I feel like every metal head has that one festival they dream of attending. Maybe it’s Wacken, Damnation Fest, Brutal Assault, Graspop or Hellfest. The latter was mine, and for years, my buddies and I attempted to get tickets. If you’ve ever tried getting Hellfest tickets, you know that it’s essentially a lottery. You either get lucky, or you don’t. I was always unlucky.
Then last year, it all changed.
“I got two tickets.” Words that came out of my friend’s mouth that I never expected to hear. And yet, they were spoken. What would follow were months of preparation. Booking flights, hotels, train tickets, logistical planning, etc.
Then finally, the day came. June 18th. What I thought was once “never going to happen” was now a reality. So, naturally, I felt the urge to write about my experience. I’ll touch upon some of the bands I saw, but I think I want to focus more on what it was like being at the festival.
Diving into the Chaos
My friends and I were staying in Nantes, which is about a 30 minute train ride from the Hellfest grounds in Clisson. So we opted to do exactly that – take the train to get to the festival!
Everyone on the train was quite obviously headed to the same destination. When we arrived in Clisson, a nearby tent selling water bottles was blasting Maiden. A queue had formed for a shuttle bus from the station to the festival grounds. Everyone was sporting their favourite band t-shirts, and the atmosphere was pure excitement. It was real. We were moments away from stepping onto the Hellfest grounds.
Entering Hell
We decided to walk from Clisson station to the Hellfest grounds. In hindsight, that might’ve been a bad idea, considering France was in the middle of their worst heat wave in recorded history. By the time we made it to the festival (a roughly 30 minute walk), we were drenched in our own sweat. But at that point, I don’t think any of us cared.
There are essentially two entrances you’ll go through once you reach the festival site. First, you begin your journey at Hellfest City, where you’ll find markets, restaurants, bars, cafes, sponsored pop-ups with various activities (we made friendship bracelets at one point – doesn’t get more metal than that, right?), and different areas to sit and hide from the sun. I felt like I could spend hours in this section alone, and this was before we actually entered the main area of the festival.
It was time to finally go to the actual festival grounds. As I scanned my bracelet and walked through the crowd, up to the castle-like structure adorned with the Hellfest logo, I couldn’t help but get emotional. It still hadn’t sunk in that I was finally at a festival I’ve dreamed of attending for years.
I can only describe what followed as the most overwhelmingly controlled and chaotic experience I’ve ever had. I know that doesn’t really make much sense, but I’ll try to explain it as best as I can.
Upon entering the grounds, you’re met by a massive field with thousands upon thousands of people, walking in every direction. Directly in front of you, in the far distance, are the two main stages of the festival, where the biggest acts like Iron Maiden and BMTH would be playing.
To my right were the Temple and Altar stages, which are two “tent” stages and where you’d find a mix of death, thrash and black metal bands playing throughout the festival. To the left are the Valley and Warzone stages, where you’d find a mix of doom/stoner metal and hardcore/metalcore bands playing. In between all of that is a cacophony of places to get food and alcohol.
This is why I spent the majority of day one exploring, rather than watching bands (don’t worry, I still did that too).
The Music
As incredibly fun as it was to simply walk and explore the Hellfest grounds, the main point of the festival is the music (obviously). And I saw some incredible bands! I’m not going to touch upon all of them, otherwise this piece would be another 5,000 words. Instead, I’ll talk about the ones that stood out to me the most.
I started strong by enjoying the proto/stoner metal stylings of one of my personal favourites, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats. At this point, I hadn’t been to an outdoor music festival in over a decade, so I didn’t know what to expect in terms of sound quality. But Uncle Acid sounded incredible. The riffs were groovy, the vocals were clear, and there was very minimal sound bleed from other stages.
If you’ve checked out my page at all, then you know I praised the hell out of Prepare the Ground 2026, an incredible festival that takes place in Toronto, Ontario. As is the case with any festival schedule, sacrifices need to be made, which means missing certain bands in order to secure spots at other stages. Conjurer and Oranssi Pazuzu were two bands I missed at PtG, but I was able to catch them at Hellfest. The vibes were obviously quite different from the small, intimate venues they played in Toronto, but that didn’t prevent their sets from being any less incredible.
Hellfest hosted several legends like Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, Megadeth, The Offspring and Helloween, just to name a few. If you’re more into “modern” day bands, you had no shortage of choices there either with Bring Me The Horizon, Architects, Bad Omens, Guilt Trip (a last minute addition after Cavalera was unable to make the fest) and much more
Despite the numerous bands playing, my personal headliners were Amenra. If you know anything about me, you know I worship the ground this band walks on. I’ve been fortunate enough to see them several times over the years (four times just this year), but there was something different about witnessing them at Hellfest.
If you know the band, you know their music is almost ritualistic in nature, especially live. That feeling was amplified at Hellfest, which was surprising given that part of the Amenra experience is seeing them in small, intimate venues. But the band is so good at what they do, it didn’t matter that the sun was still in the sky. Somehow, they still brought the suffocatingly crushing walls of sound they’re known for, and it was incredible.
What Didn’t Work?
I’d be lying if I said Hellfest didn’t have some room for improvement. That being said, there isn’t that much that was wrong with it, but some things to definitely keep in mind. Firstly, France was in the middle of one of their worst recorded heat waves in history. If you’re not a fan of oppressive heat, it immediately puts a bit of a damper on the whole experience.
Now obviously, the heatwave isn’t Hellfest’s fault. But something that was desperately needed were more water stations. Waiting in line for 20 minutes to fill up your water bottle wasn’t exactly ideal, especially if you had meticulously planned your day around seeing certain bands. I literally spent half of Conjurer’s set listening to them from afar, as I waited to get some water.
I can’t imagine the logistical nightmare that is organizing a festival as big as Hellfest. But I wonder if there’s any way for them to include more shady areas. The sun was brutal and there wasn’t really anywhere to escape it. The best spots were under the tents at the Altar and Temple stages, but they were often packed, which meant tons of body heat.
There was also the small forest area which had sufficient shade, but because of the amount of people walking through there, the plumes of dust and sand in the air meant you could only hang around there for a few minutes before you started to feel uncomfortable.
Lastly, I can’t really single out Hellfest for this because it’s become the norm at any music festival, but all the food and beverages were way overpriced. Six euros for a mediocre chicken burger is excessive. It was far more worthwhile to pay a little more for the third party vendors, where you could find delicious cuisine from around the world. Still pretty darn expensive, but several tasty options to choose from.
So, Yeah, You Should go to Hellfest
Hellfest isn’t perfect. The heat was relentless, the lines for water could be frustrating, and by the end of the festival, my body and brain felt completely demolished. It was a real reminder that I’m not 20 years old anymore. But none of that is going to matter years from now, when I’m an old man reminiscing about the best moments of my life. Attending my first Hellfest will certainly be a story I tell over and over again.
Will I be back? If I have anything to say about it, absolutely. Maybe not every single year (because, money), but I get why some people return year after year. It’s hard to describe, but Hellfest feels like more than just a festival. It’s truly a hub for metal heads and music lovers alike, and everyone should experience it at least once in their life.
Dom Goes to Shows 