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.
Saturday’s lineup featured some wonderful post-rock instrumental bands such as PELICAN and RUSSIAN CIRCLES, as well as some hardcore mayhem in the style of KÜRØISHI and HAAPOJA. All-in-all, the evening seemed more balanced than that of Friday.
The evening opener was the dark-wave/dreampop duo CATS OF TRANSNISTRIA, so again the evening opened with some gentle and atmospheric tones. Then, on the main stage, it was time for VESTAL CLIMAX to bring on their post-death act. The audience seemed still a bit in the warm-up phase, but the band put up a hard-working show on the stage.
Back on the smaller stage OVO, the duo was already familiar from last year’s show when they joined forces with NADJA. This time, they performed in their simple duo form and again put up a good concert with their original sound and feel.
Back to the bigger stage, where it was time for PELICAN to take the stage, and that they did with an attitude. Their post-metal instrumental music was the first one of the evening to really kick the audience awake and moving.
On the smaller stage, KÜRØISHI ripped through their HC set with great energy, and then it was time for ACID KING to play through “Busse Woods”, their classic stoner rock album. The band served the audience just that, dark and heavy as they liked it.
On the smaller stage again, HAAPOJA hit the stage with some black metal/hardcore brutality delivered in a lively manner. They did well to warm up the crowd for WOLFBRIGADE next up on the smaller stage. The Swedish veterans showed the Ääniwalli audience what a tight crust punk band with 30+ years of experience can do.
Last up on the smaller side was VAINOA, who played their set of blackened hardcore with some nice surprises, such as an accordion conquering a spot on the stage. The evening ended then on the bigger stage with a show of RUSSIAN CIRCLES. The band seemed to be, for many, the most anticipated one, and the band did not fall short of expectations, but delivered a magnificent ending for the festival and a sold-out Saturday. Check our photo gallery here…
Cats of Transnistria
Vestal Climax
OvO
Pelican
Kürøishi
Acid King
Haapoja
Wolfbrigade
Vainoa
Russian Circles
