Pakanafestarit returns to Espoo in just two weeks: a celebration of Nordic folklore, rituals, community, and one of the strongest line-ups yet, from folk icons Värttinä to pagan metal force Havukruunu and so much more from The Gallows Dance to Kallomäki, Ilkka Heinonen, Rauni, Iterum Nata and Ínkar and of course plenty of vendors yet again! Here are the top reasons why we think you should join us there…

Who says festival season ends with summer? In Finland, the dark months come alive with music: experience the true punk spirit at HKI SKEPU FEST (starting tonight), get in touch with your ancestors and nature at Pakanafestarit, discover new talent at Lost In Music, embrace the shadows at Hellsinki Industrial Festival, sail into chaos with the Hellsinki Metal Cruise, sink into sorrow at Melancholy Mass Festivals, and feel the fire indoors at John Smith Rock Frozen. When the nights are long, Finland turns the volume up.

Brutal Assault is a proper celebration of everything that is metal and/or extreme and there is something great to be found at any time of the day! We picked out 8 bands that you should go see on the fourth day of this year’s edition, with Crypta, Hanabie., Brujeria, Harakiri For The Sky, King Woman, Gost, Hellbutcher and Priest because they’re more than worth it!

The first day of the third edition of Hellsinki Metal Festival is filled with an impressive line-up of metal bands of almost every subgenre, completed with some special ones. Of course you need to go see King Diamond headlining tonight, but there is so much more to discover, so our editorial team picked out 7 bands that they think you definitely shouldn’t miss out on with Rabbit Cult, Gost, Kanonenfieber, Forbidden, Fear Factory, Candlemass and Moonsorrow! What bands are you really looking forward to today? Let us know in the comments!

Brutal Assault is a proper celebration of everything that is metal and/or extreme and there is something great to be found at any time of the day! We picked out 8 bands that you should go see on the third day of this year’s edition, with Graphic Nature, Within Destruction, Mnemic, Sylvaine, Gaerea, The Browning, Hellripper and Mantar, because they’ll be more than worth your time!

On the last day of Alcatraz 2025, we get 10 more fantastic Belgian bands served up, going from mesmerizing atmosphere makers like Briqueville and Alkerdeel, to absolute mayhem from bands like Bark, Devastatiön, Slaughter Messiah and Cobracide, hardcore legends Congress and Whatever It Takes, rockers Promise Down or goth-tinged heavy metallers Cult of Scarecrow! Something for everyone and again proof how rich the Belgian heavy music scene is…