Hellfest facts The way towards the festival's 10 year anniversary in 2015 Around 180 bands are drawing visitors to the little, now worldwide town of Clisson, for the third time at "the new battlefield". Manager B. Barbaud in the Ouest France, local press 23.06.14. 37000 more tickets sold than last year! The festival is expanding and expanding... Metal market area 2014. Considerable investments are done on the infrastructures of the festival,  including the pavement on this area and underground systems adapted to the festival's needs. Hellfest is obviously here to stay. You shall not pass, or beware. Hellfest authority mascot. VIP entrance.

PART I
Three of the metal kin about music

	Stef (left)	Joh	Michel (left)
How many times at Hellfest?	7th year.	I've been here since the FuryFest (predecessor of Hellfest, red.) in 2002.	2nd year, no way back!
What's your purpose for being here?	I like to see a bit of everything. I also use the opportunity to catch up with people. I don't have special expectations, generally it's just three super days.	I'm here first and foremost for the music. I watch bands I'm fond of and I may build professional contacts in a small extent.	I'm here as much for the music as for the social life. "Take it as it comes" is my motto at the festival.
Most looked forward this year?	Loudblast, Kataklysm, Dagoba, Walls of Jericho, Iron Maiden, to quote only a few. I'll definitely have to make some choices.	Gorguts, Ulcerate, Nocturnus. I'm mostly looking forward to so-called technical bands.	We will see what the days bring. [Judging from Michel's pics, it was three long days filled with shows on all stages, red.]
What place does music have in your life?	Besides being a fan, I'm a security staff at shows (not on duty at Hellfest).	Interactive music teacher. I also occasionally play live as a session guitarist.	Radio host. I also play in a band and with some friends we organise our small festival in the south of France.
How does it influence your interest for staying metal?	Of course my function has changed my way of seeing things: the easiness to approach bands for example, has made it less exclusive. Also, I can choose to work when there is a band I like playing. While working I can take a look at the band at the same time, but I seldom have stars in my eyes anymore. I've become jaded with time.	As music is my work, it might happen that I have to compromise and focus on bands or styles I'm not especially fond of. I stay faithful to my favourites. Just think about getting to be a session guitarist for one of them sometime!?	The metal radio association gives me many opportunities to get to know knew bands, and they really never stop coming.    For me, being a radio host boosts my enthusiasm for music, I don't see it as a work.
What bands brought you to metal?	Scorpions, Saxon, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, AC/DC, later on Metallica... Trust and Kiss also, they had such commercial hits back in the days, it was crazy, everybody knew them.	Enslaved and Old Man's Child captured my interest many years ago, though I listened to regular metal bands at first.  When you are young you are influenced by your surroundings and get into the bands you get hold on.	Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Slayer were some of the first I got really into.
What's your relationship to them now?	Iron Maiden, Saxon and Helloween are the ones I still look forward to. Otherwise, I'm mostly into hardcore / metalcore, with bands like Machine Head, Biohazard, Agnostic Front, Sonic Syndicate, Asking Alexandria, Lamb of God, Mastodon...	I have kept on following the bands mentioned and have enjoyed rediscovering them all along. When I listen to Old Man's Child's Revelations 666, it sounds completely different as when it came out. I enjoy music in a freer way than in my younger days.	I am still following them. I am also fond of some French bands like Lofofora, which I'm going to see on Sunday.
Live reviews: useful or not?	I think it's nice to read what others have to say about a show I might have seen.	It can be interesting but I do not take them too seriously when reading about a band I don't know, it's easy to get influenced in this case.	I think it's fun to read!

A glimpse of the life at Hellfest

Usually two min queue at the bar, 1h30 by the showers Wouldn't they find their way to either beer, muscadet or the showers, at least this pocession won't risk drowning in their own sweat...   Popular Art Food: fill your stomachs #1, 2 and 3 for 5 euros. Meat free. Worth the usual wait.                                    Some have elaborated survival techniques ;)                   Photo: Michel's archive

That would be a bar at the end of the forest... Very Woodstock like surroundings around here. Thanks to Patrick and Thierry for bringing me there and taste the local Muscadet (hat advised when drinking it in the heat). The brothers are waiting for Deep Purple and Aerosmith. Wheelchair area!

