Thursday review, HERE

Friday review, HERE

Saturday review, HERE

Le Off review, HERE

The reason for the relatively early finish on Day Three was that this reviewer was desperate to be on site early to catch The Funeral Portrait, who have become one of my favourite bands recently.

As the first band is on stage at the ungodly hour of 10.30 am at Hellfest, there was no way that after three long hot days we could manage that after a late Day Three finish.

We woke to a flurry of news though. The local administration had declared that, as the forecast temperature was due to rise even further into the mid 40s, various conditions had been imposed on the festival, including alcohol measures being restricted to small glasses (pints etc banned), more water points around the grounds and the cancellation of the much-loved locally, end-of-event firework show.

Even arriving on site at 10 am, the sun and heat were intense for a pale blonde (well, currently purple but blonde at heart), and I grabbed a barrier space whilst Rob, the photographer, wandered the site taking atmosphere photos whilst it was relatively quiet.

The Funeral Portrait opened the day with a large number of the “Coffin Crew” at the barrier to welcome the green-haired Lee Jennings with a gentle vocal and keyboard version of “Mad World”. From that moment on, though, it was a set of high energy and connection with high kicks and even a punch to the face of bassist Robert Weston. Jennings is an incredible frontman. Appealing to the misfits amongst the crowd by sharing that he was told he was too fat to front a band, he lays that idea to rest completely as the set rampages through some quality songs such as “Holy Water” (so good a vocal that the first time I heard it I thought it was Brent Smith!) and “Suffocate City”.Watch out for this band. They have been around a while, but if this set was anything to go by, they will soon be BIG news.

We then took a quick break from them sun to head into Temple to catch a little of Silhouette’s set and enjoyed some delicious rich soundscapes from the atmospheric black metal band before heading over to the Warzone for some contrasting punk with Hastings noise merchants Maid of Ace. The quartet certainly hitting the brief for a day of punk energy with short, snappy songs delivered with pace and simplicity.

Back to main stage next, but no photos as the pit was closed for President. I was waiting for the set to be style over substance. The gimmick of the masked and gloved “President” that has appeared on the scene so quickly and been promoted so fast to the stages of Download and Hellfest being more than the standard of Metalcore delivered, but I came away hugely impressed. There are enough rumours/stories to research who the mysterious and secretive frontman is, and I suggest making your own mind up about their truth or misdirection, but songs such as opener “Fearless”, “Doom Loop” and “In the Name of the Father” made sure the hoses were needed to keep those in the pit from frying in the heat.

Sunday was punk day (although it seemed to compete with Metalcore on MainStage), so we headed back for some photos and fun with The Ataris. There was a laugh-out-loud moment when singer Kris Roe, when asking who had bought their material, announced: “Thank you for streaming – we added all the 0.00004 cents and bought a pizza”. It is a fun set of short, snappy, bouncy delights, but as can be imagined, what pulled most energy from the crowd was the joyous “The Boys of Summer” cover.

It was clear that the crowd at this point was much sparser than previous days. The combination of heat and a genuine concern for well-being leading to people either leaving early or seeking shade away from the stages.

Black Veil Brides, however, tempted even the gothiest goth into the sunlight with the opening notes of “Toccata” as an introduction. Playing their first Hellfest and featuring a stand-in drummer (Wade?) due to a family emergency, their set went down a storm.

Led by vocalist Andy Biersack, who combines both styles of vocals with ease, often backed by harmonious guitars, their set opens with “Knives and Pens” and careers through to closer “In The End”, which is one of the ultimate singalongs and showcase of their style and quality. New song “Hallelujah” makes its debut and careers along at the heavier end of their repertoire. Finally, a shout out to the newly christened “Piss Guy” keeping the crowd soaked and shortly to make an appearance in the set of Pennywise.

Back to punk for Pennywise, who introduced themselves as being from “The United States of Fuck Donald Trump”. Their set was one of glorious chaos, with their own material perfected over many years and covers from Bad Religion, Beastie Boys, and even Ben E King with a moshed-up “Stand By Me”. Add in a “Wall of life not wall of death” and more shout-outs to “Hose Man”, ending with him utterly drenching a guitarist and his gear, and finally members of Enhancer joining on stage and the set was as bonkers, random and chaotic as punk should be.

