Written by:	Darkside Momo
Published:	August 13, 2018
Event:	Hellfest Open Air 2018 (Website)
Galleries:	Hellfest 2018 - The Bands (Sunday) by Darkside Momo (66) Hellfest 2018 - The Bands (Friday) by Darkside Momo (36) Hellfest 2018 - The Bands (Saturday) by Darkside Momo (71) Hellfest 2018 - Sights & people by Darkside Momo (36)

Part II of our Hellfest 2018 report, featuring my ramblings once again enhanced by Musclassia's experience.

Previously...


Table Of Contents

Saturday the 23rd, better things than nü

Sunday the 24rd, apotheosis?

Conclusion - Is the tourist the enemy?

---

Ahhh I woke up decently rested and without any headaches, thankfully. So back to the traditional Maredsous Tripel for breakfast . Yet, after a migraine, I usually feel a good power-up... And that wasn't the case. Shit.

I've been accused of being biased against nü metal. Guess what, yes I am, especially today, as the mainstages band are (with few exceptions) of the nü variety - and if not, they're of a commercial metalcore persuasion. So yeah, I planned all along to steer clear of the mainstages today, with the exception of Body Count.... But don't worry, there's plenty of stuff to enjoy for me today...
What about you, musclassia?



Guess what, we're thinking about the same one (read on, read on! )

Anyway, as I took my usual time on the campsite, I missed the sad clowns of Pensées Nocturnes, who by most accounts were really convincing.


Bloodshot Dawn 11:40/12:10, Altar

I could have gone and see Black Bomb A, a nice French Hardcore band, but I've already enjoyed them live several times... and this was my first opportunity to see Bloodshot Dawn, so the choice was easy.
So early in the morning - and please consider it's the third time slot already - the audience was pretty active and receptive to the melodic death metal of our British guys; there's been a serious circle pit going on during the set! The band was happy to be there, and played flawlessly songs mostly taken from their latest output "Reanimation" (no surprise here, seeing the recent line-up changes. BTW James Stewart - who's also Vader's drummer - wasn't here). But well, that's my main gripe with this show: they played nothing from their first effort, arguably their best. For shame, really, as I would have enjoyed "Quantum Apocalypse" (or any other, really) immensely.
Oh, and they also dedicated a song song to Vinnie Paul. The news was so fresh I actually learned it from them...





Hantaoma 12:15/12:45, Temple




Hantaoma, Stille Volk's violent little brother, finally released their second album Malamòrt thirteen (!) years after the excellent Malombra, so their set was eagerly awaited by quite a few people.
Sadly, the sounds started quite sloppy, but it thankfully got better - me moving around certainly had something to do with it too. Anyway, theirs was a good show, short but powerful, with an emphasis on the newer songs - which are definitely good, but I would taken more of Malombra myself.
Now, I just hope these fellow Pyreneans will headline a show somewhere near our beloved mountains!





Demilich 12:50/13:30, Altar

The Demilich? The one who offered us the monumental Nespithe? Oh my fucking god, count me in!
The death metal connaisseurs weren't numerous under the Altar, but those who were sure did enjoy something great, profoundly old-school and weird at the same time. No stage antics, no props, just four guys happy to play one of the strangest death metal known to mankind.
And, those growls, man. Those growls!






Misþyrming 13:35/14:15, Temple

Then Misþyrming drew a bit of a crowd. Sure, their looks were striking, with their businessmen attires stained with red (they actually made me think a bit about American Psycho... Icelandic Psycho?). They sure played with conviction and rage their black metal, that sounded nasty but pretty regular to these ears.
All in all, it was more than a decent show, but I can't say I got the hype that seems to surround this band. I'm probably not the best to judge either.




The mainstages then saw the new nü French revival, super sayen style, with Rise Of The Northstar. They're really growing fast here in France, and the crowd was nuts, but I still can't stand their music (if you're wondering, I saw a small part of their show on the screen in the VIP area).

At the same time played Psykup. They always bring me fond memories of University, where and when I saw them a few times - they're indeed from my hometown Toulouse, and didn't even have an album out back then. They're wacky, bizarre, and good live... but not to my tastes anymore (I saw them at home last autumn and left before the end... that said, playing after Benighted isn't an easy task anyway),
? Yeah, they were interesting and did put quite a show. But I seriously regret not seeing them back then in Uni too, as the music, well, didn't really interest or move me at all.


