We have informed you of the first two days of the HELLFEST under the pen of Alain Cousin, we deliver to you the report of the following two days written from the same pen and illustrated with photos by Antoine Cousin
SATURDAY
It was the hottest day of this edition, both in temperature with 31° (far from the suffocating 44° of the flames of hell last year) and in terms of groups. This day was marked in particular by the presence of groups from countries not particularly renowned for being a country of metal. Among them we can cite Bloodywood from India, Myrath of Tunisia and especially The Hu of Mongolia who will have almost succeeded in cracking the Temple so much the tent was crowded with fans or simply curious people who came to see Mongolian folk metal with its atypical instruments and traditional singing. There is no doubt that the group will grow even more in the near future.
- beast in black
Scandinavia was also strong with Finnish bands Finntroll (folk black metal) and Beast in Black who delivered a beautifully crafted power metal concert. Like the Swedish Evergrey And Enforcethe supercharged heavy metal band (who unfortunately started their set late which already only lasted 30 minutes), but above all Arch Enemythe melodic death metal band led by its charismatic frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz. ” war eternal », « Nemesis », « Eagle fly alone », … their 9 tracks of pure intensities will have generated Wall of death, Circlepit, Slam à gogo. Everything happened!!!!!
- Enforce
Later in the day, the Germans of powerwolf literally set the Mainstage on fire with a magnificent scenography (firethrower organ, ruined church, etc.). Making the crowd sing with one and the same voice, the public who waited impatiently for the group was clearly not disappointed. The German rigor has once again concocted a well-crafted concert. Deutsche Qualität !!!
- powerwolf
The cup is full or you don’t have your account yet? The day is not over yet because the headliner has not yet passed and it is none other than Iron Maiden. The legendary English heavy metal band, at the height of its 48 years of existence and its 17 studio albums, is coming to Hellfest for the third time, but the public is not yet satisfied. And for good reason, each concert is an event. The band of Bruce Dickinson put on a show worthy of their talent. Even if 10 of the 15 songs played focused on 2 albums (Somewhere in time and Senjustu), the public did not hide their pleasure as the singer’s interpretation was bluffing, putting his tongue cancer into oblivion.
- Iron Maiden
On this day, we were able to appreciate the symphonic metal concert of the Dutch of Within Temptation, the Canadians of Voivod, the Poles of Riverside or the American stoner of Clutch.
Sunday
If the first 3 days were warm and dry (except when the festival-goers were sprayed with fire hoses to cool them off from this summer heat), the same cannot be said for this last day.
- When it’s too hot, we water the festival-goers
Like a whole symbol, the first lightning and the thunder resounded during the first note of the concert of Thundermother . The 4 young women of this Swedish rock group did not let themselves be defeated and performed a 30-minute concert of very high quality. They almost made us forget this apocalyptic weather, this torrential rain which pierced to the marrow a diminished audience but still remained in number before the value of these four musicians and their ability to put on a show.
- Thundermother
Three hours later, the rain stopped letting two suns reappear. The real one (that everyone knows) and Lzzy Hale (which everyone should know), the singer and co-founder of the group Halestorm. Beginning her a capella set, she got everyone to agree and put smiles on their faces thanks to her communicative energy and her powerful voice.
- Elizabeth Mae Hale or Lzze Hale
The end of the festival is fast approaching, the legs are getting heavy, it’s the right time for the programming of the German electronic group Electric Callboy to make you dance, jump and jiggle your posterior. This half-techno/half-metalcore musical UFO has the merit of offering something different from its “competitors”, more original without falling into ridicule.
- Electric Callboy
In a completely different style, the Swedes Amon Amarth take over with 50 minutes of Viking metal on a stage where statues of Asgardian guardians follow one another, fighting “real Vikings”, a Leviathan. The public even allowed themselves to be taken back a millennium when they sat down and pretended to row together to move an imaginary longship forward.
Under the Temple, the Germans of Lord of the Lostthe unfortunate last of Eurovision this year, performed a high-flying concert with musicians who were very present on stage, 14 songs, each more catchy than the next, with of course ” Blood and Glitter which deserved so much better than a last place.
- Tenacious D with Jack Black
After Johnny Depp come Thursday, it’s the turn of another American actor to play on the Mainstage, in the person of Jack Black with his group Tenacious D. The pair he forms with Kyle Gass (the duo of the series and the films…Tenacious D, this explains that) did wonders with their completely crazy music. However, all these groups will have finally served “only” as first part for the two groups of the evening of which the majority wanted to see.
- Papa Roach
Pantera, the most famous group of groove metal performs for the first time at Hellfest, and for good reason, they have just reformed after the death of the ABBOTT brothers, founding members of the group. Nevertheless, the band looks more like a Phil Anselmo and Co than a true Pantera comeback. By surrounding himself with two great musicians (Charlie Benantethe drummer of Anthrax and Zakk Wylde guitarist of Black Label Society), certainly the level is present and the nostalgia rises listening to ” Walk », « cowboy from hell ” or ” I’m broken but it still lacks that little something to go back 30 years.
- Slipknot part of the hydra
Last concert and not the least, Slipknot, the hydra with nine masked heads which stunned with its nu metal, the thousands of people who came in large numbers to attend their performance. The band of Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan have shown once again that they belong to the big leagues and deserve their headlining status.
Like every year, these four days of the festival end with an absolutely sublime fireworks display which wonderfully closes this aside in the daily life of the metalhead festival-goer. It’s a safe bet that the inhabitants of Clisson also took the opportunity to watch this final bouquet, but they would not have been able to see the final message broadcast on the giant screens during the last rocket launched: ” See you next year from June 27 to 30, 2024 “. “