A brief guide to Europe's best hard rock and metal festivals, from Wacken Open Air and Hellfest to Tuska Open Air, Italy's Gods Of Metal and the Sweden Rock Festival.

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: In Flames, Helloween Vs Gamma Ray, 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

Tuska Open Air: Line-up and Details

What: Now into its eleventh 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 the best UK metal festivals or here for a summer festival survival guide.