Not so secret now
The Illuminati: a secret and shadowy organisation alleged to be the real power behind the world governments.
Illuminatus: a not very secret rock/metal band based in Nottingham that opened Bloodstock main stage with a confident and entertaining set.
11:30am is not the best time to see a metal band but the main hall at Bloodstock 2006 had a good turnout. I suspect some of the crowd knew Illuminatus already and gave them a welcome before a note was played, they have played Bloodstock a couple of times before and were immediately comfortable given the early start time.
Being first on gives you an advantage as everyone is ready to get the day started and hasn't been metalled out which is something that band six is going to face. Illuminatus made the most of the attention and delivered a solid 30 minutes of well played and arranged metal.
Singer Julio has a voice that grabs your attention, it's a raw and passionate sound gained I'm sure by gargling petrol and gravel. I spoke to him after the gig and he said it was great opening the day, the audience were with them and only two bands get to say Welcome to Bloodstock, which he was proud to do.
Speaking of the crowd, I said at the beginning some of the crowd seemed to know of them already, well by the end a lot more people knew of them and seemed to like what they saw, they got a rousing farewell at the end of their set, not bad for first band on.
The sound was a bit weedy in the guitar department at first but improved later allowing the musicians to lay down a solid base for the vocals to ride on.
Overall they played a very good set that got the day off to a great start and I'll be interested in hearing their debut album when it appears in the near future.
http://www.illuminatus.uk.com/