Canceled in 2020 then in 2021 due to the pandemic, the famous metal festival Hellfest returns on Friday June 17 in Loire-Atlantique for an exceptional edition, organized over two weekends instead of one and with the monster Metallica at the head of unpublished poster. “After two blank years, it’s finally time to restart the machine”rejoiced Benjamin Barbaud, founder of Hellfest, with AFP.
Three hundred and fifty hard-rock, punk and metal groups, including Guns N’Roses, Deep Purple and Scorpions, will release the big guitars in the small town of Clisson, in the middle of the Nantes vineyards, for seven days of festivities.
Its 3,000 volunteers expect some 420,000 spectators, more than double the 180,000 welcomed in 2019 for its last edition before the health crisis. “We expect to see euphoric festival-goers arrive. Hellfest is a space of freedom that people wait for every year to let off steam”explains the patron of the festival.
Founded in 2006, Hellfest is now one of the biggest metal and other “extreme music” festivals in Europe.
The first weekend, from June 17 to 19, is modeled on the festival which should have been held in 2020. On the program, heavyweights from the metal or rock scene such as Faith No More, Judas Priest, Deftones, Deep Purple , Offspring or even Killing Joke. The second installment, from June 23 to 26, was added in June 2021, with stars Metallica, Guns N’Roses, Scorpions, Alice Cooper and Bad Religion.
This double edition, which is an “exception”, is not intended to be permanent, warns Benjamin Barbaud. “It’s an idea we had to recover the astronomical losses endured over the past two years, despite state and community aid”, he says. A year ago, the ticket office for this second weekend was taken by storm and the tickets sold out in just a few hours.
“Metallica’s arrival is a big event, we’ve been waiting for them to play with us for a long time. It’s a unifying group in our style of music”emphasizes Ben Barbaud.
Metallica was one of the figures of trash metal, an extreme sonic branch of the family, before the members of this Californian quartet cut their hair, slowed down and touched the general public with their famous Black Album (1991), rich in hits like Nothing else matters, Enter Sandman or The Unforgiven.
The group, expected “as much by hardened metalheads as by curious rookies”will close the festivities on Sunday 26 June in the evening.