PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
For the last few years Hellfest has gone from strength to strength, with amazing line ups, on site improvements. Hellfest has grown into a festival that can compete with all big festivals without losing its unique feel, charm and size. If you have never heard of it, Hellfest a captivating 3 day festival in Clisson, go to www.hellfest.fr for more information.
This year’s line up for me was perfect and it beat all the other European festivals line ups with it eclectic mix with everything from Hawkwind, Scorpions, Iggy to BLS, Rob Zombie then right through to the gorgeous growls of Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Septic Flesh and so on.
With both main stages next to each other it greatly reduces the amount of band clashes that can occur at other festivals. Both the Rock Hard & Terrorizer tents are a short walk away so it makes really easy to catch all your favourite bands without a massive trek there and back.
I spent most of my 3 day going from stage to stage as it was so easy to do and I managed to catch a lot of bands I had never seen before along with my old favourites. I averaged around 20 bands each day. Movement wise there was a good flow so you hardly had to push through tons of people in order to get from stage to stage.
There were numerous choices for food and drink, all with reasonable prices for a festival. You buy your Hellfest cup 1€ or jug 4€ and it gets refilled, they make a great souvenir. Soft drinks were 2€, beer 4€ spirits 6€ for a refill per cup. Burgers, hotdogs sandwiches etc ranged from 4 to 6€, pizza’s 10€ and you had everything from crepes, ice-cream, slushy puppies, sweets, vegetarian, organic, Spanish, Argentinean food stalls there to choose from. Definitely something to suit everyone’s taste and budget.
Basic summary is Hellfest was immense. The combination of the above mixed together with superb sound, friendly laid back atmosphere, amazing & effective security guards made it work so well. Even the rain on the Friday did not deter any of us or the bands from having a fantastic time.
Only improvements would be more toilets plus some covered seating area up by the food stands as apart from the Extreme Metal Market, a bar, the 2 music tents & VIP area there is no undercover areas so if it’s roasting hot or raining you have limited cover.
Highlights band wise for us both were
Friday–
Me – Svart Crown, Primordial, Morbid Angel & In Flames.
Neil – The Cult, Down, Iggy, Rob Zombie.
Saturday –
Me – Mekong Delta, Municipal Waste, Thin Lizzy, Kreator, Bolt Thrower.
Neil – UFO, Thin Lizzy, The Scorpions.
Sunday –
Me – The Ocean. Cavalera Conspiracy, Doro.
Neil – Doro, Judas Priest, Hawkwind.
I’m looking forward to next years Hellfest already \m/
