On the second weekend of February 2025 from February 8th until February 9th, 2025, I left my house to board a bus full of metalheads, heading to the Viking Line terminal full of metalheads, who were waiting to board the massive cruise ship Viking Grace to fill it with metalheads. All that because that’s when Nordic Metal Cruise 2025 was held. A cozy little cruise from Turku to Stockholm filled to the brim with concerts and activities, such as metal karaoke, burlesque shows, bingo (although I don’t know how one makes that metal), meets and greets with bands, and so on.
After everyone dropped their bags in their cabins and stuffed their faces at the buffet, the gigs began. The first band of the night was none other than ANAAL NATHRAKH, five angry Brits who just love to play it hard. Who doesn’t love a cozy circle pit to the absolute wall of brutal sound? Can you imagine something more relaxing, because I personally can’t. Dave and the boys delivered an amazing performance with a setlist consisting of both old and new songs of theirs with classics such as “Forward” or “Endarkenment” from their 2020 album, finishing the set with a wall of death to the sound of “Submission is for the weak.”
After an hour’s break, during which the crowd was entertained by STEREO TERROR, a pair of metal DJs, ARCTURUS took to the stage. The band, whose style I describe as “chaos metal,” in a positive way. I believe normal people call that style avant-garde. They started with “Evacuation Code Deciphered,” followed by “Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer,” which was only fitting since we were at sea. They played for about an hour, finishing off with the classics and fan favorites, “To Thou Who Dwellest in the Night” and “The Arcturian Sign.” And that a wrap on the first day of Nordic Metal Cruise.
I opened one eye to take a photo of the Stockholm harbor when the ship docked there at 6:30 in the morning and went back to sleep. The festival’s second day kicked off in the afternoon, with a performance of Swedish pagan metallers, MÅNEGARM. The band, with over 30 years of stage experience, did a great show of cohesion and professionalism. The vocalist Erik Grawsiö commanded the stage with a magnetic presence, his voice shifting effortlessly from hauntingly melodic to fiercely powerful. The band’s energy was infectious, especially when they started headbanging in unison, their enthusiasm was mirrored by the sea of fans below. There might’ve been one or two circle pits, however somewhat cautious ones since it was still the first concert after a whole night of partying for some. After a brief intermission by STEREO TERROR, the next band of the day was WORMWOOD, another Swedish band who played a very pleasant melodic black metal set. Their sound was solid, accompanied by a bit of black metal theatricals, which is always much appreciated. If you’re not familiar with their music, definitely give them a listen, you won’t regret it. The last band of the NMC2025 was an Argentinian Celtic folk metal band, SKILTRON. They even have the word ‘kilt” in their band name, which was only fitting, since they were all wearing the Scottish kilts on stage. A healthy dose of folk metal accompanied by the sound of bagpipes was a great way to finish a great metal cruise. Check our photo gallery here…
Anaal Nathrakh
Arcturus
Månegarm
Wormwood
Skiltron
