Written by:	Darkside Momo, Promonex, wrathchild
Published:	August 04, 2012
Event:	Hellfest Open Air 2012 (Website)
Galleries:	Hellfest 2012 - Day 3: Sunday by Promonex (81) Hellfest 2012 - Day 2: Saturday by Promonex (74) Hellfest 2012 - People & Places by Promonex (34) Hellfest 2012 - Day 1: Friday by Promonex (78) Hellfest 2012 by Natalia_Die_Hexe (99)

Table Of Contents

Introduction

Saturday's featured bands:
Amenra
Behemoth
Cancer Bats
Death Angel
Edguy
Enslaved
Entombed
Exodus
In Extremo
Kobra And The Lotus
Machine Head
Necrophagia
Oranssi Pazuzu
Refused
Sacred Reich
Steel Panther
Unsane
The Devil's Blood
Uriah Heep
Within Temptation
Yob

Sunday's featured bands:
Abysse
Alcest
Anaal Nathrakh
Arcturus
Blue Oyster Cult
Children Of Bodom
Dimmu Borgir
Dying Fetus
Forgotten Tomb
Ihsahn
Suffocation
Sunn O)))
Trivium
Vulture Industries
Walls Of Jericho
Year Of No Light

Conclusion

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Kobra And The Lotus 12:15/12:45, Mainstage 01

wrathchild: The name rang a bell as Doc Godin interviewed Kobra And The Lotus even before they released their debut album (check it here) so I was intrigued that a possibly amateur band was playing on the mainstage at one of the biggest metal festival. It turned out to be a very enjoyable performance, more power and a lot less glam than I somehow expected. One of the best discovery for me at Hellfest 2012, check them out!


Oranssi Pazuzu 12:15/12:45, Temple

Trippy. Hypnotic. Weird and dissonant, yet? almost comfy? Yes, yes? Their sound was enveloping, somewhat like a cocoon, and gripped you for half an hour of black psychedelia. The guys weren't really active onstage, didn't speak, but that wasn't what we wanted of them anyway. Great stuff, and much better than Solstafir as far as creating an atmosphere is concerned, I have to say.



Band Gallery by Promonex


Amenra 12:50/13:30, Valley

I didn't knew them at all, apart that they were supposed to be some sludgy post-hardcore or something similar. Enough to tickle my curiosity, I must say. And well, the music sure was heavy and post-core-ish enough, but alas, these high-pitched screamed hardcore vocals are still not to my tastes. That was a good performance, no doubt about it, and definitely a band to check for fans of the style, but I left before the end of their set.



Band Gallery by Promonex





Death Angel 14:20/15:10, Mainstage 02




wrathchild: On this occasion, Death Angel celebrated their first album The Ultra Violence, an album I haven't listened to enough to fully appreciate the show. So while it turned out to be the Death Angel gig I enjoyed the least out of the 4 I attended there is nothing to worry about the band, especially since I overheard non-fans claiming they had a blast.



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe


Steel Panther 15:15/16:00, Mainstage 01

wrathchild: Sleazy glam metal to the fullest, up to a point I do not know if I should call them such or claim they're a sleazy glam metal parody band. Nevertheless they succeeded in bringing attention to their mainstage by their looks, their catchy songs and more importantly their successful calls for boobs ("montrez-moi vos nichons !") :naughty :



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe


Sacred Reich 16:05/16:55, Mainstage 02

Since last year, Mainstage is thrash stage on Saturday. But this specific time of the day saw quite a difficult choice (and not only for me): Sacred Reich who did a great show at Hellfest 2009, Necrophagia who are pretty rare live, or Ufomammut for some trippy bass-heavy stuff? Guess what, I went to see the Arizonian guys again. And it was as great as three years ago, alas quite shorter. The audience was younger too, more active, and so circle pits were once again the rule of the day. Phil Rind's happy smile just said it all: we had a heck of fun Surfing Nicaragua!


Necrophagia 16:05/16:55, Altar

Another rare live band at Hellfest, and yet another show that didn't disappoint! Horror and gore FTW.



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe


Ufomammut 16:05/16:55, Valley

Promonex: Fun definitely isn't what Ufomammut were about. Instead you got greeted by a monolithic wall of sound that was about to topple over any second and bury the audience under tons of sonic rubble. And once the Italian power trio had fully erected this wall, they gave it a nice push and let it crash into every single attendee's auditory canals, challenging both your ear drums and your sanity. And once your sanity was swept away, they filled the void with soothing psychedelic doom, comforting your mind and giving you the chance to recover until they had fully erected their wall again. No, Ufomammut certainly weren't your brainless fun band. However, you might have missed your brain after this gig...



