27th – 30th June 2024
Review and photos – Rob and Danni Wilkins

“Where do you fancy going on holiday this year?” I asked my other half back at the start of the year.
“How about France? We can get the ferry across and maybe head down to spend a fortnight in the sun looking at chateaus and enjoying great food and wine?”
So, a plan was hatched. Ferry tickets were booked from Plymouth to Roscoff (a twenty-minute drive to the port from home) and a rough itinerary was planned out.

Then, a few weeks later, we realised we were there for Hellfest! It felt rude not to try to get tickets so I sat refreshing the page as they went on sale, and got nowhere near the front when tickets sold out.

A few weeks later we thought “Why not apply for press accreditation?”. So, with the help of the team, an application was sent. Literally days later I got a string of emoji from the other half as she beat me to opening the email. With tickets. We were going to Hellfest!

Now, firstly we have never been to a festival outside the UK and secondly, I have never shot a festival of this size, so we realised we would be having a LOT of new experiences. We also found it difficult to get info on what to expect as media. So, rather than a review of many bands, here is my guide to the experience of shooting Hellfest!

We arrived on Wednesday morning having decided that we wanted to aim for East car parking. There are two car parks, East and West, but the East car park is a 15-minute walk from the venue and appeared more popular with camper vans, whereas West relies on shuttle buses to cover the distance. Signage was superb and we drove straight into the large, flat field with no queue, and were politely shown where to park so that we had space to put out a table and chairs as well as our shade. This is all included in the ticket cost which shows how good the ticket value is!

Once set up, we decided to walk up to have a look at “Hell City” and then on to the supermarket LeClerc nearby. Now, that might sound rather uninspiring, but Clisson embraces Hellfest in a unique way. The local supermarket dedicates 50% of its sales floor to festival merch, food, camping equipment, and of course booze! Not only that, they set up “Le Off”, a two-day festival on two stages, along with bars, stalls, and food outlets. It was roasting hot and we spent a good few hours watching bands and slowly adjusting to festival life.

At 4 pm the campsite opened along with the “Metal Corner” and “Hellcity Square” so once we had watched the last band onstage we wandered through and explored. Tickets were easily exchanged for wristbands and the money we had placed on the app appeared on the band, along with the photo pass. We then found just how incredible the setup is here as we encountered what my other half called “Heavy Metal Disneyland”.

The level of detail is extraordinary. From entering via a huge Marshall amp into a reproduction of Camden High Street, to the statuary and decor, a HUGE amount of design and artistic endeavour has been lavished on the site. The first impression is overwhelming.

A massive market is open and we wander around. We find somewhere for a beer. Enjoy some food. Peak into the not-yet-open VIP area our passes entitle us to use and generally feel like kids in a sweetshop with huge smiles on our faces.

Eventually, we head back to our camper and find the campsite full, but remarkably restrained and quiet, which with four days of chaos to follow allows us a great night’s sleep.

Thursday starts late (the running hours of Hellfest are extraordinary as there appears to be no health and safety officer with a noise meter enforcing a curfew and bands run on until 2 am!) so we decide to take a morning walk to the old town at the centre of Clisson.

It is a unique experience. Black-clothed rockers are outside every bar and restaurant. The stunning castle has an army of long-haired soldiers peering from the battlements. An ancient market hall is full of chairs and tables and a rock army sips coffee and munches croissants. The support from the village is visible everywhere. Prices appear uninflated. Garden stalls and pop-up food vendors are everywhere and every lawn appears to have tents or vans pitched.

We return to the van, pick up the camera gear, and finally get to see what lies behind the gates of “Hell City”

We enter the VIP area, an oasis in the madness and sea of humanity, and are blown away by the bone-structured bar with an array of weird objects on the shelves and paintings of departed rockers on the wall, water features, sculptures, and food outlets.

The press area looks huge, but inside the desks with power outlets are all occupied and a lot of the space appears to be for interviews and press conferences so we spend little time there. One important function of the press area is the daily updates regarding set availability that are posted on the doors. The majority of headliners are reserved for a VERY limited list of photographers, some bands are first x songs only and some are simply “No photographers” so understanding the restrictions saves a lot of wasted time!

