We began day 4 slightly later as the 3 days of intense heat began to take its toll on us, and not to disappoint, we were blessed with a day that was at 38 degrees at noon. Due to this we decided to concentrate on the main stage with only a few visits to other stages, but the bands that we did see on the outlying stages were certainly worth it.
Alt rockers Dead Poet Society pique our interest and Lorna Shore entertain us with their heavy thrashy fayre before Eagles of Death Metal disappoint by giving us a seven song set in 50 minutes. This coupled with three of these tracks being covers gave us the disappointment of the day. The only saving grace is that their cover of Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” which was exceptional. Frontman Jesse Hughes should have toned down the crowd interactions that to be honest were a bit cringy, and concentrated on the music.
Motionless in White took things up a level and looked every much a headliner in waiting with vocalist Chris Cerulli giving a lesson in how to communicate with and whip up an audience. Guitarists Ryan Sitkowski and Ricky Olsen provided a twin guitar attack that was second to none and were incredibly active on stage buzzing from side to side. There was also an incredible amount of pyro during the set that lead to not only a very spectacular show, but also an extra amping up of the heat for the day that could be felt at least 50m back.
Punky Swedes Refused got the crowd going before A Day to Remember brought both pop punk and metalcore influences to the stage to delight the crowd.
The wildcard of the day came in the form of Cypress Hill. They’re not only the defining voice of west coast American hip-hop, their also still incredibly entertaining. Fusing rap, rock & stoner anthems, they are an iconic band that you have to see at least once in your lifetime, even throwing in a cheeky cover of Rage against the Machine’s ‘Bombtrack’ and the obligatory ‘Jump Around’ by House of Pain.
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Vegas boys Falling in Reverse gave a good account of themselves with controversial frontman Ronnie Radke leading the way in an entertaining performance with some fantastic visuals to back up the music, of which ‘Watch the World Burn’ was the highlight
There was a lot of hype over Linkin Park but overall they failed to deliver. The appointment of Emily Armstrong to fill the void left by Chester Bennington’s passing was a brave move but, on this performance, it’s not right. Mike Shinoda did his best to lift things, but overall, it’s a pass.
The real highlights of the day lay away from the main stage in the form of Swedish band Priest who fuse cyberpunk and goth vibes to give us a great show. Given that the band contains ex members of Ghost its no surprise to see them wearing masks, and any band where the led singer wears a dog collar is good for me.
The other highlight was a set from Jerry Cantrell on The Valley Stage. Throwing in classic Alice in Chains songs along with his own material, it was a total performance and in ending the set with ‘Rooster’ it was a nice way to end the festival for us.
We watched the fireworks that were reinstated this year on the way back to our car, and already looking forward to next year.
Hellfest is a festival that has grown massively since we started attending in 2014, and this year brought another leap in facilities, infrastructure & organisation that took things to the next level. The site now boasts the Hell City Brew Pub & Restaurant that is open all year round so it’s another sign of the investment in the site and the on-going growth of the festival to keep its place as the number one festival on the festival scene in Europe.
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Photos by Gavin Lowrey