Shower service by the front of the pit. Also available at the strolling area. Photo: Erik Ozirit, www.ozirith.com

Photo: Erik Furulund for Ølportalen

Conducting interviews at a festival requires that you are extremely flexible in your schedule, hear/feel your phone when the promoter's suddenly calling at the middle of a show, think fast and manage to stay in a good mood whatever happens. Originally planned some hours after the listening session I was supposed to take part in, and that got cancelled, I got a call from the adorable miss from H.I.M. Media, asking if I could be so kind and consider meeting the band earlier, in fact, as speaking. Given the revelation I was about to be made, I'm glad I did. Thus, Trollfest and Incantation, so much for us.

A 15 minute interview slot just meant one thing: the band was extremely busy, meeting tons of reporters during the whole day, so I thought I had to find the theme to give them a fresh breath in the plethora of questions about their new album to come this fall. That was an easy one, as 1349 share my fond interest in beer, as could be noticed by first meeting the band back stage at Southern Discomfort Metal Festival (Kristiansand, Norway), when a hobby brewer friend of mine had the privilege of saving the band's life backstage by serving them one of his own creations.

It is my theory that being picky towards music goes hand in hand with being a Feinschmecker when it comes to what you put in your glass. «It this really what you are going to tell the band? Talk about beer?» is the reaction of one of my mates.

I can assure you that I didn't get Frost angry, not at all, I barely had to get him started and had problems hushing my giggles when he takes the word for the 7 minutes we end up being left in peace in the interview box. So readers, here are the facts:

Yes, 1349 will be releasing a new record  on September 30th, 2014. In Massive Cauldron of Chaos, which name was revealed at the press conference on June 22nd at Hellfest, «the band will take it in a new direction». This is not the whole story. Just listen up to this!

The release of the new record will be coupled by the launch of two beers produced by 1349 in collaboration with Surly Brewing Company (Minnesota, USA) and Lervig Aktiebryggeri. The latter being known to me for their great strong beers, this is promising to be a long long wait.

1349 Black Ale
13.49% ,120 IBU, a full bodied hybrid beer «with a mouthful of tastes». Fermentation has been going on for a while already.

1349 Pale Ale
6.66% is also «a bitter devil», reaches towards IPA type. It will be started by the end of the summer.

Date for launch: 31.10.14
Place: What's Brewing, beer festival held at Tou Scene in Stavanger, Norway

1349's brews will obviously not be for the newbie, but I strongly encourage each and every fan of the band, of the breweries, of good drinks generally to ensure you get some bottles of each.
In order to be of the first to taste 1349's brews, a trip to Norway is recommended. The band hopes for international export after a while. If things go as Frost hopes for, 1349 Black Ale and 1349 Pale Ale will be pilot projects for a more expansive vision.
Frost tells me that the whole band is involved in the process, so that they participated in setting up the recipes in details. The band wanted a beer that reflected their music, «extreme with lots of nuances» as states beer information website Ølportalen's article that Frost makes me aware of.

The news first being brought out in Norwegian beer circles shows 1349's commitment to the project.

You still have the summer to warm up and learn what good beer is about!

 This is information that could hopefully influence the choice of beer at venues. Would the Hellfest crew go in the steps of The Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo, Norway, and relieve picky metal and beer fans!

The above mentioned article (in Norwegian) was published 23.05.14 on http://olportalen.no/2014/05/23/lervig-surly-1349/.

PART III
Gig reviews

NB: For live photos, check Hellfest's official photo page or scroll down to Part IV - Sources.

DAY 1 OF 3: FRIDAY, JUNE 20 TH

Concert of the day: ENSLAVED

GEHENNA [Temple 14:20 – 15:05]
I know that my ears are not warmed up yet, attending the first show of the festival, but Gehenna is very much looked forward to. New try after the show at Hole in the Sky some years ago that had to cut short. I'm well prepared, have listened to Gehenna regularly and consequently started to build expectations of an old school set and a ceremonial performance. Calm your horsesl, my dear. The mood is kind of tedious after a short time, as the doomed black metal lacks dynamics in form of performing with more conviction and communicating their message outwards. I'm not saying this is all Gehenna is able to deliver and I'm still willing to let them pass the test at some later occasion. Maybe they would be well off collaborating with another art form. If that should sound interesting, do give me a call, Gehenna ;)

DESTROYER 666 [Temple 16:00 – 16:50]
A headspinning, intense, spitfire of a show. Destroyer 666 plays on technique, their belief in their art, and offers a varied, high energetic set of satanic speed metal, as they call it themselves. My acquaintance of the band is both out of date and limited, but I've come to the temple with open ears and can tell that every of the fifty minutes is delectable.