Oranssi Pazuzu 15:05/15:55, Temple

I seriously wonder if, in the end, Oranssi Pazuzu ain't just better in a festival setting. It's the third time I see them - first one being at Hellfest 2012, the second in a Toulouse venue last year - and both Hellfest shows were awesome while the Toulouse set was quite meh. One could expect daylight would be a hindrance to get caught in their dark psychedelia, but it sure as hell isn't, the intoxicating nature of their music is so potent it sucks you in anyway.
But shit, my headaches were coming back... So I sat in the grass and drifted, totally washed away in dark waves of nightmarish psychedelia. Earplugs on, I certainly didn't care that their sound was probably the loudest of the whole fest.



And then a single coffee (don't ever, ever, brutally stop drinking coffee, OK?) saved me (thanks again Moose), and I was pumped as fuck and ready to go for the rest of the week-end. Finally my post-migraine euphoria and energy kicked in!




Akercocke 16:00/16:40, Altar

This wasn't a band I could even consider missing. Sure, Ho99o9 were appealling, but Akercocke have released several fantastic albums and written one of the best songs of the previous decade ("Shelter From The Sand"), so I was eager to see them live.
But hey... no suits? OK, so be it, as long as the show's good.
And good it was, no doubts about it! Jason Mendonca seemed to have fun, Paul Scanlan was suitably evil looking (but enjoyed himself too I'm sure), and David Gray was impressively precise behind the drumkit. Oh well, all were tight as fuck anyway, and blasted our eardrums with abandon, as the setlist was clearly more on the extreme and brutal side of their discography. That was great!




No, really. What was Sam Loynes (Voices, The Antichrist Imperium) doing at the front of the stage? He played during less than one third of the whole set, and spentthe rest of his time, well... I don't know, trying to be evil trance-like or whatever? I'm sorry to say he was probably one of the most useless keyboardist I ever saw on stage. I should have taken more pics of him just being weird or airdrumming . I guess the front of the stage wasn't the best place for him, and it must have been awkward for him too.

But seriously, no "Shelter From The Sand"? MEH.




Ho99o9 16:00/16:40, Valley




Heilung 16:45/17:35, Temple

There seems to be quite a demand for neo-folk right now, and French metal label Season Of Mist followed the trend by signing and promoting Heilung. And well, the Temple was packed, overflowing with people on every side.
Musically, this was another world. A jump in times long past, with ritual singings, drums, sticks, steel and flute. Impressive, and quite trance-like for those who loved it, but, well, it wasn't really to my tastes. Or more precisely, it certainly appealed to my primitive self, but nothing more.
? Wait wait wait! You haven't mentioned the time when the six warriors onstage jumped into the photopit and climbed on the barriers and were supported by the security guys (and us!). That moment was awesome too. However, I would have preferred to see them by night, just like Wardruna last year, who played only lighted by braziers... And that was magical.




Shit continued on the mainstages, as Pleymo took the stage - they were famous, actually one the nü leaders in France in the early 00's, and they sure were well welcomed. At the same time, old school death steamroller Memoriam took no prisoners.
But well, I was elsewhere...


Dälek 17:40/18:30, Valley

Dälek was the first hip-hop band I liked, one of the very few I listen to, and the first one I went to see live (as a side note, their opener for that 2015 tour was Moodie Black, whom I saw again doing a great show just a few weeks before Hellfest).
Well, sure hip-hop (especially some industrially bleak one like that) didn't draw that much of a crowd. It must have felt tame after the Ho99o9 storm, as the set was really minimalistic. No videos, no fancy lights, just MC Dälek, DJ rEK, and guest Mathieu Vandekerckhove of Amenra fame on guitars of added texturing. I guess this was a mistake, as the show could have used a little more oomph; and while I certainly enjoyed it, with the setlist mostly centered on both Endangered Philosophies (fantastic "Echoes Of...") and Absence ("Eyes To Form Shadows", always my fave), the audience quietly dwindled during the set...




