Turning in another formidable line up which featured some very safe bets, attendance-wise, on the main stages but a fantastic representation of extreme music with a clutch of acclaimed Doom, Stoner, Death and Black Metal acts on the Temple, Altar and Valley stages France’s premier metal event Hellfest showed once again the blueprint many U.K. festivals would do well to follow. When it comes to carefully staggering stage times with two adjacent main stages and the two tents containing three other stages, the only excuse for missing any of the action is purely because of the exhaustion of rushing between catching so many scintillating sounds. The headline acts may have been fairly average yet at least the appearance of Danish rockers Volbeat in a coveted headliner role was a bold move even though the band is clearly unready to occupy such a position.Continue reading →