THERAPY? [Main Stage 1 16:55 – 17:45]
The power of entertainment in person must be called Therapy?. The compos are all catchy, so that even when you haven't heard them for fifteen years, you will remember them all and even be able to sing along. Even if you never knew them really, and don't want to. Great job. Thanks for giving me a light rest on this rather intense and hot day.
http://concert.arte.tv/fr/therapy-au-hellfest

IMPALED NAZARENE [Temple 17:50 – 18:40]
Here again, I had looked forward to seeing Impaled Nazarene for a long time. Not because I'm a fan, but because I've known them for many years and thus they won over Trivium, which I really wanted to see too, playing on the Main Stage at the same time. Moreover, Impaled Nazarene's performances are linked to diverse scandals and I would in the end have to see what the fuss is all about. Frontman Mika Luttinen is a reasonable musician today and not up for trouble, too bad. Still, extremely right to the point and entertaining. Although Mika's desperate to get a decent moshpit to form, the audience seems to be active and showing their regards for the ever speeding playing through the set.

SEPULTURA [Main Stage 2 19:50 – 20:40]
WOW. Unfortunately, I've come a bit late and standing kind of far from the stage, I don't get the best sound through the wind. This is such a great show anyway. Derrick knows perfectly how to capture the audience, holding them back before he gives everything. The set is an almost equal blend of Sepultura era before and after Derrick's coming. Whatever's being played, he shows he's a vocalist that was able to take his place and carry the musical legacy of Sepultura. I am very much looking forward to see a whole show with the band any time in the future.
http://concert.arte.tv/fr/sepultura-au-hellfest

IRON MAIDEN [Main Stage 1 20:50 – 22:55]
What a great great set. This Maiden England tour was exactly what was needed for me to believe in Iron Maiden as a live act, just because I'm so fond of their mid-eighties records. The ever alive and healthy band need not do much to entertain, but they do it still.

SLAYER [Main Stage 2 23:00 – 00:00]
Standing far far from the stage, how can you be convinced? Slayer is a band one should enjoy in the dark, so close to the band as possible, or so says my past experiences with them. Slayer have always had to do much to convince me, but they indiscutably have sat grand marks in the history of metal, which they will play tonight, the one golden stone after the other. The problem is the sound, standing from where I am.

ENSLAVED [Temple 00:00 – 01:00]
Many years ago in the last century, I took the totally arbitrary decision that I would become a close follower of Enslaved's career. They had very few releases at the time and I frankly don't think I knew why I wanted to know more of them, but one thing is sure, it can't have been thanks to my CD player's sound. Enslaved was a cult, underground band, but there was something unsusual about them, something more profound. The only reason I'm saying all this now, and this probably won't be the last time I do, is that on this first night of Hellfest, I get the proof once again that Enslaved are a well of musical knowledge. The landscape they have created over the years is so adventurous and deep that it will reveal for you many secrets about the history of music of our time, while their true spirit is a lot more than thousand years old.
Previously reviewed: http://www.powerofmetal.dk/reviews09/live/hove2k9_live.htm

DAY 2 OF 3: SATURDAY, JUNE 21ST

Concert of the day: AEROSMITH

SKID ROW [Main Stage 1 13:35 – 14:15]

WALKING PAPERS [Main Stage 1 15:10 - 15:55]
What reasons would Duff Mc Kagan have had to stay in a band to do business with people with whom he did not get along? Once more, Duff proves that there is a life after GNR with his latest project Walking Papers. This is certainly not the "Tuff Duff" I know from earlier, but the mellow harmony in the music and within the band, there's nothing like it to bring a summer breeze to this scorching hot afternoon.
The band take the stage and the singer even inaugurates the runway destined to Aerosmith for the ballad "Red and white" and takes a step down to sing along in the midst of fans.
Walking Papers is a nice discovery made in Hellfest 2014 !

