Written by:	Darkside Momo, Baz Anderson, Deadsoulman, Ivor, Marcel Hubregtse, Moocher, otto, Promonex, wrathchild
Published:	July 17, 2010
Event:	Hellfest Open Air 2010 (Website)
Location:	Complexe Du Val De Moine, Clisson, France
Organizer:	Hellfest Productions
Galleries:	Hellfest Open Air - Clisson, France, 18-20/06/2010 by Moocher (49) Hellfest Open Air 2010 - Clisson, France, 20.06.2010 by Ivor (111) Hellfest Open Air - Clisson, France, 20/06/2010 by Moocher (136) Hellfest Open Air 2010 - Clisson, France, 19.06.2010 by Ivor (129) Hellfest Open Air - Clisson, France, 19/06/2010 by Moocher (133) Hellfest Open Air 2010 - Clisson, France, 19-20 June 2010 by Promonex (103) Hellfest Open Air - Clisson, France, 18th-20th June 2010 by Baz Anderson (248) Hellfest Open Air - Clisson, France, 18th-20th June 2010 by Darkside Momo (34) Hellfest Open Air - Clisson, France, 18/06/2010 by Moocher (155) Hellfest Open Air 2010 - Clisson, France, 18-20.06.2010 by Ivor (54) Hellfest Open Air 2010 - Clisson, France, 18.06.2010 by Ivor (126) Hellfest Open Air 2010 - Clisson, France, 18 June 2010 by Promonex (112)

Previously on Metalstorm?

Introduction

Thursday





Table Of Contents

The featured bands are:
Gorod
69 Chambers
Otargos
Swallow The Sun
Evile
Urgehal
Crowbar
Sigh
Mass Hysteria
Necrophagist
Negură Bunget
Finntroll
Ghost Brigade
KMFDM
Kampfar
Walls Of Jericho
Deftones
Ihsahn
Between The Buried And Me
Hypocrisy
Monkey 3
Infectious Grooves
Sick Of It All
The Young Gods
Watain
Sepultura
Godflesh
Arch Enemy
Ulver
Fear Factory
The Devil's Blood
Biohazard
Marduk






This might be the first day of the fest, this was already a pretty-much awesome line-up, quite industrially-flavoured (KMFDM, The Young Gods, Godflesh and Fear Factory; Tamtrum was originally planned this day, too), and with great names such as Deftones or Sepultura, or Godflesh for a unique show...


Gorod 10:30/11:00, Mainstage 2

Momo: I've said before that Gorod are a great live band. And they once again delivered the goods with absolute precision, full-on aggression, and they gave all they had (as always).
A shame, really, that they played at such an early hour, even more so when you consider that most people couldn't see them play because they were delayed at the entrance. But the few courageous metalheads who were there and passed the gates in time did enjoy the show, for sure.
And it's sure that a good brutal show so early in the morning is a really efficient way to wake you up!

Marcel: Totally not familiar with any of their studio works I was curious how their brand technical death metal would come across this early on in the day. Of course there wasn't a big crowd present at this semi-ungodly hour, but the Frenchmen on stage did give it their everything which was much appreciated by the people watching, including me. A tight set of very competent almost brutal technical death metal. Played as tight as the duck's ass I had on my sandwich later on in the day. A very nice welcoming opening shot to three days of metal mayhem and bliss.



Band Gallery by Ivor, Moocher, Promonex


69 Chambers 11:05/11:35, Mainstage 1

Collin: Surprisingly decent. I wasn't very happy about the cancellation of Earth Crisis and the subsequent inclusion of the Swiss 69 Chambers, but eventually it proved to be much better than I expected. According to the bits and pieces that I saw from afar, the band played a solid brand of modern hard rock with pretty good vocals and catchy songwriting. I am still not going to become a fan of their studio works anytime soon, but it was nice (Momo: and with Tommy Vetterli of Coroner fame).



Band Gallery by Ivor, Moocher, Promonex


Otargos 11:05/11:35, Rock Hard Tent

Collin: Ok, so I missed Gorod's entire show because I wasn't aware of the existence of a special VIP entrance and queued for the best part of one hour with the plebs by the main gates. I'm not stupid, I just don't pay that much attention to the world around me. Needless to say, I was quite mad at myself and needed an outlet for my rage. What's better than grim BM then? Otargos happened to provide just that: fierce black metal with a decent sound, a good dose of brutality and even a fair chunk of catchiness. Although watching the band members basking in their trve corpse-painted evilness proved to be a tad too much at 11 in the morning, I've seen worse ways to kickstart a festival. Nothing to really write Mama about, but an enjoyable set nonetheless.



Band Gallery by Moocher


Swallow The Sun 11:40/12:10, Mainstage 2

Some pictures?



