The Chaoszine Hellfest 2024 report, day 2: Hotter than Hell!

After a proper sleep, Friday morning at Hellfest was very sunny and clear once again, and although I got up early, I realised how ridiculously long the shower and official merch queues were so I decided to skip that and went to check out the VIP/press area. The organisers made sure the media covering the festival had a great experience, with its own bar, exclusive toilets and restaurants, plus AC/DC ja Kiss-themed pinball machines you could use for free. There were also plenty of places to sit and rest in addition to the chance of charging your devices and using the free WiFi. Those are nice details that make a difference when it comes to considering visiting the festival again in the future. Thumbs up to Hellfest for that!

Around noon I got to witness the first true highlight show of the festival for me and one of the reasons why I went all the way to France from Finland. Japanese power metal stars Lovebites don’t tour Europe very often so this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see them regardless of the early and short slot they were given at the mainstage. In barely thirty minutes they delivered a clockwork tight set consisting mainly of songs taken from their last two full-length albums “Judgement Day” and “Electric Pentagram” and I couldn’t stop smiling at how talented and passionate these girls are. Sure it would have been great to see them playing a longer set in a smaller venue but this was enough to tick them off my bucket list. A dream come true.

Next I headed out to the Temple to see Shores of Null, an Italian gothic doom band I discovered thanks to the festival. Their music reminds me of Paradise Lost, with plenty of melancholic vibes and a very minimalistic stage set but they let the music speak for itself. Back at the mainstage, it was time for another of my most anticipated shows of the festival. Australia’s prog metal titans Karnivool have been on my list of must see acts for years and it was finally my chance to witness their absolutely masterful live performance. They focused on their magnum opus “Sound Awake” and despite the short stage time I enjoyed every second of it and I will treasure this opportunity for years to come. I really hope they release a new album soon and do a more extensive European tour playing a full set.

By the afternoon the temperature kept rising so I had to take a break and enjoy some cold beverages and delicious ice cream. French act Klone, Einar Solberg’s solo bandand virtuoso instrumental outfit Polyphia provided a nice proggy soundtrack to this summery day. The all-star band Savage Lands (featuring members of Sepultura, Napalm Death, The Gathering, Body Count amongst others) played a set which also included messages concerning environmental issues. Steel Panther was the next act on the mainstage and regardless of what one might think about their lyrics, it is always an interesting live show to watch if you don’t mind their highly non-politically correct sense of humour. They claimed to break the Guinness Book World Record for the biggest “Wall of Pussy” so you get an idea of what was happening onstage.

The cherry on top of the second day came from one of Finland’s biggest exports when it comes to current metal acts. Amorphis has achieved wide recognition throughout their three decade-spanning career and I’ve seen them many times on Finnish ground but it was interesting to see how much attention they can gather in front of an international audience. The Finns are still touring their latest studio effort “Halo” and their setlist was somehow predictable but highly efficient and technically perfect performance wise. My last show of the day was the Norwegian black metal legends Emperor, who played in front of a fully packed Temple stage which is quite a remarkable achievement considering Machine Head were performing at the same time at the mainstage. I guess this speaks of the variety and quality of the acts chosen to perform at prime time in Hellfest.

The concerts continued until 2 AM but after another long day of standing in the crowd under the sun it was time to charge my batteries once more before what would be the biggest day of the festival for me.

To be continued …