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Summer festival highlights from ARTE Concert

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ARTE Concert brings you all the dynamism and diversity of the European summer festival scene.

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Amenra fans are well versed in the extreme experience of a concert by this Belgian post-metal band, a place where both musicians and audience are constantly pushing for transcendence. Through waves of slow, immense riffs, Amenra question spiritual power structures and what it means to suffer, and live.

Summer Breeze 2023

Amenra put their visual effects and bone-crunching riffs to great effect at Summer Breeze 2023.

Amenra

Zeal & Ardor may be avant-garde, but they are far from inaccessible. An intriguing blend of African-American spirituals and black metal burrowing into the horrors of slavery and police violence, frontman Manuel Gagneux's music tackles serious subjects while drawing on influences from Mayhem and Burzum to Deftones. 

Avant-garde metalist Zeal & Ardor has a unique sound, mixing African-American spirituals with black metal. Statement music that packs a punch.

Zeal & Ardor

HammerFall exploded into a 1990s metal scene that was starting to feel a little stale and washed up. Their debut album redefined classic heavy metal for a new generation and framed this group of Swedes as the new defenders of the genre. Other bands were to take metal in new directions, but HammerFall provide pure, unadulterated heavy metal from the heart. Horns up! 

The gods of thunder wreak mayhem at Summer Breeze 2023.

HammerFall

Beartooth deliver hit after hit to their lucky fans with their unique blend of hardcore and punk rock. Frontman Caleb Shomo's boundless energy has an unholy power to breathe life into the most exhausted of animals.

Beartooth promises- and delivers- a set filled with hits at Summer Breeze.

Beartooth

No need for an introduction to In Flames among death metal fans: Formed in 1990, this Swedish melodic death metal group were among the first to incorporate keyboards to widen the scope of their sound, blowing open the gates of Valhalla and chewing up genres. Swedish death metal had been born. Witness their majestically feral set at Summer Breeze 2023. 

The melodic death metal of these five Swedes smashes Summer Breeze to smithereens.

In Flames

Shadow of Intent have been plumbing the depths of brutal deathcore since their formation in 2014. The Rhode Island band's compositions veer towards the radical with symphonic embellishments, melodies and black metal flourishes. The mix has served them well, right from the studio to the stage. 

Deathcore fans rejoice: Shadow of Intent deliver a slamming set at Summer Breeze festival. 

Shadow of Intent

Fans of technical death metal had been waiting five years for a new album from Decapitated when Cancer Culture dropped in 2022. On stage, the Poles of Decapitated string together a series of grooves, staccato riffs and oppressive double kick drums with infernal precision. This is one band with the devil on their heels and an ability to set mosh pits ablaze.

Polish technical death metal marauders Decapitated get the crowd moving at Summer Breeze.

Decapitated

Eluveitie may not be the inventors of folk metal, but this Swiss band combines Celtic music and death metal so brilliantly that you sometimes wonder if they weren't around at the founding of the genre. The band's lyrics are inspired by the history, daily life and spirituality of the Helvetians, a Celtic people from the distant past. 

Swiss folk-metallers Eluveitie charm the Summer Breeze crowd with their Celtic-infused melodic death metal.

Eluveitie

Hard work and a string of exceptional albums have propelled Powerwolf to the summit of German power metal. It also helps that the band consistently give their fans astounding live shows, proving time and time again that they have earned their place in the metal pantheon.

A high-powered metal extravaganza from Powerwolf at 2023's Summer Breeze festival. 

Powerwolf

Brand Of Sacrifice are sure to pick up reams of new acolytes after serving up their sacrificial delights at Summer Breeze. This Toronto group fills their sound with orchestral elements, a pinch of electro and an XXL dose of brute force, over which soars the cavernous voice of singer Kyle Anderson.

Brand Of Sacrifice unleashes their epic sonic storm on German metal and rock festival Summer Breeze.

Brand of Sacrifice

With almost four decades under their studded belts, Rage are true veterans of metal. Plenty of time to hone their breathtaking live shows, filled with the most powerful of power metal hits. 

Rage serves up a decent portion of power metal at Summer Breeze 2023.

Rage

Metalcore lifers Killswitch Engage are still on a roll after over 20 years as a band. The metalcore heroes from Massachusetts gained huge popularity after their 2004 classic album The End Of Heartache, winning them legions of fans the world over. Since then, they've gone from strength to strength, as furious and melodic as ever. 