Band Gallery by Ivor


Evile 12:15/12:45, Mainstage 1

wrathchild: They were one of the few bands I really wanted to see at Hellfest 2008, but as Collin wrote in the review, they cancelled... And then they cancelled a tour in France, and then Mike Alexander died. That explains why Evile was high on my to-see list for this new Hellfest edition. And I wasn't disappointed: although the show was very standard and short (30 minutes), I got my share of thrash metal for the day with songs like "Thrasher", "Enter The Grave", "We Who Are About To Die", "Infected Nations", Genocide". Note that live, songs from the second album didn't sound that different from those off their acclaimed debut.

Marcel: Two years ago these English thrashers cancelled at the last moment and about eight months ago they lost their bass player. So how will their brand of retro-thrash go down at midday?
The band was all fire up as was the crowd. But their set did prove that the band will probably never be catapulted into the major league of thrashers. For that their music is just way too unoriginal. Did they sound uncannily like old Metallica on their debut album and like Slayer on their most recent outing, live this was also certainly the case. A nice set to get into the flow of a festival. Played extremely tight and with lots of charisma but, alas, way too Slayer inspired in their newer songs, albeit a lot tighter than Slayer. The crowd didn't mind the Metallic nods and pure Slayer worship for the first couple of rows went completely apeshit.

Collin: Nothing tops old school thrash when it comes to setting the stage on fire. In a live environment, Evile are the worthy successors of Slayer and Metallica. They just slayed, plain and simple. I mean, here is a band that doesn't need pyrotechnics, lights or any form of distracting sideshow to tame an audience. They just rely on the basics of good ol' fucking thrash, i.e. monstrous riffing, lightspeed execution and angry vocals. And it works. Believe me. Also, I have a special fondness for this band: they sent me their first demo to review years ago, and now here they are on the main stage of a big festival. I almost shed a tear. Anyway, one of the very nice shows of the day.



Band Gallery by Ivor, Moocher


Urgehal 12:15/12:45, Rock Hard Tent

Baz Anderson: Urgehal were one of the first black metal bands to ease the audience the way of the dark side. These guys played quite generic and run-of-the-mill black metal, but being one of the first bands on it still seemed like a great show. Solid material, but nothing truly noteworthy.



Band Gallery by Baz Anderson


Crowbar 12:50/13:30, Mainstage 2

Marcel: Probably the heaviest band of the weekend on one of the mainstages. Both musically and in sheer kilos, although Fear Factory might have won in that department. Another Nola sludge band on the mainstage after Eyehategod and Down last year. This is the sort of music best watched when sunny and hot or in an intimate club. Sunny it certainly was, unfortunately not too hot, although some might beg to differ. Crowbar, came, saw and more or less conquered. Heavy as a steamroller the men formed around Kirk Windstein totally delivered their brand of sludge with quite some hardcore influences going down a storm. Especially witnessed when the band's best song, "Planets Collide", was dedicated to the deceased Peter Steele. But all this fun ended quite a bit too soon (about 10 minutes), thus making the band return to stage for a further two songs. But unfortunately a lot of people were already leaving the arena.
Besides this minor ten minute slip up Crowbar's gig was already destined to be one of the highlights of the festival.



Band Gallery by Moocher, Promonex


Sigh 13:00/13:30, Terrorizer Tent

Baz Anderson: The Japanese extreme musical circus Sigh found themselves on the smallest stage, but the tent soon filled up for everyone to get a look at Dr. Mikannibal's newest costume. The set consisted almost entirely of newer material from the last couple of albums, and even so, for some reason the music didn't quite seem so prominent. Not as great of a set as might have been hoped, but entertaining nevertheless.



Band Gallery by Baz Anderson, Ivor, Promonex


Mass Hysteria 13:35/14:15, Mainstage 1

Momo: Mass Hysteria, with their dancefloor-friendly metal, are quite well-known here in France but pretty unknown elsewhere, except maybe in Québec. Like them or not - and one has every right to dislike them, as their lyrics are some of the worst I've heard this side of the multiverse - they really belonged to Hellfest this day which also saw KMFDM or The Young Gods...
Well, how do they sound live? Catchy, of course! With the great powerful sound of the Mainstage, they had an easy task to make their fans go nuts. And some others too, I guess, as Mouss (vocalist) didn't spare his efforts to make everyone move.
I thoroughly enjoyed the two songs I saw ("Babylone" and "Une Somme De Détails", both out of Une Somme De Détails), but it was time for me to leave to see Negură Bunget.



Band Gallery by Moocher, Promonex


Necrophagist 13:35/14:15, Rock Hard Tent

Baz Anderson: Finally the German technical death metal Necrophagist made it to Hellfest, and we're all glad they did. Wow. Can they perform their material live? Yes. Can they rip faces off with their music? Yes. Truth be told, Necrophagist were fantastic when they were on a fast-paced song, but a couple of the slower, apparently more circle-pit-able songs just didn't satisfy. Closing the set with "Fermented Offal Discharge" certainly did though. One of the moments of the festival.



