Hellfest 2025 – Friday Recap
Hellfest 2025 – Friday Recap

Hellfest 2025 – Friday Recap

Friday was our scheduled “chill” day, where we saw maybe two fewer bands than on any other day of the festival. The lineup felt a little more mellow (at least by my standards). We were all feeling it after the intense Day 1. The heat crushed people, making hangovers feel worse than they would’ve been otherwise. The thing about Hellfest is that the music goes on for about 17 hours each day, so even if you only manage to scramble out of bed at midday, you still get a full day’s worth of shows.

Let’s talk about the logistics of travelling to and housing such a massive crowd for a short weekend. I stayed up in Nantes and had a straightforward commute by train to Clisson. Trains ran late, with the last departure from town at 4 a.m. Some people drove in, others camped at the nearby site. There are plenty of options; you just need to book relatively early, especially if you want to stay close. Oh, and there were regular shuttles from the train station that dropped people right near the festival gates, saving many from having to walk in that brutal heat.

Friday was also an important day for female representation in metal. Mainstage 2 was fully dedicated to female-fronted acts, back to back, all day. There’s still a lot of work to be done in the music industry to empower more women to pick up instruments, but efforts like this help immensely. We decided to start our reporting with the set from Kittie. This all-female metal band is quite legendary as they’ve been part of the scene since the mid-90s, mixing groove, death, and nu-metal. Back then, it was even harder to break into the male-dominated metal scene, but their presence sparked something in young female minds. A couple of songs on the setlist lit up that female rage, especially tracks from their debut album Spit, like the iconic “Brackish.” If you were born in the 90s, it was like being summoned, like you were a sleeper agent getting your wake-up call. Clinging to a tiny patch of shade right in front of the stage, I was gasping for a breeze. Occasionally, someone would appear with a hose and spray the crowd, earning louder cheers than some headliners. It was time to cool off, though, and retreat to some shade in the VIP area.

Pit stops always involved delicious food. The catering side of the festival was great. Most stalls served traditional French cuisine, and even the locals outside the grounds were offering oysters and champagne. The French are foodies; you can’t disappoint them. Single-use plastics were rare. Even the cutlery in VIP was edible! Alcohol was poured into reusable pint cups, which doubled as keepsakes.

Please remember – it was HOT. Like, unbearably hot. Keep that in mind. We all felt like we were standing in a frying pan with no air. Even so, we still made it to see Spiritbox, which was an absolute must. Courtney LaPlante’s vocals are something you need to hear live at least once. The ease with which she delivers each line of screaming and sweetness is mind-blowing. Her voice cut through the thick air like a guiding beacon. From where I stood, the band looked like small dots on stage, but the big screens brought everyone up close and personal. The videography at Hellfest was incredible and consistent across all stages. When they played “Holy Roller,” it felt like a bomb going off. That was the moment Spiritbox exploded. Their newest album, Tsunami Sea, which just dropped in March, had the most stage time, and rightfully so. It’s still hot cake.

Spiritbox Setlist

Venue: Val de Moine, Clisson

Set:

  1. Fata Morgana
  2. Black Rainbow
  3. Perfect Soul
  4. Jaded
  5. The Void
  6. Circle With Me
  7. Holy Roller
  8. Sew Me Up
  9. Soft Spine
  10. No Loss, No Love
  11. Ride the Wave
  12. Cellar Door

We spent most of Friday hanging around the main stage. The seamless transitions between the left and right stages were always impressive. After Spiritbox, we moved straight into The Cult. The pioneers of blending goth rock, hard rock, metal, and post-punk were the thing in the 80s. Hellfest caters to all metal fans, across all ages and genres, with each stage representing a theme or dominant subgenre for the weekend. I love jumping between those different vibes, parkour-style. Perched in a small patch of shade by the photo pit, many were lying on the grass, vibing to the bouncy rhythms of classic hard rock. “She Sells Sanctuary” felt like heat shimmer straight out of an 80s movie—that hazy visual you get when filming against the sun. Nothing else needed—just close your eyes and imagine your life as an opening credits scene.

