This year is the first time we need to survive without a Steelchaos bringing us some of the best of the underground and extreme metal scene. But be rest assured, there is already another event that is ready to fill up the gap. On September 13th, the very first edition of Cult Of Darkness will take place, bringing together an excellent line-up for all those who crave a serving of the extreme. Some of Finland’s top acts will gather to bring us their rituals with Malum, Nightside, Sacrilegious Impalement, Korgonthurus and on top of the bill, the only Finnish show of this year by black metal icons Archgoat! And that’s not all, because there are also a couple of bands from outside of Finland who are dropping by: the Swiss band Eggs Of Gomorrh are playing their first show ever in Finland, and the US black metal duo Cultus Profano have chosen Finland to carry the honor to host their first and only show in Europe!

We see no reason why you would sit this one out if you’re any bit a black metal fan. Get your tickets still here: https://events.liveto.io/events/cult-of-darkness-festival

Elektrik Products is a booking company that really brings some excitement and uniqueness to the Finnish live music scene with events like Hellsinki Industrial Festival, Hellsinki Metal Horizons and #Horizons23, and last year they came with yet another great concept under the form of HELSINKI TECHFEST. Putting together an impressive line-up of top metalcore and deathcore bands, of which most bring something different and technical on some level to their music, creating a unique sound that sometimes even veers towards the djent realms. This year you’ll get to enjoy the fresh sounds of Finnish acts like the synth metalcore party gang One Morning Left, up and coming deathcore stars Enemies Everywhere, the absolutely epicness of Assemble The Chariots (who just released one of the most epic albums of the year) and modern metallers Chronoform.

And that’s not all, on the Saturday One Morning Left comes with the good company of Norwegian metalcore outfit Atena, who has a unique approach to the genre, the Swedes of Aviana and up-and-coming Danish deathcore stars Cabal as part of the “Nordic Invasion Tour”, plus the Mexicans of Animo Tempo as their only stop in the Nordics! The Friday isn’t weak either, with the Estonians of Pridian crossing the sea for a show at Helsinki Techfest and as headliners the brutes of Distant, a deathcore outfit that has been climbing the latter of popularity after they’ve shown their worth to most of Europe last year, opening for Lorna Shore!

Metalcore, deathcore djent, elektro metal,… there won’t be a moment for you to get bored, and we predict every night to be absolutely packed. Don’t miss out on one of the parties of the year!

Find the pictures of one of the days of last year’s edition here.

Get your tickets still here.

If you’re rather in the market for some good old punk music, Helsinki is the place to be during the last weekend of September! The 6th edition of HKI SKEPU FEST will take place at the Tiivistämö venue yet again, a punk festival organized by Finnish punk rock label Fast Decade Records and Suomen Skeittipunk Ry. It features quite a few bands from their roster, bringing together some amazing local talents like HOOK, The Knob playing Acoustic Punk Classics, Critical Low, Glass Wipe, Suite Green, Pitiful small-time dealers, Neverlearn, Two Hidden Frames, Lame Duck, Teresa Banks and Against It All!

Added to that, every day brings out a couple of bands from abroad like on Friday the Brazilian hardcore punkers of Malvina and the UK iconic punk outfit Snuff, and the Saturday being enriched by skate punk bands Uphill Struggle from Denmark and CF98 from Poland!

But that’s not all, the Friday starts with a “Skepu-quiz” and the Saturday has a skatejam before the bands! So plenty to enjoy over these 2 days!

Get your tickets here!

This is something a little bit different than the more conventional festivals on this list. Pakanafestarit (or Pagan Fest) is more than just an event with some bands playing live. It’s a whole experience with lectures, workshops, tons of vendors bringing the most special things with them regarding the occult and pagan beliefs and so on. It really is an amazing couple of days, with both visitors and crew often dressed in their best pagan attire. But even just the musical and performance part of the event would be worth the ticket and visit. You’ll get to enjoy bands and acts from a lot of different spectrums of music, but all with one thing in common: in one or another way they’re heavily inspired by paganism, their ancestors and the old cultures.