Band Gallery by Promonex


Uriah Heep 17:00/17:50, Mainstage 01

wrathchild: An excellent set! And a discovery for me. Even songs from their first albums definitely pass the test of time.



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe


Cancer Bats 17:00/17:50, Warzone

My first step into the Warzone was to see Cancer Bats; I first came to know this band thanks to Doc Godin's articles, so I checked Dead Set On Living before going to Hellfest. A well inspired move, as there are quite a few great riffs in there! The Canucks delivered a nice show, especially their really energic and active frontman; their catchy songs had an immediate effect on the audience and hardcore fans moshed. I, for one, left a bit before the end, feeling a bit queasy and in a bad need of a drink, after these Sacred Reich circle pits (and I still had to sample the so close wine bar)?


Unsane 17:55/18:45, Valley

Time to break the usual order of band (you know, from 'biggest' to 'smallest' stage), because during this 17h55 / 18h45 time slice two bands were of interest to me (and I'm thankful I never was interested in good-but-run-of-the-mill-DM, er I mean Vomitory). So I for once managed to do something difficult: split my time, seeing first one half of Unsane then one half of Exodus. Good choice, that order. Unsane are not really easy listening, mind you, but their music is more about tension and uneasiness than outward aggression. So no, no real moshing for all I saw, but three quite laid-back guys delivering a creepy, noisy, dissonant music, gripping you by the throat from the very beginning. I didn't really knew what to expect, but probably not this, as the contrast between the music and the musicians' attitude was a bit weird. Still, it was impressive!



Band Gallery by Promonex


Exodus 17:55/18:45, Mainstage 02

Now, time for serious business. Circle pits and violent moshing were in full swing when I joined the fray, no surprise here. Remember Kreator last year? Well, as Exodus already proved in 2010, they're still the most violent thrash band around; while Kreator is a head above the rest, they tower over the famous Germans easily. I bruised my left knee in the circle pits, let's say that's only natural ;P ; and yes, it was a fantastic moment as always. Beware, crowdsurfers crossing!



Band Gallery by Promonex


Edguy 19:45/20:45, Mainstage 02

wrathchild: I won't write about the music - you love it, or hate it, or loved it and now hate it, etc. - but about Tobias Sammet's fronting that I've never exactly loved but can't stand anymore. It's probably related to me seeing Edguy in non English speaking countries since part of the crowd can't understand half of what he says. So he pretends that people aren't laughing because they don't understand the irony in his speeches but truth is we don't laugh because he's done the same lame jokes for too long now.



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe


Yob 19:45/20:45, Valley

I sadly missed almost all their show, but what I heard was indeed heavy enough; it also seems they delivered a great, heavy as fuck, mesmerizing set?



Band Gallery by Promonex


Within Temptation 20:50/22:05, Mainstage 01

wrathchild: Within Temptation ceased to interest me after they failed to provide an interesting follow up to the Mother Earth album. I saw them live a few times but I never attended a full show. It didn't happen this time again, and in fact during the few songs I watched them play, Sharon's voice got on my nerves - to the point it was hard for me to even stand the iconic songs that are "Ice Queen" and "Mother Earth". And even when I forced my ears to stop listening, then the big screen was there to remind me that this Within Temptation show was visually the poorest I attended. No fancy stage acting, no background but extracts from various videos alternating with live images (and the singer didn't look very attractive when seen on such a big, detailed screen).



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe and Promonex


In Extremo 20:50/21:40, Temple

German people who are so used to see them might not believe it, but In Extremo were really good! That's probably because they very, very rarely cross the Rhine to play here in France, and as such they had to prove themselves. And yes, they did it with style, bagpipes and pyrotechnics - the heat waves were brutal under the tent, I have to say. They were eagerly awaited by quite a few people, and so dancing, singing and moshing started immediately and didn't cease until the end of the show. Great, great, and great!



Band Gallery by Promonex





Machine Head 22:10/23:25, Mainstage 02

You could almost copy/paste what we wrote in the 2009 report. Yes, Machine Head are killers onstage, as always full of confidence and assurance, with the songs' aggression and emotional intensity still top notch. My only personal gripe was that "Descend The Shades Of Night" was replaced by the far less inspiring "Darkness Within"?