Killswitch Engage deliver a metalcore monster at German festival Summer Breeze.

Killswitch Engage

The departure of guitarist Olve Eikemo brought down popular black metal group Immortal in 2015. Fans of the genre need not despair, however, becasue Olve soon returned with his new group Abbath to ressurect the spirit of his first band. Time has not been wasted: Abbath already have three critically acclaimed and fan-approved albums under their belts. 

An oppressive darkness descends on Summer Breeze 2023 as Abbath takes the stage. 

Abbath

Dying Fetus is the trio made up of John Gallagher, Sean Beasley and Trey Williams. The band bubbled up from the underground of the extreme death metal/grindcore scene in the 90s, and they have remained there ever since. Their sound is a sonic assault, brimming with brutality and ultra-fast guitar riffs. 

The death metal pioneers descend on Summer Breeze 2023. 

Dying Fetus

Hundreds of covers, over 4.6 million YouTube followers and over 1.2 billion video views! Everything Frog Leap touches seems to turn straight to gold. The recipe to their success is quite simple: Take a well-known song and make it heavy. 

Frog Leap have one mission: Taking pop classics and making them go harder. 

Frog Leap

After their smash hit set at Summer Breeze 2022, Nanowar Of Steel have returned to the festival on an even bigger stage than last year: The ideal setting for these champions of wit and mischief. Their reference-packed metal rocks hard, and even hardcore underground fans can admire the Italians' humour as much as their music.

The comedy metal of Nanowar of Steel never fails to raise a smile or move the moshpit. 

Nanowar of Steel

Powerful screams, jagged riffs and anthemic choruses: You know what you're getting with Stick To Your Guns, and you know it will be mega. This modern hardcore group from Orange County was brought together in 2003 by singer Jesse Barnett, spending years as a killer support act before singing to a label. Fast forward a few years and here they are with a prime spot on the bill for Summer Breeze. 

Modern hardcore from Orange County sweeps into Summer Breeze with Stick To Your Guns.

Stick To Your Guns

Wolfheart are known for their ability to deliver one melodic gem after another, with the improbable effect of making death metal catchy.  Their star is definitely rising on the Finnish scene, where they have been based since forming in 2012. They're now ready to bring winter to international stages.

Melodic death metallers Wolfheart blow a Nordic chill across Summer Breeze 2023. 

Wolfheart

It's been eleven years since Bleed From Within last appeared at Summer Breeze and there's no doubt since then that these Glasgow metalheads have made a quantum leap forward. As shown by their mushrooming fan base.

Scottish band Bleed From Within bring a circle pit with them to Summer Breeze 2023.

Bleed From Within

Kataklysm are now a Summer Breeze staple.  Back in 1991, when Sylvain Houde, Jean-François 'JF' Dagenais, Maurizio Iacono and Ariel Saied first emerged screaming from the Canadian forest, they were met with a rather modest response. Several well-received albums and configurations later, they're now one of the most popular bands on the death metal scene. Epic moshpit jostling guaranteed!

Epic Canadian death metallers Kataklysm descend on Summer Breeze.

Kataklysm

Every year Summer Breeze brings around 45,000 metal fans together in Bavaria for this highlight of the summer festival circuit.

Summer Breeze Festival 2023

Brooklyn band Bodega have a lot to say about the evils of modern living, but they're always ready to couch their gripes in catchy riffs and punk defiance. They bring new tracks from their 2022 album Broken Equipment to La Route du Rock. 

La Route du Rock 2023

Punk riffs and modern malaise: Brooklyn band Bodega bring wit and fuzz to La Route du Rock.

Bodega

Taking their name from a Velvet Underground deep cut, The Black Angels have updated psych rock for our disillusioned era. 2022 album Wilderness of Mirrors twists guitar sounds into new shapes, confronting global social and political unrest with dark, droning euphoria.

Texan psych rockers The Black Angels bring the winds of revolt to La Route du Rock.

The Black Angels

Brighton post-punkers Squid started making waves after a string of original singles showcasing their tension-filled, nervy sound drawing on influences as far flung as dub, This Heat-style experimentation and classic 70s British post punk. Their anxious debut Bright Green Field shone a light on Britain's modern malaise and saw them heralded alongside contemporaries Black Midi and Black Country, New Road for signposting exciting new directions for English rock. They bring their latest album O Monolith to La Route du Rock.

