Photo Reports

When you have new friends in Mexico who are musicians, one of your ‘obligations’ is to participate in some way in their growth and help in any way you can, a reciprocal feeling to acquire new opportunities in a new country. I’m very grateful to Chuy Guevara and his project, The Mexican Walker, for the opportunity to be present at a huge party featuring one of the most important Mexican bands of recent times, Kinky.

The usual press conference, at a prestigious hotel in the city of San Luís Potosi (SLP), was used to talk a little about what was being prepared for the following day at the city’s theater in Tangamanga Park. A good mood, a full room and lots of questions made us look forward to a big and memorable show.

Kinky are an electronic rock band who also mix other musical genres, making them popular with a wide audience. With over 20 years’ experience, the project is respected and admired both nationally and internationally.

Opening the night on Saturday, The Mexican Walker gave their biggest performance to date, the home band from SLP managed to reach a wider audience and presented their best version, making the most of the opportunity. The project mixes electronic sounds and traditional instruments, immersing us in an immersive soundscape.

Performing in a hybrid form, Sussie 4 turned the venue into a giant open-air discotheque. Technology hand in hand with the organic, just two men managed to infect a crowd in an intense and long-lasting way, for around 2 hours in which they ‘pumped’ and made people dance to the sound of their very strong mixes.

Even after an intense set by Sussie 4, the SLP crowd still had plenty of energy to unapologetically welcome Kinky, the band from Monterey back in a big way. Their songs are catchy, they’re on the radio, on TV, in films all over the world and everyone knows them and dances to them. An unforgettable evening for those who attended, a huge Saturday night party with good vibes and positive energy.

A big thank you and compliments to Thanku Entertainment for the excellent organisation of a great event.

With “Lihaa Mattoon!”, Ääniwalli played host to a night where heavy metal and wrestling didn’t just coexist, but actively fed off each other. Local metal legends Tyrantti joined forces with FCF Wrestling league for an event that blurred the lines between concert and spectacle, blending live matches and crushing riffs into one continuous experience.

The crossover felt natural rather than forced, which was hardly surprising given the history between Tyrantti and FCF, from music video collaborations to appearances at last year’s Hellsinki Metal Festival, and with keyboardist Koobra being part of the wrestling league himself. What unfolded was a loud, physical, and wildly entertaining celebration of two scenes that thrive on intensity, theatrics, and crowd connection.

As part of the Coolhead Live concert series, a night steeped in darkness and atmosphere unfolded with Septicflesh as the commanding centerpiece. Their symphonic extremity filled the air with weight and grandeur under the golden light of a setting summer sun, balancing brutality and elegance in a way few bands can manage live.

With Afsky and Vermilia setting the tone from different ends of the black metal spectrum, the evening traced a compelling arc from raw, emotive intensity to ritualistic depth, making this Coolhead Live night one that lingered well beyond the final notes.

Tuska is more than what happens on stage. Over the course of the Tuska 2025 weekend, Suvilahti once again became its own small city filled with familiar faces, spontaneous encounters, shared moments in the crowd, and the unmistakable atmosphere that makes Tuska feel like home to so many.

This photo report collects glimpses from between the stages: frontline energy, quiet pauses, random wanderers soaking it all in, and the small details that often say more than any headliner ever could. Included are also a few moments from SKYND’s interview at the Tuska Forum, offering a look behind the scenes of the festival’s broader cultural heartbeat.

Amid the distortion, blast beats, and concrete of Suvilahti, Tuska 2025 made space for something older. We saw pagans taking over the smaller, underground and more intimate KVLT Stage, where the festival welcomed two acts rooted in Nordic and pagan tradition: Eihwar and Noiduin.

Their performances turned the KVLT Stage into a ritual space at these times, where folk instruments, primal rhythms, and ancestral atmosphere stood in stark contrast to the industrial surroundings. These moments felt less like conventional concerts and more like ceremonies, a reminder that heavy music’s connection to folklore and heritage remains very much alive.

While the main stage drew the final spotlight, “Tuska Sunday” also delivered some of its most striking moments across the Radio City Stage and Nordic Energy Stage. The day saw genre boundaries blur and intensity shift shapes, from the unpredictable chaos of Kim Dracula, through the crushing weight of Whitechapel, to the emotionally charged performance by Nothing More.

A strong wind forced the Nordic Energy Stage to strip away its backdrop, leaving bands framed against nothing but open air and blue sky, an unplanned visual twist that gave these performances an extra sense of exposure and immediacy. These photos capture Tuska Sunday away from the main stage, where raw energy met unexpected atmosphere.

“Tuska Sunday” closed out Tuska 2025 with a main stage lineup that leaned heavily into contrast and intensity. The final day brought together cinematic brutality, modern metal spectacle, and symphonic gravitas, offering a fitting conclusion to the weekend.

From the commanding presence of Motionless In White, through the unmistakable elegance and weight of Apocalyptica, to a devastating headline performance by Lorna Shore, the main stage delivered a final chapter defined by scale, emotion, and sheer impact. These images capture the moments that marked Tuska’s powerful closing day.

During the high time of the festival summer frenzy in 2025, THE GHOST INSIDE stopped over between all the festival gigs at Stuttgart’s LKA Longhorn on June 24 for one of two club shows in Germany. The concert dates have sent a shockwave through the scene once announced, due to being the first tour appearances of the band since the tragic bus accident in 2015. Wedged between all their festival shows, this intimate headliner gig for sure was a big contrast to the large festival stages: raw, unfiltered, and back to basics of sound and light. No high-tech stages, only sweat dripping from the walls and being close to the fans as can be.

Support was provided by the German metal core band HALF ME, which prefers to perform in a rather dark stage environment. Nevertheless, their performance already added a few degrees of heat on that hot summer day.

THE GHOST INSIDE delivered at full throttle and set the heat volume in the venue to maximum: Jonathan Vigil roared himself through ‘Engine 45’ and ‘Death Grip’ like his life depended on it, while the crowd kept singing all the lyrics right back like an echo. The room crackled with electricity—a massive intensity that often gets lost at open air shows. Especially haunting was the emotional punch of ‘Aftermath’, which hit hard in that close, charged space.

This wasn’t just a filler between festivals—it was a statement. THE GHOST INSIDE proved they thrive not only at mass audiences but within the intense intimacy of a tight clubroom. For the fans, it was a night to remember. For the band, it maybe felt like a homecoming. This is what metal core sounds like when it is in your blood, and what it should be like.

While the main stage commanded attention on Saturday, Tuska 2025 continued to deliver compelling moments across the Radio City Stage and Nordic Energy Stage. Day two’s lineup on these stages balanced precision, aggression, and melody, offering a sharp contrast to the grand spectacle unfolding elsewhere.

From the visual kei intensity of JILUKA, through the relentless modern hardcore of thrown, to the melodic death metal mastery of The Halo Effect, these performances captured the depth and diversity that define Tuska beyond its biggest stage.

The second day of Tuska 2025 brought a darker and more imposing atmosphere to the main stage. Saturday’s lineup leaned heavily into power and spectacle, pairing modern heaviness with grand, theatrical metal.

From the crushing force of Slaughter To Prevail, through the cold precision of Orbit Culture, to a commanding headline performance by Powerwolf, day two delivered a relentless succession of intensity, ritual, and crowd-commanding moments. These images capture the scale and energy that defined Tuska’s Saturday on its largest stage.