Hellfest 2025 – Sunday Recap

The last day of a festival is always a bittersweet experience. You walk the grounds with a ticking clock over your head, each band you see bringing you closer to the final moments. The tiredness is there, but you get a second wind of energy, you want to make the most of it before it’s all over, and you have to wait another year to come back and enjoy yourself. Many festivals become annual traditions, with some people returning to the same spot for years. Hellfest is one of those places, a fantastic way to spend your time off, with all the trimmings and an incredible lineup every year. NK

So, how did Day 4 play out on the grassy fields of Clisson?

Guilt Trip

We opened our coverage with a set from Guilt Trip. Right now, the band is having what’s likely the busiest and possibly the best summer of their lives, with multiple festivals booked and an autumn U.S. tour alongside Kublai Khan. People are paying attention, swarming the space. And honestly, I’m not giving you much choice here; you have to be excited about this band if Machine Head ranks anywhere near the top of your tier list. With a heavy influence heard throughout their setlist, blending beautiful crossover and hardcore elements, they truly are a powerhouse band, one to watch closely in the coming years. For die-hard fans in the UK, the Manchester-born group is already firmly established in the scene, but now its time for the rest of the world. Their Hellfest performance was nothing short of wild, with the crowd going insane. A massive circle pit spun like your dirty post-festival clothes in the wash, churning round and round to the sounds of their punishing setlist. There was a wall of death. People crowd-surfed constantly throughout their time on stage. The heat didn’t bother us anymore, we had one day left, and we were determined to make it count. Fans went all out, with no apologies. Ending their set with a cover of “Davidian” was the perfect final touch. If you haven’t already, go spin their album Severance. You won’t regret it. NK

Messa

For me, the festival ended with Messa’s set, as I had to make my way home a bit earlier than everyone else. It felt like a dream come true, especially after the release of their new album Spin, which captured many hearts and souls back in May. Their new music evokes a kind of future nostalgia where you listen in closely and it becomes the soundtrack to your memories; it permanently weaves itself into their fabric. This year will undoubtedly be synonymous with their songs. I hope that a few years down the line, I’ll play them and feel the same joy and contentment, tasting their vibrance and vivid colours without losing any details.

That feeling was painted across every face that gathered at the Valley stage to listen in. You see, that stage is typically filled with intensely hot riffs from the stoner and doom genres, it’s where you go to dance and shake your head vigorously. But Messa brought a tonal shift with their signature Scarlet Doom, a sound that sprinkles in jazz, blues, prog, black metal, and dark ambient. Sara, their vocalist, delivers beautiful vocals that are truly charming. They flirt with your ears, gentle like a summer breeze across the ocean. Combined with the band’s musical craftsmanship, the result is a soundscape that radiates pure serenity. Riffs are overlaid with a chorus effect, and the guitar solos are crafted with such flair you simply can’t look away. During these solos, Sara stepped offstage, letting the moment unfold undistracted, just us and the music.

Their stage presence is classy, calm and graceful. After four days at the festival, I felt oddly out of place. There we stood with our beers, a bit worse for wear, while on stage was an act that could easily fill the Royal Albert Hall, an act you’d dress up for, sit with a glass of wine, and quietly soak in. I hope they make it there one day. And to those who shed a tear during the set, I just want to say, you’re not alone. I did too, in the most poetic of ways: one single tear rolling down my cheek, cooling me ever so slightly. It’s no surprise, really, Messa taps into your most vulnerable frequencies, resonating deeply, echoing both the sweet and the powerful. If you haven’t listened to Messa yet, please do so immediately. NK

Motionless in White

American metalcore icons Motionless In White took to the stage at Hellfest in a blaze of glory! Kicking off their set with Meltdown, the rowdy festival goers quickly got the pit open once more and let loose to the heavy nature of the music on display. Chris Motionless dedicated Slaughterhouse to “my friends in Knocked Loose” to a roar of approval from the French loyalists before serenading the crowd with the heavily emotional Voices. Usually, bands will finish a festival set on a more positive track, but Motionless In White’s decision to close out their set with Eternally Yours was a stroke of genius. Both the band and the fans delivered a performance that tugged on the heartstrings of even the most hardened metalheads in the crowd to make for a spectacular finale. CS

Falling in Reverse

There may not be a band that divides opinion as much as Falling In Reverse does; however, thousands upon thousands of attendees showed up to see what Ronnie Radke and his band of misfits had on offer. Ronnie’s powerful delivery of Prequel set the mood pretty quickly before the band unleashed their hit single Zombified upon Hellfest! Pyro shot up to the sky from every direction as the band went from strength to strength. Bad Guy, The Drug In Me Is You and Just Like You gave fans a real display of exactly how far the band has come, while Ronnie would constantly mix humour and anger in spoken passages addressing the crowd. 

Popular Monster had the Clission festival grounds shaking from stage to exit before Falling would close out their set with one of the heaviest-hitting duos Hellfest had seen all weekend. “Ronnie isn’t here… I’m Ronald,” echoed around the festival before Ronald ambushed the senses of those around to hear it before the final curtain would fall upon Mainstage 2 to the brutal Watch The World Burn.

Ronnie is one of the most controversial singers in modern metal, but one thing is for sure: he knows how to put on a show to remember! CS

Linkin Park

Making their first appearance back at Hellfest since 2017, Linkin Park would take to the stage late on Sunday evening. Opening their set with the emotionally fuield Somewhere I Belong, the Nu Metal legends quickly had the crowd singing and moving along to the beat. Splitting their set into acts, act I chose impact over pace, offering Lying From You, From The Inside and finally The Emptiness Machine which left the band stunned momentarily as the Hellfest faithful sang the chorus back nearly perfectly to the band. 

The lights faded away before Act II started with The Catalyst and Burn It Down, the latter encouraging more singing and grooving to the beat. Off the album From Zero, Two Faced gave fans another chance to experience the new evolution of the band’s sound, with Emily Armstrong taking charge more during this song. The act would come to a close with One Step Closer,  where Mike Shinoda would encourage the crowd to mosh, even asking for multiple pits to be opened up before the song kicked in. 

Act III took a real emotional turn with Lost echoing around the sacred grounds of Hellfest. Tears and hugs could be seen throughout the crowd while the band on stage visibly seemed to be struggling with the weight of the song. Overflow, What I’ve Done, and Super Hit Numb would follow, with all 3 making the crowd louder with each passing note. In The End got the fans bouncing once more before the more eccentric-sounding Faint brought the act to its conclusion. 

As the darkness filled the festival, a laser would shoot out from the top of the stage once more before Linkin Park would return to the stage with Papercut. The track of the band’s debut album, Hybrid Theory, breathed a second wind into the flagging festival crowd, and the entire floor was bouncing once more. A Place For My Head and Heavy Is The Crown sent shockwaves right to the very back before the band would leave their adoring fans with one last memory in the form of Bleed It Out. This sent the festival into a frenzy as everyone in attendance gave their very last ounce of energy to Linkin Park! CS