Hellfest was an American all-ages music festival that existed between 1997 and 2005. The festival showcased hardcore music in its broadest sense, including punk rock, metalcore, emo, post-hardcore and more. It originated in Central New York, in and around Syracuse, but eventually relocated to Central New Jersey during its final years. Hellfest was known for its fan-friendly atmosphere, including a lack of barriers that provided easy access to the stage for stage diving and sing-alongs. It also encouraged social-awareness through workshops that discussed such causes as animal rights, LGBTQ and politics, with many of its bands and attendees following straight-edge and/or vegetarian or vegan lifestyles.
Not unlike many festivals of its size, Hellfest encountered several problems, notably the changing venues mere days before starting. This was the case for 1999's Syracuse Hell Fest 99, 2000's Hellfest 2K, 2001's Hellfest 2001 and 2005's Hellfest '05. The relocation caused an entire day to be missed of the 2000 edition, while the 2005 edition was cancelled altogether. The considerable financial dilemma that resulted from the 2005 event's cancellation led to the termination of the festival.
History and etymology
Co-promoter Josh Grabelle, who was also a sponsor of the festival through his record label Trustkill Records, claimed in 2001 that the event was named Hellfest because "This festival has always been the first weekend in July and it is always extremely HOT, hence, the reference to the blazing inferno known as Hell".[1] This explanation, though inaccurate, has since become de facto, even though Grabelle was not involved with the early years of the festival.
The factual reason behind the naming of the festival was linked to founding promoter Keith Allen's concert booking agency, Hardcore As Hell.[2][3] Allen and his partner Ryan Canavan had been booking and promoting concerts in the Syracuse, New York area since 1996.[4][3] Canavan also had his own booking agency, Hanging Like A Hex, which gave name to a fanzine that he published and, later, the record label Hex Records. Canavan's fanzine Hanging Like a Hex published the first festival's guide/pamphlet as issue number 7.5.[3] Allen and Canavan co-booked the first three festivals: the first event in 1997 was promoted as Syracuse 3-Day Super Festival; the two events in 1998 were promoted as Syracuse Hardcore Festival and Syracuse Hardcore Festival 2.5.[5][6] It was only with the fourth event in 1999, once Allen became sole promoter, that the word hell was added to the name and the event was promoted as Syracuse Hell Fest 99. The single-word Hellfest was first used for the 2000 edition as Hellfest 2K. Allen was also keen on booking his own bands (Order of Deceit, The August Prophecy, Found Dead Hanging and Architect) in favorable time slots.[7]
For Hellfest 2004, Allen relocated the festival from New York to New Jersey, forming a new partnership corporation. Paper Street Music Co. LLC was co-founded by Allen and Shawn Van Der Poel and was based in Mount Holly, New Jersey. They copromoted 2004 Hellfest with Heath Miller and Excess dB Entertainment at Rexplex in Elizabeth, NJ.[8]
Hellfest lineups by year
June 20–22, 1997: Syracuse 3-Day Super Festival
Location: Hungry Charley's, 727 South Crouse Avenue, Syracuse, New York.[6]
* Culture performed their regular set on June 21, then played a 1-song set on June 22 using Hatebreed's gear.
The Earth Crisis side-project Brown Stars was scheduled to make a special, unlisted appearance on Sunday, June 22, but backed out the day before, leading local band Tread to be added to the line-up.[3]
June 13–14, 1998: Syracuse Hardcore Festival
Location: Cornell Cooperative Extension, 248 Grant Avenue, Auburn, New York.
* The festival was initially scheduled to take place at the Booker T. Washington Community Center in Auburn, New York. On Thursday, June 29, the city of Auburn objected to the festival taking place so the organizers secured a second venue near Syracuse Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York. On the morning of Friday, June 30, the fire department objected to the festival because it was too close to the airport. The event was moved again to The Lost Horizon but this time the city of Syracuse objected to the festival taking place. The bands and record labels set up a hardcore flea market in the parking lot of The Lost Horizon to sell merchandise, meanwhile Maharahj and Creation Is Crucifixion performed in a local girl named Emily's front yard down the street. The organizers spent the day finding a new venue and re-booking most of the bands from Friday, June 30 into the next two days. The Saturday, July 1 and Sunday, July 2 shows took place at Club Mirage in East Syracuse.[9]
July 6–8, 2001: Hellfest 2001
Location: Action Sports & Skate Center, 2299 Brewerton Road, in Mattydale, New York
The festival was originally booked and announced to take place at Action Sports & Skate Center, 2299 Brewerton Road, in Mattydale, New York. However, on June 19, 2001, less than three weeks before the event, the promoters moved the show to Liquids in East Syracuse.[10][11] In a sleight-of-hand trick, attendees arriving at Liquids on the morning of July 6 were greeted with flyers stating "It wouldn't be Hellfest without drama," with directions back to the Mattydale Action Sports & Skate Center, the true location of the festival.
The 2001 edition was the first to feature two stages.[12]
The 2003 edition was the first to have official after-party concerts, which were held at Planet 505 in Syracuse on the first two nights.[14] It was the last event to be held in New York; the festival would move to New Jersey for its final two years.
July 23–25, 2004: Hellfest 2004
Location: RexPlex, 2 Ikea Drive, Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The 2004 edition was the first edition to be held in New Jersey.[15] In addition to the concerts, the RexPlex offered a skate park, indoor paintball, arcades, laser tag and the Hellfest Tattoo Festival.[16]
* Hellfest '05 was cancelled and none of the concerts were played. The schedule above was the one announced prior to the cancellation and is presented here for preservation.[17]
This was the first event to feature five stages on each day.