Wriggling, cerebal post-punk from one of the groups at the vanguard of modern British rock.

Squid

How many albums have they released this year? Probably three more by the time you read this. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have built a rapid fan following across the globe over the past few years for their legendary live shows, their jawdropping prolificacy - and their stubborn refusal to be tied down. From mutant funk to facemelting garage psych, from ambient jams to thrash metal, the 'Gizz has tackled them all with their trademark freewheeling nonchalance.

The reptilian overlords of genre-hopping psych give an unmissable powerhouse performance at La Route du Rock.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Dry Cleaning's second album Stumpwork lets the light in after the dry deadpan post-punk of their debut. Vocalist Florence Shaw's delivery explores new juxtapositions and new emotions, showing the group can be fun and yet deadly serious, angular and opaque but always generous while sifting through the surreal humour of the everyday.

Sardonic, spiky rock soundtracking the humdrum details of modern life: It's the one and only Dry Cleaning. 

Dry Cleaning

La Route de Rock Festival takes over the tranquil French seaside town of St Malo with an eclectic programme of music.

La Route du Rock Festival

Joseph Capriati, real name Giuseppe Capriati, is an Italian DJ and producer. His discography is impressive, but don't be mistaken: Capriati is first and foremost a DJ. His sets bear the hallmarks of house pioneers Masters at Work, Todd Terry and David Morales, to name but a few.

Zurich Street Parade 2023

Joseph Capriati at the closing ceremony of the 2023 Zurich Streetparade: A concentration of power.

Joseph Capriati

One of the most sought-after DJs on the planet, Deborah de Luca is a major figure in the modern techno scene. Delivering electric sets in which she displays a great technical sense of nuance, this Italian has no equal when it comes to mesmerising crowds. Her melodious soundscapes are a blend of hard techno and minimalist grooves.

Get moving with the unique set from Deborah De Luca at Zurich's Street Parade.

Deborah de Luca

Star of the moment Colyn is currently witnessing a meteoric rise with his popular blend of techno and melodic house. His collaboration with the Afterlife label began in 2019 when his track 'Amor' was included on the fourth compilation in the Realm Of Consciousness series.

Dutch man of the moment Colyn opens the Street parade with an exceptional set.

Colyn

DJ and producer ONYVAA is renowned for her unique style of music, characterised by a powerful combination of haunting rhythms and experimental soundscapes. Her tracks are often imbued with a deep, pulsating energy producing a hypnotic effect.

Californian DJ ONYVAA gets the crowd going with a melodic and emotional set at Zurich's Street Parade.

ONYVAA

A blend of atmospheric textures, relentless beats and elaborate rhythms, Nicole Moudaber's techno offers a sonic experience as intense as it is captivating. The Lebanese-born 'Queen of Techno' reigns over the MOOD empire, a prestigious label, but also the name of her own brand of parties and the title of a popular radio show.

A mix of atmospheric textures, relentless beats and elaborate rhythms: The 'queen of techno' performs in Zurich.

Nicole Moudaber

Marcel Dettmann has been a major figure on the techno scene since the 1990s. As an artist in residence at the Berghain, he is considered one of the most influential exponents of contemporary techno. His style strikes a balance between modern techno and pre-techno, and his instantly recognisable aesthetic, as raw as it is minimal, as emotional as it is unpredictable.

Marcel Dettmann delivers an epic set on the Opera Mainstage, sending the audience into trance.

Marcel Dettman

Anfisa Letyago has gradually established herself as one of the most influential DJs and producers in the industry. She works with leading labels such as Kompakt, Rekids and Drumcode, and her name appears on the bill of numerous international festivals and events like Ultra Music Festival, Tomorrowland and Parklife.

A grandiose set from Anfisa Letyago to heat up the crowd at the Zurich Street Parade. 

Anfisa Letyago

Brina Knauss's reputation is no accident. The Slovenian DJ has an art to her mixing heralded by her many fans, among them electronic royalty like Damian Lazarus and Luciano. Her music has a sense of tonality, chords and melody clearly influenced by her classical training at an early age.

For the opening of the annual Zurich Street Parade, Brina Knauss delivers a vibrant set on the Center Stage.

