Greetings, metal fans!

Firstly, let me introduce myself, I'm Dj Sly AKA 'Death' - of 'The 4 Dj's Of The Apocalypse'. More about that later, for now I want to tell you about the storming weekend of pure metal that was HELLFEST 2007.

Myself and my crew had the good fortune to be asked to represent Bloodstock at this years HELLFEST in France. If you haven't heard about it you should have! (And you can check out a full lineup at www.hellfest.fr .

We set off on Thursday armed with exclusive BOA t-shirts and bags full to bursting with Bloodstock flyers. On arrival at the airport we found that we were not the only metallers from England heading to the fest, in fact only about 5 people on our flight weren't, let the fun begin! The entire plane was a buzzing sea of hair and black shirts. We land in Nantes and set off en mass to find Clisson and the fest. 1 bus, 2 trams, 1 train and a walk later we arrive at the Hellfest campsite. The queue wasn't too bad and soon we were inside setting up our tents when the skies opened on us, but we were in high spirits and slightly drunk now so we just didn't care. Soon the tents were up and we set about getting to know people, it was surprisingly easy to make friends considering our meagre French and soon we were chatting with people from all around the world.

The next morning we were up bright and early and off to collect our entry passes. Unfortunately there was a generator fire on the main stage and the arena was flooded by heavy rain so the fest didn't get started till about 4pm rather than the original 1pm but we all keep ourselves amused with chants and beer. The main downside to this was missing about 9 bands, including LAMB OF GOD. The first band on the main stage was CHIMAIRA and they blew us away! We'd just made it into the VIP bar for a beer when they came on and the walls began to shake with the sound of METAL. The day continued in a truly metal style with bands like DESTINITY, MASTODON, HACRIDE, HATEBREED and the mighty MACHINE HEAD. The finale of the day was SLAYER and they played with all the enthusiasm of a band playing their first festival and all the talent of guys that have been doing it for years. At this point I have to sneak in the fact that while we were standing backstage listening to MACHINE HEAD we had the pleasure of getting our picture taken with the legendary KERRY KING! Hell yeah! The headlining act was meant to be KORN but they pulled out 'Due to severe weather....' (full statement found at www.korn.com ) .

On our second morning we realised that our food and more importantly beer supplies were nearly out so we set off into the village of Clisson. As well as being a nice little French town with an impressive castle, Clisson had various cafe's with bands playing on the streets and a local square with a brass oompah band. The first band we saw that day was VADER but we had to tear ourselves away to follow up a recommendation to see GUTWORM on the Discover Stage. On arrival we realised we'd left it too late as the marquee was already bursting at the seams with fans. Our next stop was the Gibson Stage to see KORPIKLAANI then on to the indoor market for a spot of metal merch shopping.

Re-emerging with various cds and t-shirts in our Hellfest bags, we decided to meet some more of the European metal fans and spread the word of Bloodstock. Walking around passing out flyers to the masses, we couldnt help hearing thumping tunes from BRUJERIA. A suitable soundtrack while we worked. While taking a break from flyering, we headed over to the skate ramp. Waiting in anticipation for someone to hurt themselves we heard monstrous riffs coming from the Main Stage, a band by the name of AMON AMARTH. We hadnt heard them before but we came away impressed.

The riffage continued with the likes of NAPALM DEATH, CHILDREN OF BODOM, SWORN ENEMY (a personal favorite of Famine - Dj Of The Apocalypse) and IMMORTAL. The day was capped off by TYPE O NEGATIVE. Not the best performance I have seen from them but they got the crowd going and hearing 'Black Number One' blaring through the French countryside at 1.30am was awesome.

The final day of the festival began in true metal style sharing breakfast beers amongst our new comrades and playing a camp wide game of 'Throw The Ball'. Players from all over the world, even as far as Australia joined in. By lunchtime, we were really feeling the effects of the beer and decided it was time to get a good dose of METAL. We headed over to Stage 2 to catch EPHEL DUATH and SCARVE, wicked. On our way to see KREATOR, we discovered that by collecting 30 empty cups we could get free beer. Our day was getting better and better. Next up were CONVERGE, ORTHODOX and the brutally heavy 1349. The headline acts for Sunday were DREAM THEATER and EMPEROR but i have to say, for us the highlight of the day had to be MEGADETH. An awesome set throughout, even the rain during the mosh pits was appreciated, the first time all weekend.

Hellfest was our first European festival and I have to say I'm hooked; it was the perfect prelude to BOA. If you can afford to go next year, I would strongly recommend it. You will come home with a reawakened thirst for metal. Bring on Bloodstock....

Finally a little more about myself, my crew and our involvement at BOA 2007. We are 'The 4 Dj's Of The Apocalypse', a collective of Dj's from around the UK and you can hear us everyday until 2am in the LAVA Arena playing 'Metal for the fans'.

With that in mind we want you to let us know what kind of tunes you want to hear from us at BOA, so please post your suggestions in the forum.

Keep your eyes peeled for more...


: Dj Sly aka Death - The 4 Dj's Of The Apocalypse :