From wrestling to Celtic Frost - A fiery finale to Hellsinki Metal Festival 2026
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
The final day of Hellsinki Metal Festival 2026 brought another varied selection of heavy music to the festival grounds, with everything from wrestling and gothic metal to pyrotechnics, Celtic Frost worship and folk-infused metal. After the busy opening day, Saturday offered a fitting final chapter to a weekend.
The day started somewhat differently than it might have for many festival-goers. Having missed every FCF Wrestling match at last year's festival, I decided to give the wrestling another chance on Saturday after also catching some action on Friday.
The wrestling area wasn't exactly packed, with the crowds coming and going between the matches and the festival's musical program. Those who did stick around, however, were properly invested in what was happening in the ring. The atmosphere was relaxed but enthusiastic, and the matches themselves delivered plenty of entertainment.
FCF Wrestling proved to be a welcome alternative for anyone looking to take a break from the stages or simply for those who aren't particularly interested in catching every outdoor band. Having something completely different happening alongside the music adds another dimension to the festival experience, and the good vibes around the ring made it an easy place to spend some time.
From there, it was back to the music and Paradise Lost. While the band has never been one I've followed particularly closely, their long-standing reputation and dedicated fanbase are impossible to overlook. Their Saturday set delivered exactly the kind of solid performance their audience had come to expect, with the veteran British gothic metal act sounding confident and well suited to the festival setting.
The atmosphere shifted considerably when Cyan Kicks took the stage. The Finnish rockers were, quite literally, on fire. Pyrotechnics played a major role in the band's performance, adding bursts of fire to several songs and turning the show into one of the more visually striking sets of the day.
The timing couldn't have been much better for Cyan Kicks either. With a strong festival slot and a sizeable audience in front of them, the band had a great opportunity to introduce themselves to listeners who may not have previously encountered their music. And they clearly enjoyed every second of it. There was an infectious sense of enthusiasm coming from the stage, while the band sounded consistently strong throughout the set. The combination of catchy modern rock, an energetic live presence and spectacular use of fire made Cyan Kicks one of Saturday's more memorable performances.
Next came Triptykon who were performing material of Celtic Frost, a set that was clearly among the most anticipated appearances of the entire day. The prospect of hearing the music of Celtic Frost performed live was enough to draw a substantial crowd, and there was a noticeable sense of anticipation before the band even started.
Celtic Frost is not a band whose catalogue I've explored particularly deeply, so I approached the set more as an observer than a devoted fan. Even so, it was easy to understand why the performance meant so much to the audience. Triptykon handled the material with the necessary weight and atmosphere, delivering a convincing tribute to one of extreme metal's most influential names.
If there was one act that felt almost tailor-made for its position on the Saturday schedule, however, it was Eluveitie. The Swiss folk metal veterans sounded exceptionally good, combining their heavy foundations with the traditional instrumentation that has become such an integral part of their identity. Despite the lineup changes the band has experienced over the years, Eluveitie have managed to retain the atmosphere and character that make their live performances work so well.
There was something particularly satisfying about watching them in this festival setting. The mixture of melody, heaviness and folk elements translated naturally to the large stage, and the timing of the set seemed almost perfect as the festival approached its final stretch.
For me, that was where Saturday's Hellsinki Metal Festival experience came to an end.
There was, however, one major absence from my personal festival weekend: Nergal's collaboration with Misþyrming, performing Behemoth's Sventevith (Storming Near The Baltic) in full. Missing that show was unfortunately one of the biggest disappointments of the entire weekend. Judging by everything I heard afterwards, it was also a performance I really should have witnessed.
The collaboration had already stood out as one of the most unusual and potentially significant sets of the festival, bringing together Nergal with Icelandic black metal force Misþyrming for a complete performance of Behemoth's debut album. By all accounts, it lived up to the anticipation and was widely regarded as one of the strongest and most talked-about performances of the entire weekend. Even without seeing it myself, the reaction afterwards made one thing clear: Hellsinki Metal Festival saved something truly special for its final night.
And with that, 2026 Hellsinki Metal Festival came to a close. Three days of heavy music, unexpected discoveries, wrestling, fire, nostalgia and plenty of memorable performances made for a festival that offered far more than simply another collection of metal bands on outdoor stages. Saturday was a fitting finale with a few missed opportunities already giving me reasons to come back once again next year.
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