Hell festival where metallers from all over the world go wild 'HELLFEST2014' circle mosh front row & local chaos report
Summer is the season for music festivals such as
HELLFEST Open Air 2014 - France
http://www.hellfest.fr/
Rue du Champ Louet, 44190 Clisson, FRANCE
You can see the intensity of 'circle mosh', in which the metaller that occurred at FELLFEST 2014 runs around at a tremendous speed according to the music, by watching the following movie.
Looking at the circle mosh of HELLFEST 2014 in front of me like this - YouTube
◆From the entrance to the venue
The road near the venue just before the arrival where the line of parking on the street continues for more than 10 km. To visit HELLFEST from Japan, fly to Nantes via Paris, then take a train or bus from Nantes to Clisson . This time we went by car, but according to the information on the HELLFEST website , there is a way to use the shuttle bus from Clisson or car sharing . I also saw several people hitchhiking.
All tickets include the right to use the official campsite, so if you bring a tent you can stay overnight.
That's why I arrived at the site and passed through the aisle written as 'HELLFEST'.
At the entrance is a monument of HELLFEST and the letters 'CLISSON ROCK CITY'.
There was also a huge guitar monument.
To enter, take a ticket exchange ticket and line up in either a 1-day ticket or a 3-day ticket.
This time it was only the 22nd (3rd day), so I went to the 1-day ticket line.
You can exchange your pre-printed voucher for a wristband. The 1-day ticket is made of paper-like material, but the 3-day ticket is a cloth wristband.
When you enter, the first thing you will see is 'HELLCITY' with various shops and TVs.
Representative of rock boots
Dr. Martens' shop has a canvas of boots that can be drawn ......
There was also an older sister who gave me metal makeup for free.
There are also shops that sell metal fashion and goods. The venue is full of black clothes, and there is not a single person in outdoor clothes that is common in ordinary music festivals, so it is also ant to arrange everything here.
After leaving HELLCITY, pass through the stairs of the gate that passed through earlier.
Arrived at the place called 'METAL CORNER' ahead of it.
Lockers where valuables can be deposited ......
There is a bar where alcohol and drinks can be purchased.
We even sell HELL BURGER. This area is the area before entering the concert venue.
There was also a Wi-Fi spot by the French mobile carrier
As we went further towards the venue, we found Luigi who was completely naked. I've seen people stripped naked and taken away by the police at the Japanese music festival Fuji Rock before, but the people around me don't particularly care. In France it's not so much of a problem.
This is the entrance to the venue. A security check is being done at the end of the queue. I had a GoPro for my single-lens reflex camera, but if it's not a fully professional equipment with a bazooka-like lens, I can easily pass it. What we are checking is dangerous goods such as guns.
Women in exciting clothes in the row ......
For some reason it is lined up to Godzilla.
Immediately after passing through the check is the food area.
Japanese festival meals have the image of being full of food from all over the world, but at HELLFEST, there are more sandwiches, paninis, hamburgers, and French fries.
It is quite safe for travelers that credit cards can be used at almost all shops.
I immediately got a warm croque monsieur.
Mayonnaise and ketchup are self-service.
The price is 5 euros (about 680 yen), with cheese on the surface and ham inside. It was terribly hot that day, but the hot bread I ate under the scorching sun took all the moisture out of my mouth.
As you head toward the venue, a large Ferris wheel catches your eye. It is also possible to actually ride.
There are fairly few shaded areas, but there are also wooded zones.
Due to the intense heat of the day and the bread I ate, I was so thirsty that I would collapse, but I found a crowd.
This is an important spot where you can fill up your cup or plastic bottle with water, and cool off by covering yourself with water. However, if you have an electronic device such as a camera, you need to be careful, as the good intentions of Metaller who has increased tension may throw water on you.
That's why I arrived in the middle of the venue. A majestic HELLFEST tree grows, and stages are scattered around it.
In addition, you can see the appearance of walking around the venue with a monopod attached to GoPro from the following movie.
A devilish couple who posed for me when I pointed the camera at them.
◆ 5 performance stages
Near the tree, there is a timetable marked by a large crow.
The back side is a map of the venue, and you can see that there are 5 stages in all.
First, to the big stage.
This is ' Main Stage 01/Main Stage 02 ' where two large stages are lined up. On the third day, big bands such as
There is a mysterious tank behind the main stage.
Here are the indoor stages ' THE ALTAR ' and ' THE TEMPLE '.
Inside is like this.
Another indoor stage ' VALLEY '.
It's shaded, so if you get tired, you can take a break in the back.
' WARZONE ' located at the far end of the venue. All stages can be reached within 10 minutes on foot, so it's a venue where you won't miss your favorite band.
Between the main stage and WARZONE, there are spectator seats reserved for people in wheelchairs.