It is close to stage time so we head into the main arena area.

Hellfest is divided into three pairs of stages. Two main stages that alternate with five-minute gaps. Two tents, “Temple” and “Altar”. And two arenas, “Valley” and “Warzone”

Between them are many toilets (including VERY public urinals), bars, food stations, and more statuary, including a HUGE statue of Lemmy that rises over Warzone, the entrance to the “Muscadet Village” (with bespoke vintage for the festival and a new guardian (of which more later)), two cooling waterfalls that are computer controlled to spell phrases and images, a large area full of misters to keep cool and a million tiny details. At night, almost every structure seems to be capable of belching flame in sync with the stage.

“The Sanctuary” is the merch shop and home to MASSIVE queues all weekend (we eventually get our souvenirs on Sunday)

We head to the main stage for Asinhell, as much to check out how the photo pit works as any great desire to catch the opening band. To say this part of the experience is “different” is an understatement. Two lines form to the right of MainStage. One of priority media (those on the headline shortlist and mostly French media) and the other for all other photographers. When the band takes to the stage the right-hand line are given access. At some point, which varies, apparently randomly, the second line (where I wait) gets access in groups. We then get one song, or less, or a little more, again quite randomly, to take our shots.

Main stage 1 is relatively flat and good shots are possible anywhere in the pit. Main stage 2 is on a massive slope and only really shootable from the extreme right-hand side before you are faced with a wall fifteen feet high! Then, you exit via a one-way system. So, to get back to the queue for the next band you have to circumnavigate the entire arena. That is fine early in the day, but as the arena fills and the heat rises, it becomes a fitness challenge of its own and allows me to burn off the many glasses of beer and wine I consume (staying hydrated is important).

The first day’s bands for us were:-

Asinhell
A great opening set. They quickly got a reaction from the crowd and set the tone for the weekend.

Khemmis
We decided to see how the photo pit system worked on a smaller stage and wandered to “Valley” (we mostly kept to the main stages throughout the weekend) and enjoyed a lively set. Loads of energy and although a small crowd, went down well.

We cut their set short as we wanted to be in the photo queue for Ice Nine Kills which meant we caught a lot of Slaughter to Prevail’s set, including their attempt at the world record for the biggest Wall of Death mosh pit. Whilst it took a LOT of the set time to set up, the final result was spectacular as what seemed like most of the arena crowd converged in something like the Battle of the Bastards in Game of Thrones. Record achieved I believe!

Ice Nine Kills
Possibly the most difficult band of the weekend to shoot as they presented their theatrical stage show from WAY back on the stage for the most part. Other reviews have been mixed but we enjoyed the theatrics along with an accessible and catchy catalogue and watched the entire set from a decent vantage point.

Brujeria
We took a diversion to check these out after listening to them on the Spotify playlist but found the set to be a little too manic and disorganised for our taste, never really knowing what was going on with a confused soundtrack and multiple singers.

BABYMETAL
Always the marmite topping on any festival bill, but the arena was rammed for their set. No chance to shoot from the pit but it is such a big visual show that a few from way back in the crowd was possible. My other half and I have opposing views. She LOVES BABYMETAL and adored their set. I simply don’t get it. As a show, however, it was brilliantly done as always.

We spent some time exploring “Hell City” and finding food and wine before heading back to a superb set from:

Avenged Sevenfold
Cementing their place as one of the new wave of headline bands their set was a visual and aural delight. The light show in particular was superb as the entire stage became the canvas for an AI-generated live video effect that gelled perfectly with the music. I often find myself tired by headliner time and unable to face standing for two hours whilst being crushed and jostled, but this was worth every second.

Finally, not even taking to the stage until gone 1 am, Dropkick Murphy’s ripped into those remaining and dragged them into a party the way only they can. One of my favourite sets of the weekend and provided the energy for the walk back to the camp and a few hours sleep before a 10.30 start on Friday!

Hellfest Thursday

83 photos