Band Gallery by Promonex


Enslaved 22:50/23:50, Temple

I missed the end of Machine Head's set to catch another sure value in the live department: Enslaved. Like Machine Head, they were previously at Hellfest in 2007 and 2009; and just like Machine Head, they always delivered excellent shows. This year was no exception, this time without videos in the backdrop, but with Grutle even more cheery and talkative than usual ("Scream for me Clisson!"). And that blistering cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song"?





The Devil's Blood 23:55/00:55, Valley

?Or the psychedelic, satanic hard-rockers of The Devil's Blood? I missed them two years ago, and it was out-of-the-question to make that mistake again.
Yeah, well, if you don't like their music, I guess you'll have a hard time to enjoy their set. For those who like them on CD, this was trippy as hell. The stage seemed a bit small for the six-piece band, but all stayed in their place, headbanging in unison most of the time, apart of course of the singer who stood still, arms raised when she didn't sing, something like 'conducting the ritual' (yeah, they claim their shows are chaos magick rituals or something). They finished later than their allotted time slot - no surprise here - but I missed an awesome (or so I was told) rendering of "Christ And Cocaïne" because, well, now was Refused's time.


Behemoth 01:00/02:00, Temple




By all accounts, this was a far better performance that the average 2010? Predictable but powerful (and with a shower of black confettis).



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe


Refused 01:00/02:00, Warzone




Promonex: So here it was, the one reason why I went to Hellfest in the first place. When the three-chord/DIY/anti-establishment credo of punk music got too established for these Swedes, they created a beast of an album called The Shape of Punk to Come which broke with everything punk has stood for while retaining its raw and anarchic energy, just to break up themselves right after the release. That was in 1998. Now, in 2012, they are back! And it was this frantic energy they - and vocalist Dennis Lyxzén in particular - brought on stage. The whole set was on an incredibly high level, as though the band had never stopped performing together. And when you thought it couldn't get any better, the band left the stage to give room for an electronic intermezzo which turned out to be the intro of the massive "New Noise" which triggered the crowd to burst into a most explosive frenzy! Yes, Refused definitely gave me what I expected of them: the best show of the entire festival!

Momo: No, I didn't knew Refused before going to Hellfest. But both Promonex and my campside neighbors insisted that I should (nay, I had to) go and see them, because they were awesome, and that it was a long-awaited return onstage for these Swedish innovative punks. And hell I was well inspired to go check them! Their pure, unadulterated and communicative energy tore through the haze of fatigue and they left me headbanging and shouting. And the songs, of course, are a blast live (even if, as I was told, they didn't play anything out of their first album).
Upon hearing Guns n'Roses between two of their songs, the singer thanked us for "hanging out with [them] and not with Axl and his bunch of clowns". Many cheers greeted that one, as well as the others rants - about the state of the world, or how happy they were to be here. This was quite a change for them, from 300 punks in small clubs to the thousands in one of the biggest fests of the planet?
Definitely one of the greatest surprises of this edition, and without doubt the most energic band onstage - of those I've seen anyway.



Band Gallery by Promonex

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Already the last day? Time to drink even more, and start earlier than usual seeing how the headliners didn't appeal to me?


Abysse 10:30/11:00, Valley

Pure French start for this Sunday morning, and my pick was some instrumental prog. I had the pleasure to write a review of Abysse's Le Vide Est Forme EP for a friend's fanzine, so I wanted to see them live. And well, while instrumental prog can indeed be pretty static, it was nonetheless nice, both technical and atmospheric. A good appetizer for the rest of the day?





Year Of No Light 11:40/12:10, Valley

And now, instrumental post-hardcore! Yes, Year Of No Light don't have a vocalist anymore, contrary to their 2008 Hellfest show. And well? That was heavy. As in, two drums. As in, so much bass you're wondering "when will my body start falling apart?" Add to this the intensity of well-written songs, and yes we were left wanting for more - half an hour can be definitely too short.


Alcest 12:50/13:30, Valley

A moment of respite now, with Alcest who seems to have pleased fans of hypnotic, eerie and melodic music?



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe





Forgotten Tomb 15:05/15:50, Temple

Promonex: "We are Forgotten Tomb and we are here to ruin your day!" So spoke Herr Morbid, frontman of the blackened doomsters from Italy. And so he failed. Not because the set sucked, but rather because the opposite was the case: it fucking rocked! I have no idea how they managed to make their songs of misery sound so headbangable, but they did, and so it was a given that everybody had a great time. Except for Forgotten Tomb who just plain sucked at ruining our day.



