You’ll want to get to the festival area bright and early on the first day! Swedish dark symphonic metal outfit Eleine is set to open the festival weekend with a bang on the Prison Stage! They released their brand-new album ‘We Shall Remain’ via Atomic Fire Records barely a month ago, and what they brought forth with it, shows off all of their potential and solidifies that they are a force to be reckoned with! We can already hear killer songs like ‘We Are Legion’ or title track ‘We Shall Remain’ being sung along to by the loads of fans who will set up shop at the stage. A band that is steadily climbing up the ranks and will be among the greats soon, we’re pretty sure!

Getting seasick from pirate metal or does rum just not sit well with your stomach?

Maybe it’s time for you to head down to the Mines of Moria and join the jolly dwarves of Wind Rose for some fantasy fueled folk metal while smashing a few orc heads and ‘diggy dig a hole’ to find that lost Arkenstone. They play early in the day, but this is the kind of early metal party on the Prison Stage that you won’t want to miss out on!

If you’re any bit into death metal, you might want to get to the Swamp Stage early to catch one of the most promising contemporary death metal bands! The Texans of Frozen Soul know how to bring killer riffs and crushing songs, and after a highly impressive debut full-length with the 2021 album ‘Crypt of Ice’, earlier this year they blew everyone one away yet again with their 2nd album ‘Glacial Domination’. And while they don’t need it at all, this album was stacked with guest appearances from big names like John Gallagher (Dying Fetus), Reese Alavi (Creeping Death), Matthew K. Heafy (Trivium), Blake Ibanez (Fugitive, Power Trip), not to mention the mesmerizing collaboration with James Lollar of GosT for extra programming on half of the tracks. A stellar band that is set for greatness, don’t miss out!

If death metal is not what you’re looking for, at the same time as Frozen Soul is destroying the Swamp Stage, you can go catch the quirky Belgian stoner rock band Gnome. Their music is incredibly catchy even though its odd rhythms and overall silliness, reminding us somewhat of bands like Red Fang. And keeping true to their band’s namesake, you’ll see them play with pointy hats, mimicking the typical looks of garden gnomes. You simply need to go see these guys, it’ll be a riot, we’re sure!

One of Belgium’s most interesting and intriguing extreme metal bands of late will take up shop on La Morgue on the first day of Alcatraz as well. You can expect dark folklore tales from the band’s region translated into a sludgy and unique kind of black metal. It’ll be weird, in your face, and something you’ll want to experience. Belgium has a pretty rich black and sludge metal scene, and Kludde is one of those hidden gems you don’t want to be sitting on. And they’ve released a brand-new album ‘De horla’ earlier this year, good timing to get familiar with this great band!

Alcatraz Friday is a bit sparse on black metal, so if that is your preference, you might want to pay attention here! Besides Kludde earlier on La Morgue, you have one more shot to get something properly black served to you. How about the legendary Gaahl taking over the Swamp Stage with his project Gaahls Wyrd? We’ve been lucky enough to see this band live several times, and every single time it’s been an unforgettable experience. There is simply something special about the energy that radiates from Gaahl and the music of this band…

Possessed goes almost beyond legendary status. The band that has been names as the one responsible for naming a whole genre. A death metal band that is considered to be godfathers of the genre, and that has been going strong for 40 years now! Not too long ago, we got to attend one of their shows on this present tour, and it was one of the best and most solid metal shows we’ve seen this year. Please do yourself a favor, and get to that Swamp Stage to bask in the glory of the oldest of schools of death metal!

A band that is so very different from the rest of the line-up of the day, or even the whole festival, is something that easily appeals to us. But in this case it’s the rather legendary German psychobilly group Mad Sin! Having been around for over 35 years, they haven’t slowed down a single bit. Images we’ve seen of their live shows are promising us an absolute riot, a wild, energetic and mental performance that everyone who attends will talk about for a long long time still!