KNOTFEST is a pretty legendary concept. For many people in Europe or Finland it sounds like something really exciting and almost exotic. Images and videos online of the Knotfests that have been taking place in the US speak of pretty epic scale events, whether they be the Knotfest Roadshow or location specific Knotfests. Knotfest seems like an experience and not just your random festival. The closest they’ve come with the whole circus was back in 2019 when Knotfest met with Hellfest in France as an extra day added to the already amazing festival. And now Knotfest returns to Europe after 2 rounds of Knotfest Roadshow in the US and Canada with a stop in 2 of the most metal countries of the continent: Germany and of course Finland, both for the very first time!

At every Knotfest you can expect a mix of established, exciting big names and a nice selection of up-and-coming acts. At Knotfest Finland, there is something for everyone that loves the music coming from the metal capital country of the world. It’s probably the first time at a destination Knotfest outside the US that there is that high of a percentage of local bands featured…Which isn’t all too surprising with the extra ‘Pulse of the Maggots Stage’ reserved for up-and-coming and rising stars from Finland.

On the Friday it opens with celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ever popular Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus‘ album ‘Rajaportti‘ and the rewards, gold and platina record reaping Stam1na on the main stage besides the ever epic headliners Nightwish, while the ‘Pulse of the Maggots Stage’ starts off with rising melodeath stars Bloodred Hourglass, alt-rock/metal legends Sara, suburban metallers Lähiöbotox and a hardcore punk riot with Huora.

The Saturday opens with Eurovision favorites and violent pop outfit Blind Channel on the mainstage, bringing a bunch of tracks and energy from their latest album ‘Lifestyles of the Sick & Dangerous‘ to start with a real party. While the ‘Pulse of the Maggots Stage’ gets the sleaze/glam rockers Shiraz Lane celebrating the release of their 3rd full-length, new kids on the block Stoned Statues hitting hard with their brand of alt-rock/metal, extreme metallers Medeia, rock supergroup Moon Shot and last but not least electronic music artist Huoratron bringing the house down one last time after Slipknot wraps up their set with his exciting beats and remixes!

Besides all the exciting Finnish acts that we just listed, there are some great acts from outside the country that are making the trip to Knotfest Finland as well!

On the Friday, melodeath legends Arch Enemy are coming to celebrate the release of their brand new album ‘Deceivers‘ (out on exactly Friday August 12th) and Lamb Of God bringing the fire with hopefully a couple of the tracks of their upcoming new album ‘Omens’ featured in the setlist!

The Saturday brings even more excitement with the UK somewhat taking over the main stage with djent legends Tesseract, the ever intriguing extreme metallers Cradle Of Filth that released a banger of a record in 2021 with ‘Existence Is Futile‘ and musical chameleons Bring Me The Horizon!

If all of those great acts and exciting up-and-coming stars didn’t convince you yet to have grabbed a ticket, what about f-ing Slipknot?! It’s been since their show at Rockfest in Hyvinkää in 2019 that they’ve made it to Finland and they’ve just recently announced to be releasing a brand new album again with ‘The End, So Far’! The first tracks ‘The Chapeltown Rag’ , ‘The Dying Song (Time to Sing)’ and ‘Yen’ are bringing us a whole lot of excitement for yet another milestone of an album and we’re hoping to see a couple of new tracks live already! Slipknot is a mammoth of a band and never disappoints live, so while they’re in the country you better take your chance to get to experience this!

Like we said already in the beginning of this article: Knotfest is an experience that goes beyond a simple music festival. Usually, the Slipknot guys are very closely involved in curating the experience to be how they want it to be. It will feature the ‘Slipknot Museum‘, a Knotfest.com booth, Lagunitas Beer Circus, chill out zone, special acts like a fire act from Aura Company, plenty of bars featuring more than your regular drinks and food trucks offering a selection of street food beyond the standard festival grub. Together with their local event partners Fullsteam Agency, Sunborn, Radio Rock, Soundi and others it looks like they’ve put together a once in a lifetime experience that you can’t miss out on and that will by quite different from what you’re used to of festivals within Finland. Be there!