Band Gallery by Baz Anderson


Negură Bunget 13:50/14:30, Terrorizer Tent

Collin: After the fat heaviness of Crowbar, then came the time to be transylvanian-ed. Having never seen the "legitimate version" of Negură Bunget, I have no frame of reference, but Negru Bunget definitely were one of the highlights of Hellfest for me. Their music has the same hypnotising quality in concert as it does on album, maybe even more so. As soon as they started playing "Pămînt" from the new album, I travelled through landscapes of dark moors, misty forests and medieval legends, time stopped, I lost all perception of physical presence around me and just let the band carry me away. Getting back to reality has never been so tough - the show was much cheaper and way less dangerous than drugs, but withdrawal symptoms were just the same. I don't remember if the band played tight, have no idea what they played apart from "Pămînt". All I know is this: I could take 2 hours of that music. Every day.

Marcel: After a soundcheck that seemed to take ages, or at least it did seem that to me, the band took off like a faulty car. The first song never started to flow and there were quite a few mistakes made during the execution, thus leaving a very bad impression. I was on the verge of leaving the Terrorizer tent but decided to give them one more song to redeem themselves, and thank God they did so during the next song. Halfway through it all started to flow and even though it was midday the gig started to gain a lot in atmosphere. Once the last notes of Negură Bunget's set were played they left me behind wanting more, and making me forget the dodgy start. All in all a gig with two faces but thank god ending on a high note.

wrathchild: I had read the name of this band like every month in the last two years, so after missing Sigh under the Terrorizer tent I stayed to see Negură Bunget. It seemed to me that they started a bit late due to all the instruments they had to prepare, but sure enough the resulting sounds were interesting. But the music as a whole wasn't captivating enough for me so I left after 2 songs. Nevertheless, I felt glad that this band was on the bill.

Momo: Well for my part I was completely captivated and entranced by their show.
I discovered OM about one week before the fest, and I fell totally in love with it. But the pure majesty of this piece of art was sure to bring the question 'will they sound good live?' (past line-up problems or not)
And yes, after this long soundcheck (all instruments were tested. ALL!), the show started. And we were not really under the Terrorizer tent anymore, but somewhere, somewhen else... A more mythical place, full of legends and ancient lore, with echoes of flutes, horns and other xylophones resonating... I may sound like a stoned hippie - which I'm not - but it's sure the atmosphere was mesmerizing and really well transcribed!
Proverbial icing on the cake if you ask me: they played "Norilor"! Best show of the day for me, to be sure.



Band Gallery by Ivor


Finntroll 14:20/15:00, Mainstage 2

Momo: Originally planned for the next slot on the Mainstage 2, the trolls finally played earlier because Walls Of Jericho were delayed (their plane was late, I think). Well... Was this too early an hour? Did they have time to really wake up? They did lack some energy. And after Negură Bunget's mystical show, I needed no less than a excellent rendition of "Trollhammaren" to get in the show. It didn't happen. So I left.

Baz Anderson: Thrown onto the stage an hour or so before scheduled, Finntroll was a bit of a manic one. The band threw their weight into some new songs to kick off, and then a slightly surprising "Trollhammaren" in the first half of the set made sure the audience were going to enjoy some new songs. Deservedly so, the new album is arguably the band's best, and along with the old favourites, this Finntroll set didn't disappoint.



Band Gallery by Ivor, Moocher


Ghost Brigade 14:50/15:30, Terrorizer Tent

wrathchild: Yet another band I had no clear idea of what the music was like. But what made me grab the first songs of their show is the fact that both Collin and Ivan are praising Ghost Brigade when they surely don't share the exact same preferences in metal. I could somehow identify why: the most electric part reminded me of what we used to call 'suomi metal', with a chord-based rhythm, while still allowing more ambient passages. A cool band.

Momo: I just had time to check one song of these Finnish dudes. While I like their music, I was far from blown away by their stage presence two years ago. Well, what I saw was much better than during Hellfest 2008, so that's good! Now, for more details, read on as Collin has much more to say...

Collin: Playing right after Negură Bunget is no easy task, but the Ghost Brigade proved to be up to that task. Although they started their show with an odd choice ("Deliberately" is more fit for a concert closer in my not-so-humble-cuz-I'm-always-right opinion), they just delivered. The sound was really good and they have more than enough great material to make up for the apparent awkwardness of their singer, who in spite of having a truly great voice doesn't seem to have made any progress in the crowd-handling department since 2008. All in all, the band was tight, the singer sounds exactly like on album, the music was flawless and emotional (the instrumental "22:22 - Nihil" gave me goose bumps), but I can't help but think that a little something was missing (maybe a bit more interaction with the crowd?) that would have made this a great show instead of only a pretty good one.

