The metal event of the weekend began this Thursday, June 27 in Clisson (Loire-Atlantique) with 70,000 festival-goers, guests included, and a very warm newcomer, the Gardienne des Ténèbres. The 17th edition of Hellfest is held until Sunday evening with more than 200 bands scheduled on 6 stages. And already some beautiful memories in pictures.
1. “Stage diving” or “slam”, diving into the audience, is one of the favorite practices of metal fans. Some spectators let themselves be carried for long minutes by the crowd, like this fan of the Japanese group Babymetal.
2. For this particularly hot first day, nothing beats a good shower before jumping into the big musical bath.
3. The Clisson SNCF train station immediately puts you in the Hellfest mood with its devilish horns borrowed from the group AC/DC and the festival logo.
4. The big novelty of this 17th edition is the “Guardian of Darkness” who watches over festival-goers looking for a little calm and freshness in the little woods of the “kingdom of Muscadet”. At nightfall, it comes to life and breathes fire.
5. Many spectators come disguised, like this evil monk probably a fan of black metal, a genre which mixes dark atmospheres and voices from beyond the grave.
6. Successful performance for the first appearance at the festival of Khemmis, an American group led by singer-guitarist Ben Hutcherson.
7. The Japanese Babymetal set the crowd alight with their powerful and highly choreographed music, mixing the worlds of J-pop (Japanese pop), manga and metal.
8. The Hellfest crowd is not just made up of metalheads. It also welcomes other extreme music lovers like this punk with the splendid mohawk.
9. A little gentleness (and friendliness) in this brutal world. Cheers!
10. Two guitarists are not too many, nicknamed “Zacky Vengeance” and “Synyster Gates”, to flesh out the sophisticated music of the American group Avenged Sevenfold, the headliner of this first day.