We stayed in that same spot as time passed, and next up was Epica. Not a band I usually listen to, my tastes lean toward harsher sounds, but festivals are about exploring the unknown as much as catching your favourites. Epica’s symphonic sections brought grace and light, a sharp contrast to everything we’d seen so far. Simone Simons’ soprano vocals were stunning and emotional, evoking something different. Not rage, but hope. That was a discovery for me. Symphonic metal makes you feel hopeful. The melodies are structured differently, and it makes for a really interesting experience. Also, I have to mention the portable keyboard, strapped like a guitar. That thing was wild.

Epica Setlist

Venue: Val de Moine, Clisson

Set:

  1. Cross the Divide
  2. Victims of Contingency
  3. The Last Crusade
  4. T.I.M.E.
  5. Arcana
  6. Unleashed
  7. Fight to Survive
  8. Cry for the Moon
  9. Beyond the Matrix
  10. Consign to Oblivion

At sunset, I sneaked off to see Pentagram at the Valley stage, which made it a personal treat. There was a low-key obsession bubbling in the crowd. We all wanted to witness the wild stage antics of Bobby Liebling. Pentagram are one of doom metal’s originators, from the days when Black Sabbath were just becoming stars. In 2025, they’re having a revival, fueled by the viral fame of their last-standing original member and band founder. We all remember that video from earlier this year—him looking completely spaced out on stage. That’s what you take from their set: you go away with the fairies and have a great trip. Bobby was just being Bobby, and the crowd loved it. But I have to give credit to the band; their instrumental skills were stealing the show. Watching them play those riffs with flair on the big screen felt magical. Sometimes, even more captivating than Bobby’s presence. Those eyes could stare down an aeroplane. I’m so glad Pentagram is back from hiatus. They bridge the gap between the 70s/80s early doom scene and today, still influencing new generations of musicians who are going to start popping up any time now.

Pentagram Setlist

Venue: Val de Moine, Clisson

Set:

  1. Live Again
  2. Starlady
  3. The Ghoul
  4. I Spoke to Death
  5. When the Screams Come
  6. Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)
  7. Dull Pain
  8. Review Your Choices
  9. Thundercrest
  10. Walk the Sociopath
  11. Forever My Queen
  12. 20 Buck Spin

Muse

When Muse was about to come on, the area in front of the stage turned into absolute mayhem, full-on crowd mentality style. Everyone was pushing to get to the front, to the point where there was no space to move in any direction, yet somehow people still kept trying to get into any gap or crevice available on the grass. The sea of heads almost turned into a storm, with wave after wave growing larger and larger, nearly becoming a tsunami. The anticipation erupted when Muse opened with one of their newest tracks, Unravelling, that marked the start of their hour and a half of adventurous set, one that didn’t quite go according to plan. It was marred by multiple technical issues with the sound and mic levels coming from Matt’s channel, which were only resolved by their seventh song, Hysteria.

The band still scrambled their way through these unfortunate issues with enough experience to handle these kinds of situations. But it was a loss for any fans who missed the full power of the songs in the first part of the show, especially if those affected were their favourites. What was cool about their set structure was the way they sprinkled in various covers. We could hear familiar riffs and sections from the Rage Against the Machine discography, Slipknot’s Duality outro, Gojira, Nirvana, and even Ennio Morricone. If you’re not a die-hard Muse fan, this was a great gesture: you could pick out these references, and they surely would’ve filled your headliner cup for the day. Apart from the intense blend of electronic sounds and powerful instrumentals, the visuals for each song elevated the show. Not many bands brought such elaborate backdrops, relying not just on the excellent videography from Arte Concert, but also treating us to a visual LED feast that only Muse could deliver.

That’s it for the Friday coverage. Day 3 Recap is coming tomorrow. If you’re curious about what happened on Saturday, come back and read our full report!

Photographer: Chelsea Savage

Reviewer: Natalia Kasiarz

Country: France