You’ll find the following acts performing over the 2 days:

• Kallomäki, a band combining “jouhikko metal” and dark folk
• Valkeat, a band boasting to be the new generation of folk metal, having found a place for the kantele in their compositions
• Käres, a trio that creates a magical atmosphere when making music through different instruments, percussion, samplers, looping and casting spells
• Unshine, the “druid metal” outfit inspired by Finnish folklore that brings some mesmerizing music
• Nest, telling stories of old times guided by Finland’s national instrument the kantele, creating a magical and experimental soundscape
• Noiduin, a dark folk band inspired by Finnish mythology and folklore
• Rauni, combining Finnish mythology and psychedlic folk rock
• Dark fusion belly dance acts like Hallanmaa, Anni Dohlen, Kaven, Satu Eterna, Myrna, Occult Obscura

Get your tickets here.

Finland is a great country to be if you’re looking for metal and rock shows, but it took Elektrik Products to bring some proper industrial and dark electronic music to Finland on the regular. This will be the 6th edition already of the yearly Hellsinki Industrial Festival, and the 1st that will take place for the most part at Tiivistämö, a venue hosted in one of the buildings of the former powerplant at the Suvilahti area. Every year they bring an impressive collection of legendary, unique and exciting acts from the industrial, dark electro, EBM, aggrotech & co realms. Think cybergoth party, but with actual live acts… The Thursday will take place at On The Rocks as the traditional preclub gig with Loka, Evestus and Corlyx, and spread over 2 stages and 2 nights at Tiivistämö, you’ll find Teknohirvi, Divine Shade Solo, Any Second, Nightstop, Blastromen, Moaan Exis, Alien Vampires, Horskh, Sortaja, Psideralica, Teknovore, Kunt, The Silverblack, V2A, Business City and Diary of Dreams! Let the harsh beats take over and dance ’till there’s no tomorrow!

Get your tickets here.

And if you can’t wait until November, apparently Elektrik Products is hosting a pre-preclub show the first Friday of October with Esa and Mechanical Vein performing, 2 not unfamiliar sights for those who have gone to HIF in the past!

If you’re looking for some doom, gloom and atmosphere, the Melancholy Mass Festivals are where you need to be at the end of November. Taking place over 2 nights, 1 in Helsinki and 1 in Tampere, every edition has been quite the success, with packed venues every night. What can you expect? A wide range of more extreme genres going from (atmospheric) black metal, blackgaze, (melodic) death metal, doom metal, and everything in between, but all with a certain degree of melancholy infused into them. This year’s edition features the Finnish death/doom giants Kaunis Kuolematon, the blackgazers from Denmark MØL, the doomy post-rock outfit Kauan, blackened pagan/folk project Vermilia and tech death with Omnivortex! Don’t sit on this one…

Find the pictures of last year’s edition in Tampere right here.

Get your tickets here and here.

John Smith Rock has become a staple in the Finnish summer festival season, always boasting a very impressive line-up of Finnish and non-Finnish greats and up-and-coming acts, and an absolutely wonderful atmosphere and organization. So much so, that people didn’t want to wait a full year to get another serving of the fest. Enter John Smith Rock Frozen, the smaller (and obviously indoors) Winter version of the main festival. This year it’s going to be quite the weekend again with Amorphis headlining on the Friday, backed by Katatonia, Suburban Tribe, Kotiteollisuus and Where’s My Bible, and on Saturday headliner Paradise Lost, with Blind Channel, Dead by April, Bloodred Hourglass, Marianas Rest and Elvenking! And with a wonderful atmosphere where they sort of try to recreate the feeling of an outdoor festival with decorative lights, small tents and even foodtrucks from which they serve good food and drinks, plenty of interesting vendors, some fun activities, and properly organized signing/meet-and-greet sessions with the bands, this is simply too good to miss out on.

Find the photo report of one of last year’s edition’s days right here.

Get your tickets here.

Masis Brewery is organizing a series of “Masis Beer & Metal” events over the next couple of months. Starting with Kaunis Kuolematon, Crucify The Faith and Gothony on September 21st in Hämeenlinna, then Swansong, Memoira and Admire the Grim on November 2nd in Helsinki, Mourning Wood, Progeny of Sun, Gothony and Hagalas on November 15th and 16th in Seinäjoki and lastly just before Christmas Before the Dawn, Terveet Kädet, Tyrantti, Ninetyfive50, Asio Otus O.B. and Gothony on December 20th and 21st in Espoo. Some excellent bands, that will go together with excellent beer from this craftbeer brewery, who is also responsible for the recent beers made for Before The Dawn, Kaunis Kuolematon and Omnium Gatherum! We’re already getting so excited about this that we’re trying to schedule to get to go to more than one of these events!

Get your tickets here!