Mass Hysteria – Vae Soli (Live au Hellfest, 2024)
Verycords
10,0/10,0
Brief:
With every new cycle, MASS HYSTERIA keeps driving the point home, proving once again their undeniable status as a cornerstone of the French scene.
After a two-part album, TENACE, which had the audacity to debut at No. 1 in physical sales upon its release, and a sold-out tour (120 dates) that saw them set venues and festivals ablaze — winning over new diehards at every show — all elevated by an ambitious stage production rarely seen for this genre in France, they’re now releasing the live album from what is, without a doubt, the finest display of their eternal youth to date: HELLFEST 2024.
To set the scene: MASS HYSTERIA was offered, as a mark of their stature, nothing less than the coveted Saturday slot on the festival’s main stage, right before the legends of Metallica.
As further proof of the respect shown by their illustrious elders — for whom they had already opened at the Arènes de Nîmes — they received the exceptionally rare permission (they remain the only ones to date) to use the Four Horsemen’s “snake pit” for their own show.
VAE SOLI (“woe to the lonely man”) captures, through 22 cameras, this historic moment where MASS HYSTERIA elevated their performance to the level of the festival’s headliners, making the 60,000 people present jump as one to a now-legendary “Contraddiction”, scream the cathartic chorus of “L’Enfer des Dieux”, or shred their voices on “Positif à Bloc” and “Chiens de la Casse”.
Monstrous! Quite simply.
[Edited Press Release]
Tracklist:
- Mass Veritas
- Positif à bloc
- Chiens de la casse
- Nerf de boeuf
- Se brûler sûrement
- L’émotif impérieux
- Reprendre ses esprits
- Arômes complexes
- L’enfer des Dieux
- Tenace
- Contraddiction
- Plus que du Metal
Main Focus Tracks:
- Positif à bloc
- Se brûler sûrement
- Reprendre ses esprits
- L’enfer des Dieux
- Contraddiction
- Plus que du Metal
Other Recommended Tracks:
- Mass Veritas
- Chiens de la casse
- Nerf de boeuf
- L’émotif impérieux
- Arômes complexes
Line-Up:
Mustapha “Mouss” Kelaï – vocals
Raphaël Mercier – drums
Yann Heurtaux – guitars
Frédéric Duquesne – guitars
Jamie Ryan – bass
Comments:
Flawless, Vae Soli at Hellfest 2024 is a great record, a true summit for Mass Hysteria. L’enfer des Dieux!
Contacts:
Video:
Selected Discography:
Le Bien-être et la Paix – 1997
Live à Montréal – 1998
Contraddiction – 1999
De cercle en cercle – 2001
Mass Hysteria – 2005
Une somme de détails – 2007
Failles – 2009
Live (Toulouse) – 2011
L’Armée des Ombres – 2012
Mass Hysteria à l’Olympia – 2013
Matière Noire – 2015
Le Trianon – 2016
Maniac – 2018
Hellfest XXI VI MMXIX (live) – 2019
Le Gros 4 : Live au Zénith de Strasbourg – 2022
Tenace – Part 1 – 2023
Tenace – Part 2 – 2023
Vae Soli : Hellfest 2024 (live) – 2025
Photo credit: band