Having expanded from land to the Baltic Sea, Hellsinki Metal Festival revealed the line-up for this autumn’s cruise during HMF weekend.
Over the course of just a few years, Hellsinki Metal Festival has firmly established its place on the festival calendar. This weekend’s edition was celebrated in sunny conditions, both in terms of the weather and the overall atmosphere. Over two days, the event welcomed a total of 16,000 metal fans to the Helsinki Ice Hall – better known as Nordis – as well as media representatives from around the world.
“In some ways, this year has felt different from the previous ones. Everything has run smoothly across the board, and the sense of community has grown stronger. This is our fourth edition, and we’ve learned something every year. By now, we’ve managed to smooth out the rough edges, and that has strengthened the community on both the organiser and audience side,” says promoter Toni Törrönen.
With a diverse extreme metal line-up featuring the likes of Black Label Society, Opeth, Accept and Carpenter Brut, Hellsinki Metal Festival also offered visitors a wide range of additional activities. These included the Dark Art Gallery exhibition, the Inkferno tattoo area, professional wrestling showcases, a bouncy castle in the RIP area, and dedicated stands from numerous companies and organisations focused on metal culture. This year, Hellsinki Metal Festival also raised funds for MIELI Mental Health Finland and Naisten Linja, both of which were present at the festival.
The festival line-up also included Carcass, Unleashed, Paradise Lost, Eluveitie, IOTUNN and Triptykon, alongside Finnish acts including Kalmah, Omnium Gatherum and IKINÄ. During IKINÄ’s performance, a moment of silence was held in memory of victims of violence against women.
“Nothing like this spectacle has ever been staged in Finland before. There were 15 female metal vocalists on stage, and the message behind the entire special performance is extremely important in the current climate, where women continue to lose their lives to violence,” says Toni Törrönen.
Hellsinki Metal Festival expanded to the Baltic Sea for the first time last year with the launch of Hellsinki Metal Cruise, and the line-up for this year’s cruise was revealed during the festival weekend. Taking place from 6–8 November on a round trip from Helsinki to Stockholm, this year’s metal cruise will feature Samael, Rotting Christ, Groza, Aborym, Deathchain, Moonlight Sorcery, Chamber of Unlight, Waltari with a special 40th anniversary show, Cumbeast, Khroma, Baphy, Night Crowned, Rabbit Cult, Totalselfhatred, Paara and Ashen Tomb.
“The cruise is like a miniature version of Hellsinki Metal Festival, with the whole tribe in the same boat. What makes it so great is that, for those few days, the ship becomes a place that belongs to all of us – there’s nowhere else you need to go to feel at home.”
Tickets for Hellsinki Metal Cruise are now on sale at vikingline.fi/hmc.
Next year’s Hellsinki Metal Festival will once again take place at Helsinki Ice Hall on 6–7 August 2027. A limited batch of Patient Zero tickets sold out within 24 hours! More tickets will be released later – stay tuned to make sure you don’t miss the next batch!