Setlist: Deliberately, Hold On Thin Line, My Heart Is A Tomb, Into The Black Light, Lost In A Loop, Suffocated, 22:22 - Nihil, Architect Of New Beginnings, A Storm Inside



Band Gallery by Ivor


KMFDM 15:05/15:50, Mainstage 1

Baz Anderson: The German industrial group occupied the main stage with their equipment, and if the truth must be known, the sound was absolutely immense. At a festival like Hellfest especially, it is always a refreshing change to the constant metal to have something different like this. The group certainly were different edging on the dance and maybe cyber sides with their industrial attack, and certainly entertained those who were present.

wrathchild: This was a big surprise for me. I only knew that KMFDM was on the industrial side of metal and thought I'd hate it with passion. At first, that smart plan was working well, because the first songs they played sounded very repetitive to me, and I even decided I didn't like the way they looked... But I stayed and found that the next songs were more to my liking, more metal and more varied I would say. Plus I was becoming addicted to their performance, with the 2 singers not faking it at all. Unfortunately I don't know the names of these songs, but let me know if you happen to have the setlist!

Promonex: Looks like I'm the odd man out. I happen to enjoy electronic and industrial music a lot and among those bands combining industrial music with metal KMFDM has to be one of my favorites. At least on CD. Seeing them here at Hellfest for the very first time I was utterly disappointed though. The electronic effects weren't prominent enough and at times the vocals were a bit too low as well. While this resulted in a clearly more metal sound, which probably appealed to the vast majority of the attendees of their gig, I personally as a fan of KMFDM's electronic edge felt a bit let down. Oh yeah, and during "WWIII" Sascha K missed his entrance. I have to admit though, their stage presence was top-notch!



Band Gallery by Baz Anderson, Promonex


Kampfar 15:05/15:50, Rock Hard Tent

Some pictures?



Band Gallery by Moocher


Walls Of Jericho 15:55/16:40, Mainstage 2

Marcel: After Negură Bunget had finished I planned to catch a bit of Walls Of Jericho. But, huh, what's this? Why the hell is Finntroll playing? As it turned out Walls Of Jericho and Finntroll had changed slots due to WoJ arriving late because of a delay of their plane. Now they got a spot higher up on the bill which in my opinion they deserved more than Finntroll.
Walls Of Jericho once again took the stage by storm. I have never seen this hardcore band give it anything less than their best. But then again true hardcore bands always give it their everything.
WoJ is one of the very few female fronted hardcore bands I know of. But Candace makes many a hardcore or any other vocalist take run for his money. What a beast this woman is. Not only was Candace in top form but so were the rest of the band. Then again I have never seen this band deliver a mediocre or bad set.
In conclusion, a hardcore band worthy of a spot on one of the mainstages.



Band Gallery by Moocher


Deftones 16:45/18:00, Mainstage 1

Collin: Here is the start of my Teenage Wet Dream Lineup. Yes Deftones, Infectious Grooves, Sepultura and Fear Factory were my idols all through the 90's when I started to be really interested in music and especially metal. Out of these four, three rocked. Deftones are one of them. Ok, this was not a once in a lifetime type of show, but this concert seemed tailor-made for the metal fan. Most of the setlist was taken from the first three albums (they played about half of White Pony for instance), which contain the songs metal fans my age are most familiar with. For instance, "My Own Summer", "Passenger" and "Be Quiet And Drive" were awesome sing-along moments. Chino Moreno proved that he is still an excellent frontman. Even though he doesn't talk that much (there's Mike Muir for that), he runs, hops around, screams his tiny lungs out, jumps into the pit and sings a whole song in the middle of the crowd... You would think that after so many years he finally would have learned to sing, which is clearly not the case, but energy and a great setlist made up for that. I believe the many people who went to see this show came out happy and fulfilled. I know I was.

Setlist: Rocket Skates, Diamond Eyes, Feiticeira, Elite, Korea, CMND/CTRL, You've Seen The Butcher, Royal, Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), Lotion, My Own Summer (Shove It), Birthmark, Engine No. 9, Passenger, Change (In the House of Flies), Root, 7 Words



Band Gallery by Moocher, Promonex


Ihsahn 17:10/18:00, Rock Hard Tent

Baz Anderson: Ihsahn's first show with his new band outside of Norway. Ihsahn's shows stand alone now, no connection with his past. The set consisted entirely of material from his solo albums and each song was received well. His material actually sounded more extreme in the live environment than on CD, which is always a good thing - but although this was pleasing to the ears, there was no killer punch or real greatness like the previous time Ihsahn visited Hellfest with a different band.

wrathchild: A few months ago I listened to Ihsahn's album angL and loved it, although I had never really cared about Emperor. So I was ok with Ihsahn playing only stuff from his solo albums during the show. What struck me the most is that there were 3 guitarists on stage, but at first the effect was lost on me because I was watching from the side of the tent. Moving to the center of the stage solved the problem but I fear it might have been the same for other bands in the Rock Hard tent. Ihsahn's performance was quite standard but the audience was clearly satisfied.



