This band has come to have quite the reputation already even though its relatively short existence. Part of that might be because a couple of the Vended guys are the offspring of modern metal icons Slipknot (as in vocalist Griffin Taylor, son of Corey Taylor, and drummer Simon Crahan, son of Shawn Crahan/”Clown“). But in the meantime, they’ve managed to show their worth all by themselves by delivering intense little nuclear attacks every time they take over a stage. From what we’ve seen of live captures, we’re in for quite the show and if the crowd is into it, a healthy amount of circle pits! Go welcome these guys into our metal family as potentially a band that will ensure the future of metal to be healthy and very much alive!

Finland is, as everyone knows by now, famous for its impressively fertile grounds for metal music. And back in the early 2000s, Finland was basically responsible for the folk metal boom with massive bands like Finntroll, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Turisas and Moonsorrow. So a new band that harks back to that time gets us really excited. Enter Kouta. There have been quite a couple of really cool new folk metal bands, but we feel that this one could be something special! Think the black metal ferociousness and filthiness of early Finntroll, with some of the epic chanting you could find in Ensiferum and Turisas music, all composed together in an impressive way that reminds us somewhat of how Moonsorrow does it. But while they remind us very much of some of Finland’s best folk metal bands through various elements in their music, they still seem to have their own identity and sound. This could be the beginning of your new favorite black metal based folk metal band. Go check them out and be able to say that you got to see these guys before they hit it big!

Foreseen is back in action! These Finnish crossover/hardcore guys are probably not unfamiliar to you if you’re any bit into the hardcore scene. However, if you’re not, you need to go see them when they hit the Tuska KVLT Stage on the first day of the festival! We reckon that you’ll be blown away with the sheer power and ferociousness they go into attack, and the artillery they’ll bombard you with song after song. They are somewhat legends within the crossover movement, and were even really good buddies with the late Riley Gale and the other Power Trip guys. You’re in for a real good time if you make the step to go see them. But be warned: this will get rowdy!

These guys have the rather thankless task to start playing at the exact same time as Gojira is hitting the main stage as the Friday’s headliners. And on top of that, among all the heavy metal violence you can find throughout the weekend, don’t expect to see any guitars on stage with Miseria Ultima… This duo is one of the best dark electro/aggrotech acts Finland has right now, so get your dancing legs activated and get ready to bust some moves on the melancholic yet highly engaging tracks with beats that will knock your socks off! If you’re not really that much into Gojira but still want to enjoy a bit of music, please do yourself a favor and go to the Tuska KVLT Stage on Friday one last time to have yourself quite the party! The guys will very much appreciate the support!

If your first festival day was rather draining, and you’re not really into the power metal of Silver Bullet that will play on the Inferno Stage as one of the first bands of Tuska Saturday, go to the Tent Stage and let yourself get captivated by the melancholic and soothing music from A.A. Williams. This lady had a real talent for writing some pure musical magic in every sense of the word, keeping things minimalistic and incredibly touching. This could be the perfect way to slowly slide back into the festival mood without waking up your hangover goblin again. Something totally different from any other band this year at Tuska, but in our opinion a not to be missed performance!

This might be one of the few bands in this list that doesn’t really need an introduction for many of you, but we love them too much to exclude them. Orbit Culture really hit their stride during the pandemic, getting picked up by many metalheads who were bored out of their minds and got hit really hard with the grooves and incredible musicianship of these guys. Influenced by their local scene as in the old school Swedish melodeath, but also by bands like Metallica, they managed to find that perfect balance between extreme metal, infectious grooves and hooks like no tomorrow. If you’re one of the few that haven’t picked up on them yet, please, do yourself a favor and go see them. They will quickly grow bigger and bigger, and we easily foresee many main stage shows in the future, quite high up the bill. Get ready to bang your heads off your necks!

The rock ‘n’ roll party of the weekend will be found here! In Finland, they have a quite dedicated fan base, well-deserved so! Dirt brings a really exciting mix of hard rock, rock ‘n’ roll attitude and a good dose of grunge a la Alice In Chains. Every single time you see these guys on stage, you will be blown away with the massive amount of energy that comes from this band. Not only is the music really hard hitting, every single guy in this band is hitting it hard from start to finish live. We’re expecting the Tuska KVLT Stage to be absolutely packed, so show up early and don’t miss out and some rock ‘n’ roll craziness. We’re betting that this show will become stuff of legends!

The Danish death metal youngsters of Nakkeknækker are probably a very unfamiliar sight for many Tuska visitors. Not too surprising really since the band hasn’t really released much music yet. But from the live videos on YouTube and some snippets on other platforms, we quickly learned that this is an extremely talented band, and one to watch. Especially if you hear the high quality crushing death metal coming from these guys at the age they are right now, one can only imagine what kind of monster they will grow into with some years of experience and hitting stages all around Europe and hopefully for them the rest of the world. If we’re correct, they’re the one and only foreign band to take over the Tuska KVLT Stage, and we think it’s going to be massive. Be there!

Overlapping with quite popular and big names like Electric Callboy, Finnish legends Xysma and The Hu, Vermilia will be taking over the Tuska KVLT Stage for about an hour. If you don’t want to see any of those 3 bands we just mentioned, we highly recommend you to go to the Tuska KVLT Stage building and enjoy the atmospheric pagan black metal tunes of the lovely Vermilia. Think of artists like Myrkur, Wolves in the Throne Room or even Agalloch, where you’ll get captivated by the gorgeous compositions that will create a magical atmosphere in the venue. Harsh and cold black metal bits paired with mesmerizing clean vocal performances with the lyrics all in Finnish and traditional instruments, all ingredients for something truly special. The people who went to see Saor at the same location as where the Tuska KVLT Stage is, will have seen her in action already, as Vermilia was a special guest performer with Saor to elevate the live performances of certain songs. If you’re looking for a nice bit of magic to almost wrap up your festival weekend, this is the place and time to be!

The last band to mount the Inferno Stage at Tuska 2023 will have heavy competition with Delain on the Tent Stage and …and Oceans on the Tuska KVLT Stage at the exact same time. But while both those bands are quite formidable in their own right and music genre, we want to put forward Urne as the one you should pick at that time. This UK trio brings a crushing blend of sludge with a metalcore-like sound, and are guarantee for an intense wall of sound to hit you in the face like nothing else. About a month after their performance here, they will release their 2nd album, which was recorded at the studios of no one less than Gojira‘s Joe Duplantier. Because Joe was so impressed by these guys after they toured with Gojira, that he offered them the space. And I don’t know about you, but if one of the Duplantier brothers put his stamp of approval on a band, something must be going on there… We will be there, and we hope to see a big crowd showing up for Urne!