Few festivals provide a more dramatic contrast to their surroundings than Hellfest, a heavy metal music festival that took place last weekend in the peaceful countryside of Clisson near Nantes in northwestern France.
Lined by quiet, bucolic vineyards, inside it’s a vista from Mad Max: an open-air arena with fire-belching metal structures and laser-lit fountains situated amid a gothic steampunk wonderland. Past the arena there is a purpose-built town square, a comic book Camden complete with bars, barber and tattoo parlour. A giant crypt houses Hellfest’s official merchandise store. The six-stage event attracts approximately 240,000 black-clad metalheads over four days, and this year hosts rock royalty such as Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, Slipknot and Kiss. It’s the food and drink, though, that is a big reason for fans coming back year after year.
