How can an Extreme Metal Festival also be Eco-Friendly? Does it insist all performing Black Metal bands limit their sacrifices to organically farmed goats? Do they employ amplifiers made from recycled hemp fibres? Or is the energy generated in the Mosh Pit harnessed to power the lighting rig? To be honest Gohelle-Fest insists on none of these outlandish ideas. What it does do is make best use of goods and services local to the venue.
Based in Loos-En-Gohelle, an ex-mining town in the Pays-De-Calais, September sees the second edition of this brave event. Located at foot of the giant grass covered pyramids of waste material from the coal mine, Gohelle-Fest celebrates these recently created world heritage sites by focusing their energies on minimising their carbon footprint.
Their aim is to achieve this in several ways:
Only using locally produced materials, made within 200km of the festival.
Utilising regional, organic and seasonal food.
A focused campaign of organising car-pooling to and from the event.
Intelligent thinking about reducing waste and saving energy on-site.
The use of Reusable Eco-Cups at the bar.
A concerted separate and recycle team on-site at the festival.
An initiative to reduce cigarette litter.
As well as these noble goals, 2015 also sees Gohelle-Fest step up their game considerably. Moving from a single day event, headlined by Kreator and Napalm Death in 2013, to a sprawling 2 day jamboree with huge acts such as Carcass, Obituary, Entombed AD among many others.
Also featuring a free-to-use camp-site, involvement from many local cultural association, a Huge metal-market, as well as the high standard of food and drink that one comes to expect in France, Gohelle-Fest promises to be the place to get your Extreme Metal fix this Autumn.
So, if you are able to make your way to Northern France for 2 days of riotous and ecologically sound partying, buy your tickets now!!
Expect a live reviews and Head-liner interviews early in September.
\m/
– John Whitmore
Links: Facebook // Official Website // Tickets