After that... I could have checked a bit of Arkona...
? You really should have...
...but the overpacked, overflowing Temple stage discouraged me immediately. One quick look at the running-order, and I went near the Warzone to eat while listening to Terror. Yeah, listening and not seeing, as they too did draw quite a crowd. But what we heard was some plesantly nasty and violent hardcore!


Body Count 20:00/21:00, Mainstage02

And after that, off to my only stint one the mainstages for the day, with Body Count. My friend and I sure didn't stay until the end, because the sound was bad, and Ice-T seemed more bent on ranting and various blah blah than on playing actual music.
So, sure, we missed Powerflo guesting on "Cop Killer", but heck, Body Count didn't even play "Born Dead". Heck, this remains one of the biggest dissapointments for most - according to the HF forum, that is (for the biggest, read on, read on, it happened on Sunday).


Enslaved 20:45/21:45, Temple



As for the dust clouds, I must say I experienced them most under the Valley, as the wind just seem to avoid this tent entirely, always leaving a light smog of dust over the ground.
Nothing to add on Enslaved, really, 'cause that's for sure, these guys never disappoint. But I was however surprised by the relative lack of audience for them, something I already noticed under the tents - apart of the big or hyped names (and yeah, "Sacred Horse"!).




Dead Cross 17:40/18:30, Valley

Well, I had never heard of Dead Cross before, but when my friends told me it was a Patton + Lombardo band, I knew I was in. I was quite surprised to hear some hardcore-ish stuff under the Valley; I wasn't expecting that, and I'm still wondering why they weren't programmed on the Warzone instead.
This was actually my first live Patton experience, and while he didn't overdo it, he still was that quite unhinged and fantastically versatile frontman. Best moment I saw was when he asked if someone wanted to come onstage, then rejecting offers from volunteers only to pick a nine years old kid. Who of course didn't speak English at all, and was pretty nervous, almost frightened. But that's kids, and he quickly got over it and sang - well, tried to - with Patton during the chorus.
But well, that was all fun and good, but the music wasn't that exceptionnal. Now that I had enjoyed seeing two legends onstage, let's check CoB a bit on the Altar stage.




Children Of Bodom 21:50/22:50, Altar

All has already been said many times about Children Of Boredom's live experiences. But the huge crowd pressing itself under the Altar was actually in for a better set than usual; while it still was boringly lifeless on the more recent stuff, the fucking old ones did fucking shine (fucking "Downfall" was great, as was fucking "Hate Crew Deathroll", for example).
Yep, Children Of Bodom did actually deliver a decent set, with bonus kudos to the bassplayer's French speech!


Then... Avenged Sevenfold set has seen some pretty peculiar moments.
? Yeah, that really was a "Nightmare". Twas the only song I really wanted to hear, but... The singer definitely had problems singing and admitted it, so he asked a fan to climb onstage and sing in his stead. I left.
(btw you can check this in the Arte documentary).

But who cares in the end? For me (and musclassia too)... It was Neurosis time! And while I heard that their 2013 show here wasn't that great, I had a good feeling about this.


Neurosis 00:00/01:00, Valley




Anticipation quickly rose in the front ranks, already packed fifteen minutes before the beginning of the show.



Yes, as soon as "Given To The Rising" started, we were off for home hour of bliss, with a really balanced setlist ("Given To The Rising" - "End Of The Harvest" - "A Shadow Memory" - "Burn" - "Reach" - "Through Silver In Blood") that featured perfectly both the eerie atmospherics and the crushing heaviness. "End Of The Harvest" was just perfect and "A Shadow Memory" is really great live. And, then, the twelve minutes of "Through Silver In Blood" floored everyone (oh my gosh, the intensity of that finale!).
Neurosis are probably my highlight of this 2018 edition too, but there's a close contender on Sunday (albeit in a different genre). They sure gained new fans tonight (I know one of those). Hell, even my cousin grudginly admitted it was a good show - and he doesn't like them at all!
What more to say, really? Neurosis are to be experienced and not merely seen. As soon as possible!




After that, we saw that pitiful excuse for fireworks (we've had oh so many times better during previous editions...), and then Dimmu Borgir...