EXTREME [Main Stage 1 16:50 – 17:45]
It had been 20 years since my last Extreme show and I couldn't actually remember they were as punchy. Extreme was on one side known for their mellowness through the universal hit "More than words", which isn't that impressive today under the Hellfest sun; it's just there playing because it has to be included in the set. The feel-good moment of the show is soon forgotten in the rest of the set. One of the reasons for this: Gary Cherone whose attitude does not seem to have taken a line. An efficient show, Extreme definitely get the funk out!

SHINING [Temple 17:50 – 18:40]
Shining's message is supposed to be clear: let us destroy everything or «låt oss ta allt från varandra». The mentioned rocking black metal hymn illustrates the efforts Shining put in their struggle against a lethargic audience, challenging them to cheer as they would have done if Iron Maiden, Danzig was standing onstage at their place. Here on the ARTE video, the skills are at their place, on the band's side at least. See for yourself and enjoy this concept show!
http://concert.arte.tv/fr/shining-au-hellfest

STATUS QUO [Main Stage 1 18:45 – 19:40]
Some bands just never die out. Ever touring Status Quo are one of them. Under Sahara like conditions, the band delivered a hell of a show, whether you're a hard rock n' roll fan or not, which I am not. Thanks for quality playing, good mood and a great set for the adepts of the band. A must see.
Many dates to come in July and August, but also for the rest of the year.
http://www.statusquo.co.uk/tourdates.html#.U7LSRUCLX6Q

SOULFLY [Main Stage 1 20:45 - 21:40] – rear pit, side
Full of food and after a break in the shade, under a still threatening sunlight, the chords of Refuse/Resist echo over the Main Stage . Soulfly's energy cocktail is contaminating. Classical thrash riffs mix with tribal rhythms, groovy strings sustain committed frontman Max Cavalera's stage attitude.
A boiling tornado of sand.
http://concert.arte.tv/fr/soulfly-au-hellfest

DEEP PURPLE [Main Stage 2 21:45 - 22:50] – mid pit, between Main 1 & 2
This year's bill will really have given me all the bands I had to see or see again. I came to Deep Purple quite late, not considering the first riff I ever played. So, tonight's show is very much looked forward. The band will come onstage almost unnoticed. Their performance is great musically, though quite introvert, as if they were enjoying playing for themselves more than for an audience. The setlist is kind of deceiving for me as none of the awaited titles come up. I'd still go and see these ones at their own concert to enjoy them fully, and indoors this time.

AEROSMITH [Main Stage 1 22:55 - 00:55] Timeless
I was supposed to check them out before seeing awaited Gorgoroth again; this time the Temple had to do without me, the reason being me hung up by Aerosmith. It is quite an understatement to say that my musical taste has evolved the last two decades and that many of the bands I was crazy about as a kid are a black hole in history. In the mid-nineties, I was lucky to see Aerosmith at the peak of their renewed career. They were kicking ass around the world and obviously they still can do it. The set is amazing, the new songs blend admirably into the rest of the set. Of course Aerosmith has a certain popularity to play on, but they are born entertainers. Hat off, goose flesh on!

CARCASS [Altar 01:05 – 02:05]
All are dead after a long and great day, but who wouldn't push it one little hour more for Carcass? Veni, vidi, vici...glad I did, although I can't get to press myself forward through the crowd this time. Bill Steer has obviously been having fun with some tasty bottle, which adds up to the level of entertainment. Since the revelation at Hole in the Sky (Bergen, Norway) in 2008, Carcass has been one of my favourite live acts. Groovy extreme metal at its best from another legendary piece of music history.

DAY 3 OF 3: SUNDAY, JUNE 22ND

Concerts of the day: Vreid / Sognametal, 1349

Two days in the dust, heat, beer, standing in lines, in crowds, filling ears with the one band after the other, take their toll on one's shape. On this last day of the 'fest, we are greeted by stone throwing Crowbar from the Main Stage. Thank you for waking me up.
I'd like Scandinavia to book these guys some time in the future, they are dynamite!

