Hellsinki Metal Festival returned to Nordis in Helsinki for its fourth edition on August 7th and 8th, 2026, bringing together two days of heavy music and an impressively diverse lineup spanning everything from extreme metal and black metal to classic heavy metal, progressive sounds, industrial and more. With international heavyweights sharing the stage with some of Finland’s finest, the festival once again showcased just how broad the metal spectrum can be and turned Nordis into a gathering place for metal fans from near and far.
The first day of Hellsinki Metal Festival set the bar high, with a packed programme ranging from the melodic aggression of HORIZON IGNITED, OMNIUM GATHERUM and BRYMIR to the old-school might of ACCEPT and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. The day also saw crushing performances from CARCASS, BLOODBATH, CRYPTOSPY and SANGUISUGABOGG, alongside the atmospheric sounds of WORMWOOD and BLACKBRAID, the Finnish force of IKINÄ ft. Choir of Hecate and MAWIZA’s distinctive take on metal. VREID, UNLEASHED, CARPENTER BRUT and the rest of the day’s lineup made for a varied opening to the festival, taking the audience from extreme metal to industrial sounds and everything in between. Check our photo gallery here or read the live report here…
Horizon Ignited
Unleashed
Wormwood
Carcass
Brymir
Ikinä
Vreid
Bloodbath
Blackbraid
Sanguisugabogg
Black Label Society
Cryptopsy
Mawiza
Accept
Carpenter Brut
Photos by Laureline Tilkin, Janne Puronen, & Marco Manzi