Band Gallery by Baz Anderson


Between The Buried And Me 17:10/17:50, Terrorizer Tent

Promonex: One of the most annoying things about festivals like Hellfest is definitely the fact that awesome bands tend to play at the same time. In this particular case it was Deftones versus Ihsahn versus Between The Buried And Me for me. Of these three Deftones were the only band I wouldn't want to spend some extra money on, so catching them on a festival was a great opportunity. Or so I thought. Unlike my colleague Collin I felt neither happy nor fulfilled with their show, so I went to the Terrorizer Tent after a while to witness the last few minutes of Between The Buried And Me. And once again I was utterly disappointed. This time of myself for I had clearly made the wrong decision. BTBAM were absolutely superb, their progressive metalcore was stunning, filled to the brim with atmosphere and emotion, especially when singer Tommy Rogers was also handling the keyboard. Next time I'm stuck in a "BTBAM versus X" situation I'll definitely go for Between The Buried And Me, no matter what.



Band Gallery by Ivor, Promonex


Hypocrisy 18:05/18:55, Mainstage 2

Baz Anderson: Melodic death metal fanatics would have loved this set, but unfortunately to different ears Hypocrisy sounded quite predictable and generic. Not a band to get excited about unless you sleep with their albums under your pillow at night.



Band Gallery by Baz Anderson, Moocher


Monkey 3 18:20/19:00, Terrorizer Tent

Promonex: Strange name indeed. I personally believe it might be a reference to the third of the three wise monkeys, attributed to the maxim 'speak no evil.' After all Monkey 3's music was completely instrumental. It was also immensely interesting and hypnotizing. Mixing the calm moments of Tool, the grandeur of The Ocean, and the sudden outbursts of Cult Of Luna, Monkey 3 have created a brew, which might not be the most original, but it got you inebriated in no time. And if the music alone didn't do it for you, there were also images projected onto the bass drums, images which complimented the music in one moment and the next moment music and movie changed the lead and Monkey 3 played the soundtrack for whatever was happening on the bass drum, a concept familiarized in a very similar form by Dream Of An Opium Eater. Yes, Monkey 3 seem to have absorbed a lot of inspirations, but on stage they easily managed to achieve a similar level of depth and sophistication as their role models.



Band Gallery by Ivor, Promonex


Infectious Grooves 19:00/20:00, Mainstage 1

Collin: You want funky? We got funky! Back to back appearances at Hellfest for Mike Muir (last year with Suicidal Tendencies). Things haven't changed much. Cyco Miko still never shuts the fuck up. He just rambles on about life, music, Kobe Bryant, skate, being nice and whatnot, thus making the set one or two songs shorter than it could be. But the guy clearly is living his thing. He breathes music. He thrives on crowd appreciation. And best of all, he fronts an awesome live band. So ok, Infectious Grooves material is less cult than Suicidal Tendencies's, but their show was almost as good as ST's. I guess it's the funk. When the funk gets you, there is no escaping the funk. There's no escaping "Violent & Funky", "Rules Go Out The Window", "Boom Boom Boom" or the funky cover of "Immigrant Song" either. And just like last year, the band ended their set with "Pledge Your Allegiance", during which Muir invited, well, I'd say the whole population of Europe and a bit of Russia onstage. I believe there were eventually about twice as many people onstage as last year. That was a crazy ending, the kind of stuff that you are happy to witness and that sticks a big smile on your face. Undoubtedly the friendliest and most festive set of this year's edition.

Marcel: After last year's Suicidal Tendencies showing Mike Muir returned once again but now with his funk fun metal band Infectious Grooves. So what was served up was a funked up version of ST, good for parties such as a Hellfest festival. But IG lack the song material to keep the audience totally captivated for an hour. And thus it was a smart move to end proceedings with "Pledge Your Allegiance" where just like last year the audience was asked to invade the stage. And this they of course once again did with merry abandon.

wrathchild: Again, a band I wasn't familiar with but I enjoyed the whole set anyway because well, those grooves have something infectious. Ok, it's leaning towards hip-hop at times, but it's definitely not hip-hop. Plus Muir is a good frontman and knows how to hook a crowd. With guitarist Mike Clark joining in for a few Suicidal Tendencies songs, it became clear that they would do just like last year with ST: letting people go on stage at the end of the show. And they did to the point I wondered when it would stop and how it would stop. For I sure find it extremely cool that a band would do that, but I'm pretty sure the guys responsible for the security and the stage had a lot to worry about. Nevertheless, from the crowd point of view, that was a moment everyone will remember.



Band Gallery by Ivor, Moocher, Promonex


Sick Of It All 20:05/21:05, Mainstage 2

Marcel: These New York Hardcore stalwarts have been going at it for almost a quarter century now and don't seem to tire a bit. So, it is truly deserved they play on one of the mainstages instead of one of the tents.
Like Walls Of Jericho earlier and, apparently, Biohazard later, SoiA delivered an inspired set referencing most of their albums, showing the audience what true hardcore is made up of. Tight as the proverbial duck's ass, sweating it out for the kids, unbridled energy. We can't even begin to scratch the surface here. Damn, believe it or not, this was the first time in over 20 years that I participated in a pit again. Yes, I survived, but don't ask me how. Me in a pit can only mean one thing? this was fucking great.



