European Rock and Metal Festivals
A Guide to Europe's Biggest and Best Heavy Metal Music Festivals
May 5, 2008
While there are dozens of European music festivals featuring rock and metal bands in their line-ups, this guide looks at those catering exclusively for fans of metal and the heavier end of the rock music spectrum.
Wacken Open Air: Line-up and Details
What: The biggest dedicated metal festival in Europe, Germany's Wacken Open Air (or W.O.A) has grown from a small event hosting local bands in 1990 to a huge festival – there were 70,000 attendees in 2007 – that attracts both major bands and metal fans from all over the world.
When: July 31st – August 2nd
Where: Wacken, Germany
Headliners: Iron Maiden, Nightwish, Avantasia, Gorgoroth
Best Of The Rest: 3 Inches Of Blood, Kreator, Kamelot, Hatebreed, Avenged Sevenfold, Lordi, Killswitch Engage, Opeth, Obituary, Sonata Arctica, The Haunted, Unearth, Exodus, Ensiferum, Cynic, As I Lay Dying, Children Of Bodom
Hellfest Summer Open Air: Line-up and Details
What: Not to be confused with the defunct American hardcore punk festival called Hellfest, the French Hellfest Summer Open Air is a relatively new event. Launched in 2006, the festival aims to cover various aspects of extreme music, with a strong metal slant but also featuring a number of hardcore and punk acts.
When: June 20th – June 22nd
Where: Clisson, France
Headliners: Venom, Cavalera Conspiracy , Slayer
Best of the Rest: Dimmu Borgir, Carcass, Sick Of It All, Paradise Lost, Cavalera Conspiracy, Apocalyptica, Iced Earth, Ministry, Motorhead, NOFX, Morbid Angel, Meshuggah, Paradise Lost, Death Angel, Porcupine Tree, Candlemass, Helloween Vs Gamma Ray, In Flames
Tuska Open Air: Line-up and Details
What: Now into its 11th year, Nordic Europe's biggest metal festival runs the gamut but with an emphasis on extreme metal bands and Scandinavian acts in particular.
When: June 27th – June 29th
Where: Helsinki, Finland
Headliners: Dimmu Borgir, Morbid Angel, Slayer
Best of the Rest: Carcass, Amon Amarth, Entombed, Kreator, Fields Of The Nephilim, Behemoth, Killswitch Engage, Sonata Arctica, Nile, Job For A Cowboy, Korpiklaani
Gods Of Metal Festival: Line-up and Details
What: Held this year at the Arena Parco Nord in Bologna, the weather is far more likely to be sunny than at, say, Download in the UK, while the bill itself is also suitably scorching.
When: June 27th – June 29th
Where: Bologna, Italy
Headliners: Iron Maiden, Slayer, Judas Priest
Best of the Rest: Avenged Sevenfold, Rose Tattoo, Apocalyptica, Carcass, Meshuggah, Testament, At The Gates, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Iced Earth, Yngwie Malmsteen, Obituary, Enslaved
Sweden Rock Festival: Line-up and Details
What: A long-running European festival (the first having been held in 1992) the self-explanatorily named Sweden Rock Festival has more of a classic rock and metal feel than many of its rivals.
When: June 4th – June 7th
Where: Norje, Sweden
Headliners: Judas Priest, Def Leppard, Poison
Best of the Rest: Triumph, Whitesnake, Disturbed, Avantasia, Saxon, Ace Frehley, Sebastien Bach, At The Gates, Testament, Ratt, Satyricon, Ministry, Hanoi Rocks, Joe Satriani, Lizzy Borden
Click here for updated 2009 line-ups and details.