Brina Knauss

Adrian Shala and Adrian Schweizer are Swiss duo Adriatque. United by the same creative sensibility since starting out in 2008, the two Zurich friends form one of the most sought-after DJ/producer tandems on the electronic scene.

Zurich Streetparade 2022

Adriatique

A huge technoparade organised every year in the streets of Zurich.

Kham Meslien, former bassist with the group Lo'Jo, is launching himself on a solo adventure. And what better place to take flight than the Alpine mountains surrounding Cosmo Jazz?

Cosmo Jazz 2023

Double bassist Kham Meslien takes to the heights for the Cosmo Jazz Festival.

Kham Meslien

Dhafer Youssef demonstrates his total mastery of the oud at Cosmo Jazz Festival. The perfect opportunity to hear some cuts from his 2019 album Sounds of Mirror.

Contemporary oud master Dhafer Youssef at the Cosmo Jazz Festival.

Dhafer Youssef

Franco-Greek singer and modern day Circe Dafné Kritharas bewitches festival-goers at Cosmo Jazz. A blend of jazz and Ottoman influences.

Franco-Greek singer Dafné Kritharas casts a spell at Cosmo Jazz Festival.

Dafné Kritharas

Cosmo Jazz

Portugal's Marianna Secca Maro, aka MARO, is the daughter of a pianist and a guitarist and has been performing on stage since the age of 10. Later on she perfected her vocal and composition skills at Boston's Berklee College of Music before steadily building an international career as a singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist.

Bardentreffen Nürnberg 2023

Eurovision fans may recognise this Portuguese singer from 2022. If not, discover her talents at Bardentreffen.

MARO

They call themselves "Bavarian Gypsy Rockers," which puts Django 3000 firmly in line with the debate central of the 46th edition of Bardentreffen festival: Cultural appropriation and recognition. Their love for eastern European music can hardly be questioned though, injecting their folk-pop with frenzied Balkan rhythms and soaring violins. 

Frenzied Balkan rhythms and soaring Romani violins make this Bavarian group a star attraction at Bardentreffen.

Django 3000

The London Afrobeat Collective say they have only one mission: Making people dance. That's just as well because it's impossible not to move when under the spell of this floor-filling 8 piece orchestra, a touring fixture in the UK and Europe over the past 5 years. 

Get your body moving to the complex rhythms of British party orchestra London Afrobeat Collective.

London Afrobeat Collective

Latin rhythms, klezmer spirit, tarantellas, polka and cumbia: The Orchestre International du Vetex is impossible to pin down. This Franco-Belgian brass band wears its stew of influences proudly while retaining a fiercely individual spirit. Get swept up in their joyful interpretations of everything from Franco-Belgian classics to Balkan folk via Latin America. 

Balkan rhythms with a Latin edge, mixed with tarantella, polka and a taste of punk from the colourful Vetex collective.

Orchestre International du Vetex

Ak Dan Gwang Chil first formed in 2015 to mark 70 years of liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Powered by three astonishing folk singers, the six members of ADG7 use their music to express their hope of Korean reunification. Shamanic chants, traditional folk and brash pop underpinned by a serious dedication to upholding Korean cultural traditions.

A South Korean traditional music group that infuses pop music with shamanic chants and indigenous folk. 

Ak Dan Gwang Chil

This Nuremburg festival is the ideal occasion to discover a range of resolutely modern artists from across Europe and beyond.

Bardentreffen Festival

Smashing together English post-punk with Italian chanson, Brussels-based Ada Oda is a truly European rock group. After forming during lockdown, their exuberant first LP Un Amore Debole was released in late 2022.

Europavox Sessions 2023

Ada Oda sits at the crossroads between stark British post-punk and Italian variety music. 

Ada Oda

The beautiful voice of Icelandic folk artist Arny Margret is like a warm blanket after hiking a volcanic glacier. Her comforting debut album They Only Talk About the Weather was released in late 2022. 

Wrap yourself in the delicate warmth of Icelandic folk artist Arny Margret.

Arny Margret

Fran Vasilić has social media to thank for kickstarting his musical career: The young Croatian artist has built a global audience of millions with his idiosyncratic pop music, inspired by American slacker indie and old Yugoslavian pop. 

The off-kilter pop from Croatian artist Fran Vasilić arrives at Europavox ready to move feet and warm hearts. 

Fran Vasilić

Marina Satti boldly marches through musical frontiers. This Greek artist with Sudanese roots gleefully draws on Arabic pop and Balkan folk to create her uniquely Aegean hip hop sound. 

