At first glance, the three-day itinerary can be a bit overwhelming.I mean, you are talking about nearly forty bands each day! With a starting time of 9 a.m. and the last band exiting the stage around 3 a.m., there is some serious music watching going on. We quickly found that you need to just cut the schedule down day-by-day. If you try to plan your entire weekend, your head would simply explode. Even using this tactic, I still crammed twenty two bands into the first day. With two ‘main-stages’, the Terrorizer tent, and the Rock Hard tent, there was sure to be something for everyone nearly every second of the day. Here is what I set as my schedule for the first day:

11:00am-Valient Thorr
11:40-Suicide Silence
12:15-Malevolent Creation/In Solitude
1:00-Dwarves
2:35-Dagoba
3:25-Krisiun
4:20-Maximum The Hormone
5:15-Eyehategod/Primordial
6:10 The Exploited
7:00-Down/Vader
8:00-Mushuggah
9:05-Belphegor/Iggy and the Stooges
10:10-Morbid Angel/Clutch
11:15-Possessed/Melvins
1:10-Mayhem/In Flames

Yeah, as you can see, Hellfest isn’t afraid to mix it up! That is one of the reasons I was so drawn to this festival. Nobody is presenting anything quite like what these crazy Frenchmen are putting together. Highlights of the first day had to include finally seeing Possessed! Been a fan since I picked up a cassette copy of Beyond The Gates at a Fred Meyers out in Roseburg, Oregon when I was a teenager and have loved them every since! Granted Jeff Becerra is the only original member, they still delivered a incredible set. Belphegor also put on a very entertaining collection of only the blackest of black metal, that had the Rock Hard tent frothing for more. Much talk has been made ofthe new Morbid Angel record, but on this night they did smoking versions of “Chapel Of Ghouls”, “Rapture”and “Angel Of Disease” and aside from “I AM Morbid” and “Existo Vulgore”, didn’t even attempt to break any of the more experimental material. All-in-all, the first night was a amazing, if not compeltely overwhelming day/night of music and much was learned on what to do and not-do for the following day.

Arrived back at the hotel around 3:30, got up at 7, ate a massive breakfast of delicious French pasteries, fruits,cheeses and coffee… lots and lots of coffee! Loaded on to the bus at 9 and arrived at the festival at 9:30. One of the most important things learned from day 1: PACE YOURSELF! My legs were two wobbly logs of jello by the end of the night! After observing the tendencies of the crowd, there is nothing wrong with just kicking back, find a nice shaded area to enjoy the show. The weather was picture perfect. ’60s everyday and the location provided ample shaded areas and a massive food court, with a abundant amount of benches. I took more time to meet and visit with fellow concert-goers and met many friends that I hope to remain in contact with. It only took a day to realize this was much more than a concert. It was more like a gigantic family reunion, with 115 of the best house bands you could ever imagine! Much more drinking, eating and socializing made the second day more relaxed and I found my pace to help make the following two days that much more enjoyalbe.

Schedule for Day 2:
10:00-Headcharger
11:10-Total Fucking Destruction
11:45-Whiplash
12:20-Angel Witch/Severe Torture
1:00-Mekong Delta
2:00-Hammerfall/Hail Of Bullets
3:25-Exumed
4:15-Municipal Waste
5:05-Thin Lizzy/Skyforger
6:05Destruction
7:00-1349
7:55-Sodom
9:00Septic Flesh/D.R.I.
9:50-Kreator
11:15-Bolt Thrower
1:00-Coroner/Bad Brains

YES!! This was what it was all about! Thrash, Thrash and more Thrash! Nothing beats the glorious sounds of German thrash and on this day, thrash reigned supreme! I could narrow it down for highlights, but c’mon! LOOK AT THAT LINEUP! This day was absolutely perfect from start to finish. Along with that amazing Stage 2 lineup of Whiplash, Mekong Delta, Destruction, Sodom, Kreator and Coroner, I was also introduced to Total Fucking Destruction (Brutal Truth drummer, Richard Hoek handles drums and vocals) totally floored me with their energetic brand of grind and finally getting to see death metal legends, Bolt Thrower demolished the Rock Hard tent during their bombastic assault of your senses was a fitting set-up for Coroner! What a night. I have a hard time believing I will ever be able to top this night. The only thing that could have made this over-the-top magical, would have been if Tankard would have been somewhere on the bill, but I will more than happily take this lineup!

Back to the hotel by 4, up at 7 and out the door by 9, a loaded crepe in one hand and a steaming cup of java in the other: Day 3, here we come!Day 3 began as a rather light day on the schedule, turned out to be a final day filled with a ton of pleasent surprises.

Schedule for Day 3:
10:55-Zuul FX/ Impureza
11:30-Turisas
12:50-Atheist
1:40-Arkona/Firewind
2:30-Orpahend Land
3:50-Ghost
5:Cavalera Conspiracy/Grave
6:20-Grand Magus
7:10-Morgoth
8:05-Doro
9:00Judas Priest/Korpiklaani
10:10-Electric Wizard
11:25-Dark Tranquility/Hawkwind
1:00-Opeth/Kyuss Lives!

What started out to be a day to hit the ‘Extreme Market’ (anything and everything metal-related, they had it!), ended up being a memorable conclusion to a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Impureza set the tone for the day, with their blend of Mexican flamenco/death metal(?), really enjoyed their set. Arkona was another band I had discovered while checking out bands that were going to be appearing at Hellfest and instantly fell in love with their epic blend of Russian pagan metal. Fronted by Masha Scream, the crowd was already well aware of these guys, because they went batshit nuts as soon as their intro music began! Amazing show, hopefully some day they will make it to the States. Ghost was the hot new band of the day and they delivered like veteran pros. A nice blend of eery theatrics and mid-paced chug-a-luggery, they brought the spirit of Mercyful Fate out loud and aroud. Well worth all the hype they are getting. Grand Magus, Doro, Morgoth and Priest all were at the top of their games and the crowds didn’t heitate to roar their approval. Once again, this was a lineup that just left your jaw dragging on the floor.

It will be fun to see what the masterminds of this memorable festival have in store for us next year, but I am sure they will not disappoint! In the meantime, I have a full year to polish up on my French! CHEERS!!