Hellsinki Metal Fest 2026: An almost perfect festival weekend
As the title says, those 16.000 metalheads enjoyed top entertainment with excellent acts in perfect weather conditions during those 2 days in the heart of Helsinki (at the Ice Hall Jäähalli or Nordis). What else would a Metal Heart want? Well, there still was the issue of 3 stages and being forced to choose …
Friday August 7th:
Horizon Ignited
The Finnish band supported Hypocrisy on their 2022 European tour and made a name for themselves back then as a great support act. They kicked off the first day of the Helsinki Metal Festival at 1.30 pm, and quite a few fans had already gathered to listen to the melodic black metal from those guys from Kouvola. A very wise decision, as Horizon Ignited began their set with boundless energy and pure enthusiasm, quickly captivating their audience. The fans were thrilled, and the Finns maintained their high standard of playing for 45 minutes, putting themselves in the best possible light. A great start for the likeable Finns in front of what was already a sizeable crowd.
Unleashed
Those Swedes live are a force of nature. A brilliant performance as openers of the main outdoor stage drew huge crowds to the front and, from the very first second, treated the audience to excellent Swedish death metal that really goes all out. The fans gratefully embraced this, and the Swedes were met with enthusiastic reactions. Unleashed opened their set with “To Asgaard We Fly”, instantly setting the mood. Throughout the entire gig, Unleashed had a brilliant time on stage and blasted one banger after another through the PA. Frontman Jonny Hedlund had everything under control, and with “Before The Creation of Time”, the Swedes’ they offered an absolute highlight, which once again demanded everything from the fans before they heralded the end of the set with “Into Glory Ride”. Naturally, this was another real treat for the ears, and the crowd subsequently bid farewell to Unleashed with thunderous applause.
Omnium Gatherum
Omnium Gatherum also won over the audience with a first-class performance, once again underlining their status as a top-class live act. Guitarist Jonas Koto had a clash with a To/Die/For show that very same day and was substituted by former Beast In Black guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen, who did an excellent job.
OG immediately won the fans over and presented the Helsinki audience with a varied setlist featuring many standout tracks from the band’s history, which proved thoroughly convincing. The whole band seemed very energetic and was constantly on the move, and by now there was plenty of action in the front rows of the audience too…
Throughout the entire show, no one stood still, and Omnium Gatherum were supported unconditionally right up to the very last note.
Carcass
I reckon Carcass will be around forever: from the very first moment, Jeff Walker connected with the audience, and backed by an absolutely brilliant sound, Carcass delivered death metal at its very finest. Like a fine wine – the older, the better!! The atmosphere in the crowd was electric, and a setlist packed with all their greatest hits was celebrated mercilessly by the fans. Carcass were an absolute musical highlight on the first day of the festival!!!
Bloodbath
The Swedes played a polished, professional gig, but unfortunately it lacked the intensity one is used to from a Bloodbath performance: singer Nick Holmes, in particular, seemed a bit out of it today, as he appeared rather listless throughout the set and seemed to have his mind already on Paradise Lost’s gig the following day. Despite a decent sound and tight ensemble performance, one got the impression that the band was playing with the handbrake on and weren’t showing what they’re normally capable of. Which, of course, isn’t to say they didn’t have any good songs in their set. The song selection was very good and left nothing to be desired. It was simply the disconcerting performance that was out of the ordinary.
The die-hard Bloodbath fans didn’t care, and the Swedes were rewarded with hearty applause. Whether that was justified or not, we’ll leave that open for debate… (Hanzi Herrmann)
Because of my photo duties covering 3 stages, I only add a few remarks, letting the images speak for themselves, for example the Brymir Barbeque pit and the intense female power of Ikinä (who dedicated a moment of silence to all women killed by violence), the likewise intense Blackbraid, the umhinged Cryptopsy and the legends Black Label Society and Accept.
The fascinating Mawiza performance almost had me miss my headliner photo slot, I can therefore only recommend to check them out.