Marina Satti demonstrates her global influences and magnificent talent at Europavox Festival.

Marina Satti

Elements of psych-pop collide into jazz fusion propulsed by hip hop rhythms: Austrian drummer and producer Cid Rim creates sophisticated electronic music that defies easy categorisation. Witness his otherworldly musicianship at Europavox Festival. 

Austrian drummer and producer Cid Rim brings glowing psychedelia and fusion jazz to Europavox Festival.

Cid Rim

The soft, evocative music of jazz duo Svaneborg Kardyb is a welcome balm at the Europavox festival. You might even call it musical hygge. 

Jazz duo Svaneborg Kardyb is representing Denmark at the Europavox festival.

Svaneborg Kardyb

The cinematic, repetitive music of Polish instrumentalist Dobrawa Czocher evokes the work of Philip Glass in its textured atmospheres and deep emotion. A dreamy neoclassical highlight of the Europavox festival. 

The neoclassical dreamscapes of Polish musician Dobrawa Czocher arrive at Europavox. 

Dobrawa Czocher

Lithuania's RnB sensation Free Finga already had a brush with fame as a child pop star in his home country. He returned to music in adulthood as a way of working through personal dramas with a modern, RnB sound brimming with catchy hooks and social angst. 

Lithuania's Free Finga brings his thoroughly modern RnB sound to Europavox.

Free Finga

Love'n'Joy are three young Ukrainians heavily inspired by the golden age of British psych in the 60s and 70s. Now exiled to Berlin, they've toured heavily since last year in support of their foundation "Musicians Defend Ukraine." 

It's all there in the name: These three young Ukrainians hope to spread good vibes at Europavox and beyond. 

Love'n'Joy

With their invigorating sound sitting somewhere between new wave and punk, Zimbru has recently been sending tremors through the Romanian underground. For Europavox, they've brought orchestral synths, ecstatic soundscapes and a large dose of magical realism.

Pillars of the Romanian underground come to Europavox festival.

Zimbru

Europavox assembles some of the best up-and-coming artists of the continent.

Europavox Sessions

Mongolian folk metal megastars the Hu pull together an unlikely combination of throat singing, traditional instruments and ancient battle cries with propulsive grooves and danceable riffs. The international excitement and acclaim that has greeted them since their beginnings in 2016 show that it works. Catch them live at Hellfest 2023.

Hellfest 2023

Mongolian heavy folk metal sensation The Hu bring the power of the plains to Hellfest.

The Hu

The wolves have been set loose on Hellfest, bringing their signature pyrotechnics, cinematic riffs and corpse paint with them. They've also got a new album: Interludium was released only a few months before they came howling onto this stage. 

The wolves have been set loose. The grandiose German group bring pyrotechnics and pure power to Hellfest.

Fun comes first for German electronicore group Electric Callboy. Smashing electronic influences from Eurohouse and techno into hardcore metal, the Callboys are here to shower Hellfest with saucy bangers from latest album Tekkno.

Eccentric electronicore German group Electric Callboy baffle and delight at Hellfest '23.

Electric Callboy

One of the last chances to catch a Sum 41 concert: After 27 years of gently rebellious pop-punking, the band have announced they are to split up. Expect this set to be All Killer, No Filler. 

Hellfest 2023 marks one of the last concerts for Sum 41 before the group split.

Sum 41

After defining the nu-metal sound of the 90s, Papa Roach are now officially old hands at this: This year they mark thirty years as a band. Where better to celebrate than at this year's Hellfest? 

Californian nu-metallers Papa Roach celebrate their thirtieth birthday at Hellfest.

Papa Roach

Crunchy riffs and crisp vocals from Byron Bay as Parkway Drive take the stage at Hellfest 2023. New material from last year's Darker Still show why they are making waves among metal fans across the world. 

The Byron Bay metalcore machine Parkway Drive comes to Hellfest.

Parkway Drive

Hellfest takes on the atmosphere of an Irish pub for this set from Flogging Molly. May the pints flow and the good times roll as these leprechauns of punk present some tracks off latest album Anthems.

Pour your pints and hold your four-leafed clovers aloft: Flogging Molly are live at Hellfest.

Flogging Molly

Once a year, the quiet city of Clisson is transformed into the European capital of metal