The early days of summer in Western Europe can be a hit and miss and today we are greeted by the rain. Even though the Hellfest site has been designed to perfection there are things that mother nature can and will mess up, ie mud. Not much but enough to make things a little harder.

Having said that, the lure of the acts is strong and we move to the Mainstage II to witness the return of “Danko Jones”, the Canadian three piece bring a lot of energy and great tunes to the audience, with “First Date” striking a chord with the Hellfest crowd. Great band, great vibes.

Next up was “Nitzer EBB” and it seems like a weird option for this festival, the electronic vibe and the one man act thing doesn’t work well in a rock festival setting in a daylight slot, granted, some people in the audience liked it but the majority were well clear of them. A few minutes after them, its time for “Dragonforce” over on MainStage II, power metal brings things back to form. They do play with the classic metal themes from fantasy to video games, loads of double guitar soloing and the makes the air guitar players in attendance dust up their axes, great fun. “Highway to Oblivion” is a great tune and “The Last Dragonborn” makes the pit go crazy but the closing “Through the Fire and Flames” took it to another level.

“Killing Joke” is next and the vibe in Mainstage I is still a little off, these days having a recognisable band name doesn’t guarantee a response and with a Jaz Coleman vocal state on the day the task is even harder. They might have influenced a few big names but you gotta stay on top of your game, the “here and there” off gig is ok, so he gets a pass but these days the audiences ask for more, so they need to sort that out asap. Probably “The Wait” was the song that moved the discerning crowd.

A little after is “Kreator” and they are solid and deliver a hard slice of thrash metal, just what the audience wanted and deserved. Tunes such as “Violent Revolution” “Phobia” and “Satan is Real” warm up the arena but once they reach “Phantom Antichrist” we have a brilliant band in form, right here - right now, leading us to the closing “Pleasure to Kill” they leave the audience gasping for air. Always deliver.

The mood has changed and for “Ministry” opening tune they choose the Ukrainian national anthem, not much left to be said about 2022, we support life, we support the people.

Immediately the launch into “ Breathe” and this is so much more like it. They do feel like a band that has something left to say, to the point that they even play a Black Sabbath cover in “Supernaut”.

These original misfits play a great mixture of hard rocking tunes with that bit of machinery that makes them so unique, classics such as “NWO” and “Thieves” are a must and they still sound great.

By now the rain slows down a little and “Alice Cooper” enter the stage with “Feed my Frankenstein” and we all immediately forget about the weird vibe set by the electronic acts earlier. The theatrics but more importantly the songs make this for a wonderful evening, “No More Mr. Nice Guy” “Bed of Nails” and “ Hey Stoopid” sway the audience and the party continues. Solo spots by Ryan Roxie and Nita Strauss display the caliber of the band. Knives, dead brides, weird $$$ babies and guillotines complete Alice’s show. Absolutely fantastic, what an spectacle.

And finally the main act, “Nine Inch Nails”. Trent Reznor is old school even though he has been in the vanguard forever. This contradiction of trying to keep the mistique and a distance from the audience, contrast with the in your face brand of hard hitting rock mixed with electro sounds. The imagery onscreen is so cinematic that you lose the feeling of proximity and you fell more like you are in a video shoot sneakely checking out the footage as its shot by the director. Full marks for delivering this brand of music to a metal audience but doing it in style. Obviously the high lights are “The Frail” “ Closer” “Headlike a Hole and the magnificent “Hurt”

By now we are knackered but the day got better and better and by the time we got to the main course we are happy and satisfied. Roll on day three.