Discrepancies between Paper Street Music (Hellfest's organizer and promoter) and the venue caused the event to be cancelled less than thirty-six hours before starting. A number of the bands originally scheduled for Hellfest planned last-minute alternative shows in the Tri-State Region.[18] Several threats of lawsuits were announced in the news, from the promoters, the venue, the bands and the fans who had not been refunded for their tickets, but so far none have made it to court.[19][20]
Hellfest Battle of the Bands
In 2004, Hellfest sponsored an official battle of the bands contests, both nationally and in Central New Jersey, giving the chance to unsigned bands the opportunity of playing the festival's stages.[21] New Jersey bands were required to enter the local competition organized by concert promoter Excess dB Entertainment, while national acts could apply through //radiotakover's competition.[22]
Excess dB Entertainment's Hellfest Battle of the Bands
The Excess dB Entertainment Battle of the Bands contest offered a total of fifteen prizes: nine Hellfest playing slots for first-place winners and six Excess dB Entertainment concert playing slots for second and third-place winners.[23] The competition was held over three days, two at Club Krome in Sayreville, New Jersey, and one at Cricket Club in Irvington, New Jersey. Five winners were picked at the end of each event by a selection of judges from the New Jersey hardcore community.[22] The judges were Carl Severson (owner of Ferret Music), Alex Saavedra (owner of Eyeball Records), Josh Grabelle (owner of Trustkill Records), Fred Feldman (owner of Triple Crown Records), Kyle Kraszewski (owner of No Milk Records), Joanna Angel (owner of BurningAngels), Andrew D. Keller (A&R scout at Columbia Records), Michelle and Stacy (writers at The Aquarian Weekly), DJ Rob, DJ Ralph and DJ Q (disc jockeys at WSOU), Geoff Rickly (vocalist of the band Thursday) and Evange Livanos (promoter at FATA Booking).[23][24]
The bands Endwell, Malice Aforethought, Flat Earth Society, Nothing Left to Mourn, The Dead Season, Breath of Silence, Sycamore Dreams, Nag Hamadi and Starting to Wonder all won first place and played at Hellfest 2004.[24][25][26][27] Endwell, Nothing Left to Mourn, Breath of Silence and Sycamore Dreams played on the Hot Topic Stage, while Malice Aforethought, Flat Earth Society, The Dead Season, Nag Hamadi and Starting to Wonder played on the Dinosaur Stage.
The //radiotakeover Battle of the Bands contest was sponsored by Hot Topic, Revolver, Hopeless Records and Trustkill Records.[28] Instead of hosting live shows and judging the bands by their live performances, this Battle of the Bands was hosted digitally with artists submitting pre-recorded songs to //radiotakover's website using a user-based voting system.[28] Bands were required to pay a $5 entry fee and submit their songs between May 7–14, 2004; but due to an overwhelming response, the deadline was extended to June 21, 2004.[29][30] The eleven top-voted bands were selected on June 21, 2004, and presented to a judging panel of industry professionals (likely the same judges from Excess dB Entertainment's Battle of the Bands). The judging panel had four days to select the winners, based on a single song, which were scheduled to be announced on Friday, June 25, 2004, but was delayed to Monday, June 28, 2004.[29][31] The Grand Prize winner was given a slot on Hellfest's main stage, accommodations and expenses for the weekend of the event, as well as inclusion on the documentary DVD scheduled to be released by HighRoller Studios (which was ultimately shelved). First Prize winners received slots on Hellfest's Hot Topic stage, free passes to attend the event and free Hellfest merchandise, but were required to provide their own accommodations.[28] Runner up winners (Second Place and Third Place winners) received free passes to attend the event and free Hellfest merchandise.[28]
Winners
The list of winners was announced along with the selected songs upon which they were judged.[31] The top four bands were given playing spots at Hellfest 2004; the Grand Prize winner on the Main Stage, and the three First Prize winners on the Hot Topic Stage.
All Hellfest events have been filmed, either by fans or by professional production companies. However, only three official VHS/DVDs have been released.[32]
Hellfest Syracuse, NY - Summer 2000: The Official Documentary
Hellfest Syracuse, NY - Summer 2000: The Official Documentary was the first officially released video recording of 2000's Hellfest 2K. It was released on VHS and DVD by Trustkill Records on June 12, 2001, and features live footage, interviews, commentaries by fifteen bands, the majority of which were already signed to Trustkill Records.[33]
Hellfest's final year, the 2004 weekend at Rexplex, Elizabeth, New Jersey was filmed by High Roller Studios to be released on DVD, but the footage was never released publicly. When High Roller Studios ended, their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/highrollerstudios) explained the company's reason for disbanding, adding that the Hellfest DVD would never be released. Unbeknownst to most, the entire 2004 DVD had been edited and was ready for release, however Radiotakeover president Shawn Van Der Poel had failed to negotiate agreements with the bands that would have appeared on the multi-disc set.
Director Doug Spangenberg and editor Anderson Bradshaw went on to form a new video production company (Space Monkey Studios, Inc.).
Hellfest 2001/2004 Resurrection (July 2013):
In the summer of 2013, Doug Spangenberg gave the surviving tapes from Hellfests 2001 and 2004 to hate5six so that the sets could be properly edited and released to the public for free. This long-term project promises to make the "lost" footage available in an ad-free and non-commercial setting.
References
^Grabelle, Josh (May 16, 2001). "Hellfest FAQ". Hellfest. Archived from the original on May 16, 2001. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
