Live

European Metal Festivals 2026

No algorithm. No sponsor placement. Just the festivals I'd spend my own money on. Sorted by month. Rated by gut feeling.

April

Roadburn

3-6 April 2026

🔥🔥🔥

Tilburg, Netherlands

The festival for people who think Wacken is too mainstream. Doom, post-metal, experimental. Indoor. No mud.

Official site

Inferno Metal Festival

1-4 April 2026

🔥🔥

Oslo, Norway

Black metal's spiritual home festival. Easter weekend in Oslo. Cold, dark, perfect.

Official site

May

Rock Hard Festival

22-24 May 2026

🔥🔥

Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Small, intimate, proper metal. No pop acts diluting the bill. The Amphitheater venue is perfect.

Official site

Desertfest

1-3 May 2026

🔥🔥

Antwerp, Belgium

Doom, stoner, sludge. Indoor. Multiple venues across town. The heavy side of Belgium.

Official site

June

Graspop Metal Meeting

18-21 June 2026

🔥🔥🔥

Dessel, Belgium

Home turf. Best mid-card in Europe. Four days of metal in a Belgian field. The camping is chaos. The music is not.

Official site

Hellfest

18-21 June 2026

🔥🔥🔥

Clisson, France

French efficiency meets metal chaos. Six stages. 200+ bands. The production is absurd. It works.

Official site

Copenhell

17-20 June 2026

🔥🔥

Copenhagen, Denmark

Scandinavia's biggest. Right on the water. The Danish know how to run a festival.

Official site

Download Festival

12-14 June 2026

🔥🔥

Donington Park, United Kingdom

The UK's biggest. Donington mud is legendary. The headliners deliver, even when the weather doesn't.

Official site

July

Metaldays

22-28 July 2026

🔥🔥🔥

Tolmin, Slovenia

A river runs through it. Literally. Metal festival on a riverbank in the Slovenian Alps. Swimming between bands.

Official site

Wacken Open Air

30 July - 1 August 2026

🔥🔥

Wacken, Germany

The one everyone knows. Legendary but the line-ups are getting predictable. Still worth it for the atmosphere alone.

Official site

August

Brutal Assault

5-8 August 2026

🔥🔥🔥

Josefov, Czech Republic

Inside a military fortress. Extreme metal. Best line-up per euro in Europe. The Czech know what they're doing.

Official site

Alcatraz

7-9 August 2026

🔥🔥

Kortrijk, Belgium

Smaller, friendlier, better beer. The Belgian alternative to Graspop. Growing every year.

Official site

Summer Breeze

12-15 August 2026

🔥🔥

Dinkelsbühl, Germany

Underrated. Great mid-card, good camping, medieval town nearby. Germany's best-kept festival secret.

Official site

Bloodstock

6-9 August 2026

🔥🔥

Catton Park, United Kingdom

The UK's underground answer to Download. Heavier line-up, smaller crowd, better vibe.

Official site

Party.San

13-15 August 2026

🔥🔥

Schlotheim, Germany

Extreme metal in a field in Thuringia. No frills. No mainstream acts. Pure death and black metal.

Official site

November

Damnation Festival

November 2026

🔥🔥🔥

Leeds, United Kingdom

One day. Indoor. No camping. No mud. Pure music. The best value festival in Europe.

Official site

Dates and line-ups are subject to change. Ratings are personal. I've been to most of these. The ones I haven't been to yet are on the list for a reason. If your favourite festival is missing, tell me about it via contact.