Band Gallery by Moocher


The Young Gods 20:45/21:30, Terrorizer Tent

Momo: What could have even surpassed Negură Bunget as my 'best show of the day' ended up in one of the most frustrating moments ever.
As soon as the show has begun, we were really subjugated, hypnotized. The sound was really loud and powerful, the lights absolutely superb, and Franz Treichler (vocals) was completely crazy, often moving like a puppet with broken joints, playing with his micro stand and the spotlight found on its base. I must insist on the 'hypnotic' part; hell, of the 4 songs they played, I only knew one ("Supersonic", out of Second Nature - the other were probably all taken off Super Ready/Fragmenté), but I was mesmerized, banging like mad...
Wait a minute... FOUR songs? Yes. Near the end of the fourth one in their set ("C'est Quoi C'est Ca") the ultimate horror did happen: a complete power breakdown. No more lights, no more sound, nothing at all.
And that was all for The Young Gods. AAARRRG!
Now I certainly hope they'll be there again next year, on a bigger stage more fitting for their sound.

Promonex: Well, up to this point this was definitely the best show of the day for me. Predominantly electronic, somewhere between Xotox, Aphex Twin and Jean Michel Jarre, The Young Gods just took your brain and submerged it in a hypnotizing ocean of noise. It was absolutely fascinating to watch the old guys of The Young Gods go crazy, mainly of course their charismatic singer Franz Treichler who was jumping all around whenever the metaphorical noise ocean reared up just to crash down on you in the next moment. Unfortunately we all know that even Gods are powerless against Murphy's Law. And so a power breakdown dried up the ocean after merely twenty minutes of getting our brains pummelled into submission. The band and the technicians tried everything to get electricity running again, but after another ten minutes the band came back on stage to explain that the show was over...



Band Gallery by Promonex


Watain 21:00/22:00, Rock Hard Tent

Baz Anderson: Over on the third stage it was time for another black metal assault. Watain have just released the album of their lives so far, an album that a distinctive Watain sound can be distinguished from. This was translated into the band's live set as they delivered an enjoyable set of solid black metal. The band have only gone up and up in the past years and this set reflected the dedication and hard work these guys have put in.

Marcel: A band which I saw for the last time on their Casus Luciferi tour in front of at most 250 people. It is always fun to see how a band has grown in popularity over the years without adjusting their song material too much. In that case comparable to the rising star of Wolves In The Throne Room who played Hellfest in 2009.
Watain came across as proficient as on their albums. A clear pronounced sound and extremely tight playing supported by a nice stage act, as always all the band members were drenched in blood, with some pyrotechnics. As always the three main people in Watain were helped out live by a further two session musicians. Thank god for that or the guitar sound would have been way too thin.
Clear gig highlights of the set were blistering renditions of "Sworn To The Dark" and "I Am The Earth".



Band Gallery by Baz Anderson, Moocher


Sepultura 21:10/22:25, Mainstage 1

Collin: Ok, I'm gonna make it simple for you guys: BEST. FUCKING. SHOW. OF THE. FESTIVAL. Got it? I could ramble on for weeks about this show, but I'm going to narrow it down to a few elements. First, the sound: weak on the first song, it became much louder and more powerful afterwards and just added to the whole impression of domination and aural raping. Andreas Kisser's guitar sound may very well have been the most incisive and thrashy of the whole fest. Then, the performance: Derrick Green is my new hero. For all those who live in the past, here's a simple thought: fuck Max Cavalera, ok? Having seen Cavalera Conspiracy and Soulfly a number of times over the past few years, I can say that Green is a much better singer and has so much more presence onstage than the other guy. His rendition of the old tracks was one of the most brutal performances I've ever witnessed (overall, Sep's rendition of the classic songs sounds hundreds of times better and tighter than when Cavalera's bands play them). Besides, Green seems to be a nice guy, smiling, happy to be there, making jokes about France's rout against Mexico, making the crowd sing along on "Sepulnation", etc. Behind the kit, Jean Dolabella is Godzilla in human form. Thanks to him, the pace of all the songs was accelerated, thus adding to the blistering, devastating apocalypse that this concert was. Andreas Kisser is, well, Andreas Kisser. Let me finish with the element that, to me at least, made this a special show: the setlist. It was almost perfect. I was expecting a couple songs from Arise, but they just treated us to full speed versions of "Troops Of Doom", "Septic Schizo" and "Escape To The Void"! Can it get any better? Well, it could have included "Beneath The Remains", but apart from that? I don't think so. I had goose bumps for 75 minutes, one of my friends had tears in his eyes all along, most people around us just stared in awe... Best fucking show of the festival. Maybe in my top 5 ever.