Band Gallery by Promonex


Walls Of Jericho 15:55/16:40, Mainstage 02

Candace definitely was as usual, violent and angry. Good and violent set as always.



Band Gallery by Promonex


Anaal Nathrakh 16:45/17:35, Temple

A bit disappointing. No doubt that the aggression and violence were there, but the band looked somewhat unconcerned. Even worse, the sound wasn't that great. And it definitely lacked the industrial edge that adds so much to Anaal Nathrakh's music. Time to get some more beer!



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe and Promonex


Dying Fetus 17:40/18:30, Altar

For some reason I just couldn' get into their set, and I was left dozing - and so did Promonex - under the tent. Maybe it was alcohol, maybe it was the music, I don't know, but I left to fetch me a coffee while most of the audience, Wrathchild included, enjoyed Dying Fetus's set immensely.



Band Gallery by Promonex


Blue Oyster Cult 18:35/19:35, Mainstage 01

wrathchild: Just like Uriah Heep the day before, Blue Öyster Cult was just a name I knew but I had never heard their music before. And this time again, I was pleasantly surprised - perhaps even more! Blue Öyster Cult are excellent musicians, playing rock with a heavy psychedelic/aor/prog approach totally satisfying for me. The sound was great, the execution perfect, the feeling that something this old can appear so fresh compared to the hordes of new bands in the rock/metal department was just priceless. Still not a shock like Mr Big last year, Blue Öyster Cult was probably the best show I attended at Hellfest 2012.


Vulture Industries 18:35/19:25, Temple




While most people were in front of the Mainstage to see the rare Blue Oyster Cult, Vulture Industries played under an almost deserted Temple tent. Oh well, too bad for them; absent people are always in the wrong, you know? And yes, all those who weren't in front of the Temple stage at that time missed what was easily one of the best show this Hellfest 2012 welcomed! I must admit I was more than surprised - I went there to hear a nice appetizer for Arcturus, and I left with a grin on my face and stars in my eyes.
Stars? Er, OK, make that 'noose' and 'pillory'... See, the frontman (crazy guy, just see the pics) played with a noose ("The Hangman's Hatch"), or put himself in a pillory, still singing - and the audience immediately started to throw stuff at him, just like in the old days (don't worry about him; he took his vengeance later by throwing back what he received). The music itself was good, not as much Arcturus worship as you might expect, with the setlist focusing on The Malefactor's Bloody Register; all musicians played perfectly the musical canvas needed for the frontman to go (and stay) mad.
OK, here's your tl;dr version: AWESOME!!!



Promonex: Rising from the ranks of the Arcturus copycats to deliver one of the greatest gigs of the entire festival, that's Vulture Industries alright. It's incredible how many different combinations you can get if you put a lunatic on stage and drape a pillory, a book, a noose, a candle, a bedside lamp, a towel and a ladder all over the place. Nope, that stuff wasn't just decoration, it was also extensively used by vocalist Bjørnar E. Nilsen, maybe the only guy in metal who has more faces than Devin Townsend. And when he wasn't busy with preaching from his book, stomping all over the stage, biting his band mates, insulting the audience from the pillory, subsequently getting stuff thrown at him (kindly handed out by a roadie from the photo pit) and playing tug-o'-war with the noose around his neck against a colleague from the photo pit, he also found enough time to deliver some top-notch music with the rest of the band. Sorry Arcturus, but you just got your thunder stolen!



Band Gallery by Promonex


Trivium 19:40/20:40, Mainstage 02

It seems Trivium delivered a solid performance this day?



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe


Ihsahn 20:25/21:15, Temple

Ihsahn continues his own solo path, playing with his band again in Hellfest, the day before Eremita's release, of which two songs were played. A correct show, well played but with Ihsahn himself probably being a bit too static? and following up after Vulture Industries is a goddamn difficult task.



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe





Suffocation 21:20/22:20, Altar

For some reason, I still don't really like Suffocation on albums, but onstage they're for sure a band I don't want to miss, because their technical death gives its full measure live: it is much more groovy, and the pure violence of it all is just beyond great. And well, just as usual, they didn't disappoint at all, with Frank Mullen still being that über-nice and smiling guy who would have us believe he's a psychopath. Still a must-see band!