DORDEDUH [Temple 14:20 – 15:05]
The traditional, progressive, mid-tempo black metal of Dordeduh is mesmerizing the large crowd that has gathered in the Temple tent. The band is into what they are playing, outward communication is otherwise limited. Music speaks for itself. Today's show is an invitation to cross a new horizon line when it comes to black metal, while still taking care of the European black metal heritage, maybe with an ounce of nostalgia (Dordeduh = «yearning for the spirit») ?
Dordeduh are currently touring Europe, absolutely do give them a try! Their appearance at the upcoming Southern Discomfort (Kristiansand, Norway) is very much looked forward to.

UNLEASHED [Altar 16:55 – 17:45]
«Welcome, warriors»! The panzer battalion gathers a large crowd in the Altar, even though all seem to have gathered around the Main Stage to see Alterbridge. Unleashed performance is dynamite, going full swing between J. Hedund who does a hell of a job as a frontman, and the technical death strings going amok. I'm not sure about the originality of the music, but I've always known that Unleashed had it in the name when it comes to live playing. It is now confirmed. With a dose of Swedish strength in my baggage I am ready to walk head high through the heat and hit the next show on the program.

ANNIHILATOR [Main Stage 2 17:50 – 18:40] – camera/sound tower level
So, finally I got to see Alice in Hell's fathers. This edition of Hellfest will have been one to catch up with bands of old. Tight and heavy, aseptic thrash, although engaging, which doesn't come easy to all bands. The band line-up is more than slightly altered throughout the years and since the first of my sporadic listenings, so I suppose Jeff Waters appoints the musicians involved carefully to their function for both skills and adaptability. It seems like the band are enjoying every chord of it too. I won't regret the sunburn, or the heavy legs, or the bad beer. From my spot I can enjoy the riffs of one of the world of thrash's most recognisable and original bands.

VREID [Temple 19:45 – 20:45]
Ten years since influential Windir's Valfar passed away, the goodbye concert of the band, fronted by Valfar's brother and Sture from hence newly started Vreid. Today the band has found their own style, still in the vein of what's now called «Sogna» metal, from their hometown. This is a good decision as compos from the two bands systematically share the set alternately. The links between them makes a harmonising set, while the differences lead to enhancing each and every one of them. At this hour, there is no doubt I had to choose Vreid above Behemoth, this is a one time event.
Vreid celebrate Valfar's visionary skills that once broadened the definition of black metal, mixing the Norwegian folk heritage into his music, when the history of black metal was still young. It gets chilly as my nearly legitimate national feeling suddenly rises.
http://concert.arte.tv/fr/vreid-au-hellfest

PARADISE LOST [Altar 20:50 – 21:45]

EMPEROR [Main Stage 2 22:00 – 23:05]
Hellfest programmation has been good. It is positive that Emperor is considered main stage material; the temple would have been packed but again it would have been dark. Thus, to my opinion, Emperor should have started one hour later, after sunset of course. The reason for this fussiness is simple: Emperor gifts the audience with the whole legendary In the Nightide Eclipse. Even circle pit adepts are present. Somebody have mercy on them. Whatever. The rules for appreciating such a pearl make no sense at a festival. Emperor's performance is furious enough, but their wrath is so perfectly controlled, the original sound so well reconstructed that the charm is somewhat lost. May they play between Norwegian mountains and valleys in the future, or I'd rather play their LPs at home, in sheer nostalgia for times passed, and let fantasy do its work. A solid set from an elite black metal band, with thanks for the demo songs as encores.
http://concert.arte.tv/fr/emperor-au-hellfest

In the Nightside Eclipse is over... Soon Emperor will be hitting their encores

BLACK SABBATH [Main Stage 1 23:10 – 00:55]
Through thick and thin they have stood together, forging the world of metal as we know it today. "War Pigs" announces the start of the show of the legendary Black Sabbath reunited , for the first time live for my ears and the ones of many, too many, yet not many ears enough; I could be dreaming. Ozzy sounds quite more alive than at his 2012 performance at Hellfest. Having since read his autobiography this is nothing obvious. By the way, I'll recommend I am Ozzy to each and every fan of any band Black Sabbath may have influenced (which basically rules none). I am so sorry to be stranded at the rearmost of the stage that I finally go to the eating quarter and watch the show from a screen, at least I'll have seen them properly. The setlist itself is a rather regular one I believe and we get both a mandatory bass then drum solo. The question I ask myself is where will I be travelling to in order to see a full Black Sabbath show before it's too late?