Setlist: Moloko Mesto, Arise, Refuse/Resist, Dead Embryonic Cells, Filthy Rot, What I Do, Convicted in Life, The Treatment, Troops Of Doom, Septic Schizo, Escape To The Void, Sepulnation, Territory, Innerself, Ratamahatta, Roots Bloody Roots



Band Gallery by Ivor, Moocher


Godflesh 22:00/23:00, Terrorizer Tent

Momo: So the generator died during the previous show. Will the other two sets on the Terrorizer stage happen? Thankfully, they did.
But Godflesh sure had sound problems, especially a weird and very loud echo (or something like that) that plagued the soundcheck; consequently the show started 20 minutes late. And the band (Justin Broadrick and Ben 'GC' Green - just the two of them) wasn't ready either. The videos' timing was horrible, Justin was very nervous, he checked and doubled-checked the drum machine every now and then, and so on...
Supposedly, the set was to last one hour, without blanks between songs. We had about 45 minutes, and given the various problems, the halting show couldn't build any momentum. But we did have a glimpse (well, a bit more than that) of what the show could have been. With the crushing, hypnotic music, and great lights, the industrial nightmare that is Godflesh was real, at least for a short time.
Maybe my hopes were too high, but this was probably the most disappointing show of the fest.

Marcel: I know this will sound blasphemous, but I never understood the adulation this band gets, And I never like their music either. But seeing this would be a one-off show I certainly wanted to catch a bit of it at least. Upon arrival at the Terrorizer tent the band were still midst soundcheck (and this, two minutes before scheduled kick-off). Apparently there had been a power failure during the previous Young Gods set. Godflesh couldn't get the sound right during the check, that much was apparent. Almost twenty minutes late they kicked off and during the first song it was all too clear that the sound problems still prevailed making the band cut off the song and do some further sound checking in what seemed to me at least, a pissy mood. Off they took once again and still it wasn't all too well. And since it all came across as mindless noise to me I decided to call it quits and check out some other bands.



Band Gallery by Promonex


Arch Enemy 22:30/23:30, Mainstage 2

Marcel: Band enters the stage, then Angela Gossow, and the crowd goes absolutely mental. What for? Song material has been mediocre at best since 2001's Wages Of Sin. But although the songwriting and songs have deteriorated over the years the band has only gained in popularity. Somehow this has to do with the presence of Angela Gossow, who showed once again tonight that she is nothing more than a marketing trick. Let a girl grunt and growl and market her well and even shit sells. Although the band played tight, but almost even more uninspired and routinely than Fear Factory, the band could never impress. Of course that also wasn't helped by an Angela who sounded totally powerless all of the time.
Unbelievable that such a mediocre band is so immensely popular. This once again shows that most metal fans will lap up anything that is force fed to them by the big metal record labels. Angela Gossow and Arch Enemy are marketing tricks pur sang, but not the only ones here at Hellfest as this festival would make evident.

wrathchild: Finally, a band I know pretty well and had already seen live a bunch of times. Still I wanted to see them again because they are always very good, and so they were. Great musicians, great sound, great setlist including hit songs like "Nemesis" and "Ravenous" (and I think they played two songs from the pre-Angela era). Sure, that was no surprise for those who already know Arch Enemy, but I bet it was a nice moment for everyone.

Baz Anderson: With the quality and overpowering extreme music of the festival so far, Arch Enemy did not impress. Flat, soft, unimpressive. The band just lacked the spark that they have shown in the past.



Band Gallery by Ivor, Moocher


Ulver 23:00/00:00, Rock Hard Tent

Promonex: I'll be honest with you: I don't remember a single thing of this show! Well, none of the music at least. Not because I was drunk or anything, but because this performance was absolutely overwhelming! Whatever Ulver did in their 60 minutes was far more than just mere music! This was sonic dopamin rushing all over your body, imploding your mind, erasing your thoughts and stimulating you to feel the music instead of just listening to it. And that's all that this show has left behind in my mind: no memories, a whole lot of feelings, the puzzlement about what exactly was going on and the knowledge to have experienced one of the most intense, if not even THE most intense concert of my lifetime.



Band Gallery by Ivor, Promonex


Fear Factory 23:35/00:50, Mainstage 1

Marcel: Actually this set can be summed up as follows. Uninspired, cliché-ridden lighting, a dime a dozen, going through the motions, untight, vocals off-key quite a bit of the time. Major letdown of the festival. Shame, for I had such high expectations seeing who make up the band nowadays.

Baz Anderson: Headliners on the main stage of the first day Fear Factory pulled a sizeable audience, but delivered somewhat of a bizarre set. The band opened with a few songs from Obsolete, and as it turned out the band were to play a few songs from most of their albums in chunks. A few from Digimortal was next, then Mechanize, then the debut and lastly Demanufacture. It was great to see these guys on stage after so long, but the band were just flat. The audience responded with hardly any noise at all combined with a seemingly scripted proposal from guy to girlfriend on stage made the whole set a little weird. Burton's voice is not brilliant live, but it never has been. Gene is a brave man taking on these drumming responsibilities and did a great job with only one or two minor slips. Overall the band together played well, but they didn't exactly seem over the moon to be on the stage. Needless to say, songs like "Self Bias Resistor" and "Zero Signal" live will always bring the hairs up one more time.