Arcturus 22:25/23:25, Temple

Ahh, Arcturus? One of the three bands that made me go to Hellfest, even if I was a bit leery about how their show would actually be - after all, their live reputation before the split was far from awesome? And now, they also had to deal with a serious contender, namely Vulture Industries. Sure, the songwriting between both bands is not exactly on the same level? Live, however, Arcturus don't really live up to the expectations. Oh, it wasn't bad at all. Musicianship was excellent, the setlist was great and featured songs from every era (kudos for the "Ad Absurdum" - "Collapse Generation" doublet), and the band was relatively active onstage. It's just that therz was nothing really special to their set; add to that that Vortex (what an amazing voice, right?) was behaving a bit oddly? At times he seemed happy, but at others he looked bored. Or drunk?
Oh well, whatever. While it wasn't awesome, I still had a good time. And hearing "Master Of Disguise" and "The Chaos Path" live was well worth it!



Band Gallery by Promonex


Children Of Bodom 23:30/00:30, Altar

By now, the big downpour that marked this Sunday evening had started. That ensured that both Sunn O))) and Children Of Bodom had more than their fair share of audience. As expected, the latter proved that they're still pretty uninteresting live, but for what I heard of them, Alexi Laiho was a bit lighter than usual on his use of "fuck" and stuff.[/i][/right]



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe + pics of their press conference.


Sunn O)) 23:30/00:30, Valley




Promonex: Writing objectively about a gig of Sunn O))) is impossible because their music/soundscapes/distortfest/noises/whatever-you-want-to-call-it evoke different feelings in every individual. And as you barely got to see anything, you didn't have much of a choice other than focusing on the music. It didn't take long for the audience to get entangled in the dense atmosphere created by Sunn O))), an atmosphere so dense, you could call it palpable. All around me people were in trance with their eyes closed, and those who weren't, sported a blank, hypnotized stare. Occasionally people were raising their hands, not to show the horns, but to touch the lingering distortion and channel it into their bodies. One or two individuals were rubbing their temples, as though they were trying to keep their skull from exploding. And more than once the band hit the human body's own resonance frequency, making you feel yourself so intensely, it was terribly hard to bear... If I have ever witnessed something that could be called a Black Mass, this was it. A show like this cannot be categorized as good or bad, but rather as enlightening or dreadful. I won't reveal what it was for me, but I'll definitely think twice before sending my soul on a journey like this again...



Band Gallery by Promonex





Dimmu Borgir 01:00/02:00, Temple

Nothing exceptional to mention here, apart of some sound problems?



Band Gallery by Natalia_Die_Hexe + pics of their press conference.

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The bid to turn Hellfest into a bigger fest succeeded, it would seem? Only Saturday with Guns n'Roses was sold-out, but the other two days were pretty close. On the whole, the new grounds were really nicely laid-out and functional, apart for that recurring toilets problem. No, that wasn't as bad as 2007, but it was really terrible compared to the almost smooth 2011 version. For shame.
As always each year, with Hellfest getting bigger and bigger, more and more people are complaining that it's getting too big, that the spirit it had before is gone? I, for one, can't really blame those people, at least as far as the 'too big' argument is concerned; it could become really difficult to see some bands playing under over-packed tents, like Amon Amarthfor example. And I certainly hope that they won't be following Ben Barbaud's dream as exposed in a 2010 interview: 10 stages, one per style. Six (seven if you count the Metal Corner at the campsite, and even eight if you add the shows in the village of Clisson) really was the most I could take; after that I think it wouldn't even be worth coming, given the price increase it would entail and the impossible clashes between bands? So if you ask me, Hellfest has reached its ideal, maximum size. Now adjustments have to be made (the aforementioned toilets), that's for sure, but then we'll have an almost perfect festival!

Once again, thanks to everyone involved (Jeff that's for you), to all people we met, and a special 'we miss you' award for those people who should have come but didn't (Otto, Collin, Ivor, and other staff members, you know who you are).

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Previously on Metal Storm?

Friday 15th
The featured bands are : Amon Amarth, Benighted, Black Bomb A, Darkspace, Dropkick Murphys, Endstille, Gorod, Gotthard, King Diamond, Lizzy Borden, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Megadeth, Molly Hatchet, Moonsorrow, Satyricon, Solstafir, Tragedy, Trepalium, Unexpect.



Photos by Natalia_Die_Hexe and Promonex. All rights reserved, do not use without permission.