Dimmu Borgir 01:05/02:05, Temple

? Well... I've seen them in Oslo a few years ago, and they were much better. Shagrath's voice wasn't very good, and the sound on the whole was pretty meh. I'm sad to say I was a bit disappointed...
Sure, for my friends and I, one look at the theatrical entrance and stage props (including inverted crosses, how original) was enough. Either you liked it, or...
? They definitely look like evil Disney characters!
Now I'm seriously wondering if that's purposeful or not. Maybe actually it is, but if so it's quite at odds with the evilness they professed in their younger years... Just compare with, say, Caïnan Dawn, Misþyrming (think about evil in our world... suits or cartoons?) or Zeal & Ardor (Manuel really that possessed, unhinged look at times). Who's the most frightening, really?


Not being motivated to check either Hatebreed or Parkway Drive (who, according to many on the Hellfest forum, did actually deliver the most stunning performance of the whole fest) we went back to the campsite to drink some beers before sleeping.

---

Same perfect weather as usual. Now I'm pumped up and totally in shape (not moshing must've helped a bit I guess), and that's great as I have quite a lot of bands to see. But would anyone be able to top that Neurosis experience?




Plebeian Grandstand 11:05/11:35, Temple




The Temple was quite empty when homeboys Plebeian Grandstand took the stage. Their furious fusion of black metal and hardcore (well, more focused on the former as of late) was violent and chaotic as we love it. The black in their sound made them play under the Temple, but their hardcore roots were pretty visible.
? Yeah, I guess playing barechested ain't that tr00, you know
In a live setting, the subtleties of their dissonant music easily get lost in favor of pure aggression, but that aggression did shine through on an impressive scale... Well done guys!




Crisix 11:40/12:10, Altar

Then I happened to catch some Crisix. This young thrash revival band (heavily sponsored by the Monster brand) took many people by surprise with their really decent and catchy thrash metal. They clearly were having a lot of fun, and this was really infectious - that's a band actually bringing the fun back in thrash without being cheesy. A nice discovery and a good show!




Orden Ogan 11:40/12:10, Mainstage01






Au-Dessus 12:15/12:45, Temple



Well, I'm sure I've heard some of their set while I was eating an excellent steak tartare in the VIP / press area, but I can't remember anything of it tbh (the tartare, however... ).


Then I went to take some pics of Rotten Sound, whose grindcore was pretty nasty but failed to connect with me (and I seem to remember a more-static-than-usual audience too). So I left early, as I also was curious to see...




Warning 12:50/13:30, Valley



Well, I still don't like regular doom like this, and definitely failed to connect with Watching From A Distance on tape, but this was such an unexpected addition to Hellfest's line-up that I had to check them anyway. And well, as soon as I entered the Valley and closed in to take some pictures, it was as if a huge tide of raw emotions washed over me, overflowing from Pat Walker's singing. It was something sad, but soothing at the same time, all really beautiful and moving - but just like musclassia I didn't feel any despondant misery. I guess he smiled too much and enjoyed the reactions his music was provoking.
Impressive, really impressive. Let's be honest: I still don't like Warning's music, whatever its numerous qualities. Yet this show (far less boring live to these non-doom ears than Conan, for example), as soon as you entered the Valley and opened your heart, was pure emotion. Its takes Anathema level output to move me so much, yet Pat Walker's singing was just that. I'm more than glad to have be part of what is supposed to be, as I learned afterwards, the last Warning live performance ever.




The Great Old Ones 13:35/14:15, Temple

I'm now pretty familiar with these guys's live performances, as I've seen them quite a few times already, but it's always a pleasure to enjoy them again and their Lovecraftian black metal. It was time to discover, by the way, that Gorod's Ben Barby is now the band's bassplayer.
Oh well, no surprises here, once again it was great and tightly played - and I can nitpick enough to say I prefer them in the darkness and stage lights of a venue. They sure pleased their old fans, and gained new ones alike, as they so rightfully deserved!






Then I happened to pass close to the Altar where Exumer played, and sure that was headbangable. Old thrashers know the trick, right?
At the same time, on Mainstage01, there was In This Moment. I wonder if the band's appeal - for the male audience - was anything else than the suggestively-clad Maria Brinks...
? Oh shush... I liked the music, and the show was quite beautiful and visually interesting, with Maria and her doppleganger...


Tombs 15:05/15:45, Temple



A solid set, really, but as musclassia said, it was more centered on their aggressive black side than on the moodier, bleaker moments. Still all in all a good show that I enjoyed from start to finish.




