Sonic Rites remains the place to be if you’re located in Finland and into the more extreme, experimental, and gloomy side of what music has to offer. When the festival kicked off at the old industrial milieu of Ääniwalli on the weekend of Friday, May 22nd, and Saturday, May 23rd, 2026, we were naturally there to see what the Sonic Rites crew had cooked up this time.
Friday setup ranged from the eerie tunes of SOPHIA DJEBEL ROSE to the black metal mayhem of FRIGID WINTER and the aggressive punk attack of DISCHARGE. To put it short, the styles and approaches towards music differed hugely throughout the night, but in a way, it all still seemed to click. As the packed crowd slouched between the two stages of Ääniwalli, every walk seemed to open a new layer into the musical offering, and it seemed every band found their favourers in the crowd.
The opener, SOPHIA DJEBEL ROSE, took the stage playing a distorted guitar with a bow, accompanied by high-pitched vocals. The atmospheric and artsy show was a good pick for the festival opener, as the show grew while the crowd started flowing in and filling the premises.
Next up, RENATE/CORDATE blew the audience to a new scene with their heavy psychedelic metal with some shoegaze tunes. And then it was time for GENERATION DECLINE to deliver a delightful show of hardcore/crust punk with tremendous energy
Back on the larger stage, Italian alternative/progressive rock band KLIDAS delivered a cool and focused show, although maybe their place straight after the energetic punk act before didn’t serve them best.
Back on the smaller stage, then FRIGID WINTER, who are quickly becoming a household Finnish black metal name, delivered a raw and raunchy show. After them, BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT, the US-based doom metal group, finishing their tour, hit the stage. There were some technical issues like a bass amp going silent in the middle of the show, and the vocalist Allison Faris performed hampered by an illness, but the band showed why they’ve been quickly picking up a name. Their song material screams quality, and the band is a tightly knit unit.
Back on the smaller stage, SUMEA gave a show of their occult stoner, then DISCHARGE stormed the large stage with their D-beat punk with some raw energy that had the audience moving perhaps more than any of the bands before them on Friday did.
Last on the small stage was the hip-hop act JULMA HENRI, who gave a good showing, although maybe he was slightly out of place in between punk and metal acts and didn’t draw the smaller stage quite as packed as the acts before had.
The evening ended with the act of JESU, an act with hints of industrial metal and shoegaze with just two men and a computer on stage: head man Justin Broadrick also known for GODFLESH was accompanied by a bassist. Dark stage, cold visuals, and sharp backlights provided the visual atmosphere for the music, which combines easy listening and heavy tones in a delightful way.
It was time to call it a night at Ääniwalli, with Saturday fast approaching. Here are the photos from Friday’s shows.
Sophia Djebel Rose
Renate/Cordate
Generation Decline
Klidas
Frigid Winter
Blackwater Holylight
Sumea
Discharge
Julma Henri
Jesu
