We have a sort of love-hate relationship with the month of June (and Summer, in general). On the one hand, it is the time of the year where we are the happiest, but on the other hand, having to suffer under a hot Sun is a bitch. Overbearing heat and intense sweating are always hand-to-hand on this time of the year, and we feel it in double during Hellfest, as we are constantly on the move from stage to stage. That being said, the festival makes our life immensely easier thanks to them making water readily and freely available all around the festival grounds. Not only that, we also have the refreshing Hellfresh area and the two water-pouring gates close to the Main Stages’ area; believe us when we say that taking a makeshift bath in of those is a miracle worker. Oh, and let’s not forget the water cannons spread across the entire festival, those were real lifesavers. But digressions aside, and as we always do a couple of days before Hellfest, we went on our typical road trip to reach the marvellously peaceful landscape of Clisson, a trek that takes us an entire day. Despite it being a long road, we always manage to have some fun, whether it be by playing guessing games, talking about what we are most excited to see at this year’s festival, or just generally being nonsensical. A highly enjoyable endeavour, and we did learn from last year’s food poisoning debacle that our lunch break at a Burguer King, in Spain, was not a good idea. Well, one of us did anyway. No stomach aches or vomits this time around, so that’s good.
When we finally reached the unholy grounds of Hellfest, we were dead tired. But even then, we persisted and managed to get our tents up and get a good night’s sleep. The first night before the festival actually starts is always free of noise and partying, which is good. Not that we would even notice the clamour of an afterparty, considering our condition. On the following day, we made our usual trip to the Extreme Market to grab some merch and some nifty posters – this time around it was Drug Church from 2024, and Sunn O))) from this year’s edition. It always helps when we know exactly what we want and go straight to business, as the Market tends to be an extremely hot place inside, with little to no ventilation. The start of day one also commenced with the gathering of festival merch, and it was quite the quick grab this time around, and fortunately so, as we went straight to the Main Stage area to see Skindred, our first band of the day and of the festival. Been a long time since we first heard their song “Nobody”, back when we used to play Need For Speed Underground 2 for hours on end, and it was really cool to see that tune played live. Frontman Benji Webbe is a true gentleman, always addressing the audience, wanting to know if everybody was alright and enjoying the show, all the while exchanging coats every two songs. A fun start to the festival that was followed up by a very lukewarm performance by the newcomers Teen Mortgage, over at the Warzone stage. Afterwards, half of our team went to see the Nordic giants of stoner metal Slomosa, who were presenting their latest record, Tundra Rock, at the Valley stage, while the other half went to see symphonic deathcore violence at the Altar stage, provided by Mental Cruelty. Two really good shows, each in their own right, that served to increase our appetite for even more riffs and delightful craziness. To an extent, that thirst would be quenched by Thy Catafalque, who were playing at the Temple stage not long after, but the ones that really did it for us were Chat Pile. Playing for the very first time at Hellfest, and armed with their latest record, Cool World, Chat Pile gave us a lesson on how noise rock and sludge metal should be mixed. The band seemed in an incredibly good mood, with frontman Raygun Busch frequently addressing the crowd to give great film suggestions, all because none were ever done in Clisson. So, instead of focusing on films done in France in general, he resorted to recalling past films related to Hell, such as Hellraiser, Constantine, The Burning Moon and Event Horizon, among others. As far as the performance itself goes, it was everything we expected Chat Pile to be – dissonant soundscapes, hazy riffs, and deranged vocals spewing abrasive lyrics about landfills and the decadence of society marked the show, as evidenced by songs such as “Tropical Beaches Inc.”, “Why”, “Shame”, “Slaughterhouse”, and “Dallas Beltway”. It was pure sonic chaos.
Another visit to the Temple stage came next, as it was time to catch Ihsahn live once again. After a great performance back in 2022, and another one with Emperor just last year, Ihsahn returned with his solo project to present his latest, eponymous record, from which most of the setlist derived. Even if the hyperborean virtuoso doesn’t surprise much anymore in a studio or live setting, it is still good to see a living legend like Ihsahn from time to time. Although, as far as energy goes, we noted that the levels were a bit lower than usual. Much more energetic were Jinjer, who followed up at the Altar stage. Despite not being a band that we listen to; we always did have a certain curiosity on catching the Ukrainian outfit live. They did not disappoint. The rawness and vivacity of their modern metal sound, coupled with Tatiana Shmayluk’s bestial vocals made this performance one of the highlights of the day, as well as one that got the Altar in a state of being absolutely packed. The mighty titans of drone known as Sunn O))) were up next at the Temple, infusing their smoke-filled, delayed-as-fuck riffs deep into the audience’s brain, like a snake slithering around its prey. The high point of the entire day, however, came with Korn. After seeing them for a brief moment back in 2022, we decided that it was a priority to see a performance by the nu metal icons from beginning to end. And that time was now. Starting things off with the colossal “Blind”, the crowd went immediately insane around us, singing every single word of every single song, drumming in the air like crazy, and playing air guitar as best they could. “Twist” and “Here To Stay” continued the onslaught of hits that also included songs such as “Got The Life”, “Did My Time”, “Twisted Transistor”, “A.D.I.D.A.S.”, and the infamous “Y’All Want A Single”. To our surprise, they even played the haunting “Dirty”, something they haven’t done in quite a while. For the end, the legendary “Freak On A Leash” left the crowd in a euphoric state, justifying why they deserve the headline spot so much. What a show! As we moved to the Warzone to finish the day, we crossed through the Valley to catch the final moments of Orange Goblin’s last ever performance in France, as the band is set to split up by the end of this year. Having seen them quite a few times before, we felt emotional that one of our favourite bands was calling it a day. As we wiped our tears, we arrived at the Warzone for a band that we had been waiting so long to see live, Turbonegro. As fun live as they are in the studio, Turbonegro spared little time warming up the audience, getting everyone present to headbang and mosh to the sound of classics such as “Hurry Up & Die”, “Hot for Nietzsche”, “All My Friends Are Dead” and the absolutely iconic “I Got Erection”. An amazing start to the festival, if we say so ourselves.
Words by Filipe Silva
Photos by Alexandra Ramos