I could have gone seeing either Iced Earth or The Lurking Fear. Nay. I preferred to spend some times chatting with a friend I knew from Les Imaginales. That's for you, Amandine (that's also what festivals are for, after all).


Iced Earth 11:40/12:10, Mainstage01




Killswitch Engage 16:40/17:25, Mainstage02




? Then, Månegarm played some real good pagan. Except that the supposedly catchy "Odins Owns Ye All" clearly broke the mood for me.


Zeal & Ardor 17:35/18:20, Valley






? FAN-TAS-TIC!
? Wonderful. A fuckin' revelation!
My friends weren't the only ones. Zeal & Ardor were probably the Hellfest 2018 discovery for many people... And while I won't be as raving mad about Z&A as many, it still enjoyed a lot that really good show, with Manuel Gagneux looking so possessed (and trying so hard not to crack a smile or two!), and the songs reaching quite a new level in a live setting. Next time, more people singing in the audience like a real church chanting would be perfect!




Batushka 18:25/19:15, Temple

After that enjoyable twist on blasphemy, it was time to check another one. After gospel, let's get to orthodox chanting, Batushka-style. While I was aware of the hype (even if I still haven't checked Litourgiya, the affluence under the Temple (not that big as for Heilung or Arkona, tho) surprised me nonetheless.
On stage were those static robed figures surrounded by a great stage set-up, playing some real quality stuff (I definitely got the hype, OK), that I'll be sure to check in Toulouse this september! So I left to grab something to eat.
? I stayed. It was good all along and I liked it, but not my friends who felt it was always the same thing. But they're not into black metal to begin with, so...




Amorphis 19:20/20:20, Altar






Yeah, he's right; it was a really great set, but it lacked the little something to make it awesome; I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless, particularly the two oldies but goodies "Against Widows" and "The Castaway". And I liked the song they played on tapes while leaving the stage... which was none other than a hummpa cover of "House Of Sleep"!




Meanwhile... Megadeth and Baroness 19:20/20:20

Yeah we, poor us, missed the worst sound of the fest. That pretty dubious honor falls to Megadeth.
? You know I'm a fan, Momo, right? Well I honestly can't tell if they did open their set with "Rattlehead". There just weren't any guitars at all, and after that problem was 'solved', the sound just stayed awfully bad. What a shame!
According to Rock Hard France, Megadeth's sound enginner got fired after that catastrophe.

Still during the same time slot, under the Valley were Baroness. Those with social media connections (not me) knew the band had a problem, as their drummer Sebastian Thomson had to fly urgently back to the US. The three members left only had a few hours to try to prepare an accoustic show (as they didn't want to cancel). Those who lived that show all describe it as a pure emotional moment - Tompa Lingberg himself asked us duiring his At The Gates show, "how many in here watched the Baroness set over there before? That was fucking amazing! How many guys and girls cried during that set?", before dedicating the next song to them). The band themselves did post this on their instagram account...


Alice In Chains 20:25/21:25, Mainstage02



Septicflesh 20:25/21:25, Temple

I gave up on Septicflesh after the boring Titan...
? Shame on you, cousin, shame on you. Codex Omega is great.
Yeah, I know, and the songs they played of it were actually good. But I prefered to rest and sit under the Altar, just hearing the songs. It felt like usual Septicflesh, with symphonics and clean vocals on tape, etc. Titan songs felt just as lame as on the album to me, while classics like "Anubis" or "Pyramid God" still were instant crowd pleasers.
? You should have come with me, really; we've both seen them a few times already, but this one was even better. First, Seth Siro Anton had his right shoulder dislocated, yet he asked a roadie to get his sling off. Second, because we were just behind the sound and lights deck; and seeing the lady in charge of the lights enjoying the show to the fullest, taking pics and headbanging just like the rest of us - to the point that she sometimes missed a step and triggered lights a bit too late - added a whole new level to the experience. Awesome!


