Hellfest 2026. Clisson, France. Summer Solstice and Mayhem are bringing their Norwegian Black Metal to Hellfest’s Temple Stage. The buildup of heat under the canvas has just sent the Napalm Death guitarist off stage puking his guts up. France is under a red heatwave warning.
In the distance, The Offspring, headlining main stage, can be heard. Over there, it is all massive crowds, pyro, light and pop punk fun. Here it is smaller, hotter, dark, spartan and ominous. This is Extreme Metal at its most physically demanding for fans and bands alike.
This is my first time seeing Mayhem, and having seen the craziness at some of their gigs online, I was expecting a lot. But after four days of battering heat, the crowd is appreciative and listening rather than frenzied and furious.
The movie Lords Of Chaos is a must-see. About the early years of Mayhem, it makes every insanity of your teenage years seem like child’s play in comparison. Necrobutcher (bass) is the only founding member of Mayhem still playing, another legend on stage at this weekend of the greats.
Attila Csihar (vocals) changes costumes constantly. In the blackness, it is hard to appreciate the detail, but they are ritualistic outfits, a black magic pope, a blackened commando and a spikey gothic Lord, amongst others.
His vocals, sung through a bone-covered microphone, tear into the air, sending your flesh crawling. Hellhammer (drums), Ghul (guitar), and Teloch (guitar) are all technically precise, poundingly intense and dissonant, creating an atmosphere worthy of hell.
The atmosphere is aided by the festival toilets being emptied outside, which temporarily brings the smell of putrefaction to add to the unwavering acoustic macabre. Disgusting but bizarrely a nice touch, which I am assuming was unplanned by the band.
The set list covers all eras of Mayhem, including opening with a couple of songs from their new album Liturgy Of Death. The classics Freezing Moon and From The Dark Past, from their first album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, get obvious roars of appreciation from the gathering.
This festival has some of the largest, highest-resolution digital screens I have seen in my life, particularly on the main stages. But largely they have just been used to communicate to the back of the enormous arena what is going on at the front.
This is where Mayhem’s show steps away from just being a band, as the film that forms their backdrop is integral to the show.
This could be Spinal Tap horror parody, but in fact, the film is completely disturbing. My respect to whoever made this. A series of many pictures with one or two-tone colour imagery, a kaleidoscope of horror, matching each song with visual evil. Satan, the occult and brutal violence abound.
Some images, such as during Freezing Moon, are simpler with an eerie moon on a blue background or a Transylvanian Dracula-style castle.
I was particularly keen to see if the band would take advantage of it being the witching hour on the summer solstice to do something unusual, but there was nothing, well, except for an image of a demon strangling a woman, presumably a virgin.
Hellfest is brought to an end with an uplifting roar for the band. The audience has been immersed, disturbed and forever changed by the Mayhem onslaught.
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit’s set takes the form of a giant speaker system, with the DJ behind it holding an open comic book about Ozzy Osbourne. Tributes to The Prince of Darkness are everywhere, and this is a sweet touch.
Elsewhere on the set, a collection of cassette tapes, which looks like it covers fan favourites. This is a nu-Metal Headliner that is hotly anticipated by the crowd that stretches far, far back.
Wes Borland (lead guitar) in a truly bonkers, steampunk witch doctor style gold and black ensemble arrives first, teasing a couple of opening chords from Megadeth, a homage to the Thrash legend that has just left the other main stage.
Fred Durst (vocalist) bounces on with the rest of the band, looking like he has Dad Vibes and is about to go out for a Sunday Roast. A striped shirt and blue jeans are the antithesis of the rock god and set off Wes’s crazy outfit perfectly.
Amazingly, they opened with what must be their best-known number, Break Stuff, which sends the fan base in the front fields into a dancing frenzy, screaming the lyrics out. This is more easily done than usual as the lyrics to most songs are displayed on the digital screen throughout the show. This was a trick that did not float my boat. Fans do not need lyrics to get them to sing along.
