After spending a few days to discover the poster, here are my thoughts. That will be my 2nd Hellfest and I will be coming with my mum as a present. I did my first one last year and loved it.
I find the poster very interesting and diverse. When I prepared for the fest last year, I was stunned how many different genres were represented and I would say Hellfest has significantly expanded my music taste. This year goes even further with bands like Heilung, Hellacopters, Falling in Reverse, etc. Hellfest is the only place where Scorpions and Gutalax can play at the same fest.
One thing I notice is how radically the fest changed its direction. If we compare with 2023 - we will still see many of the legacy bands with more classic undercards as well. Now the classic day is condensed to Saturday (as was the case last year too). I see this as too radical and sudden of a shift.
I really like the change at the headliner level. My only disappointment lies with the drastic change of the undercard on the mainstages and the absence of more acts in some classic styles. I am very much in favor of opening the headliners but that should not come at the expense of completely changing all undercards. There are a lot of classic-sounding bands out there both in metal and in rock that were neglected last 2 years. For example, this year there are Trivium, BFMV, the Raven Age, In Flames, Powerwolf, Sonata Arctica, Michael Shenker, the Darkness, Running Wild, Krokus, Dokken, Victory, D-A-D, LA Guns, Warlock, Gamma Ray, Battle Beast, Beast in Black, Dynazty, Lord of the Lost, Primal Fear, Y&T, Myrath, Opeth, Kreator, DragonForce, GloryHammer, Arch Enemy, Hatebreed, Mastodon, etc to name a few that could have made a very strong undercard. Note all these bands are not headliner level but will make a very strong scene even if we have someone like MUSE as a headliner after them to open up our tastes. After all the mainstages are designed to suit the more mainstream tastes and these bands cater to a wide audience and bring the classic sounds in rock and metal.
I think the idea of having thematic scenes is fine as long as it doesn't completely mold the mainstages when we get a more open headliner. For example this year I really struggle with Cypress Hill and Refused on Sunday. They can be on the festival but I don't think these are their most appropriate spots in the mainstage. Sure, I will go and listen to Unleashed or the bands in Warzone but there is a difference between finding something to listen to and really wanting to listen to a particular band.
I just wish the undercard of Hellfest didn't change so drastically for the mainstages.