At The Gates 21:30/22:30, Altar

One fucking hour of Gothenburg-style violence, this one. Even with Iron Maiden playing (as Tomas Lindberg reminded us), the Altar was packed, with some moshing and crowdsurfing going on, not to mention the huge cheering and shouting!
And while I knew At The Gates were great live - their 2008 show being one of the best out of the best Hellfest line-up ever - I still was blown away by the sheer awesomeness of it all. It's been noted numerous times, but Tompa is really one fantastic frontman; cheering, snarling, smiling, he's sure as happy to be onstage and see people banging to his band's music as is his friend Mikael Stanne. Around him, tight as the proverbial duck's ass, the band - with now Jonas Stålhammar replacing Anders Björler - was relentless in pummelling us with no less than six songs from the classic Slaughter Of The Soul, the rest coming either from the latest To Drink From The Night Itself (the eponymous song opened the set) or At War With Reality.
An asskicking show, easily the best of the day for me. I definitely can't wait to see them again, opening for Boremoth, er, Behemoth, in January next year!





Iron Maiden 21:30/23:30, Mainstage01




While I enjoyed the end of Maiden's show - from afar - the Temple hosted quite a crowd again.
? Ensiferum? Just like Månegarm, that was some decent folky stuff, and the audience was quite nuts.


Exodus 00:00/01:00, Altar

While this was a different Exodus than the one which previously played at Hellfest - without Holt and his Slayer commitments, but with Steve Souza back - the monstrous thrash beast was still very much the same aggression-wise.
? Feels like I've been crushed by a freight train.
That's for sure, and contrary to the aforementioned Slayer, Exodus never disappoints live.
Anyway, as I wasn't in the moshpit because of my fragile camera, I felt slightly disconnected and finally left for...




Amenra 00:00/01:00, Valley



I attended only the second half of their set - I already saw them in Hellfest 2014, when they played really early (quite the evolution in four years!), and while the live experience was great, I couldn't stand the vocals. This time, they were lower in the mix, which was good for me (and I must admit that I'm not as allergic as I was four years ago). The lights, either a black & white video or blindingly white, forced me to close my eyes.
At that point, with my earplugs on, I decided to just sit down. Eyes closed, breathing a dusty air, surrounded by heavy music, feeling the vibrations on the ground, slowly headbanging, lost in it all... That was quite a fantastic sensory experience. But a stupid moron tried to 'wake me up' or whatever. Let me enjoy the music how I want to!


Carpenter Brut 01:05/02:05, Temple

Carpenter Brut were a great way to close this Hellfest edition, as long as you like this retro synthwave thing anyway. I like some of the songs (well, "Turbokiller" at least), and otto wanted to see them, so here we were. Plus, two Hacride members were onstage, so that's always a reason.
I must say the set was good, mostly following the Leather Face story arc.
? And the lights were absolutely awesome!
Yeah, sure they were really good, probably the best the Temple saw this year, but I've seen much better (anyone who has ever seen Ez3kiel will know what I'm talking about). Noteworthy guest too, "Mat" McNerney, who sang on some songs off Leather Face was onsite with his Grave Pleasures, so he was happy to oblige and sing his parts too.
? They finally finished on "Maniac", the classic cover, thus ending the storyline.
But by that point I had already left, as I wanted to catch just a little bit of Nightwish, and drifted to take some last minute pictures too.


Nightwish 00:55/02:05, Mainstage01



? This was really, really mellow...
Said my cousin. Well, I'm happy to say that the last two songs - the only ones I saw - really did the job with all their pyrotechnics. And, well, it's "Slaying The Dreamer" we're talking about (and I missed "End Of All Hope", damn).

---

Seeing how the fest evolved, I feel Hellfest was as its usual now: smooth, efficient, and professional, for a fest this size. Not without problems, obviously, but I'll get to that.

Each year, the decorations and landscapes of the Hellfest grounds get additions. The mainstages bar got all solid rusted metal for good, with that huge ball of rust and fire on top (quite visually striking at night, and the smoke gave it quite a Final Fantasy VII meteor feel to me).



After the 'Hellfresh' near the Warzone last year (a whole covered area with sprinklers everywhere), this time two towering walls of water, with pre-programmed logos 'drawn' in the falling water, were set in the main area. Visually impressive, they were an instant hit and I'm sure we'll see those again.


The tourist problem

A recurring problem that finally exploded on the Hellfest forum this year: the tourists. This pejorative nicknames describes those people who came at Hellfest barely knowing the music, and who ain't there for that, but more probably because it's edgy and/or trendy to be there (or it looked cool on TV). The kind of people that bring chairs with them, sit in view of the mainstages, and don't move at all.

