The high mass of metal is being held in Clisson in Loire-Atlantique from Thursday. Already present in 2022, the group performs Nothing Else Matter returns to the stage on Saturday.
Having become ritual at the start of summer, the Hellfest wave is preparing to sweep over the small town of Clisson (Loire-Atlantique), in the Nantes vineyards: 60,000 people per day are expected from Thursday to Sunday to cheer Metallica, the Foo Fighters or Shaka Ponk.
Dedicated to metal and its trends, Hellfest has gradually established itself over its seventeen editions as the biggest budget of French music festivals, with 38 million euros this year. Put on sale twice, starting last July and then in the fall, the four-day passes, at 329 euros, were sold out in less than an hour. Day tickets sold in January aroused the same enthusiasm.
Heavyweight in the music industry, Metallica will make their return to the stage on Saturday evening, after having already electrified Hellfest in 2022. On Sunday, the group Foo Fighters will headline the bill. Led by Dave Grohl (former Nirvana drummer) on vocals and guitar, he will deliver the only French concert of his current tour in Clisson.
“They are very rare in France, it is a group that we have dreamed of welcoming for years”, Eric Perrin, communications manager for Hellfest, explained to AFP. More than 180 groups are expected over four days, including The Offpsring, Megadeth and Shaka Ponk, who announced their separation after a final tour.
Founded in 2006, Hellfest has become one of the biggest metal festivals in Europe. Today he has “reaches its reception peak” and is now looking to “improve public comfort”and no longer to increase the gauge, according to Eric Perrin. “The teams are also thinking about solutions to make the festival more virtuous”particularly in terms of emissions from oil-fired generators, he added.
With its gigantic steel sets, its derivative products, its dozens of containers transformed into bars and its euphoric festival-goers, Hellfest has acquired since its creation a reputation that reaches beyond just metal fans.
