Viva le Hellfest!
There will always be elitists and general grumps that pull apart every festival posted that appears on their social timeline for one reason or another. However, there is one festival that every year without fail, manages to tick every metal fan’s box with a line up so strong and eclectic and that festival is Hellfest. Based in the quiet and quaint town of Clisson, France, the Hellfest grounds, consisting of six stages and a mecca of merchandise is a visual masterpiece, usually lit up by glorious sunshine and fire by night.
Everything is meticulously designed to add additional quirks to the layout of the ‘Metal Corner’ and general arena to ensure you feel as detached from reality as possible, whilst you enjoy one of the greatest line ups in Europe. This year’s headliners cover the nostalgia you need as the evening draws into a close, whether you’re getting old school with Deep Purple, wailing along to Aerosmith, or dusting off your nu- metal wardrobe for Linkin Park.
The rest of the line-up covers every aspect of metal, meaning that those that wish to dabble in black, death, sludge, punk and rock will be partaking in quite the workout to run from one stage to the next and ensure they don’t miss out. For the thrashers there are the obvious pit stops (literally) to Slayer, Kreator, Hirax and Coroner, whilst darkness dwellers can adorn their corpse paint for Emperor, Behemoth and Marduk. The Valley stage is sure to be riddled with a certain smoke as the likes of Electric Wizard and Baroness get heavy, whilst dust clouds are forecast at the Warzone stage for the likes of DRI and Suicidal Tendencies.
Despite this huge array of music mayhem, the atmosphere at Hellfest is calm and family friendly (for those who want it to be) with a well organised system for food and booze and a supermarket nearby to stock up on supplies.
Hellfest has always had a very big place in our blackened Devolution hearts and we cannot wait to return for debauchery across the channel!
Viva le Hellfest!
By Lily Randall
https://www.facebook.com/hellfest/
