing ability. That said, they went down well with the metal audience, and I certainly enjoyed their relatively short set. I hope to see them again soon.