Day 2 – Hellfest 2023 – The Odyssey Continues
Day two of Hellfest begins as the first day ended, hot and sticky which tends to be the norm and hence apart from the music, makes it the best festival to attend for us British types who are used to donning the wellies and heading to Download.
We arrive as The Quireboys are finishing their set on Mainstage 1. As much as their music is flawless, not seeing Spike up there singing means that to me it’s not really the Quireboys, but fair play to the lads for cracking on. The rock rap of Mod Sun didn’t really do it for me but it did for others (there’s more on this later in the day) but the first treat of the day arrives in the form of British Lion. This band gets a lot of attention as it’s Steve Harris’s side project but they are the real deal. Yes, you hear the boom-da-da-boom of a Maiden bass line in there but the songs are great and the performances are excellent, especially from singer Richard Taylor who is on top form, especially on the likes of “Bible Black”.
Nothing More actually give us a lot more in the form of their alt metal and Ronnie Romero’s vocals reminded us of why he fronted Rainbow as supergroup Elegant Weapons shine.
The afternoon really kicks into life when Skid Row swagger onto the main stage.
The band have certainly pulled a masterstroke in snapping up ex H.E.A.T. singer Erik Grönwall as his vocals are exceptional. He is a showman in the mould of Sebastian Bach who the band have been struggling to replace since Bach left the band in 1996 and he really does the back catalogue justice. We also get the title track off the latest album The Gang’s All Here thrown in for good measure and Grönwall has the crowd eating out of his hand.
We barely have time to breath before Motionless in White have our heads in a spin as they rip into their set. The Pennsylvanian mob are on their third visit to the festival since 2015 and feel at home on the mainstage. Pulling heavily from their 2022 Scoring The End of The World they are on fine form, even keeping their make up unblemished in the ridiculous heat and giving us the biggest circle pit of the day to that point.
Alter Bridge follow and are their usual fantastic selves and I’m still trying to work out how Myles Kennedy never seems to miss a note and I must have seen them at least ten times. Mark Tremonti’s guitar playing always impresses, from the subtlety of “Blackbird” to the out and out riffage of “Metalingus” he’s always on the ball, and looking good in the part too.
Having not seen them for a while I was really looking forward to Papa Roach and they did not fail to deliver. Jacoby Shaddix, ever the front man, has the crowd eating out of his hand immediately, and seems to be in a fitness video as he sprints from one side of the stage to the other, never seeming to be in one place for more than a millisecond. The only blip is the terrible cover of “Firestarter” by the Prodigy as the crowd get what they want in the end with a raucous rendition of “Last Resort”.
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Fresh from their UK leg of their co-headline tour with Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard proceed to give a masterclass in classic rock with their 17-song set that contains no fillers, and to my count, thirteen of them being singles, so no wonder the crowd know every word. Joe Elliot’s voice is the best that it has been in years and not so reliant of the back up in the mix of the excellent yet underestimated Rick Savage. We’re left wanting more as the band close with “Photograph” and say their goodbyes.
It’s at this point where we have the wildcard of the day when Machine Gun Kelly is given the unenviable task of following on from Def Leppard. The rap/pop punk singer doesn’t make his life easier with his poor crowd interactions going down as well as a fart in a space suit and trying to blend in by lighting a spliff on stage was far too cliché. His band were decent, especially British guitarist Sophie Lloyd, but the whole thing didn’t seem to work and finishing his set with a video was probably the nail in the coffin.
There is a lot of anticipation for headliners Mötley Crüe, especially with all the stories on the press and on social media about backing tracks, poor vocals and John 5’s arrival in place of Mick Mars.
They open with “Wild Side” before slipping into “Shout at the Devil” with ease, Vince Neill’s vocals were surprisingly good, and backed up by the backing singers made for a good spectacle. Set staples such as “Live Wire”, “Looks That Kill” and “Dr Feelgood” come and go and they even wheel out Machine Gun Kelly to rap over “The Dirt” before a medley of covers in the form of “Helter Skelter”, “Anarchy in the UK” and “Blitzkrieg Bop” are dropped in mid set, much to the crowd’s delight.
Finishing off with “Girls, Girls, Girls”, “Primal Scream” and “Kickstart my Heart” it’s a great performance which should have all the doubters disappearing into which ever cave they were throwing their rocks from.
Sum 41 are the last band on the mainstages and on their goodbye jaunt they certainly show Machine Gun Kelly what pop punk is all about, blasting through their 14-song set like a whirlwind and finishing off the day with a massive cherry on the top.
It’s a difficult thing covering the festival with just a couple of people so we missed out on a lot of bands but we did catch bits and pieces of bands in the Warzone on food breaks with Flogging Molly and Rancid putting in excellent sets.
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Highlight of the Day – Skid Row, simply awesome
Let down of the Day – Machine Gun Kelly, nice idea, just couldn’t cut it
Daily totals
- Pints drunk: 10
- Gendarmerie spotted: 2
- Annoying British People: 4
- New Friends made: 3
Photography by Gavin Lowrey