The classic numbers get the crowd grooving from front to middle. I am told those watching further back were not buying into the gig so much, but in the thick of it, it was hot, fun and very physical dancing.
Light relief is provided by cuts from classic pop tunes, including Tainted Love by Soft Cell, to which they stick up a picture of Metallica looking shocked with the text “When Metallica hears Limp Bizkit”. There is always a tongue-in-cheek sense of humour.
The covers of Faith (George Michael) and Behind Blue Eyes wow the crowd with their melody. A strange thing is how covers from other musical genres are often some of the very best Metal songs.
The life of Sam Rivers, their much-missed bassist, is celebrated with his picture on the giant digital screens and a minute of more peaceful music.
All the classics are rolled out, including Nookie, Rollin’, and My Generation. The audience is a bobbing, weaving mass. The pop culture nods continue with Fred shouting that he loves Tom Cruise and a picture of Tom in Action as they play the Mission: Impossible 2 classic Take A Look Around.
The bizarre start with the classic Break Stuff is ultimately explained when Bizkit finish with it too. The crowd goes wild one last time. A vintage night for the lovers of Limp Bizkit.
Sabaton
Sixty thousand plus people who have just had their socks blown off by Maiden is the challenge Sabaton walk out on stage to. This is the dream contrast of two titans.
Joakim Broden nails it early and acknowledges they are coming on after “the greatest band in the world” and admits they are “nervous” about it. Sabaton are standing on the shoulders of giants, and those giants have just left the stage immediately next door.
As a massive fan of both bands, I was surprised by how one tone and aggressive Sabaton sounded initially, compared to Maiden. It is grating, but the Swedes know how to throw a party, and this passed very quickly.
Opening with Panzer Elite, red fireworks launch into the sky, and the pyrotechnics turn the arena into a cauldron of warming fire. Sabaton are in their familiar camouflage outfits, with the drummer, Hannes Van Dahl, with his drum kit on top of an enormous tank, flanked by smaller army vehicles. A giant digital screen projecting images from their songs behind.
Classics pour from the stage. Primo Victoria, Bismarck, The Red Baron. The crowd singing and clapping along to every tune, helped by the key lyrics projected onto the digital screens. The atmosphere is more muted compared to Maiden. The literal streams of crowd surfers have stopped, and the mood is less fevered. However, they are clearly enjoying themselves.
Christmas Truce is poignant and magical with mobile phone torches waving from side to side. From their latest album Legends, I, Emperor, about Napoleon’s genius, is accompanied by a French-speaking actor in full outfit who speaks to the majority of the audience in their native tongues, getting plenty of laughs.
A chorus of six French singers provides a different sound and support for Joakim. Their continued theatrical and musical invention is very welcome.
There is a very schoolboy prankster side to the band too, with their guitarist, Chris Rorland, sticking plectrums to Joakim’s sweaty head, mid-song. Also, jokes about their other guitarist, Thobbe Englund, going for a “rectal examination” when he disappeared off stage for some unknown technical reason.
Sheer silliness ensues at the end with what Joakim describes as their “Best, worst song,” Swedish Pagans and the crowd chanting “woah, oh oh…oh oh woah oh oh” back and forth with the band.
To a spectacular firework finale and flames across the arena, Sabaton take their bows. Maiden not forgotten, but Sabaton are also victors in the Hellfest fields.
HELLFEST 2026
Prepare to be consumed by the relentless energy of the most influential bands in Heavy Metal as they ignite the Hellfest stages with blistering performances. The immersive atmosphere of Clisson will immerse you in a dark, captivating experience like no other.
With its unparalleled lineup and unwavering commitment to the spirit of metal, Hellfest 2026 promises an unforgettable journey into the depths of sonic mayhem. Read all the Heavy Metal News at MetalTalk.
MetalTalk Hellfest 2026 coverage can be found at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2026.
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