It is approaching that time of year again, in a few months festival season will be upon us, and once again hundreds and thousands of people will be descending on many a field ready for a chaotic camping experience, but where will you be?

Well, thousands of Brits seem to be turning their back on UK festivals in search for nicer weather and heading overseas for their festival of choice. As great as the Download line up looks this year, not many of us fancy another weekend potentially up to our eyes in mud right? Right. So, let us tell what we reckon is the place to be this Summer, Hellfest! 

Hellfest is located in Clisson, close to Nantes in France and is increasingly becoming more and more popular with rock and metal fans all over the world. It has been a well established festival for over a decade and continues to grow and grow each year. It relocated in 2012 meaning it could house even more music fans and ore stages and more bands than ever before!

2013 looks set to be one of its greatest line ups yet with hundreds of bands across many genres making an appearance. American giants KISS will headline, alongside Brit-pioneers Def Leppard and the super cool ZZ Top, i mean that in itself is pretty fantastic. Well, they will also be joined by the likes of Twisted Sister, Whitesnake, Korn, NOFX, Saxon, Hardcore Superstar, Down, Danzig, Volbeat….the list is endless, truly something for everyone. 

This years event takes place on 21-23 June and promises to be a killer time to be had by all. So what do you think? Will you be making a trip to Hellfest this year? We certainly will be!

You can find all the info you need on tickets, travel and the full line up over at www.hellfest.fr and special travel packages are available for us Brits at www.argon.co.uk. See you down the front!

Song of the day

Korn - Shoots and Ladders

Nu Metallers Korn have released their second video from their recent dubstep infused album The Path Of Totality. The video for second single Chaos Lives In Everything feat. Skrillex, features a business man chasing a skater over spilt coffee before being over run by a gang; the classic bullying scenario. Will it all end well for the business man? Watch and find out:

The gigs are picking up, and here are our recommendations for March!

Black Stone Cherry

Southern quartet Black Stone Cherry are returning to UK shore after a hugely successful tour with Alter Bridge last November. Full of dirty, gritty rock n roll, they are always a brilliant watch; and not only that, they have the brilliant Rival Sons in support! Tickets and dates here.

Steel Panther

The glittering foursome are heading over later this month after an awesome set supporting heroes Motley Crue and Def Leppard. Not only will you get brilliant music but I can guarantee you will laugh so much it hurts! They also have great support from Cambridge lads The Treatment. Tour info can be found here.

The Answer/The Union

The Answer and The Union are embarking upon a joint headline tour this month and it is set to be an evening of hard, bluesy rock; what’s not to enjoy?! Dates and tickets can be found here.

Korn

After clearing our doubts whether metal and dubstep would be a good mix, Jonathan Davies is leading his troops across the UK for more earth shattering performances. Always a great live band, they are well worth going to see! Info here.

Graveyard

March has got a lot of bluesy rock n roll on offer, and a band we feel really shouldn’t be missed is Graveyard. Hailing from Sweden, this quartet have got the essence of blues music completely right. At less than a tenner a ticket, you’d be a fool to miss out! Tour info here.

Two weeks after the release of The Path Of Totality (review here), metal group Korn have announced a string of UK dates for March next year!

Always ones to push the boundaries of music, and a superb live band, we highly recommend you go! Tickets go on sale tomorrow!

When the words Korn and dubstep were first heard together, I think the metal world did a collective shudder. Could these two extremes possibly work? Especially after the recent failings of Loutallica! Nevertheless, first single Get Up!, featuring Skrillex was released and got us thinking, maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad…

Opener Chaos Lives In Everything, is another collaboration with the upcoming Skrillex. Despite the addition of dubstep/electro elements to the album, it still has the recognisable essentials of Korn, triplet rhythms for example. Jonathan Davies voice still has a commanding presence despite the busy background surrounding it. The lyrics are, of course, as dark as ever, which the heavy synth sounds matches surprisingly well. On that note, it is evident that the collaborating artists have a good understanding of Korn and their musical style. For me, the Skrillex tracks are the best on the album, particularly Narcissistic Cannibal. The mix of the two genres compliment each other perfectly and nothing gets lost in the hectic accompaniment. Way Too Far is without doubt, the heaviest track on the album, with a thick bass layer and strong vocals. In true Korn style, Bleeding Out features bagpipes and Tension includes Davies’ own brand of scat singing, both well known factors in the groups music. Tension provides an unnerving end to the album, but a brilliant one nonetheless.

The Path Of Totality is certainly a breakthrough album in terms of something new, and thankfully, it is actually successful! Known for going against the grain and being experimental, Korn have once again pulled it off!

Songs I’d Recommend: Narcissistic Cannibal, Get Up!, Bleeding Out.

Laura Woodhead

Roadrunner are streaming Korn’s new album The Path of Totality IN FULL!

The groups latest offering see’s them team up with big names in the world of dubstep, an interesting mix for sure! The album is on sale on Monday.

Our review will be up soon!

Korn’s record label Roadrunner Records have unveiled 5th December as the release date for the bands upcoming album. Titled The Path Of Totality is set to be yet another progression for the band experimenting with dubstep and electronic sounds. After the recent success of the track Get Up! in which they collaborated with dubsteps biggest producer Skrillex, there is an air of anticipation and excitement surrounding the album.

Check out the new video for Get Up! now!

Korn Feat. Skrillex - ‘Get Up’ music video [HD] from sébastien paquet on Vimeo.

Laura Woodhead

So a week passed since Download Festival, I had just about recovered when it was time to head to Belgium for the 16th annual Graspop Metal Meeting. My first non- UK festival, excited and nervous, we boarded the plane and away we went. 

Upon arriving, the differences were already extremely apparent. The size for one, crazy small, and the camping area was hectic, but we were there and we were ready to rock! 

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