Accept delivered a set of evergreens right from the start (e.g. Metal Heart, Restless & Wild – the setlist covering their decades of band history left nothing to be desired) and kept the crowd in party mode until the literally fiery finale of a fantastic festival day 1! (Klaudia)
Saturday August 8th
Iotunn
For me, even in the run-up to the festival, this was one of the most interesting bands I’d been keeping a close eye on, and the Danes made an immediate impression. Singer Jon Aldera is, after all, an absolute legend on the scene thanks to his wonderful and versatile voice, and today too he skilfully showcased his deep growls and clean vocals, sending the fans into a frenzy. The majority of the setlist was taken from their latest album ‘Kinship’, and the quality here is truly something you rarely get to hear in this genre. Iotunn pulled off the feat of performing precisely this material live in a manner that is second to none…
Jon Aldera elevated the compositions of the Danish/Faroese progressive and melodic death metal band, treating the audience to a listening experience in a class of its own. It was brilliant – for me and many others the secret headliner of this festival… Hats off to that performance!!!
Kalmah
This afternoon, many fans were waiting for Kalmah, hailing from northern Finland, and right from the start they were treated to high-energy, spot-on songs that set the hearts of melodic death metal fans racing. As usual, singer and guitarist Pekka Kokko lightened the mood a little and always had a quip ready for the audience before the lads from Oulu unleashed their songs on the crowd once more. The fans rewarded the band with loud applause and gave the lads from the far north a rousing send-off. A very successful performance.
Misþyrming
The Icelandic black metal pioneers took to the stage very early on and unleashed their uncompromising and technically accomplished compositions on the Finnish audience. The fans’ reaction was immediate, and the unconditional support from the large crowd was palpable from the very first note.
Misþyrming had the crowd go wild – pure, dark aggression in a perfect musical guise – that’s exactly what the Icelanders bring to the stage, and they continue to know how to build up a magnificent sense of tension through their excellent choice of songs, which keeps the fans hooked. The applause was huge and the band were given a rousing send-off after an hour. Unfortunately, the stage backdrop – usually sparse and often lit in cool or reddish light – didn’t come into its own as intended today due to the daylight. Otherwise, it was a cracking performance from those Icelanders.
Orly
Meanwhile, the French blackened sludge and post-hardcore band Orly – whom, much to my regret, I hadn’t heard much of until now – treated the audience to a mix of ultra-fast blast beats followed by almost doom-like, sluggish passages, creating a very dark atmosphere and winning the fans over.
Throughout the set, the stage was bathed in dark, atmospheric lighting, which lent the music of this band from Lyon even greater impact. As another striking feature, the musicians all wore red headlamps. The fans showed their support for Orly with enthusiastic applause, and after just under 50 minutes on stage, the French band left the stage to thunderous applause, leaving a lasting impression. Thumbs up!! (Hanzi Herrmann)
Paradise Lost was the only band I could actually watch in full and I indeed received the show I had hoped for, filled with classics and several of my favorite album Draconian Times, therefore my personal festival highlight of this day!
Besides the Dark Art Gallery and Vesa Ranta’s exhibition to honor the Oulu Metal scene, we had the opportunity to witness the creation of artwork by Dem Unge Herr Holm.
For Cyan Kicks, Eluveitie, Triptykon (performs Celtic Frost), Tungsten, Misþyrming & Nergal (performs Behemoth’s Sventhevith) once again I let the images do the talking.
Opeth offered some stylistic contrast to the headliner of day 1, rather slow-burner meditative complex structures than instant-party-mode – and the audience remained in silent awe during the gentle musical parts, you could hear a needle drop. Hypnotizing, captivating – and a bit less of stand-up comedy in between than some years ago, thus even non-metallers were more than impressed (so I heard afterwards).
Summing up – HMF once again both thumbs up!! (KW)
Text: Hanzi Herrmann plus remarky by K. Weber
Photos: K. Weber, Iotunn, Kalmah, Misþyrming, Orly, Metal Exhibition Fotos & video clips Hanzi Herrmann, start photo Henri Juvonen
