Festival Review: Hellfest 2023 Day 4

Day 4 – Hellfest 2023 – Is it time to go home yet?

With injuries strapped up and caffeine loaded we get to the site on day 4 to catch the end of Hollywood Undead’s rap metal show that could teach Machine Gun Kelly a few lessons in song writing and more importantly delivery and crowd interaction.

Hatebreed (c) Gavin Lowrey

Chemically aided (legally), we manage to wander round a few of the stages and catch snippets of Empire State Bastard, Evil Invaders, Legion of Doom, and Cane Hill who all impress and cement the reputation of the festival of being able to bring in class acts across all the stages without a drop in quality.

Back on the mainstage, Halestorm get the crowd going with front woman Lizzy Hale, be it her vocals or on guitar, giving us a live example of why she is one of the best frontwomen out there. Their set is criminally short before Hatebreed bring an avalanche of circle pits with their whirlwind performance. The explosive cocktail of Jamey Jasta’s spitting vocals and the band’s brutal riffs are something that continues to impress be it on a festival stage or a sweaty Barrowlands in Glasgow.

The curveball of the day arrives in the form of Electric Callboy from Germany. Being what I guess you would call Electronicore and donning 80’s style hair metal wigs they entertain us with a 50-minute glimpse into their wacky world with a great  performance that not only rocks but puts a smile on everyone’s face.

Smack bang in the middle of their European tour, Amon Amarth are next up and seem to be the first band of the day that everyone wants to see as the crowd swells towards the second Main stage. Behind Slipknot, there were more Amon Amarth T shirts on display than any others so it’s hardly surprising that they are the focus of attention for their fifty minutes in the sun. Singer Johan Hegg is on top form as he dodges the seemingly constant torrent of fire that pours from the stage. Their performance is theatrical and their stage set amazing, complete with a Viking longboat drum riser and massive statues each side of the stage.

We take a trip to catch Australian’s The Amity Affliction whose modus operandi seems to be maximising circle pits and crowd surfers with their metalcore riffs and, on the whole, succeed with their mission.

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(c) Gavin Lowrey

We nip back to the Main stage for one of the most anticipated performances of the weekend in Tenacious D. The multitalented Jack Black and Kyle Gass are a comedy duo who are so much more than the odd gag. Their monologues are hilarious and people seem to forget that the band was actually formed in 1991 so this isn’t a new band. Black is a great singer, and they breeze through various tracks with their albums intertwined with skits and tomfoolery aplenty. Finishing off with “Fuck Her Gently” its exactly what the crowd needed. We also had the site of Gass giving us a solo on a toy saxophone during their cover of Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street”.

Phil Anselmo always performs at Hellfest in some for or fashion, this year it was with the hotly anticipated Pantera reunion. With Zak Wylde and Charlie Benante taking over from the dearly departed Dimebag and Vinnie Paul they had been receiving rave reviews from the early shows of the tour and this performance was no exception. The barefooted Anselmo has the crowd in the palm of his hand and he looks like he’s just walked off the beach as the band rip through their set.

Wylde and Benante are more than ample replacements for the fallen band members and if you close your eyes you can imagine that they are still there, especially as the set is classic Pantera. “A New Level”, “Mouth for War”, “5 Minutes Alone”, “Walk” and “Cowboys From Hell”, they’re all there, including a video/slide show tribute to Dimebag and Vinnie Paul during the snippet of “Cemetery Gates” that was played.

Some people had questioned this reunion, this performance certainly rammed the questions back down the doubters’ throats.

There’s only one way to top an iconic band, and that’s with another iconic band, and this happens with Sunday headliners Slipknot. Unlike Iron Maiden, they don’t throw in too many songs from their latest offering The End, So Far with only two tunes making an appearance. Introducing the new tracks to the audience slowly seems to work as they get what Maiden couldn’t, which is 100% crowd engagement.

Drawing heavily from their self-titled debut album this is a set of all out in your face aggression that is unaffected by the recent band changes. Corey Taylor is the perfect front for the madness the 90 mins that ensues, which to be honest, passed in a blur.

It was the perfect end to 4 day on music that had someone for everybody, no matter what your taste on the metal spectrum, thus explaining why it is the ultimate festival, Disney for Metal Heads some may say.

As the amazing fireworks display that marks the end of the festival fades away and people leave the site, we are left to wonder, how will they top this next year?

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Daily totals

  • Pints drunk: 8
  • T shirts bought: 3
  • First Aid tent visits: 0
  • Band of the day: Pantera
  • Surprise of the day: Electric Callboy
  • Disappointment of the day: None!

Photography by Gavin Lowrey

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