1349 [Temple 00:00 – 01:00]
1349's monumental entering has come to a close when I enter the Temple for the last time this year. The bombastic quartet take the stage with storm and hold every present individual as a hostage for the whole time of their set. 1349 live up to all they stand for, a «massive cauldron of chaos», also being the title of their new album out forthcoming fall. The intertwined layers of the songs, the undying energy of the whole band make 1349 unique stage material. This grandiose retrospective of 1349's discography in the Temple tonight will rip you at the core and eat you raw. This is not common black metal, not more death metal, not whatever. The recipe is 1349's alone.
Do see them if you are coming across their pass, seek them if they come along yours.
http://concert.arte.tv/fr/1349-au-hellfest

OPETH [Altar 01:05 – 02:05]
It is late, so so late, and I have obviously not managed to take in enough beer in order to get amused by Mikael Åkerfeldts jokes. The short set is good, Opeth plays as well as always with a temptation of a guitar sound, the band seems happy to be there, the audience also, singing along and everything. For my part, according to the moment and time of day, it is a bit too calm for a closing concert.

  
 Opeth:  Fistbanging like it's 1981, according to M. Åkerfeldts wish.       Some still have the energy to hang up a pole to see the last band.

Part IV
Links and articles about this year's fest

In need to re-live some moments from this year's Hellfest? Want to see what you missed? Some concerts were filmed by the ARTE TV-channel: [Friday] M.O.D., Death Angel, Turisas, Watain, Sabaton, [Saturday] We came as Romans, Skyclad, Dagoba, Tsjuder, Eluveitie, [Sunday] Angra, Urfaust, Equilibrium, Behemoth, Solstafir
http://concert.arte.tv/fr/collections/hellfest

For professional pictures from the festival, visit Erik Ozirit:
 http://www.ozirith.com/

Headbanger Zone, Radio programme, the latest about HELLFEST 2014 (Michel's radio, see Part I - Festivalers about music)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Headbanger-Zone/225050294301597

Video report from Disto Team: many live excerpts from the Warzone stage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcuurKg_Wko&feature=youtu.be

Documentary about the making of the Hellfest festival area (in French):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2P8dBggrOM

Setlists can be found on:
http://www.setlist.fm/
 

Last words

 Organisation of the 'fest

 Thumbs up for:
 - Faster tracks at the entrance of the festival area
 - Little waiting at the bars
 - Relatively quick serving of food (but PLEASE DO COOK THE PANCAKES PROPERLY!)
 - Bridge from festival area to camping! Carry on!
 - Better toilets service than last year. Don' t think of resting on that one, the OK state of the loos has a lot to do with the dry weather this year. With such a number of tickets sold, and with the festival's future plans, the amount of sanitaties shouldn't be reduced at any cost!

 Still way to go:
 - Showers. Heard of people who capitulated after one and a half hour of waiting.
 - Some members of the security staff. Generally they are sceptical, kind of brutal and abusing their power. This year it was one of the women at the regular entrance, my she was frustrated! This is starting to be a serious issue at Hellfest, so many are complaining. CHILL OUT!
 - Beer! Many people are starting to prefer Kro to Grim, which is understandable, the latter being thinned out. Thank you for taking care of people's water intake, but this is giving Belgian beer a bad name. I also understand that the consumption of thin beer at summer festivals is more secure than stronger, better alternatives, so I suppose I'll be mourning year after year, unless part II of this report came to be read by the right person...


 Thanks to

 - Manager Benjamin Barbaud for carrying on with his efforts
 - Promo team. You do an amazing job and know quite a bit about music, even if some crashes in the timetable couldn't be avoided.
 - Volunteers before, under and after the festival. You are making Hellfest a blast for the visitors. The efficient rigging up and especially down is surely pleasing the local population. The town of Clisson has accepted the festivalers and many rejoice when Hellfest time comes. As the neighbour of our lodger said: «I am quite pissed at the weather this year. The wind is going the wrong way and I can't hear a sound from my garden!»
 - My helper and partner in crime ZLG. Thank you for the company, your all time sharp eyes and ears and your clever thoughts and insights.

To you readers out there: your comments are as usual more than welcome, do drop me a mail !

Attending: LyM, ZLG. Thank you!