Momo: There are wildly different opinions here! I think that their show was good, if not very good. Sure, the sound was bad at the beginning, but it really got better once you were in front of the stage (if you could make it). More importantly, Burton C. Bell sang quite well this night, even his clean vocals, contrary to what was happening quite regularly in a not-so-distant past.
The setlist itself was good most of the time, starting with tracks out of Obsolete, and finishing with quite a few stand-out songs of Demanufacture. In the middle, "Martyr" from their debut album, and tracks from the lame Digimortal. Songs out of Archetype would have been better for sure, but as Dino didn't appear on this album...

Collin: Out of my four teenage idols that played on Friday (Deftones, Infectious Grooves, Sepultura and Fear Factory, for those who didn't read the whole article), one failed. Possibly the band which I was looking forward to the most. Fear Factory disappointed me big time, like few bands ever managed to disappoint me. Many reasons to that: we saw a band going through the motions without putting any soul into their music, a band which would rather play two boring songs from that terrible Digimortal album instead of picking any from Archetype in order not to hurt Dino Cazares's butt because he didn't play on Archetype (or maybe they are not legally allowed to play songs from this album? In any case, it sucks). We saw (endured would be more apt) Burton C. Bell singing off-key for most of the show. We had no lightshow or anything else to turn to whereas FF's music would deserve whirlwinds of flashing lights. The sound lacked any form of power or substance. To make it short: there was no atmosphere or talent at all. Ok, I may be going a bit too far there. Things got much better with "Martyr" and the first four songs of Demanufacture + "Hunter-Killer", but those were at the end of the show. Before that, we had to suffer through 50 minutes of intense boredom and lousy singing. How you can fuck up such brilliant songs as "Shock", "Edgecrusher" or "Fear Campaign" is beyond me. I never thought one of my favourite bands would make me so angry and frustrated. A really bad way to end an otherwise brilliant first day. And to think that I missed Ulver for that...

Setlist: Shock, Edgecrusher, Smasher/Devourer, Acres Of Skin, Linchpin, Mechanize, Powershifter, Fear Campaign, Martyr, Demanufacture, Self Bias Resistor, Zero Signal, H-K (Hunter-Killer), Replica



Band Galleries by Baz Anderson, Moocher


The Devil's Blood 00:00/01:00, Terrorizer Tent

Otto: I couldn't really tell about the "ritual" part, but what's sure is that, for The Devil's Blood, a show is not something they take lightly.
First there's the visual part, a quite bewildering mix between clichéd ideas - the musicians covered in blood - and originality - the stripped-down lighting, the candles, and the lack of usual imagery (pentagrams, inverted crosses, and stuff) - give this show a peculiar atmosphere, certainly just because they didn't overdo it.
Next, the musicians' behaviour. Focused on their music, with no useless speeches (not that they don't communicate with the audience), it's quickly evident that the message is in the show itself. And the musicians' drive was plain for all to see (that's nice!). The singer's attitude is quite unsettling: staying at her place during the whole set, with a quite crazy look in her eyes, as if she was in a trance, and staying perfectly motionless during the long instrumental parts.
The songs themselves were quite a bit re-arranged, with new (sometimes long) intro and outro parts; even most of the solos were different. All the songs were following each other with not even a second of silence, creating in this way an entity with a varying appearance, like a thing hiding in the darkness, moving along the quiet parts or during the long crescendos?
So that was an original show, and a band that was clearly happy to be there, as they played a far longer set than originally planned. Typically the kind of show that you like or dislike: many people left the tent, but all those who stayed really loved it.



Band Gallery by Ivor


Biohazard 00:55/02:00, Mainstage 2

Some pictures?



Band Gallery by Moocher


Marduk 01:00/02:00, Rock Hard Tent

Baz Anderson: Marduk were on late. Technical problems from the start of the set didn't make things better either. These Swedish black metallers are a fantastic band live, but everyone was shattered by this point to the level where enjoying this band to their fullest unfortunately wasn't much of an option.



Band Gallery by Baz Anderson






Next on Metalstorm?

Saturday 19th
The featured bands are : Dew-Scented, Electric Mary, Kalisia, Tamtrum, Architects, Delain, Obscura, Tankard, Y&T, Condkoi, Skarhead, Raven, Pretty Maids, Asphyx, Anvil, Airbourne, Sadist, Nevermore, Slash, Dark Funeral, Annihilator, Candlemass, Twisted Sister, Discharge, Immortal, My Dying Bride, Agnostic Front, Alice Cooper, Fields Of The Nephilim, Carcass.

Sunday 20th
The featured bands are : Blaspheme, Omega Massif, Vulcain, General Surgery, Solace, Sabaton, Freak Kitchen, Eluveitie, Saviours, Primal Fear, Black Cobra, Ensiferum, Weedeater, U.D.O., Dying Fetus, Rwake, Behemoth, Saxon, Katatonia, Devin Townsend Project, Mondo Generator, Stone Sour, Suffocation, Brant Bjork And The Bros, Exodus, Doom, Motörhead, Nile, Slayer, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Kiss, Bloodbath, Garcia Plays Kyuss.


Photos by Baz Anderson, Darkside Momo, Ivor, Moocher and Promonex. All right reserved, do not use without permission.