The line-up of Hells’ Balls Belgium is very similar in quality to what Alcatraz manages to offer us year after year. There are even a couple of bands dropping by we saw ripping up the stage at recent editions of the main fest. If you’re a pure metal fan, we believe that the Saturday really is the day for you to go! Dark Tranquillity played an excellent show at this summer’s Alcatraz (find the pictures here) and are returning to Belgium to play Hell’s Balls Belgium while they’re on tour to promote their new album ‘Endtime Signals’ (find the review here). And with them, comes the good company of Moonspell and our favorite winter metallers Wolfheart (also with a new album, review here)!

And if that amazing package isn’t enough yet to convince you to go, the organisation has collected an impressive group of absolute legends of the extreme metal scene with Triptykon, Primordial, Carpathian Forest, VLTIMAS, Hellripper, Dead Head and The Monolith Deathcult, really knocking it out of the park making it an absolute heaven for any extreme metal fan.

Alcatraz has also never shied away from booking a good amount of punk and hardcore, sludge, stoner and post. If that is more your cup of tea, you simply have to go on the Sunday, because the bands they’ve gathered on that day are just as impressive as the extreme metal line-up of the day before. Most of the bands on this day’s line-up are ones that have dropped by at Alcatraz the past couple of editions, but every one stood guarantee for some of the most memorable performances of the festival. So no big surprise that there are a bunch of them coming back to Belgium again…

A proper hardcore punch in the gut will be delivered by NYHC legends Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags and Murphy’s Law, strengthened by a performance of local hardcore heroes Stab. A touch of punk by the return of nostalgia machine Heideroosjes, who played an absolutely special show at this summer’s Alcatraz (find the pictures of that show here), a repeat of this is something we won’t be complaining about at all.

Last year, German thrash metal icons Sodom played one of the most impressive shows of the weekend on the Swamp Stage and are back to wreck us all again. And lastly, adding somewhat more elegance to the day, balancing out the hardcore/punk/thrash pummeling, a serving of psychedelic rock, sludge, stoner rock and similar will be brought to you by Graveyard, Baroness, Slomosa and Pallbearer… What an exhilarating combination of styles and bands!

Everything that we love about Alcatraz and praise every year over and over again, you can also find and experience at Hell’s Balls Belgium in a somewhat smaller scale. A wonderful atmosphere with an excellent crew, and you get to enjoy a true festival vibe with food trucks, bars, and a wide variety of merchandise stands. A perfect place to hang out with friends and rock all day long without having to worry about the weather. There should be plenty of really good options for food, as they’ve marketed the event as a “food and music festival”. And clearly whatever they’re doing, it’s really working since they expanded the festival from last year’s 1 day into 2 days for you to enjoy and reminiscence about all the good that happened to you during the festival summer, and get you through the damp coldness that is Fall and Winter.

For those who are regular visitors of Alcatraz, it’s in a way a return back to home. Hell’s Balls Belgium takes place in Kortrijk, the same city that has been the consistent landing spot for the main festival for years now. And they are taking over the big halls of Kortrijk Xpo, where there should be plenty of space to house everything and everyone you might need and desire without feeling too cramped. And not just for that reason it’s a great place, it’s super easy to get there by public transport from the city center or even by car if you must. It simply has everything going for it. And if you want to do the full 2 days, there are even hotel options on walking distance from the venue. What is holding you back anymore?

With the epic line-up, unforgettable atmosphere, great venue, food and drinks, all the exclusive merch and other things, if you go it’ll be a weekend to remember for sure. Everyone is welcome, whether you’re an old school hardcore metalhead, or a newbie still discovering your path in the heavy music scene, you’ll find a new place you can call home for 2 days and quite possibly a new family to welcome you into their ranks. We’ve seen time after time new bonds being made that will last a lifetime at Alcatraz, and we expect it to be no different at the off shoot that is Hell’s Balls Belgium!