BEST OF THE FEST: EUROPE
Like a summer hoLiday, but with 666% more metaL
Graspop Metal MeetinG Dessel, BelGiuM | June 16-18
Celebrating its 21st birthday this year, Graspop offers an immersive festival village featuring record fairs, rides, a classic rock cafe and a metal boulevard where you can do everything from having an oxygen shot to getting a beard trim from their onsite barbers. Add to this a killer line-up, featuring big names like Rammstein and Steel Panther, playing to more than 100,000 people, and you’ve got an unmissable weekend.
BANDS: Clutch, Evanescence, Five Finger Death Punch, In Flames, Rammstein, Rob Zombie, Sabaton, Steel Panther, While She Sleeps
Hellfest
Clisson, franCe | June 16-18
Always boasting a rather aweinspiring line-up, Hellfest now sells out in advance of any announcements purely on the strength of its consistency. It’s the same again this year, where the bands are placed in genre-specific stages, each complete with their own unique aesthetic. From the punk stage Warzone’s industrialised wasteland to the black-metal-centric Altar’s arcane religious imagery, Hellfest continues to nail it. BANDS: Aerosmith, Airbourne, Avatar, Baroness, Behemoth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Opeth, Prophets Of Rage, Slayer
MetalDays tolMin, slovenia July 23-29
Combining a metal festival with a camping and beach holiday, MetalDays is your go-to place to kill two birds with one stone. Spend the day sunbathing around some idyllic views and swimming in the clear blue waters of the site’s man-made lake, before heading over to the main arena to watch some face-ripping metal for the evening. There really is no other festival quite like MetalDays.
BANDS: Abbath, Amon Amarth, Architects, Bloodbath, Blues Pills, Death Angel, Grand Magus, Iced Earth, Marilyn Manson, Opeth
WaCken sCHlesWiG-Holstein, GerMany | auGust 3-5
The granddaddy of all European metal festivals. Wacken has established itself through a combination of excellent facilities and organisation, and an always-stellar musical line-up of the biggest and best in pure and traditional metal, along with a few surprises. With tickets usually selling out within 48 hours of going on sale, the Wacken brand is bigger and more iconic than ever. BANDS: Accept, Alice Cooper, Architects,
The Dillinger Escape Plan, Megadeth, Napalm Death, Paradise Lost, Trivium, Volbeat
Brutal assault fortress Josefov, CzeCH repuBliC | auGust 9-12
Situated in the grounds of an old army fortress, and surrounded by ancient castle ruins and woodland, Brutal Assault offers a scenic view to go along with the many musical delights on the bill. Plus, it offers incredible value for money at a mere 86 Euros for a weekend ticket, and, being in the Czech Republic, one of the finest beer selections you could ask for.
BANDS: Decapitated, Electric Wizard, Emperor, Hatebreed, Morbid Angel, Sikth, Trivium
party san sCHlotHeiM, GerMany | auGust 10-12
It would take some going for another German festival to ‘out metal’ Wacken, but the Party San folks are doing their very best to achieve that feat by booking some of the most extreme and violent music they can. Party San also manages to attract many bands from some of the emerging scenes around the world. If you like it truly underground and kvlt as fuck, then Party San should be on your to-do list.
BANDS: Abbath, Candlemass, Cryptopsy, Insomnium, Marduk, Nile, Possessed, Vader
saBaton open air falun, sWeDen | auGust 16-19
The tank-loving Swedes will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their very own festival this year. Taking place in their homeland, it has grown in stature in the same way as its curators, going from an indoor event to a full open-air, four-day extravaganza in 2017. It now boasts Sabaton-branded beer, its own ski slope and, of course, the most power metal-centric line-up of any festival you’ll attend this year. BANDS: Sabaton (obvs), Avatar, British Lion, Evergrey, Hammerfall, Pain, Rotting Christ
MiDGarDsBlot
Borre, vestfolD, norWay | auGust 17-19
A festival dedicated to all things Viking, set amongst the grounds of a former Viking settlement. Midgardsblot is one festival that truly can lean on more than just music, with beer festivals, Norse games, battle recreations and a Viking market with authentic food, clothes and drink for you to sample. Not to mention a bill of the very best in battle metal. Basically, if you like Viking culture, Midgardsblot is a no-brainer.
BANDS: Aura Noir, Gaahls Wyrd, Moonsorrow, Oranssi Pazuzu, Sahg, Sólstafir, Winterfylleth
BeyonD tHe Gates: BJørGvin BlaCk Mass 2017 BerGen, norWay | auGust 24-26
Formerly Hole In The Sky and then Beyond The Gates, this new incarnation of the festival promises to be an experience like no other. It’s moving to a bigger venue, is hosting a world-exclusive performance of Enslaved’s 1994 debut Vikingligr Veldi, and is holding firm to its cult ethos. It’s also set on a lake, with a welcome and fraternal atmosphere akin to Roadburn.
BANDS: Enslaved, Exciter, Master’s Hammer, Mayhem, Mgła, Revenge
fall of suMMer torCy, franCe | septeMBer 8-9
A relative newcomer, only in its fourth year, Fall Of Summer is situated 30km from Paris by the Torcy Lake and represents one final chance to see out festival season in heavy style. Featuring a line-up that concentrates on some of the best underground and extreme bands in metal,
FOS would certainly be a fine last hurrah to your summer festival-going calendar.
BANDS: Blasphemy, Bulldozer,
Coven, Magma, Marduk, Orange
Goblin, Primordial, Saint Vitus