In addition, there is almost no lawn or grass on the ground of the venue, and sand smoke is supposed to be amazing everywhere. I had a towel wrapped around my face, but my nostrils and ears were still covered in sand.
Be prepared that your shoes will be covered with sand as shown below.
◆ Metallers at the venue
Unique metallers that cannot be seen at ordinary music festivals are walking around the venue. I was too scared to talk to him, but I mustered up the courage to take a picture with him.
A duo with bright red make-up like a devil. I have a dog stuffed animal on my side, whether it's a sacrifice or not. By the way, later I found this stuffed animal abandoned on the ground.
Usually, it's a pretty metal-metal couple, but at this venue it's a rather 'normal' level.
A trio of pretty authentic outfits, such as wearing blood. It's not that the venue is too chaotic and you're really injured.
A group of three who seem to believe in the devil. He took a pose like he came from the demon world. Because he is wearing a very thick hood, the person inside must be sweating profusely.
Even the people who sell beer are perfectly metallers.
For some reason people who carry a hammer ......
Even a grandfather who dances to the rhythm of heavy metal.
There were people who never left their beloved girlfriends with them.
In addition, although I visited only on the third day, according to the people who have a three-day ticket, the first day is the most people who are wearing makeup and looking amazing. ... apparently ...
◆HELLFEST token
Since drinks cannot be purchased with cash or credit cards at the HELLFEST venue, in order to drink something you need to get a local currency ' drink token ' that can be exchanged for 1 token = 1 euro (about 137 yen).
One of the exchange offices is beside the place where you can see a big skull ......
Line up at the place where 'BANQUE JETONS TOKENS BANK' is written and exchange it for cash. You can also pay with a credit card, but cash is rarely lined up, so you can get 10 tokens if you pass the 10 euro bill as it is.
That's why I got 10 drink tokens. The token can be split in half, and if you go to the bar with this you can buy a drink. Only the first time you need to pay 1 token extra as a cup charge.
Beer is the smallest 30 deciliters (300 ml) and 3.5 tokens. This container is not disposable and must be returned the next time you buy a drink. You will always have a cup with you, but you can also use it to drink free water. Finally, if you return it to the bar, you can receive a refund of 1 euro (about 137 yen). You can take it home as a souvenir, and there are other sizes such as pitcher-sized beer and 150ml wine. The bar also sells non-alcoholic drinks such as
Also, there are people selling beer all over the place, and you can ask them to put it in the cup you have. All cups have a scale, so you can purchase only the amount you need.
◆ State of the main stage
Sometimes the main act keeps playing, and looking towards the main stage full of heat ......
Far from being hot, fire was blowing from the stage, and after this, I witnessed the performance of singing with a microphone that was lit.
For some reason, there was a cloud of sand billowing up in front of us, so I rushed to the front and crashed into a super-dangerous circle mosh where metallers were running around at breakneck speed. It seems to be rampant enough to make you think, 'If you get caught, it's over.'
The mysterious butcher's father is also very excited with a club.
Since the big name artists are set to perform at a later time, more and more people gather on the main stage as time passes. You can see the surroundings of the main stage around 19:00 to 20:00, which will surprise you, ``Was so many people coming!'' From the following movies.
The Ferris wheel is lit up, and the crowd has grown to the area around the crow map, which was sparsely populated at noon.
The bar is lit up with ignition. It is no longer possible to distinguish whether it is a row of bars or an audience.
The population density in front of the main stage will increase more and more.
And at the performance time of the headliner Black Sabbath, the population density and enthusiasm reached its maximum. You can see the darkened main stage from the following movie.
From 23:00 to 0:00, the sky finally gets dark. From noon to around the evening, if you go fast, you can move forward, but at this time there are no gaps between people, and people gather so much that they can't move.
The light-up of the Ferris wheel was beautifully projected, and at this time there was a line to get on the Ferris wheel, probably for the last memory.
The performance of all the bands ended like this. There was something on the way home after the performance.
The bar was a great success, probably because we had a toast at the end.
Many people will return.
The exit looks like this. It seems that many people who are camping or coming by car stay overnight and then return in the morning.
That's why HELLFEST 2014 is over. I found only one Japanese person at the venue, but it seemed that there were almost no Asians. People often ask me, 'Where are you from?' When I tell them, 'I'm from Japan,' they say, 'I come every year, but this is the first time I've met a Japanese person!' It is difficult to go to HELLFEST in the inland area of France from Japan.
The 3-day ticket for HELLFEST 2014 is 185 euros (about 25,500 yen), the 1-day ticket is 79 euros (about 10,000 yen), and it can be purchased with a credit card from the official site, and the printer after purchase You will need to print the voucher from It is also possible to add refund insurance for ticket price for plus 7 euros (about 900 yen) in case you can not go.
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