Photo Reports

Day 2 of the very first Ankea Festival continued on the Factory Stage with another diverse selection of performances. Our photographers captured sets from Finnish up-and-coming progressive metal act Royal Sorrow, a captivating solo performance of master musician Bruce Soord (of The Pineapple Thief), atmospheric pagan metallers Vermilia, a rain-soaked and mesmerizing A.A. Williams, Sylvaine‘s very first Finnish show ever and a mind-blowing Oranssi Pazuzu to wrap up the weekend!

With artists from different corners of the alternative and heavier music spectrum sharing the stage throughout the day, the Factory Stage once again offered plenty of variety for festivalgoers. Take a look through our gallery and relive some of the moments we captured from Day 2 of Ankea Festival.

Day 2 of the very first Ankea Festival continued to bring together a carefully chosen mix of progressive, atmospheric and alternative sounds on the Ankea Stage. Our photographers captured the powerful alternative metal of Finnish outfit Rioghan who were opening the stage that day, the expansive progressive sound of Ihlo, the atmospheric rock of Green Carnation, and the intricate progressive metal of Textures, before the day culminated in a special headline set from Swedish metal veterans Katatonia.

Five distinctive acts, each with their own take on atmosphere and emotion, made for another memorable day at Ankea. Take a look through our gallery and relive some of the highlights from the Ankea Stage.

The Factory Stage offered a different kind of journey through Day 1 of Ankea Festival 2026, moving between psychedelic grooves, atmospheric rock, electronic textures and expansive post-rock. Our photographers captured Finnish experimental trio Virta, the progressive and cinematic sounds of Earthside, French psych-rockers SLIFT, the darkwave atmosphere of Kælan Mikla, and wrapping up our long day with the captivating and soothing post-rock of This Will Destroy You.

With such a varied selection of artists sharing the stage, the Factory Stage became a fitting showcase of the broader sonic palette of Ankea Festival. Take a look through our gallery and relive some of the moments we captured on the first day of the festival.

The very first edition of Ankea Festival got off to a strong start, bringing a carefully curated selection of atmospheric and progressive sounds to its Ankea Stage on Day 1. From the wackiness of Finnish experimental rockers Circle and the cinematic post-rock of God Is An Astronaut to the darker, more intense worlds of Ihsahn and headliners Leprous, the opening day offered plenty for those looking to get lost in the music.

Being there for the first chapter of a brand-new festival always feels a little special. There is something exciting about seeing an event find its identity in real time, and with four such distinctive performances on the Ankea Stage, Day 1 certainly gave us plenty to capture. Dive into our gallery and relive some of the highlights our photographers captured on the very first day of the very first edition of Ankea Festival.

Album release shows always carry a little extra excitement, but Nenerchy‘s celebration of her debut full-length album ‘Bailarina’ felt like something truly special. On a sold-out night at On The Rocks in Helsinki, the drum ‘n’ bass princess gathered fans, friends and curious newcomers alike to mark an important milestone in her career.

Before the party truly kicked into high gear, Finnish punk outfit Kirkkovene warmed up the crowd, adding their own energy to an evening that brought together people from very different musical backgrounds. From punk fans to ravers and everything in between, the packed venue became a melting pot of scenes united by a shared desire to celebrate music. Check out the pictures of a night that felt less like a concert and more like one big party.

Left On Red came out to Venue 18 in Fostoria, Ohio on June 12, 2026 and let me tell you, they absolutely burned the place to the ground!!!

I have been wanting to catch this band for a bit and they happened to be playing less than 50 minutes away from me (which for rural Ohio, that’s a short drive!). So it was a no-brainer that I had to go to this show. 

Left On Red was formed in Missouri and is made up of Myles Clayborne[vocals], Shea Spence[drums], Corey Harness[guitar] and Anthony Brummer[bass]. They have been a pretty active band the past couple of years and I see them continuing to grow their fan base as they tour all over the United States. The band is very personable and approachable as well, hanging out watching the other bands and afterwards. Their stage presence was non-stop, high energy and they seemed to be just doing what they love and having a blast while they do it! I caught myself grinning from ear to ear witnessing them just being in their element! As far as their set-they are everything you would want in a metalcore band: screams, melodies that hit deep and lyrics that we can all relate to. To summarize, Left On Red will have you smiling, dancing, head banging and everything in between. I highly recommend catching them live when they are in your area!

Filling their time between summer festival gigs HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD are giving a very few shows on their own in Germany in summer 2026. One of these rare gigs took place in Stuttgart.