We gave in to the heat for Three Days Grace and enjoyed their set from the VIP bar whilst hydrating but with songs such as “I Am Machine” and “The anthem for divorce and break ups” – “I Hate everything About You” in their set it was clear just how strong their catalog really is and on another day they would have been a highlight of the day for us.

You would expect things to cool as early evening approaches, but it just keeps getting hotter. Despite that, we head back to the photo pit (unfortunately, the heat proves too much for Rob’s camera, and for this and the Architects set he has a battle with technology) and to MainStage 1 for Rise Against. Theirs is the music of protest, and listening to the lyrics never fails to make you think, but it also comes with intensity of performance. Vocalist Tim McIlrath is down to the barrier for “Give it All”, and there is even the chance to draw breath with an acoustic song, “Swing Life Away”. A band I could listen to far more, and the side of punk that channels aggression into genuine protest and desire for change.

By the time Architects take to the stage, it is safe to say the place is rammed as Metalcore returns to the fore and gives punk a chance to relax a little. Sam Carter announces “This is the best feeling in the world” and the Brighton quartet absolutely lay waste to Clisson. The crowd raises their game accordingly with more pits, surfing and waves of movement than all the sets so far added together. Towards the end they start stacking surfers with some (with rather impressive balance) surfing ON their partners, using them as a surfboard. The crowd is literally a sea of legs and arms being carried towards the stage, and at this point a HUGE shout out to security for how well they deal with a sea of inverted humans dropping towards them.

Again, a band that are about to step up a level as the music and energy come together live into something truly special. The whole can be best summed up by set closer and earworm “Animals” that has such broad appeal.

I have never seen The Hives before and what followed was an absolute masterclass in the punk genre. Looking like a prom band in their matching suits, their insane energy and short, sharp songs demand a party. Vocalist Pelle Almqvist is a superstar. In and out of the crowd, persuading everyone to sit down, swinging his mic around and all the while delivering a spot-on vocal, he is impossible to ignore. He isn’t the only one, and watching a guitarist crowd surf without missing a note adds to the sheer joy of their set.

Next we should have been watching Bad Omens. That was the plan. I love their sound and visuals. We were in no rush as cameras were again banned from the pit, so we wandered into the shade under Lemmy to find food.

And found, all the way from Ipswich, The Adicts.

This is what festivals are about. A chance find that becomes a band you want to see again and again.
Our faces hurt from laughing and our feet from dancing.
Can punk be theatrical? Yes, it bloody well can apparently!
There are confetti cannons.
There are beach balls.
There is glitter.
There is a singer called “Monkey” dressed in angel wings and a bowler hat.
And that is pretty much the first song.

For us it is the punkest thing on punk day with simple chords played fast and choruses to chant whilst half the audience are trying to knock out the other half. Song titles range from “My Baby Got Run Over By A Steam Roller” and “Who Spilt My Beer”. At the end of the set, the stage is an utter mess of streamers and confetti, and the crowd are singing along to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as dozens of inflatable balloons fill the air before the band leave the stage to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”.

Sorry, Bad Omens, but you never really had a chance!

Finally, to the last headliner and The Offspring. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. Having just seen punk at its gloriously chaotic and energetic best, this was scripted interludes and lots of video vignettes for a breather. It was also very similar to the set played just two years back, even down to the chat between band members and audience. We decided to beat the rush back to camp and left early so we could listen on our journey and back at camp.

Normally we would watch the end of festival fireworks along with most of Clisson, but these were banned due to fire risk. Instead, the crowd were teased with a big announcement to be made at the end.

And BIG it was!

Next year’s festival will be the biggest ever, with TEN stages and 300 bands as the site is reworked. The aim being both to keep growing (in reputation as crowd size will not increase) and to facilitate crowd movement by specialising certain genres between pairs of stages close to each other.

Tickets sold out almost instantly as always, although this year some IT gremlins caused issues, leaving us hoping the Gods of Metal smile upon us and grant us press passes to return again next year.

Thanks a million to the Hellfest media team for allowing us to attend and shoot/review. Clisson and the festival have become a very special place for us, and we will be keeping everything crossed we return soon!