Skipping away all the 'posers' accusations, I experienced two main problem - and I said 'experienced', as while reports of sexual misconduct are on the rise, I've never been witness of anything like this myself.

• The mainstages quickly become totally out of reach and are a chore to navigate;
• Overall, I saw a slight decrease of audience under the tents, depending on the bands playing.

Sure, a few exceptions notwithstanding, most of my must-see bands were small bands on the Altar and Temple stages, so I once again had few problems navigating on the grounds. I probably wouldn't have said the same thing if I had to go to the Warzone regularly - but it's still feasable, with the woody Kingdom of Muscadet as a dusty shortcut.

Meanwhile, as long as you don't even consider the mainstages past the half of the afternoon (or even before), the bill is still pretty awesome. Some hints of Roadburn (under the Valley mostly), other big and underground acts, and even a broadening of horizons (they're not the only ones to do that, but it's always great to have the likes of Wardruna, Carpenter Brut or Ho99r9)? Yes please! Hellfest always walked that thin line, with some mainstream appeal bands on one hand, and real underground gems on the other.

But doing the splits like this is sure a perilous exercice... and maybe the balance has been broken somewhat? Now that they've grown up I guess they'd better be careful to stay on the fence if they still want to be successful. Tr00 metalheads are certainly not the main part of the audience now, but alienating them for good would be a terrible move, as the mainstream audiences are much more fickle. Time will tell, but if too few trve metalheads come, bands playing under the tents wouldn't have reasons to play there anymore (and I don't think enlarging your penis the fest site will change the problem, if they sell more tickets).

So, to answer my own question, probably the tourists ain't. But it's still bloody damn irritating to see your beauf neighbour at Hellfest too.


Various other issues and non-issues

On the whole, the sound was generally considered to be less good that last year. I can't compare, obviously, but I didn't have any real problems - maybe it was thanks to the earplugs that, given my old age now, I systematically use - particularly on the Altar where I didn't experience the recurring problems that plagued it two years ago. Avoiding the mainstages sure helped, as I didn't witness the Iced Earth and Megadeth wrecks (but Nightwish had too much bass).

Queuing, apart of the terrible two I already mentioned (the 2019 pre-sale and Hellfest merch) was maintained on a manageable level. That, plus the non-refundable goblets and Hellfest T-shirts reportedly of a worse quality than before, gave a slight 'we grab money where we can' aftertaste.

Oh, I also forgot to mention the serious lack of 'official bands merch'. Far less bands than before... but why? Oh well, that 2018 edition saw a first for me, as I didn't walk home with any new band shirt...

Musclassia also mentioned pavements in front of the Mainstages - there was some at the Warzone also. I was worried, too, but Ben Barbaud (HF's main man) said it was to reduce the dust levels in front of the moshing stages - and, as far as falling people went, wasn't worse than the stones you could have found before. Well, I don't know, but I haven't heard of any problems, so I guess it worked - and will probably be implemented in front of the other stages too.


"Musclassia's Hellfest experience"'s conclusion




Conclusion

Whatever the problems, I had a good time once again, as I had plunging in my memories and videos to write this report. And while the writing / editing part can and does have its tedious parts, it's worth it for the sole pleasure of reliving great moments over and over again

As always, it'll depend on the bill, but HF could see me coming back again next year - or the next one. And as I already said, I really like the slight broadening of horizons, with touches of hip-hop, neo-folk and synthwave. The link to metal is still here, so it's fine. BTW, the five already confirmed 2019 bands are Carcass, Dropkick Murphys, Manowar, Mass Hysteria, and Slayer (so yeah, there's once again mainstream appeal and big metal names).

But, if I ever get a migraine again, I should at least try to have it on thursday, right? The post-migraine kick of energy would probably last the whole three days in a setting like this...

Thanks to everyone I met, talked to, drank with, and generally enjoyed this new Hellfest! That obviously includes Marie; my cousin Thibault and Ludovica; Fred 'Moose', Yoann and Flavia; the whole Etienne / Miki / Fabrice / Jérome / Audrey crew; Amandine and Vincent; and all the others!

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