Corentin Charbonnier - Hellfest - A Pilgrimage For Metalheads - BOOK

The study presented here shows, through the analysis of the Hellfest, an annual metal music festival held in Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique region of France, that this music constitutes a true culture. To understand the current position the Hellfest holds for the metal community, it is necessary to know its evolution since its creation, to examine the relationships it promotes between the festivalgoers themselves, and between the festivalgoers and the artists, and to examine its role as a place where a community with no real geographical foothold can be united during a given period of time. The various sociabilities that are experienced at the Hellfest cannot be understood without taking an interest in the particular economy set up by the organisers, an economy that contributes to the recognition of the event and infl uences its sociabilities. The organisers have had and are committed to addressing the wishes of the festivalgoers of all subgenres of metal music, making them actors and not just mere consumers and involving local economic actors as well. The Hellfest allows each metalhead to take a break from his or her life in a particular space, for a defined period of time, offering everyone the opportunity to assert or reassert his or her identity through different rituals. It is thus the pilgrimage of the entire metal community

Author:
Doctor in Anthropology, Research Fellow at ERTS (Regional School for Social Workers), Corentin Charbonnier publishes, with the support of Hellfest and various partners, his first book translated in english, which includes the essential elements of his anthropology thesis devoted to the Hellfest festival, defended in December 2015. Corentin Charbonnier is also President of the Throne of Thanatos association, present at many events since 2005 and also a concert photographer. Since 2016, he is an independent searcher and photographer.