Hellfest promoters are very consistent in maintaining their status as one of the biggest festivals in Europe, having fast become an institution, with this year’s event taking place over June 15th-28th, 2023. After the double 2022 edition, promoters had big shoes to fill in order to top the previous year’s special edition. Fortunately, they didn’t desperately try to jump over the bar they set for themselves; instead, they invited an eclectic bunch of artists to their lineup in Clisson. The first day of Hellfest included bands like BLACKBRAID, IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT, NIGHTFALL, GENERATION SEX, IN FLAMES, and HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES.
After last year’s 37°C, the hot weather at Hellfest felt almost nice, either that or our thermostat died last year and hasn’t come back to life. Despite the temperature, we were able to see lots of shows, with BLACKBRAID being the first one. The one-man-project led by Sgah’gahsowáh are on route to promote their newest release, “Blackbraid II.” If you like atmospheric black metal with Native American mythological themes, then this is definitely your cup of tea. They delivered a very furious and energetic show on stage, which we thought was the perfect opener for the festival.
Next up, we decided to head over to the New York-based avantgarde metal project, IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT, who are currently still promoting their 2022 release, “Spirit of Ecstacy,” while touring. Music-wise, they are utterly mad and perhaps not the most approachable of all acts on the extensive roster. The complexity of the music is definitely not for everybody and perhaps only serves the more refined tastes in music. Personally, we loved the aesthetics and the stage production, but the music didn’t speak to us that much.
NIGHTFALL, on the other hand, is a band that was more accessible with their doom/death metal combo. The Greek band from Athens led by Efthimis Karadimas released their latest album, “At Night We Prey,” in 2021, in which they went back to more extreme sounds after flirting with Gothic metal for a couple of releases. We were happy to see that most of their setlist was dedicated to this extremer feast, with songs like “Darkness Forever” and “Killing Moon” instantly grabbing our attention.
With the lineup of Billy Idol, Tony James, Steve Jones, and Paul Cook, we just knew that GENERATION SEX was one of the most legendary acts to perform at the festival. The supergroup is a tribute to GENERATION X and SEX PISTOLS. A little dash of punk music really adds up to the variety of the festival and naturally, we were stunned at how great they sounded. The set consisted of cult classic covers from both punk bands and it was simply a great experience to hear hits like “God Save the Queen” live.
IN FLAMES have recently released their new album, “Foregone,” which saw a return to their Gothenburg metal roots. The album was brilliantly received all over the world and their tours have been wonderful. Despite having more and more metalcore elements these days, they still have the punch to deliver a really strong show. Naturally, “Cloud Connected” and “Only for the Weak” formed a highlight midway through the set and many crowdsurfers took their turn surfing the audience to the front of the stage.
The second super group of the night, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES – including Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and Johnny Depp – was also scheduled to play on the first day. The turnout for these concerts is always enormous, because let’s face it, who’s not excited about hearing some all-time rock classics sang by Alice Cooper. Songs from AC/DC, AEROSMITH, THE WHO, and David Bowie all were added into the setlist. We also got to hear Johnny Depp‘s singing skills during Bowie‘s “Heroes” and we were pleasantly surprised. Altogether, this was the best show of the day as the gentleman gave their all (even if Johnny Depp was wearing a leg brace).
After all the sunny hard rock classics, we were up for some old school doom metal. Sweden’s CANDLEMASS is perhaps one of the most iconic acts in the genre. Their latest EP, released in late 2022, “Sweet Evil Sun,” meant that there was a chance to hear some new material. While their current vocalist, Johan Längquist, is perhaps not as charismatic as Messiah Marcolin, he was definitely able to cast a charm on the audience for the whole hour they played. We were also really excited that they indeed included “Sweet Evil Sun” into their setlist, which turned out to be a killer track live!
Next up, we decided to go check out ARCHITECTS, who are living proof of the fact that the Brits have a thing or two to say on the metalcore subject. They were promoting their latest album, “The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit.” While altogether it was a great show, we aren’t as much of a fan of the genre, to allow us to really grasp their show. However, we were amazed by their energy. “Doomsday” was dedicated to PARKWAY DRIVE and Tom Searle.
We are absolutely not surprised that DARK FUNERAL, while promoting their newest album, “We Are the Apocalypse,” really raised hell and indeed the apocalypse on stage and under it. Naturally, DARK FUNERAL have been a long-lasting institution in the black metal genre and they rarely disappoint on stage. The set mostly focused on “We Are the Apocalypse” and “Where Shadows Forever Reign,” with a handful of songs coming from other albums. Altogether it was a very dynamic set that suited the the indoor stage’s mood.
Even though it took Swedish melodic death metal act HYPOCRISY a mere 8 years to finish their latest record, “Worship,” the album once again set Peter Tägtgren‘s status as King Midas of metal in stone; anything the man does turns immediately into gold. It was no surprise that they would also slay at Hellfest. The two offerings from the latest album, the slower “Chemical Wore” and “Children of the Gray,” were excellent tracks that provided a little bit more variety to their setlist. We were nonetheless also very happy to have heard so many of their most iconic songs like “Eraser,” “Roswell 47,” and “War-Path.” In the end, their performance was very raw and straight to the point, a show that we can get behind!
Some might not exactly love Adam “Nergal” Darski for being fame hungry and having an ego the size of the Mariana Trench, yet it’s undeniable that BEHEMOTH have been doing extremely well as of late. The band even took home a Fryderyki Award (the Polish Grammys) in the Metal Album of the Year category for their 2022 record, “Opvs Contra Natvram.” When you get to see their show production, you might also understand why. BEHEMOTH concerts are precisely crafted to impress even the most demanding of spectators and create an atmosphere of excitement for the show. It was no different this time: Nergal and co. demanded the audience’s attention and were able to mesmerize them. Additionally, the new songs proved to be excellent to listen to live. At least for us, this was a wonderful way of ending the first festival day!
Notes by Maria Sawicka, text by Laureline Tilkin
Photos by Maria Sawicka