Support act were THE PRETTY WILD. And pretty wild they have been. The Wylde sisters Jill and Julia are the core and the voices of the heavy metal band from Las Vegas, USA.  Strong dual‑vocal dynamics are the band’s trademark. This night’s performance was simply great and the audience got warmed up pretty well. THE PRETTY WILD will definitely create some more attention in the future if they keep going like this.

HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD live in Europe 2026 brought their unique high‑energy mix of rap‑rock, metal to a selected number of shows. Sold out almost immediately the roof of the venue was blown off the second when the band got on stage. The permanent movement, jumps, change of vocalists and instruments results in a high energetic show that is fun to watch. It was pretty obvious that the whole gang was in a pretty good mood, joking around live on stage with each other and enjoyed their performance as much as the crowd. Their song material was kind of career spanning which is no surprise for a band with more than 20 years of history.

This nu-metal night with these 2 fantastic bands was just leaving you wanting more and hopefully both bands will return to the local stages soon.

All aboard Paledusk‘s tour bus!! Where the creativity hits as hard as the supercharged energy, and nobody’s tipping off their next move.

On Wednesday May 27 in Antwerp, we squeezed into a packed room for what turned out to be a surprisingly intimate run-in with Knosis — the kind of band that shows up, takes over, and somehow sends you home more fired up about life than when you walked in. They threw down heavy experimental riffs, supercharged melodic swells, big smiles, and crowd dives that didn’t let up for a second. And did we mention very warm, big smiles? Because there was a lot of that too.

Then Paledusk came tearing out of backstage as if they had just landed from Fukuoka, Japan. These guys don’t ease you in — they pile it on by bringing their genre-bending chaos straight to the stage : metalcore and hardcore as the backbone, hip-hop bleeding into groovy, pop hooks, all blowing up into glitchy, pattern-wrecking electronica that keeps barging in unannounced. Hypercharged as they come!

Back to back, Knosis and Paledusk pull off something very genuine — a set that hits like a fist and wraps up like a big, cheerful hug. And since this was the final night of their run together, both bands collided on stage for their closing songs in the most chaotically unhinged way possible: someone wandering on with a plate of spaghetti, a TV screen getting wheeled out mid-riff, and a live round of Super Smash Bros. kicking off over screaming guitars and battering drums. Completely unscripted and unpredictable, yet it felt like they had it all under control. Never let them know your next move!

By the time it all wound down, nobody was walking out straight-faced, and why would they be? That’s what Knosis‘ and Paledusk‘s energy is all about.

ROYAL SORROW opened the night with a blend of modern melodic dark metal and subtle post‑metal elements. The band is definitely one of the more exciting newcomers in the scene. Their style thrives on sharp contrasts: fragile, almost delicate vocal lines collide with heavy riffs and rhythmic surges. On stage, the quartet displayed remarkable presence.

CEMETERY SKYLINE delivered a performance in Stuttgart that showcased a band deeply rooted in Scandinavian gothic and dark‑metal traditions. Their sound blends cold synth layers, melancholic melodies and heavy, almost doom‑tinged guitars, while the vocals shift between a clear baritone and harsher outbursts. Vocalist MIKAEL STANNE (who’s birthday was celebrated at the Stuttgart gig) is stepping away from any growling for CEMETERY SKYLINE and focusing on clear vocals. Considering the group members’ origins, this is a kind of nordic dark gothic supergroup merged from the firmly established forces within the European gothic‑metal scene. And all the expectations of the crowd were fullfilled, even though this performance would have been worth a significantly larger audience and a fully sold-out venue. Live, they rely heavily on atmosphere: fog, dimmed lighting and a set constructed with a strong sense of dramaturgy, moving from quiet, introspective passages to eruptive peaks. Not to forget a really unique cover version of ‘I Drove All Night’, that has it’s own character and is highlight in itself. Let’s look foward to hopefully many more live appearances because CEMETERY SKYLINE is a fantastic live band. Their Stuttgart gig was 100% proof.

A very different event in current times: An evening with just one band! Not the usual 3 or 4 band lineups as you are used with tour gigs these days. MACHINE HEAD do it all alone. They do it impressively and powerfully. No opener but more than 2.5 hrs of MACHINE HEAD only. This is an event for the real fan. MACHINE HEAD delivered a blasting action-loaded show with all you want and can expect: an excellently curated and choreographed show. Lights and led panels with a giant backscreen delivering fantastic animations. Flames, fire, sparkles, fog. A fully spanned selection of songs running through the whole band history. This was a masterclass show. Robb Flynn and his band mates are simply on fire themselves. There are no complaints about the sound as well, especially when the acoustic part of the set comes alive. There was no holding back in the crowd when Robb demanded circle pits and crowdsurfers all throughout the show. The attending fan community was more than happy to follow and delivered, much to the band’s satisfaction.